sister-claire-critical

[sister-claire-critical]

I used to read sister claire about 5-10 years (I read it avidly 10 years ago but I stopped and I MIGHT have revisited it briefly but I can't remember) ago and yesterday I got the idea that I should check in on it, because it's probably finished by now after so many years, right? The archive stopped at the last chapter of book 3 I think so I figured that was the end when I was reading.. but then I found out it continued and when I got to the last page it was posted yesterday?! But I was confused because I read 8ish years worth of comic in.. a few hours at most? And there were characters that popped in out of nowhere. Like the myra or whatever that character was called, I have NO idea what that is and they don't explain it AT ALL. And the part where they explain why everyone at the mercy abbey was so mean to claire, it was very interesting... but they basically don't explain it at all? They just say that rosie and marie were shards? I can't remember if this is adressed earlier, however I do remember reading some of these missing moments or whatever back in the day, and that it was explored in those stories so I understood somewhat what happened but itfelt extremely vague in the comic itself? And then this whole thing with Margie and Magpie, I read the missing moments stories about Magpie but not the ones with Margie and Magpie, so when Magpie just comes in from nowhere and starts hanging around Margie I just don't get ANY explaination. This comic literallt can't be released as a stand alone comic. I feel like Yamino got tired of drawing and just let Ash write stories instead ? I really like this world and the story, I wish it got the treatment it deserved

Wow, welcome back! I congratulate you on your perseverance in the reread.

You are correct; a lot is explained in the Missing Moments. It is a source of frustration for many. I'm sorry you had this disappointing experience.

—Mod Marie 🌸

#sister claire critical

[sister-claire-critical]

I just want to say a positive thing I have about this comic. I'm an extremely sensitive person, I get anxiety almost panic attacks if I consume dark stories with gore and I could never understand how people enjoy that feeling. However the violence, gore and sadness/drama in this comic give me more of a tiny adrenaline rush or something instead of anxiety. It's not about the cartoonishness, because to me that has never mattered and I think the gore in this comic is actually pretty bad (like the squishing of abraham) but somehow it doesn't make me sick and I can actually "enjoy" it in a "this is kinda unnerving but in a safe way" like how people always tell me why they like gorey or scary movies. So I really appreciate that

awww that's nice! I'm happy for you!

Thank you for submitting!

—Mod Marie 🌸

#sister claire positive

[sister-claire-critical]

Regardless of how unnecessary an Abby backstory feels to me, the latest MiMo is beautiful in both content and image. One thing that the SC Team has always done well is tell stories about grief and how there are so many different ways to handle sorrow. I admit to tearing up a bit as Yolanda tells Abby that she's allowed to remember her family--even the funnier parts.

Thank you for this submission. I enjoy some positivity from time to time. :)

—Mod Marie 🌸

#sister claire positive

[sister-claire-critical]

"[T]hey're also still committed to their original vision[.]" Reminds me of Stephenie Meyer; she originally only had two books planned for Twilight but expanded the story when her editors asked. However, she refused to change pretty much anything about her original conclusion, and so had to do some pretty serious character assassination and plot destruction to keep her "perfect" ending after the story got away from her. I would bet anything that Abigail and Rosalie was always endgame but the path to that ship was significantly different a decade ago. For one, nuns in general and the shards themselves seem to be the actual Big Bads in the first chapters of the story, rather than Abby in specific as a hybrid of both.

Interesting points! Do you think Abby/Rosie could have been a thing before they made Abby an immortal eldritch being? I wonder at what point they made that decision.

But even at her very introduction, Abby was kinda framed as Nun Hitler, so I'm not sure how you could redeem that bit.

—Mod Marie 🌸

#sister claire critical #shipping issues #plot resolution #what could have been

[sister-claire-critical]

I genuinely had a dream recently where I'm lost in a deserted, labyrinthine, rotting, waterlogged mall and all I care about is that SC is ending so badly. Muttering to myself as I search for an exit, bitching about the absurdity of it all to no one.

that... is incredible

SC can't be changed but I hope you got out of the mall labyrinth 😔

—Mod Marie 🌸

#sister claire critical

[sister-claire-critical]

