i love the zoomed out faces for awkward moments

YES! They are great!

Just what I came here to say.

Chibi / SD is such a wonderful aesthetic for “...” *cough* “...” and moments like that. XD

Now that was a surprising and awkward moment.

Oh man, could she be the sister of Andy?

urm, kinda sure andy got them floppy ears.

Yeah but she or he is too thin to be Andy to me

Andy only has brother silly

Pretty sure the waiter is a guy and Cooper is freaking out about it because he just called him attractive not too long ago. x3

Even though they're pretty ambiguous here, but yeah, context clues from that comic says they're a guy.
"Pretty confident for a straight boy" from page 38 being the line that says "yeah they're definitely male". I really, REALLY can't tell here though. They look both male and female to me w/o the make-up on.
Maybe it's the lack of boobs they had previously?

yes, thats why coopers freaking out, thinking he was 'escaping the gay' with river, only to realize she was a he.

He can't escape the gay

Rivers a guy, so it might be his brother and not his sister

River is a drag queen. He's a waitress by day and moonlights as a cross-dressing stripper where Cooper is interning.

>Damn, poor Coop can't catch a break. Ha-ha!

River is such a cutie.

dot eyes always make everything better, also love how chill Coop's friend is haha

I'm sorry I know this is weird, but when I see the middle right face, I can't help but remember some kind of scene from the goofy movie.... Also, it's not quite clear, is that a guy or a girl with a flat chest?

River is a male. They (sorry, not well versed in the pronouns for this situation) dress in drag and perform at Rail.

Cooper, man, you need to chill out... Now we have to see if he has a mental breakdown or what.

Liking both RIver and Gary more and more XD

he's struggling to deal with himself because of his father issues, how his dad beat him at the thought of his son being gay.

Left some pretty bad scars on him, even long after he died.

I know, but he really needs to figure out how to accept himself for who he is, or he's going to end up in a very dark place. If he keeps this up, he's going to end up in a puddle of vomit just like his dad, or a metaphorical equivalent. He NEEDS to find a way forward because living like this will kill him.

I been there. Strangely, I found it easier to accept I was a furry than to accept being gay. Still not happy with my life, but that's for different reasons. ^^;;

Kinda feel sorry for he's friend. Guys gotta eat....right?

I’m sorry Coop, but the reality is that you like men

Omg River is so adorable!!

HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA!!!! Sorry not sorry ahahahahahahahaha

think lot wanted to see this, its kinda karmic, considering what happened with cooper and andy, and coop running off, thinking he can escape his problems and hook up with a hot stage performer to escape his feels, just for it to crash back in his face hard.

Yeah.... Cooper had it coming

The last panel is hilarious :D

Face it, coop. You're closet gay.

Right.. forgot Chelsea existed for a second.

I feel like River would be good for him. It's not Andy, so there's no weird or uncomfortable history between them. He only just met River. It could go well if he keeps himself open to the idea.

I think so too. River might be the right person to help Cooper accept who he truly is, being bisexual and being okay being attracted to guys. Plus knowing the history between Andy and Cooper hasn’t been good, I think Emery is a better choice for Andy

If he keeps this up, he's going to write a whole new weird and uncomfortable history with River

You shouldn't assume Cooper is Bi just because he's had a girlfriend.
After all, the companion comic for this - Falling Flat - is about Emery (Andy's boss) trying to get into the gay scene after decades of marriage and fatherhood with a woman.
Though he loves his ex-wife, Emery isn't Bi, it just took him most of his life to accept being gay. Cooper seems to be in a similar situation, only younger.

Well, I assume Cooper is bi because he was able to have sex with Chelsea multiple times. It wasn't until he found out about Andy and Emery, and entered into his jealous depression, that he wasn't able to perform for Chelsea anymore.

As for Emery, well, that seems a little more complicated. Especially since we don't know the exact details of what his marriage to Sarah was like. I'm just going to wait and see if we discover more info in Falling Flat.

