Comic: A Different Aftermath

[@ashleylightheart126]

As crazy as it sounds, the "saved" world reminds me a lot of my country, Singapore. Even along the tourist areas you see plants planted along grass almost everywhere, nature is abundant here and it gets better further away from the main city area! Its not as crazy as forests and it has a lot of man made Its not purely nature but the fact that nature wasn't forced out but built around to the point that there are swamps and groves beside a beach with barbecue pit, a horse rental and a bicycle shop yet some how still have man made paths for safety kinda makes me happy a little. My country has messed a lot of things up but its nice to know that despite everything they're still trying their best to make sure nature grows with us and not against. I just hope we don't get giant roses, we have too much of an elderly population and I ain't carrying down my neighbors from the 17th floor

[@willowarkan2263]

I live along the rhine and plants also have a habit of springing up anywhere. Of course local governments work hard to kill it all. From using literal flamethrowers to burn off anything green on the edges of obsessively mowed lawns, to the aforementioned mowing on large open fields of public land, usually right before a rainless few weeks, as if to ensure the soil dries out and as much of the plants growing there die. Still life tries hard, I once saw some broccoli that had escaped from somewhere growing on the side of the road next to some trees, unfortunately the next time i passed the area around the trees looked like it had been scoured of life, maybe one of those gas powered flamethrowers had been passed over the soil leaving it dry and dead. Still the small town I work in, I live in a bigger city and stay with family when I am in the small town for work, anyway the town is quite green and there's wild rabbits and ducks all over the place. The former have taken to hanging out in the small patches of tall vegetation surrounding the trees at my workplace, since the town clearcutters aren't allowed too close anymore because they keep cutting into the hydration bags of the trees, which all already have holes from mowers because they didn't keep enough distance and possibly still don't for all the trees. The hydration bags also come from the town government, my employing institution leases the land from the town, so likely that's why they care if they are damaged.

[@AbstractStew]

I rarely laugh and cry at the same time. This is one of those times.

[@greensteve9307]

As a scientists, recording your failures is just as valuable as recording your success.

[@AFNAFworldfan]

“Who the [beep] planted lemon balm in the ground” - person at 5:23

[@KnittingTinker]

The difference between just fucking around and science, is writing down what you learned

[@strandedgeek]

Tumblr was the place that introduced the concept of Solar Punk an alternate future style that would love this comic in away. Because the idea with Solar Punk is that if people had the kind of hopeful attitude about nature & life now like they they did in this comic, we could have the greener nicer world again much sooner & better. Having eco-friendly tech & positive ideals in ways that says "No, we won't let our home fall to ruin. If we really try, we can prevent things like this from happening."

[@gothnerd887]

I wish more futuristic media used the Solarpunk aesthetic

[@katielovably3645]

The "grab a shovel or shut up, George." Got me for some reason. It's seemed funny.

[@LazyNVersions]

I always sigh when I see a perfectly kept green grass lawn I live in Wyoming, green grass isn’t normal here. I love the orange and purple wildflowers we have but people only see them as weeds. I keep a planter of a random spot in the dirt that now grows wildflowers, not purple or orange but yellow. Yellow flowers that remind me of lavender, while another planter is filled with mint, reminding me that plants are stubborn, and hope is too. (Seriously, my grandma keeps mint and it grew into some of her paving bricks because mint is stubborn)

[@linneathesystemsdruid308]

Where I live we’re supposed to be on the edge of forests and swamps and prairie, a unique and beautiful collision of biomes. But no, I get to see a bunch of identical lawns. I’m gonna start throwing wildflower seeds into my neighbors yard this year in part because I don’t like my neighbor and in part because we need more biodiversity. I’m even gonna look to see if I can’t cox any protected plants to grow in there yard so they can’t legally remove them or use herbicide

[@seanmcfadden3712]

Reminds me of how fortunate I and some of my neighbours were during the lockdowns. I live out of town and in a fairly rural area. I live on a property with a decent few acres, so I had plenty of room to walk around and get outside without leaving the property. I live somewhere where I do get to see wildlife fairly regularly, but during the lockdowns, they did noticeably increase in number. Especially the local mob of kangaroos. Some years prior, the area had been hit by a large bushfire (it actually has a Wikipedia article, the 2006 Junee Bushfire, if anyone is curious) and the mob was decimated by it. After that fire, more houses got built nearby, and the kangaroos naturally kept their distance, so you didn't see them as often either. But during the lockdowns, they returned in number. Not as many as before the fire, but more than I had seen of that mob in a long time.

[@dinoankylosaurus]

It's been a while since I've run into any of Wombat's stuff. They have a gentle way of getting right to the heart of what's really important. Thank you for sharing!