You can be cordial with someone without forgiving them, let alone dating them. Abe literally tried to kill Rosie as a child, tried to kill Margie, tried to kill Claire, DID kill Cat and Clem, hunted Rosie and her family for months, killed thousands (if not millions) of people just like Rosie including countless CHILDREN--but Abe's hot and a shard-person like Rosie so Rosie's cool with all of that, apparently. I just don't GET it. Rosie's personality has never led me to believe that she finds any of that attractive and the story actively shows her disgusted by it but she's all right dating Abe despite it all? Abe hasn't even APOLOGIZED for any of it! From what I can tell, Abe still thinks that she was right! Rosie's cool with Abe still believing that murder was the best option?? THIS MAKES NO SENSE! If you must pair Rosie up with an older woman mentor figure, why the genocidal asshole?? Like, I guess some people can ignore plot for romance but I'm not one of them; I look at a character's ENTIRE character and history. It's just absurd.

Hard agree. I thought it was going to be a one-off heat-of-the-moment thing in that one mimo but no apparently this is a real relationship happening with a metaphorical Hitler??

I don't know what to think at this point. SC touted itself as a sort of safe-space media but this romance goes hard into triggering & problematic territory. "WTF" really is the best word for it.

—Mod Marie🌸

#sister claire critical #shipping issues #found this in my drafts whoops

[sister-claire-critical]

I sincerely hope that Ash/Yamino are moving OUT of Hawaii. Them moving there never sat right with me, for all of the reasons a previous anon said. Maybe they figured out why it was so disrespectful and selfish to move to Hawaii at all.

Hm, same!

Speaking from experience, not going to Hawaii is very, very easy. I'm always surprised when people manage to fail at it.

—Mod Marie🌸

#sister claire critical #yamino critical

[sister-claire-critical]

Hey! I’ve been trying to google this because it’s been bothering me/ I really loved Sister Claire when I found it during my highschool years and haven’t read it in ages. I had a few problems with the material back then because certain plot beats and situations felt…. Unsavoury I guess? Or questionable to say the least.

All this to ask: How old is Sister Claire the character? Because I remember always being bothered that she was “pregnant” while looking and seeming very underage?? Idk 😭

She is in fact of age! I think she's 18 at the start of the story. I don't have a source for this because they never state it in the comic or in any easily-accessible material.

I also thought she was a young teen when I started reading, felt a little better upon learning her actual age, but book 1 still does really feel like she and the twins are supposed to be (younger) teenagers. I wonder sometimes if the canon age was a retcon.

—Mod Marie🌸

#sister claire critical

[sister-claire-critical]

I'm going back through the comic for a couple of reasons, and the second page is the creators' page--with Laura credited as editor. I get that they have other things to do, but if I'd had a falling out or whatever with someone, I'd go back and make sure to update stuff. I guess that it is fair to keep Laura credited as editor, however, since she was the editor for so long. What's you all's take? It's just weird to see so many references to Laura throughout the site when she's been gone for a few years.

Similarly ambivalent; we had a similar ask here. It's hard to tell if the credit is kept up on purpose or not since the site is rarely updated. I agree it's weird. I have seen other comics keep people on the credit page after they left, but usually it's specified what part of the work the person contributed to. In the grand scheme of things, however, I don't think this is an egregious trespass.

—Mod Marie 🌸

#sister claire critical #laura's absence

[sister-claire-critical]

It's becoming more and more clear to me that The Sister Claire Team has "Game of Thrones" Syndrome. They got too enamoured of their characters and worldbuilding and so went off on years-long tangents about stuff that ultimately doesn't serve the direct plot. Now, when they're burnt out and want to be done, they're nowhere *near* close enough to a fully-realized and logical conclusion. So they--much like the Game of Thrones show writers did--are writing half-assed, nonsensical endings just to finish. Whereas GRRM himself is still in his "let's go on another pointless side quest!" era.

It seems to me that despite being burnt out, they're also still committed to their original vision, so much so that they refuse to make even simple changes that would make their jobs easier. Like "just cut this one little sidequest" is impossible for some reason (e.g. Abby/Rosie).

—Mod Marie 🌸

#sister claire critical #plot resolution #the burnout issue

[sister-claire-critical]

I can't help but find Ash's comments under the newest MiMo (the one where Yolanda is upside down) a little grating, but mostly instilling in me a deep sense of pity & some confusion.