My real evidence for Cooper being bi is that his contact pic for Chelsea is her butt (page 33, panel 1: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/29567726). I don't think he would do that if he didn't enjoy the view XD

He acted like a child but that's very coop style haha

welp, Coop's gonna have to face the facts, he gay, he very much gay and there's no escaping it

The fact that he could sexually perform with Chelsea, and seemed genuinely attracted to River before knowing that River was actually a dude, strongly suggests that Cooper is bi.

yeah i know, but i mean, he's at least partially gay and yet he tries to deny that part of himself, can't really blame him after all the shit he's been through

Agreed. He's never been taught how to deal with that side of himself; only to be told that it would result in his father kicking him out, and that he'd lose his friends.

tbh, his story kinda feels close to home to me

I've noticed a lot of people say they connect with Cooper's backstory. Sad, really.

well, not because of my parents or anything, in fact, they're very respectfull to me about it, but rather, everyone else around me that are the ones that see it as a bad thing, so it's one of the reasons why i'm not that open about it

I'm glad at least your parents don't give you crap about it.

I feel every single time Cooper tries to deny his sexuality, it comes back and puches him in the face, as if his father's ghost is beating him up for "not being a man" as we saw how homophobic he was, saying how Andy "was raised like a girl but he wasn't going to have his son act that way, even from bending his wrist a certain way." If any gay signs were shown, he would be thrown out. Being raised by a homophobic parent can be very nightmarish, especially after they die and watch over you 24/7. Poor Cooper. He just wants to make his dad proud and be free from his haunting. The only way he knows how is to not be who he really is; a Gay man.

I don't think Cooper wants to make his dad proud, given how low his opinion of him is/was. Also, you seem to forget that Cooper's friends also made fun of Andy for apparently having a crush on Cooper. They even gave Cooper validation for pulling the slug prank on Andy. So there was pressure from two sides not to show interest in dudes.

Not only that, but so far, Cooper has only ever shown male-attraction to Andy. River doesn't really count because Cooper believed him to be a woman (an honest mistake, really; River's a very convincing drag queen). The interesting thing about Andy's relationship with Cooper is that he's constantly been there for him almost his whole life. Unlike Cooper's abusive father, Andy has been supportive and helpful, almost unrelentingly. Coop has come to depend on Andy... even though he's been aware this whole time that Andy's had a crush on him.

Plus, Chelsea has confirmed that she and Cooper had sex multiple times. It wasn't until Cooper found out about Andy's involvement with Emery that he entered a depression and couldn't perform for her.

So really, it seems more likely Cooper is bi, but just doesn't know how to handle an attraction to dudes.

Very interesting to think about Cooper being bi. Maybe River can help him accept who he is inside and handle being attracted to guys. Hope we also learn his real name if “River” is his drag name

Yes, River might indeed be good for Cooper. Heh, and I think it'd be awesome if "River" really was his actual name ("My parents were hippies!"). XD

Maybe not proud per say, but still I have a feeling his ghost is haunting him, considering his panic attacks and how frantic he gets when paranoid. The way how Cooper acts all cool and a jerk sometimes, he's hiding an ailing pain in his heart full of depression and fear of unacceptance.

I agree with you on him being Bi and how he doesn't know how to handle an attraction to guys, mostly thanks to his father, but now that Gary is more mature and open minded, I think Cooper will finally get some support he's been so lacking of to start learning how to accept himself. (And by support, I mean from a close Hetro friend and not from his crush.)

There are so many more questions to be answered with new pages coming, that's what makes this story so interesting and mind blowing.

Yes, Cooper never got, and will never get, closure with his old man. That's a wound that never got to have proper healing. A good therapist could help Cooper out there, or at least somebody for him to talk to.

But yeah, back in his school days, Gary might be able to help out - ironic, given how he used to make fun of Andy's crush on Cooper.

Oh? Are you a patreon or whatever they call it? I'd like to be, except I have to be careful with my spending. :(

No, I wish I could be but I know when it comes to , his comics are a work of poetry and a heartfelt message.

He's certainly a good storyteller, that's for sure. :)

I interested to find out how Cooper is going to deal with the impending mental breakdown. When it was Andy, he could run away. He just told Andy not to contact him and *poof*, he's out of Cooper's life for a while. The thing with River is that they work together. He can't just run away this time. I'm wondering if he's going to quit his internship, or if his situation will push him to come to terms with his reality.

Hard to say, really. This whole series is meant to have 4 parts to it (I'm guessing to coincide with the 4 seasons), so Cooper could be in for a long journey. But as for what could happen next... the most logical assumption would be that Cooper desperately tries to quit his internship... though I'm willing to bet Fletcher doesn't want to go searching for another intern, and will convince Cooper to stay.