[@ZaChemas]

this, instead of making me cry or sad, made me calm, idk why, but i really needed this, i dont think this could have come at a better timing, thanks

[@polasamierwahsh421]

surprised food and clean water were not an issue to give to animals , in most post apoc settings its the lack of both that kills any large settlements yet they had enough to go around and even get nature enough blood(water) that it can work its magic very nice

[@savvivixen8490]

Part of the reason we have the pets we do is because of their uncanny compatibility for working with us on acquiring those very things. Dogs and cats have a sharp enough sense of smell to track (and lead people to) potable water. They are capable hunters, ready and willing to share their exploits with their chosen families. They are often loyal, and steadfast partners that pull well beyond than their weight in workshare. There's a reason we've worked closely with these pets for thousands of years, and it's the same reasons we'll most like be working alongside them for thousands more.

[@izthistle6196]

I just cried my eyes out in the parking lot. I have only cried like this once recently when I was watching Sweet Tooth

[@RubyCheetahCub]

"Either grab a shovel or shut up, George"

[@pixelbee8349]

This is amazingly beautiful, Betti. Thank you for this.

[@TheYeek-04]

haven't cried in forever, this is just what i needed. thank you :')

[@chaospuppy6730]

This comic had me in a cold fear until it turned it into hope. Maybe we can turn this around, once we get out of our own way

[@gigithehedgehog8469]

The planet has an amazing way of repairing itself. The lemon balm bit really had me going. 😂 That stuff spreads like you wouldn't believe. Smells great though.

[@NuggetGal]

That's the thing with giving up hope, even if things wont be the same, even if the best is behind us, even if itll take a lot of time, or effort, or thought, even if we could be doing it in a better way, it will always be worth it to try to make things better again. Giving up is succumbing to the despair inside of you, to let it win. Giving up means things *won't* become better. Ever. No matter what, dont give up champ. It is trying that makes things better. Even if you cant try now for safety concerns, even if you cant try now for survival needs reasons, even if you cant try now for mental health reasons, never give up waiting for the opportunity. The opportunity to try and make things better. Everyone relies on everyone to keep trying. We'll be here with you champ. Never give up trying.

[@Manzana1C]

"Bet in a hearthbeat" OH MY GOD !!!!!

[@pixelbee8349]

This is giving me City of Ember/People of Sparks vibes and i am HERE FOR IT-

[@DannyboyO1]

Oh, right, when the wombat was experimenting with AI "art" just to see if they could actually make anything with it. This is that experiment. Everybody's a silhouette because that hides a lot of AI flaws. IIRC, their conclusion was "technically, it could be used to make art... technically. In very specific fashion." As this was not the story the wombat wanted to make, it was the one that could be shoehorned into what the AI vomited up. I'd largely forgotten about this. It got rather swallowed up by the rest of the AI hype train. An actual artist and storyteller's experiment. A product of the pandemic, as well.

[@abigailgriffin-wc3fm]

This is beautiful!

[@gopeshpanda1529]

Videos like this is what makes me not losse faith in humanity : )

[@strandedgeek]

Honestly there were times where I do find it oddly & hauntingly beautiful of seeing Nature over grown a city and yet this idea something I think makes this story is the prettiest take on the idea that we manage to live & nature is powerful enough to survive even us. There's apparently a very special bunker (and there is clear photos to prove this is in fact real) that houses every species of plants & crops that not only do they keep for study but it's basically a plant version of Noah's Ark. And I like that we are trying to find serious legit reasons to take better care of our planet & maybe finding ways so that even if we do royally screw up we have some kind of back up in place so that our recovery won't be such a chore to go through.

[@hoodiekid8439]

i knew the birdhouse would come back

[@rachel6239]

Wow. This had me in goosebumps. It was so good, don't know what else to say. :)

[@corvusgaming2379]

Reminds me of a small story I'm writing. Set "post-apocalyptic" but not in the usual sense. Instead of a virus, parasite, war, aliens, the usual, it was just, anime characters invading the real world. As far as the main characters knew for the majority of the story, it's only been in the state they're in. But, it's actually global (in the story, that is.) and it just started in that state. Usual government procedures, you know. Nobody allowed in, nobody allowed out.

[@seanp.3091]

Have you released this story to read anywhere?

[@corvusgaming2379]

@@seanp.3091 It’s still being made. I plan to release it when it’s done though, and if it does well I’ll maybe make it a series.

[@Silver_Crow144]

Your voice is perfect for this and I feel like I'm about to cry cuz of it 😭

[@Funhaus_Fr34k]

gosh I would love some sort of city that was all overgrown but still functioning

[@commanderfoxtrot]

Obviously, there will still be a collapse, and it's gonna take a little time to get back on our feet, but 1) what rises after will be better than anything we've ever had in history and 2) it's not like we'll get reverted to the stone age when it happens - there'll still be a lot of things that help us push above and beyond where we were before. Building a better world takes sacrifice and patience, but it's well worth it.