If they'd been planning this plot beat for 8 years, that puts it in 2016, during which Sister Claire has a lengthy chapter with the side-cast exploring an abandoned city to find special scrap metal for Olga that goes nowhere & develops almost nothing. The MiMo's explain the fact that the world is post-apocalyptic, while it's nice to see it depicted visually that wasn't really needed narratively.

They just as easily could have written it so the technology Olga needs to walk could be found in a pile of scrap in field somewhere & not an abandoned city they have to do a whole side-quest-trek to get into. Or just make it so regular assistive devices made of regular metal still work on her!

It's beautifully drawn & provides SOME bits of plot I guess but it like, takes so long to get there & is annoying to read even years out now where I can just rush through it & not have to wait for updates.

The whole city thing could have been cut. SO MUCH COULD HAVE BEEN CUT! If they knew where they were going, they didn't have to meander so much in the inbetween. We could have gotten to these other plot points sooner & these poor creatives could have moved on from this story to rest.

Great example. I think that plot arc is right around the height of the authors setting up way too many things they'd have to come back to later. It's like they were in way too deep to realize the terrible things they had wrought on their future selves. It's kind of fascinating, in a very sad way.

—Mod Marie 🌸

#sister claire critical #plot resolution

[sister-claire-critical]

The newest MiMos confirmed that at least Maman knows about Abe/Rosie AND that Abe is in love with Rosie. Haven't they only been in direct contact for a few months, tops? Even if I were into the ship (I'm very much not), how have they had any time in between duties and patrols to really bond? Why are so many of the newer ships so rushed? Why even include Abe/Rosie so close to the end if they were just going to speed past any development and growth?

no listen it's fine because— (airplane passing overhead)

—Mod Marie 🌸

#sister claire critical #shipping issues

[sister-claire-critical]

Happy New Year, mods. I counted the pages - SC had 66 comic pages in 2023. Their Patreon promises 2 pages a week based on the current amount of money coming in. From that, I'll subtract a week off for Yamino's birthday, a week off for Ash's birthday, a week off for Christmas, a week off for New Year's, and two weeks off for miscellaneous emergencies, which I think is generous enough. That still adds up to 92 pages per year. They did not come anywhere near close to what I consider a very reasonable threshold, nor did they come anywhere near close to fulfilling their Patreon promise.

Patrons need to start holding the Duo accountable. I have been paying money out of my own wallet to support Yamino and Ash's work on this comic for close to five years. I think I deserve at least an explanation, if not an apology, if not a change in their behavior. That's my two cents.

Thank you, good soldier, for doing the math for us.

As a patron, how do you plan to hold them accountable? I don't know how Patreon works or if you're able to contact them to ask why you aren't getting what was promised to you, but that's what I'd suggest, since just from a customer service perspective you aren't getting what you paid for. As it is, just judging by past history, I don't think you're going to be getting an explanation or an apology or a change.

Beyond that, there's not much to do besides stop paying them? I'm sorry for the bad experience.

—Mod Marie 🌸

#sister claire critical #patreon

[sister-claire-critical]

i don't give a shit about Abe's past in relation to her character but I am excited to see more world-building. I love a good it was earth all along apocalypse after the end story.

Genuinely, glad someone's enjoying it!

—Mod Marie 🌸

#sister claire critical #sister claire positive

[sister-claire-critical]

I have to say it's so surreal seeing Abraham walking about all free and being (somewhat) chummy with the main cast. Especially since she's been this homicidal, merciless, lawful evil for YEARS. I'm sure some people like the new "sorta-redeemed" Abraham, but it just feels so OOC that it's like fanfiction for their own comic at this point. (Then again, they shipped her with their fave character Rosie. I guess it's fanfiction that became canon like most of their ships in the comic).

it's fine

—Mod Marie 🌸

#sister claire critical

[sister-claire-critical]

Newest MIMO confirms that Maman at least is explicitly aware of Abe/Rosie, appears not to mind, and I am APPALLED.

mmmm... cool

(I think it's this page, for anyone wondering)

—Mod Marie 🌸

#sister claire critical #shipping issues

[sister-claire-critical]

deeply upset now that the story is clearly coming to a close & loose ends are being tied up with little extra room now for embellishment that the popular old american western folk song "Oh My Darling, Clementine" never featured in the series to any degree whatsoever /hj

MY GOD YOU'RE RIGHT

(what do you mean HALF joking)

—Mod Marie 🌸

#sister claire critical #truly the greatest literary crime #plot resolution