You probably saw Deacon’s declaration coming before Jeff did. In Jeff’s defense, though, outside of his Mom, this is the first time someone’s ever said this to him. And really, who could question those pretty Panel 8 eyes?

We have new Fan Art by ~MrFluffysnout! It’s Jeff, naked and “Posing For The Artist” (click ~MrFluffysnout’s name on the Fan Art page to see the uncensored version.) Thanks, ~MrFluffysnout!

***THIS IS A BONUS PAGE!****

The twelfth in a row! An even dozen of reader awesomeness! Wow!

And the awesomeness continues because the donation bar has gone from $0 to $179 in just the last few days!

Special thanks to long-time supporters gordon g. (donating for the second week in a row!), Virginia H. (donating for the second time in a row!) & Micheal B. (who has now donated for the 14th week in a row! Unstoppably awesome!) and a warm welcome and grateful bow to new supporters Katrina O., Peter R., Tavares J., Craig R. (whom I met at Bent-Con—hi, Craig!) and Ida I. for their generous donations over the past few days.

Big hugs go out to long-time friend of Artifice, Tajuana M., for their super-generous $25 donation!

And OMG, thank-you-oh-so-much android strength hugs go out to Artifice super-heroes Bert M. and Andrew T. They both donated $50 on the same day (Holy cow!) and this makes the second hugely generous donation from Andrew in two weeks! You guys are rock stars!

I’m truly bowled over and humbled by your generosity. Thank you all very, very much!

I had a really great time over the weekend at BENT-CON where I got to meet some of my awesome readers like thisboybroken (Hi, Mark!). This being my first Con, there was a lot for me to learn, but the staff at BENT-CON and other creators really looked out for me, making what would have been hard work, very easy.

They’re going to be having BENT-CON again next year on Dec. 7, 8 & 9 and I’ll definitely be going, so be sure to save the date! (And if you’re interested in seeing pictures of the event, you can find a whole bunch on BENT-CON’s Facebook page!)

And… I’m happy to say that our next update on this Saturday the 10th is a special one. It’s a page I’ve been wanting to share with you for some time. Tell your friends and make sure you check it out—I think you’ll like it. 😀

DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! 12/8/11 9:30 PM: Thanks to your generous donations, we’ve hit the donation target yet again! So, in addition to the regular update this Saturday (page 57!), we’ll have a bonus update on Wednesday, 12/14! Awesome! Hope to see you there! 😀

Yeah, I’d look worried too, Jeff…

So, I was just saying to a friend on Thursday that it looked like our streak of bonus pages was going to be at an end. The donation bar was at $132 and it seemed unlikely that it was going to hit $250 by end of day Tuesday. Long-time supporter Michele M. got the ball rolling again with a generous donation on 11/30 (thank you, Michelle!), but there was still a long way to go.

And then bam! bam! Thursday night, two new, superstar friends of Artifice, Tommy R. and Virginia H. both donated $50 each, one right after the other! And then Friday evening new supporter Reginald H. donated $10 and finally Clidiane A. (donating for the 2nd week in a row!) added the last few dollars to put us over the top. So there will be a bonus page—Page 56!—this Wednesday, December 7th!

Wow, you guys—you’re awesome! Thank you so much! You rock! 😀

And now I need to get on the stick and get that bonus page—Page 56!—ready for Wednesday, December 7th! Which I’ll jump on…. on Monday! Because I’m at BENT-CON this weekend! Setting up my first table ever! So, if you’re in the neighborhood and want to come to a cool Con with lots of gay comics and stuff, please stop by and say hi!

Hmmm. With an upper torso like that, Deacon, I suppose I could put up with you calling my smile “goofy”. Maybe…

We have new Fan Art by ~jheaa—a tense, romantic moment of Jeff and Deacon, up close and staring into each others’ eyes. Thanks, ~jheaa!

***THIS IS A BONUS PAGE!***

The 11th in a row! O_O!

Special thanks go out to long-time supporters Tanya A., Mark L. & the unstoppable Micheal B. (who has now donated for a lucky 13 times in a row!) and a warm welcome and grateful bow goes out to new supporter Michael T. for their generous donations over the last few days!

I’m also sending out a big hug to new friend Andrew T. for their super generous $25 donation!

Thank you all so much!

The donation bar is finally working again so donations should now immediately show up (and the bar now includes all the donations made since the last bonus page, so that’s been fixed too.) And I’m working with the developer so this issue doesn’t ever come up again. Fingers crossed!

And if you’re going to be in Los Angeles this weekend, please stop by to visit me at my table at BENT-CON. I’m going to be selling our first ever Artifice prints (including one canon image too spicy for this ad-friendly webcomic) and it’s my first time ever tabling at a con. It’d be really awesome to see some friendly faces. So, please—stop by and say hello! 😀

(And if you’re a commenter, please let me know what name you go by on Disqus so I’ll know who you are. I really appreciate the thoughtful and morale-boosting comments here and it would be great to shake your hand!)

***DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! *** Friday, December 2nd, 11:00 P.M.: Thanks to your amazing generosity, the donation bar has just hit $250 which means that addition to the regular Saturday update (in just an hour!), there will be a bonus page—page 56!—this Wednesday, December 7th! Thank you all so much! 😀

I guess no one every said dating your human target would be easy, either…

We have new Fan Art from webcomics creator Astra Crompton. It’s an emotional moment between Jeff and Deacon called “Do Androids Kiss?” that feels spot-on with what’s going on here. Thanks, Astra!

We yet again hit our donation target so there will be a bonus page—Page 54—on Wednesday, November 30th! 😀

Special thanks to long-time supporters Meghan P. and Christina H. (who donated for the 2nd time in two weeks!) for their generous donations on Wednesday towards that bonus page.

And an android-strength hug goes out to long-time commenter Clidiane A. for putting us over the top with their very generous $15 donation!

In related news, after updating my bonus plugin this week, my donation bar hasn’t been working. 🙁 I’m receiving donations just fine, but the bar itself is staying stuck at $0. I’ve sent a message to the developer but haven’t heard back yet. I am happy to say, though, that awesome readers have still be donating—we’re actually up to $67—and in a sense, because the bar has been stuck at $0, they all deserve credit for being the “first to donate”!

Special thanks to long-time supporter Annalisa C. and a warm welcome and grateful bow to new supporter Elias R. for their generous donations over the past few days.

And big hugs go out to long-time friends of Artifice Darin M. and Larisa V. for their super-generous $25 donations. This makes the fourth $25 donation in a row from Larisa! (OMG!) Thank you so much! 😀

Finally, I’d like to remind everyone that I’ll be setting up my first Con table ever at BENT-CON next Saturday and Sunday, December 3rd and 4th. I’ll be selling Artifice prints there and it would be awesome to see some friendly faces. So if you’re going to be in LA that weekend, please stop by and say hi!

Jeff, dude, no one ever said dating your android assassin would be easy…

We have new Fan Art from Morganna, a re-envisioning of Deacon as something a bit more vulnerable on the outside. Thanks, Morganna!

And, of course

***THIS IS A BONUS PAGE!***

The tenth bonus page is a row! Woo hoo! 😀 Neither Winona nor I ever expected this kind of incredible and generous response to our work. You all rock!

And the donation bar is now just $25 away from the next bonus page! Special thanks to long-time supporters Carol M. & Micheal B. (who has now hit 12 weeks of donations in a row! An even dozen! Thank you, Micheal!) and a warm welcome and grateful bow to new supporters Christina H. and April M. for their generous donations over the past few days.

Big hugs go out to new friend Larry B. for their super-generous $25 donation and to long-time friend of Artifice Larisa V. who has now made their third $25 donation in a row! Wow! Thank you!

And… this is another one of my favorite scenes in the comic. It was especially fun to write dialogue of Deacon trying his best to respond to Jeff’s quite understandable insecurities while wrestling with his own. There are moments like these in all relationships that have deepened to a certain level. Jeff and Deacon’s relationship presents some unique challenges, but the feelings of being unsure of another’s love or even what your partner actually thinks of you, are universal, IMHO. And those feelings were fun for me to explore here.

Finally, let me wish all of my readers in the States a very Happy Thanksgiving. May you all be surrounded by tasty food and the people you love! 😀

DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! Wednesday, November 23rd, 9:00 AM: Thanks to your awesome generosity, the donation bar has yet again hit $250 which means that in addition to the regular update this Saturday, there will be another bonus page—Page 54—next Wednesday, November 30th! Thank you all so much!

UPDATE Friday, November 24th, 2:00 PM: So… I updated my donation bar plugin this week and after resetting it, it’s no longer working. 🙁 I’m getting the donations just fine, but the little green bar isn’t changing, instead it’s staying at $0. I’ve alerted the developer but haven’t heard back. For the time being, I’ll update the total here:

We’re currently at $67 in Donations towards the next bonus page.

Actually Deacon could, but that would at the very least add a rather unromantic note to their pillow-talk…

We have new Fan Art from long-time commenter EmperorMeiji, who wished to be credited as the “founding member of the Clarice Maven Appreciation Society”. And his art got me to laugh out loud. More than once. (Even my use of red outlines on the word balloons gets lampooned.) So you should totally check it out. 😀

Special thanks go out to long-time supporters Karen H., Brian d., Danielle D. & Kelly R. and new supporters Ciana C., John H., Tajuana M., Mary P. and Diane G. for their generous donations over the last few days bringing our donation bar up to $153. (And as I mentioned on Wednesday, thanks to those who donated previously, there will be a bonus page this Wednesday, November 23rd—page 52!)