[@frogmaiden6015]

I think about getting some lame joke about being hope pilled but na sometimes you just need true genuine not sarcastic hope

[@AbstractStew]

Also, does this seem like the beginning of some sort of Final Fantasy type RPG to anyone else?

[@daviddohan1808]

God... the ending was so good, i loved it ❤

[@AFNAFworldfan]

Kaplan’s bird house wasn’t useless after all

[@glorygrandeur7545]

Tries not to cry, crys anyway 🥲

[@RainMarrlen]

this legitimately started making me tear up

[@JJ-qz1dg]

Thank you for helping me find this This channel is one of the few things that has me hopeful of our future I hope one day i can fill my life with lights of constant hope and joy, and not the short lived candles that I have now But only time will tell, see ya later

[@leyrua]

As they say, misery loves company. So let them keep each ONE-ANOTHER company... the rest of us have work to do.

[@donnietidwell965]

This is amazing, and i find it great that a simple story like this can fit into most stories and make sense And for those who want to look at it from a different perspective, look at it with the context of the destiny franchise cuz that's all i could think about (tho i wish i could look at it without that unrelated context so that it can potentially hit even harder)

[@Rylea-castsfireball]

I'd love a tv show about something like this or maybe a videogame. Then again a dnd campain about this kind of story sounds like fun. At least to me it does.

[@DummyDrawsStuff]

Its enough to make a grown man cry. The thought that we will somehow pull through, makes me think that... maybe there is a chance for us.

[@lavendarghostie]

This is so amazing it makes me want to cry. I have felt the despair so many times before. This makes me think of a line in a song that always hit hard for me. "We can't go back we've gone to far" from video killed the radio star. I love this

[@bap3227]

YES THIS!!! SO TRUE!! ITS GONNA BE REAL (with a few government rules changed to actually let it happen) SOON!!

[@MegaGaming11]

That's beautiful

[@1CatBurger]

This is a nice feeling, thanks for taking the time to cover this

[@rukeyazu8669]

I love it. Thank you for sharing this.

[@jomoser3765]

This actually made me cry cause this feels so close to now. I'm glad we don't live in this world but i do miss the sound of frogs. They didn't come yet this summer and i fear they might not come back. The frog swamp spot is drying up in this heat i can see the dirt below stained green by algae. I haven't heard the mourning doves they refused to call this year but I've glimpsed rock doves. I'm not hearing cicadas but that's to be expected. And yet the bees, the carpenter, honey, and small fuzzy yellow bees are back. I'd missed them so much. The birds are singing and the rabbits are out again. The corn across my road sustained the return of cardinals. I live in the countryside yet everything seems to have left. Maybe it was the fires or the pollution. And i lacked hope but seeing this comic, reminded me of nature existing again around me. I'd gone numb from silence of fall through spring. I grew numb to the missing sound of frogs and crows not calling. Yet today i feel more hopeful. Hopeful that tomorrow the nature heals more. The future is unstable and unpredictable. There's always a piece of randomized RNG to it. However today the chances seem bright and maybe tomorrow it'll be grey. But perhaps grey isn't bad. Just maybe perhaps grey just signals the incoming rains that'll revive the dry land. Maybe grey means the fur of new born bunnies, or the down of snow geese babies. Perhaps grey means the sun will come tomorrow but today the storm is waking up all the little salamanders and lizards. And as the water falls on their tiny heads maybe the grey and the quiet will once more return loud. It's just a thought and maybe that's all i need, a thought to pull me out of the numbness and make me see, that the world is healing in more ways than one. Maybe time will make it okay again. But that's for tomorrow today is now and now i think I'll open the blinds and watch the seed birds rip apart their treats from the trees.

[@nelitogorostiza16]

I feel really conflicted about this one. Ok, I'm sort of a "lost causes lawyer" here in Mexico, that means I'm into environmental stuff too. Some things that the "critics" say in this comic, are actually things that I say almost on a daily basis, and most of the time I get called a pessimist by my "first world" friends and colleagues, they call for me to have the optimism this comic pushes, for just doing "the small things to make the world a better place". I fucking hate that, climate activists down here literally get killed by hitmen hired by the corporations that are eco-friendly in their home countries. The "aftermath" this comic portrays could very well be the case for first world/industrialized nations citizens, but for my people?, we'll just die in slow agony, like our indigenous people do right now. It made me feel all this... damn, this is some good art.

