#229-231 - Conclusion

[Tychomonger]

#229 - Fall In Spring

#230 - The Long Birthday

#231 - Book Endplate

View all three as one long megapage on the from the front page!

Heh, what a nice ending. I bet Aoi is enjoying ascended life the most out of all of them. He always struck me as a "wandering endlessly through my own mind" sort of guy.

Congratulations on finishing the story! Hooray for Jennifer!



Goodbye Fuschia, Heliotrope, and all the rest!

[meatwhichdreams]

They're holding hands with themselves.

[Zev]

Fantastic ending. I still can't believe its actually over though! I was reading this thing in highscool and now I'm in almost my fourth year of college!

Pastel to me has always been just one of the best drawn, most well written comics(Along with UJ) that I feel no other online comic has yet to come anywhere near.

I look forward to all of Jenny's work in the following years.

[draque]

Congrats on the completion of another project, Jen! I like how the type of body is the same for the couples. Similar customizations of identity for people close to one another is an interesting concept. I did have a question about the end though... Heliotrope was never human to begin with and Fuschia had merged with a living machine. Why were they so set on retaining humanity when only one of them had it to begin with?

[RaharuAharu]

Wow. Fantastic.

This is by no means the end really, there are a 100 more stories to tell in this time line alone 100,000 years worth really ^_^

I want to know how they came across that old Krawlni Junker.

[Nick]

If - and it is a big if- humanity ever makes it to a post-singularity golden age, the possibility for mass ressurrection will be there. But the next question is who would do such a thing, and why would they bother?

It's rather difficult to guess at the motivation of creatures so far removed from us. In order to do so, we have to anthropomorphize our ideas of them. Without doing that "self preservation" is the only motive they'd be sure to have for doing anything, although it probably can't be applied to this situtation, and there are bound to be other motives that could over-ride "self preservation."

We could make wild guesses, and any number of them would be plausible.

Why were they so set on retaining humanity when only one of them had it to begin with?

Helio had humanity. She copied it from her Papa and Fuschia and the green-screen talky pictures box. Cursor had humanity also, specifically Fuschia's humanity, even before it merged with Fuschia wholly.

And then you have to wonder what exactly they mean by "essential humanity." It's kind of vague.

Also, I don't get the impression that they were striving to maintain their humanity. Rather, it seemed like Aoi was simply marveling at the fact that their humanity had survived anyway.

[ParryLost]

Yay, awesome! ^o^ I liked the bit that neo-Fuschia herself didn't realize the full extent of her abilities because Cursor was obsolete, but instead did something silly, but heroic, while inspired by love. Yay! ^o^

And a great Utopian ending, still with plenty of possibilities and adventures to imagine... ^_^

It really is strange to think that this story is really over!

[Lonesome Echidna]

Wow.... What an ending!

When it was announced that the last page was to be posted this Wednesday, this past Monday I ended up having a dream about Pastel Defender Heliotrope. It was about what the ending could be like, although it was pretty far from how it officially ended today. Basically it was that Fushia was able to restore Heliotrope and they both retired to a world that resembled the Canadian rockies. They had a very nice modern-styled cottage that was placed deep within the forest near a waterfall. I can't remember the rest of the dream but I can recall they lived a very happy ending in that forest. I know that's far from how the story really ends though, but maybe Fushia, Heliotrope and their loved ones have visited a technological post-singularity version of a forest at some point or something.

Man...I'm gonna really miss those characters... It's amazing how four years go by like that eh? So much development in the art through all those pages...it is an incredible achievement! I'm so glad the ending was at least very happy! I was afraid it would be tragic instead. I love the designs you've made for the character's new forms, they look very toy-like in a very contemporary style.

Congrats on finishing your wonderful story Jennifer! I assure you that your story was a very enjoyable experience and I've learned a lot from it as well. Your webcomics have been my biggest favorites to read during the thick and thin times of my life. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful work with us! Give yourself a big pat on the back and treat yourself to something very nice for all your hard work! I look forward to your future stories and artwork!!

[Skatche]

Hooray, it's over!

I have to say I was getting pretty tired of PDH, but the bit of satire right at the end made it worthwhile.

Does this mean we'll be getting To Save Her three days a week from now on?

[Jennifer Diane Reitz]

Hooray, it's over!

I have to say I was getting pretty tired of PDH, but the bit of satire right at the end made it worthwhile.

Does this mean we'll be getting To Save Her three days a week from now on?

To Save Her will continue as normal until it's conclusion whenever. It will, in fact, be moved up to the top of the page at one point, as the active comic.

Since I blew myself out finishing Pastel, there may be a delay until the next TSH (I haven't drawn it yet, see) unless I get real ambitious. But if there is a delay, it would only be for a few days, so hang in there, 'Kay?

And, I was getting pretty tired of PDH too, if it is any consolation. It...needed...to... END.

[Zev]

Oh but now that I think of it, I have so many questions! How did it work out for the Jellys of Pastel? Did they and humanity ever make up? And exactly how many people did Fushia and Helio revive? I just thinking how sweet it would be if they brought back Chartreuse just before she was torn to shreds by the mob.

And what of Meiun and K'chk? They kinda just dissapered there. I'd like to think that Meiun stuck around to help his pal fix up that now fed universe. And since K'chk is the last of her kind, how will the universe be repopulated I wonder?

[Iustinus]

Congratulations Jenny! I'm proud you got us all the way through, and can't wait for Takozushi (I've been dying to see what you do with it for ages now!)

[draque]

And, I was getting pretty tired of PDH too, if it is any consolation. It...needed...to... END.

