Cheat(er) Code is a 2020 fantasy comic written by S.A. Foxe and primary illustrated by Daz and published by Limerence Press, an imprint of Oni Press.
After catching his boyfriend Seth cheating on him and subsequently getting broken up with, Kennedy is feeling completely dejected. One night, Kennedy gets stood up by a potential date/hook-up and he decides to spend his night playing video games and taking care of himself - so to speak. During a thunderstorm, Kennedy's game console gets struck by lightning, causing a freak accident in which Kennedy is transported into the world of his video game library. Jumping from survivor horror, to MMORPGs, to even platformers, he encounters the characters from his favorite video games. Those characters are also very much into him and while surviving glitches and enemies, he phyiscally bonds with those characters. In the midst of his sexual trysts with them, Kennedy confronts his feelings in regards to his ex and his fears of moving on without him.
This is an adult work, complete with fully drawn uncensored guy-on-guy sex scenes, read at your own discretion.
This comic contains the following tropes
- An Aesop: Kennedy builds his self-confidence after his break-up, learns to forgive Seth, and how to move on.
- The Bear: Several of the characters Kennedy meets, such as Frank from Fogtown and the Oakenridge couple, are shown to be rather hairy and open about their attraction to men.
- Brand X:
- The games and the game worlds featured in the comic; Fogtown is Silent Hill, Oakenridge is a Warcraft pastiche, Alpha Epsilon rips from Mass Effect, and Double Dash is Sonic the Hedgehog and other mascot with attitudes.
- The dating app Kennedy uses is Fukr, an obvious take on Grindr.
- Bedroom Adultery Scene: Well, more like "kitchen adultery scene" as Seth has sex on the kitchen counter with another man, right as Kennedy walks in.
- Cast Full of Gay: All the men and video game avatars are in the comic are gay, there's only one female character (a side character, a mutual friend of Kennedy and Seth).
- Easily Forgiven: Played with. Kennedy immediately tells Seth he forgives him after catching him in the act. This is implicitly shown to be wrong, as even Seth's put off by Kennedy's desperation to keep them together and doesn't try to deny he messed up. Kennedy doesn't really forgive Seth until he's gone through some much needed development.
- Formerly Fit: Seth implies that Kennedy used to be in better shape and that the two would workout at the gym together. During the ending, Kennedy's shown making more of an effort to stay fit but doesn't necessarily lose any of his chubbiness.
- Male Frontal Nudity: Dash, the anthro Cat Folk guy, is the only male character not to fully seen in the buff.
- Manly Gay: All the male characters are this.
- Mascot with Attitude: Dash is a clear take on the idea; a jaguar-based Beast Man in jeans from a Platform Game that grew into a franchise that does a little bit of everything.
- Masturbation Means Sexual Frustration: After being stood up, Kennedy plays video games and then decides to relieve his tension by masturbating. The "results" of his session end up landing on his video game console just as a power surge hits, transporting him into his console.
- Plot-Inciting Infidelity: The story kicks off proper when Kennedy walks in on his boyfriend Seth in the middle of having sex with another man.
- Polyamory: The Oakenridge human/orc couple Lufio and Kurg are this, Lufio likes watching Kurg get topped by other men.
- Porn with Plot: Yes, it's a erotic graphic novel complete with detailed gay sex scenes. However it is also a character study with the main character finding the strength to move on with his life after his relationship ends in flames and his self-actualization. The sex scenes do have more purpose than to simply titillate, they are used as Stock Visual Metaphors for Kennedy's growth. Kennedy was only having sex once a month and let his body go to waste before the break-up and each sex scene shows him gaining more confidence. The video game avatar he connects with the most throughout the book is the only character he doesn't have sex with, just being with him was enough.
- Race Fetish: One of the guys on Fukr, compliments Kennedy, stating he "loves Asians."
- Screw Yourself: Played With; Alpha Kennedy (the avatar from Alpha Epsilon 3) is a player-created character of Kennedy's idealized self, from his chiseled body to his outspoken nature. Kennedy has sex with him, representing him reconciling with who he is versus who he wants to be.
- Sympathetic Adulterer: Played With; Kennedy can't quite forgive Seth for being deceitful, but he realizes that he wouldn't trade the time they had together for anything, and moving on is the best thing for him.
- Three-Way Sex: Kennedy and the couple he meets in Oakenridge (a polyamorous couple consistent of a human and an orc) engage in threesome.