And as I also mentioned on Wednesday, I’m going to have a table at BENT-CON on the weekend of December 3rd and 4th, where I’ll be selling our first ever Artifice prints, including a canon scene involving Deacon and Jeff that’s too steamy for this ad-friendly webcomic. (And it’s also my first time ever putting up a table, so I sure hope some of you will come and say hi! 😀 )

And finally, I just have to comment on Winona’s fabulous art on this page: Panel 1 has one of my favoritest Jeff/Deacon poses: it’s super sexy, super-intimate and super-sweet all at the same time. (And she totally nailed one of my tougher expression requests: “Deacon, looking up at Jeff, matter-of-fact and pedantic, but the humor doesn’t escape him.” Making that happen is like asking for a recitation of the Gettysburg Address from memory while juggling flaming bowling pins. She is such a rock-star!) And then that laugh in Panel 2! So awesome!

This was another one of those pages that, as a writer, felt so amazing to get the pencils of. And even now, as I look at it, I stop being “Word of God” or whatever I’m supposed to be and instead am simply another reader like you all, just enjoying the romance between these two. With the opportunity to connect with such thoughtful and insightful folks like yourselves and the opportunity to collaborate with such an incredibly brilliant artist like Winona, I really do feel like the luckiest comic creator on the planet.

Just saying. 🙂

First contact—there is no starship mission more dangerous…

We have Fan Art by Dougathor Destroyer of Worlds, a little mash-up that suggests a hidden danger for those bold enough to experiment with android sex. Thanks, Dougathor Destroyer of Worlds!

And we yet again hit the bonus target, so there will be a bonus page—Page 48!—this Wednesday, November 9th! That will make the eight bonus page in a row! Holy cow!

Special thanks to long-time supporters Steven H. (donating for the second week in a row!), Nicholas H. (donating for the third week in a row!), Erin H. (donating for the fifth time in four weeks!) and a warm welcome and a grateful bow to new supporters Rowan M. and James E. for their generous donations over the past couple days!

Finally a high-five and big hug to Blythe G. whose donation on Thursday put us over the top to make next week’s bonus page possible!

Thank you all very much for your generous support and your kind words! Even in my weakened condition, you all make me feel so happy. 🙂

And speaking of the saga of my health, I’ve taken another little dip for the worse, so again, I might not be as present in the comments as I’d like to be, but I’ll do my best to chime in. So much of the fun of making this comic is the opportunity to connect with all of you totally awesome readers. 😀 (And maybe I just need a couple of days resting on the weekend to get back into fighting trim. :D)

Anyway, I hope to see you all this Wednesday, November 9th for Page 48! 😀

Symmetrical and balanced tummy hair. Total catnip for the modern android.

***THIS IS A BONUS PAGE!***

We have new Fan Art by Alex House, a tentative moment between Deacon and Jeff entitled “Not Today”. Thanks, Alex!

So, it’s been less than three days since I reset the counter and we’re already back up at $170! Holy cow! Your generosity continues to amaze and humble me. I will strive do my best to try to live up to your kindness!

Special thanks to long-time supporters Anna Z., Anna P., Tanya A., Jennifer Bl. (following up her $50 donation last time with an immediate second donation!), Adriano B. (donating twice in one week), Zoellen F. & Jennifer Bi. & Amanda D. (all three donating for the third week in a row!), Ariel S. (donating for the 4th week in a row!), Sue T. (donating for the 5th time in a row!) and Micheal B. (now donating for the 9th straight week in a row! O_O! Hugs, Micheal!) and a warm welcome and grateful bow to new supporters Catarina M., David B., kathryn h., Anna D., Kelly R., kataline d., Guillaume P., Yu C., Shana X., Monica I., Jocelyn K. and Summer E. (who went to the trouble of personally mailing me a check because PayPal wasn’t playing nice—total superhero! Thanks, Summer!)

Finally, a big hug to new friend Darin M. for their generous $25 donation!

Thank you all so, so much! I don’t know if I’ll be able to do another three update week in the near future, but for now, this is a ton of fun. And I’m totally impressed and humbled how quickly you all made it happen. 🙂

And in other news, my back is finally settling down—yay!—so hopefully, I’ll be able to start chiming in more again in the comments. As before your kind words have been a HUGE support for me during this challenging experience. There have been moments I’ve felt pretty down during the last few days and reading your thoughtful comments have made all the difference. 🙂

Anyway, I hope you’re liking what you’re seeing! And I hope to see all of you back here on Saturday for Page 47! 😀

DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! Thanks to your super-generous (and super-fast) donations, we’ve yet again hit our donation target, so there will be a bonus page of Artifice—Page 48!—this Wednesday, November 9th! Whee! 😀

But what if the donation target hits again before this Sunday, 11:59 PM PST? Will you do another three page week?!

This three page week was a lot of fun for Winona and me. A lot of fun. 😀 And yet… I don’t want to put us in a position where I’d ever run a risk of having to “take a break” from updates, like sometimes needs to happen with certain webcomics. So, while I might have another 3 update week possibility in the future, for now, we’ll just be keeping it to one bonus page a week on Wednesdays. And if we hit the target again, it would just count towards the next “free” Wednesday. Better that than to make you have to wait for a “regular” Saturday update. I hope you”ll understand and I hope you’ll continue to enjoy what we’re putting up! 😀