If the story is great, the drawings can be overlooked, but feedback is necessary if you’re actually going to improve the story.
This is a scene where the main character is about to end his subscription as he realizes he’s a dumb fuck:
Claire picks up on the first ring, voice soft like always.
“Hey, James… you’re up late. Everything okay?”
He swallows. The words stick in his throat.
“Yeah. Just… couldn’t sleep. Wanted to talk one more time, I guess.”
She makes a small, warm sound—half laugh, half sigh.
“Me too. I’ve been refreshing the app like an idiot waiting for you to come online. How was your day? Shift go okay?”
They talk for a while. Surface stuff at first: a professor who finally gave him a passing grade on the midterm he thought he’d bombed, the way the grill smoke is starting to permanently live in his hair, how Greg the plant is somehow still clinging to life despite his neglect. She laughs at the right places, asks gentle questions, keeps the rhythm easy like she always does.
But the clock on his phone keeps ticking: 11:58. 12:03. 12:09.
The silence stretches longer between sentences.
He takes a breath that feels like it comes from the bottom of his lungs.
“Claire…”
She goes quiet instantly. Like she already knows.
“I… I can’t renew tomorrow. The money’s just… gone. I mean, it was always stupid, right? Paying someone to talk to me like this. I don’t even know why I kept it going this long.”
His voice cracks on the last word. He hates it.
“I just wanted to say… thank you. For real. You made the last month feel less empty. Like someone actually gave a shit whether I ate or studied or just… existed. And I know that’s your job, and you’re probably gonna get matched with someone else tomorrow who can actually afford it, and that’s fine. It’s fine. I get it.”
He laughs once—hollow, bitter.
“I thought about asking for your number. Like, real contact. But I know that’s against everything. And it’d be pathetic. So… yeah. This is goodbye, I guess. I’m canceling the sub tonight. You don’t have to stay on the line or anything.”
The line is so quiet he can hear his own heartbeat over the distant traffic.
Then she speaks—voice smaller than he’s ever heard it, trembling at the edges.
“James… wait.”
A shaky inhale.