[@crazycookie9000]

This is so beautiful 😭. Thank you for sharing this 💖

[@piikivi8532]

I love T. Kingfisher. They write great books

[@Danka42]

Ah yes, that's the stuff. It throws my heart into meat grinder and I'm here for it ❤

[@jackslater8573]

god I love the soft apocalypse genre

[@mr.zafner8295]

Thanks. This was so lovely

[@dumkenadine1268]

Very amazing this comic Video

[@generalzeta7000]

This gives me hope for a better future.

[@BusinessOferrets]

this. this is absolutely beautiful i hope that this is what happens after the collapse. this almost made me cry on the fist wach and it still dose i hope you have a beautiful day my friends 🧡

[@kathleendechman8136]

I wish I could like this twice.

[@wizardfoxangel5300]

Oooh this is so nice 😊

[@justsomeguywithamustache3489]

Why stufflike this always shows up at late hours for me, now i cant sleep

[@justas423]

Wonderful story, but the use of AI art kinda feels...weird and not connected entirely to the message.

[@PoorlyMadePurpleSocks]

I SO WANNA RUN A D&D CAMPAIGN IN THIS WORLD YOU

[@hellinahandbaschetwith4cats]

damm, i didn't know crying was on todays menu of stuff to do

[@IrregularityRowan]

Lets go Mrs. Kaplan!!!!

[@emanueleromano2633]

this comic in the real life: murder and torture, constant war, and exploit, lots of exploit.

[@trdrudedude6099]

They never mentioned the return of foxes ... I hope this isn't the future i get

[@saif-0_0-]

The foxes were probably too sneaky maybe they didn't leave or maybe they don't want you to know the truth>:)

[@nettlesandsnakes9138]

1:19 you go breed those weirdly, pollinated tomatoes, I’m sure they’ll thrive.

[@Show.Theater]

Solar punk my beloved

[@kugikvist]

the frogs got a like out of me :-)

[@darinae34]

Miss Bettina I want you to know that your frog sounds fuckin broke me. In a good way. Thank you for this !!

[@PeoplecallmeLucifer]

It won't be until the last tree is fell, the last bison dies and the last river runs dry that man will understand THAT WE CAN NOT EAT MONEY!!!

[@elijahmunoz6755]

thank you 🙂

[@Chokun-Gaming]

Basically Metallic Madness good future from Sonic CD

[@EJKMuffin]

what about the world outside of the city? obviously those animals didn't come from nowhere. and the plants that weren't in the parks had to come from somewhere else as well. i wan't to see the wild beautiful countryside of this "after the end" world

[@greengardener517]

So lovely. Thank you. (Music is slightly too loud compared to your voice, btw).

[@nubby_chan]

Wonderful narration of hopeful comic!!!! What is the guitar track at the start and beginning?

[@kayakingrivers7394]

You should really do one of the loving reaper comics, by Jenny jinya

[@Karak-_-]

Pretty bold assunption that people would survive, but otherwise nice.

[@henreymichelson]

It humans we refuse to die no greater motivation to find away then extinction

[@awaredeshmukh3202]

Even if the "end of world" comes by way of environmental collapse, we won't ALL die. We're too widespread to be extincted so easily. There's still going to be people on the other side, with shitty quality of life, sure, but still alive. And the better we do now, the less shitty their lives will be even if the "end" does come. Assuming *everyone* dies lets us stop caring about what happens next, but that's not what "collapse" actually looks like. Cultures that collapsed don't just all die. There were still people on Easter Island after they collapsed. There are still ethnic Mayans, despite that society's collapse. It's not "rocks fall, everyone dies", so it's not an easy out

[@Monte_Carlo451]

Terranil? Is this your lore?

[@nathanj202]

Exactly what I was thinking!

[@TheQueerLeaf]

❤️

[@SomeName_AlsoHandlesSucc]

Why dose the art look ai be generated

[@usedtobekrampus]

is this hand drawn!?

[@sarbe6625]

Is this post using AI art? That's kinda disappointing.

[@the_boggert_personal]

Can confirm, unfortunately.. You can see the plant leaves meld into the background in one panel.

[@iker2333]

Actually i think thats just King Fishers artstyle, this comic is a lot older than this video, and a lot older than image generation

[@the_boggert_personal]

@@iker2333 oh, really? cool

[@noirethorne]

Unfortunately from what I’ve seen the images were indeed made by ai and they just shoehorned what story fit with it. From what another comment mentioned wombat was experimenting to see if ai could make anything that resembled art, and that’s why all the people look like silhouettes, as that hides a lot of the flaws of ai.

[@sarbe6625]

@@noirethorne that's very sad, and honestly kind of ironic considering the content of the video.

[@kaedesakura9274]

I don't like the new thumbnails