Wanted to wait until after I had posted the congrats to post something a little more critical... In both this and UJ, it seemed like you burnt out just before the end. Maybe in the future, you should make the last month's worth of comics a few months early? It just felt like both UJ and PDH wrapped up at a breakneck speed, particularly the last 2 or 3 strips of each one. More than anything, I was curious what was going to happen to Kitkat, which kind of seemed to be glossed over entirely... even if the universe was kind of evil, it was really interesting.

[andvari]

Congratulations on finishing Pastel! Wonderful closure scene. One thing though: the different loose threads. Do you plan to do something with some of the characters later? And I would love to know where the found a Krawlni Junker. So many things I would love to know about and so little time to post in. Have to jet, eat and then work.

[Jennifer Diane Reitz]

Loose Ends:

This is an issue, I know. Yes, it is true that by the end of a multi-year project I get very burned out, so the endings go quickly.

But there are other factors at play here too, besides just me burning out.

I am a fan of martial arts films, Hong Kong cinema, and these movies generally end very abruptly, at least the older ones I love do - the hero/s finally beat the shit out of the Big Bad, there is like one second of them going 'YEAH!' slam to black, roll credits. This is very dramatic to me.

To me, the loose ends are all tied up, because they are clearly implied. In the martial arts movie, everyone left alive lives happily ever after. It's obvious that the wiry guy with the Monkey Fist will go back to his noodle shop, and that the Iron Leg Sage will go back to his monastery. It's what they would do.

By the same token, it just seems obvious to me, at least, what has already happened by the time we get to see Helio +100,000. Clearly they have brought Hannya and Ransei back, and installed them in new bodies, and have been hanging out with them on and off for centuries. We can automatically assume that Chartreuse would have been rescued, and every effort made to make her finally happy, because what happened to her is easily Heliotrope's greatest regret. It affected a lot of her actions throughout the story. We know Heliotrope's character, and we can be certain that with such power to rescue the long dead, she would use it to take care of those things that haunt her, like Chartreuse. I mean, wouldn't you?

We can further assume, quite reasonably, that with the compassion of Fuschia guiding the program, that there was almost certainly some process put in place, almost certainly a job forced on the MinYan as atonement, to rescue countless others, perhaps even everyone, everywhere, that ever lived.

As for Ktlikitkaktl; with energy more than sufficient, and with nothing but empty room, it would be easy to imagine that K'Chk would end up playing host to countless revived beings, and Ktlikitkaktl would become a garden spot of the multiverse, once it thawed completely out, and became all green and lovely. We can imagine K'Chk becoming the gracious host of the most marvelous vacation spot in the metacosmos... and likely the first awakening place for newly-revived beings. As for Meiun, I would suspect he would probably want to go exploring... out there.

By showing the lives of our core group millennia in the future, automatically I assume the reader understands that Fuschia and Heliotrope actually did what they agreed to do while they were falling, and that in the act of still caring about birthdays and family, their character had not deeply changed, and that compassion must have guided how they dealt with the power of resurrection in those ages past.

I guess I assume the reader, like me, would just naturally set up a system to save everyone, if they could, and had eternity anyway. Why not? It's kind and generous and compassionate.

For me, knowing the hearts of the characters by their actions, all the loose ends are tied up. If it is loving and heroic, Fuschia and Heliotrope will do it, and Ran and Hannya will likely be involved, one way or another. That's who they are. For me, the rest is detail, food for fanfics and daydreaming. The core of the story completed, there is something left for the reader to imagine beyond the story for themselves.

Maybe that is not the best for everyone. I can understand that. I like that sort of ending - which I get a great deal of in foreign films of all kinds, not just martial arts movies. I've seen this sort of thing in French animation, Japanese animation, films from Europe, and from the Pacific Rim. The core issue is resolved, big hurrah, but the details of the lives of the characters afterwards are left to speculation, based on having gotten to know them. I rather like that delicious flavor, and some things I've seen, or read, have left me delightfully pondering 'what happened next' for weeks.

So there is burnout, yes. But there is also what I have tried to describe above as well. Both influence my endings, I am beginning to learn. This is, after all, only my third completed epic comic in my entire life (I'm including Cosmochronicles, http://unicornjelly.com/cosmocover.htm because, hey, it is an epic story, even if it was done when I was only 11-ish).

[Monocheres]

I guess I assume the reader, like me, would just naturally set up a system to save everyone, if they could, and had eternity anyway. Why not? It's kind and generous and compassionate.

To a first approximation, I'd agree ... but, everyone? Including, for instance ... Caligula? Jeffrey Dahmer? Hitler?

Are you entirely sure about that?

[Monocheres]

The core issue is resolved, big hurrah, but the details of the lives of the characters afterwards are left to speculation, based on having gotten to know them. I rather like that delicious flavor, and some things I've seen, or read, have left me delightfully pondering 'what happened next' for weeks.

Leaving fertile ground for sequels.

Or fan fiction.

[ParryLost]

Abrupt endings can be awesome. ^_^

I would complain, however, that sometimes a lot of the stuff feels abrupt DURING the story. >_> For me, imagining what wonderful things the characters could do now that the story ended is something I always do after I finish reading or watching any tale... but this point about abrupt endings just reminded me of a lot of abruptness at different points in the past. It seems to be almost a story-telling style... but one that often leaves me, at least, very confused and, well, somewhat unsatisfied. >_< For example, to be honest, I never did actually figure out what the significance of Hannya going back to the crashed floating island was... and other bits like that... I guess there, too, enough is implied that we can figure everything out on our own... but it would be nice if more of it got tied up and finished, somehow... thinking back over the course of Pastel as I remember it, I just keep getting this feeling of fragments and abandoned, unfinished business lying here and there, and my mind doesn't know what to do with them... >_>

[Alfador]

The cake is true.

Utterly beautiful ending.

[ThingOfThing]

And They All Lived Happily Ever After!