Maybe Cooper will point out the intern isn't going so well for him, seeing as how he has no place to live now. Fletcher could offer pay this time around... as well as offering the wolf to crash at his place for a while. Cooper could accept that, not realizing that Fletcher intends to make a move on him (Fletcher did once he mention he wanted to have an arrangement like Emery has with Andy).

Either the experience will send Cooper on an even bigger downward spiral... or something else will happen. ^^

I think Cooper's on the edge of accepting who he is. Twice now we've seen him give in to his feelings for Andy (Vol. 1, Page 51: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/24461301 , and Vol. 2, Page 6: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/26576450 ). The first time, he ran away, not answering Andy's call or calling back, and then getting drunk at Chelsea's party. The second time, he stayed open to it, even sharing a bed and a tender moment with Andy, but eventually ran away again (this time literally). The first time, his moment of vulnerability seemed to have sent him into a depression where he started to depend on alcohol. The second time, however, he was motivated to start being a better person all around. My point is that every time he puts that wall down, he reacts to it better and better.

This time around, some things are different:
1) His attraction to River doesn't have the history attached to it that his attraction to Andy has. He has the chance for a fresh start at a relationship.
2) River and Cooper work together. It will be much more difficult to run away from his feelings than it has been before.
3) River is a drag queen, which might make Cooper a little more comfortable with being attracted to them (still not clear on pronouns). River = Gateway Boyfriend.

I think that if Cooper gives in to his feelings for River, he'll have enough of a push and enough safety to finally move forward.

Perhaps. :) I mean, obviously River is meant to play a big part in this story, so we'll all just have to wait and see.

It's times like this that I wish we could fave comments.
That was short, sweet and brilliant.

Well... thank you very much! Though I don't think my comment was all that short. xD

Cooper to Andy: You can't catch me gay thoughts
River: Yes we can
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHiDAF6joDc

Cooper is a twit

hahaha super awkward and another anxiety attack hits

Awww, Cooper's being a real DRAG right now. BI the way, I wonder how Andy would react.

This right here may be my favorite comment ever XD

Ohhhhh shit :v

Just accept it Cooper! You might be Gay or bisexual or Pan sexual

A turn of events Cooper realizing that “River” is a he. Wonder how this will turnout between them do hope to also see more of Andy and Emery in the near future. I do mention them a lot but I’m super curious to see if they work things out

For all you people who keep saying river is Andy's sister, River is a guy, and we all know Andy has a brother not a sister as said so in summers gone. Note that I'm not hating or angry, it just makes me laugh. River might be his brother.

I'm kinda worried he might not return to work for fear of running into River. I assume River is the waiter, yes? Anyway, Cooper has to face his problems. Running from them only delays them. I know this from experience.

Its great finally seeing River without any makeup and in just regular clothing. He's actually really handsome when he's just himself. x3

Also, I love that Gary not only quickly catches on, but is also completely fine with the implications. He's cool. xD

Nice for Gary to offer some reassurance like that.

Yup. x3

You can run from the restaurant, Coop, but you cannot run from THE TRUTH!

Yup, he'll end up dating a guy. It's wriiten in the firmament of space. (Well, at least in the plot ideas of Jackaloo :P)

Man this comic page took me way too long to figure out. Like I realized they were the same person, but not why he was freaking out until I read the comments. They're heckin cute though.

This comic!! 10/10!

In the second panel River's like: "Well your not having any of "these buns," crazy canine."

I think the worst part of all of this is that Gary ordered extra peppers in his omelette

bruh moment

Just as a reminder, we've seen River out of drag before. They appear on pages 23-25, auditioning.

OMG Coop can't escape the truth LOL embrace it Cooper!

Oh the waiter is a drag queen. I love drag queens man!

Don't care how cute and sexy a guy looks, I don't trust a guy who has a man bun for a haircut, just no

Man buns are cool! :o

Normally I'd agree, but River can pull it off. Then again, furry characters have a tendency to pull off what humans can't. xD

Coop doesn't want his other job revealed, doesn't he?

I'm pretty sure that's not the reason he went off with 60mph

He already was talking about it with Gary on the last page.

Go-go gadget autism!

Why am I the only person worried about Cooper's phone's teleportation trick?

OH SHIT, HE'S A WIZARD!

That's not a good start for a long meaningful relationship.

River is so cuuuuute!!

annnnd, he's gone. XD

You can't catch me, gay thoughts!

That's it. I lost every last bit of respect i had left for Coop. I have no faith in that guy... Andy should cut his losses and move on. He's better off without that idiot Cooper in his life

!!! Finally someone who agree with the fact that Andy should just let go Coop! I mean, I’m okay with the redemption of Cooper, who have been a ASS his ALL LIFE. But seriously, he bullied Andy since they’re kids. Andy is always here to be the emotional sponge for Coop and everytime Cooper use him then flee. The first pages of the comics are even sexual harassment !
I know Coop had a very strict father who was very homophobic, but it doesn’t excuse all the shit he’s been throwing at Andy for years. Like LOT of people have toxic father figure who tell them to be a real man, but they don’t all end being a real pain in the ass for other.
That’s why I’m very happy to see Coop having a redemption arc, realizing who he is and trying to improve. But Andy should definitely let go. I know he see the "potential" inside Coop but geez... Again childhood bullie, sexual harassment and all! What a nice memory for a mate...?

I'm more annoyed about Coop being... Well, being an idiot really. And a coward. He is constantly making one bad choice after another and rather than to try and face them in order to deal with them or *gasp* learn from them to grow as a person, he just tugs his tail between his legs and runs. Because facing your problems and learning from your mistakes is hard and takes courage. Cooper hower wants things to be easy and when he can't have that, he simply runs away... Because again, running away is easier than confronting and dealing with your fuck ups. He lived all of his life like that, never learning anything and leeching off of others when he could... Cooper is a really shitty person when you get down to it

Exactly ! He always flee from his problem and it’s anoying to see because he’s a f*cking adult and he should know how to deal with them instead.

Coop forgot his phone.

Actually, he magic-ed it into his pocket XD Look closely at the second panel.

Would totally date River. What a cutie.

PERFECT!

I love how chill they are in the last panel. Poor Coop is having a breakdown and its just he'll be fine, im hungry.

It's good to have a friend that have faith in your well being

when your friend is gay and you honestly can be bothered with his shit no mo.
like im pretty sure they guy coop was eating with has got it and just doesnt care, look at him! 'na he fine get me my noms plz'

I'm not big on men in drag, but River could be an exception...

Damn.

Even when I still thought I was straight, I'd have said "yep, still cute".

Same. Honestly if I saw a dude that cute I probably would have questioned my sexuality was sooner than I did.

Honestly this went better than I was expecting. Yeah Cooper's still an idiot but I was expecting him to say something gross and offensive. I also like that his friend doesn't care and just orders his Omlette.

You cannot run from gayness coop, it's always lurking in the corner with it's big fat rainbow 😈

I get Coopers reaction here, but damn he does look different here still cute as a button though. :)

River is quite cute in that outift~ o3o

Cooper is lousy at "Texas Hold 'em". He's already "flopped, turned" and now he just blew the "river" card. Where's your poker face, Coop?

Can we a have a system to "like" comments? 'Cause I need one right here.

gold

He's gorgeous though!

River looks adorable, both on and off stage. Really enjoying the comic, keep it up, man.

Cooper is still bae though.

Big deeeeeeeeeeeeal! Co workers meeting in public? Unless he tempted to date her or so lol!

forgive me...but i'm confused..why is he freaking out about this guy?

Because he recognises him as the girl he was thinking about dating. He didn't know that it was a guy in drag.

Also because Coop really, really, really doesn't want to accept that he has the gay.

^This too!

I love this comic. The art and story are undeniably incredible.

Those lil' muzzle freckles are cute as

has this really not happened to river before? i'd think it happens to drag queens a lot, especially one as convincing as him. that was a lot more than just makeup!

he's super cute! cooper goddamit, the hell are you doin?

I guess he's into tomboys. Why not give him one?

nOOOOO it's an ANNA WITH A BANANA

I'm loving the character of River. Can't wait to see how it pans out

When your trying to hide the gay (pan bi all the same for the comment. I am pan so))))) and it slaps you in the face. But damn sweetheart I would love to have her/him on my arm no matter what. Seems like a real sweetheart.

Extra peppers.