Theo and Milo on the front cover of the first chapter of the comic.
Relations is a homo-erotica Furry Webcomic written and drawn by Captain Nikko
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The year is 1956, and Theo is currently living his dream of working in movies as a background painter. The only problem is that he only has the job because he's in a Secret Relationship with one of the studio's talent agents, Jack. And Theo's feelings for Jack are starting to fade. To add to the confusion, his Russian coworker Ivan is showing signs of interest towards him, and Theo then becomes infatuated with his new stage apprentice, Milo. Keep in mind that it's the 1950's and homosexuality -especially in men- wasn't seen with as much acceptance as it does today. To say this could end badly is an understatement.
The series has three chapters with a plot that gets darker as it goes along to each chapter. It was first posted to the public on November 16th, 2015 and ended to said public on January 21st, 2018 with a two-page epilogue posted a week later. Nikko's Patreon supporters were given access to comic page releases a week early.
The links provided on this page are Not Safe for Work. The comic also deals with topics such as domestic abuse, gaslighting, and rape. Viewer's discretion is advised.
This webcomic contains examples of:
- The '50s: Time setting to the comic, and the main driving force used against Theo in the third chapter.
- All Gays are Promiscuous: Pretty much every character that's hinted to be either bi or gay has sex in this series.
- Animal Facial Hair: Ivan can grow a beard and Jack has a pencil mustache.
- Armored Closet Gay: Heavily implied with Jack, who doubles down on the homophobia when he's angry with Theo, but does his best to pleasure him afterwards.
- Blackmail: Jack uses pictures of the Orgy in chapter three to force Theo to stay with him. Theo does get Jack back though.
- Big Handsome Man: Both Ivan and Jack can fit this department.
- Bittersweet Ending: Ivan becomes jaded with his experience in Hollywood and decides to go back to the Soviet Union to live with his sister, much to Theo's sadness, and also distress due to sanctions at the time, which does not ensure if he'll make it home safely. However, Theo has freed himself from Jack's abusive thumb after a Blackmail Backfire, and he and Milo start a relationship.
- Break the Cutie: Some of the stuff Theo has been thought by the end of the third chapter is pretty screwed up.
- Bungled Suicide: The only reason Jack is alive is that Theo took the bullets out of Jack's gun before he got home. As to why Theo did this is up to interpretation.
- Cast Full of Gay: Theo, Milo, and Ivan are all confirmed to be gay. Jack is the exception, who is seen having sex with a girlfriend and may be bisexual, but even this is put into question since he's not as passionate with her as he is with Theo, which the woman also points out.
- Coming-Out Story: The majority of the second chapter has this as a major theme.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Jack. He outright rapes Theo in the shower for accidentally blurting out Ivan's name and starts flinging homophobic and xenophobic slurs left and right while he does so. This is later exploited in Theo and Milo's plan when the two perform a comedic slow dance at a Christmas party, forcing Jack to make a scene and humiliate himself in front of everyone.
- Domestic Abuse: At first, Jack seems to just be a lousy boyfriend who doesn't bother to finish Theo off after having sex, but it's eventually revealed he gets incredibly violent and even sexually assaults Theo for thinking of another man. And because Theo would be homeless and jobless otherwise, Jack holds this over Theo's head to keep him in his place.
- Double Standard: Rape, Male on Male: Averted. Theo's rape at the hands of Jack is Played for Drama, as is the orgy he's forced to partake in (also by Jack) at the start of chapter three. To make matters worse, the time period they're in does not really criminalize same-sex rape, though they would certainly land in jail for being gay instead. In short, Theo would have nowhere or no one to turn to if it weren't for meeting Milo.
- Fate Worse than Death: Theo's state-of-mind in the middle of the third chapter.
- How Jack feels after his failed suicide attempt in the epilogue.
- Freudian Excuse: In the epilogue, Jack's possessiveness towards Theo is borne out of his fear of loneliness when it's revealed via a photograph that he lost his closest friends in the Battle of Osan and that Theo was the first person in a long time to show him some companionship.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: That being said, Jack himself begins to cry and show contrition for his treatment of Theo, even fully acknowledging that, despite his personal traumas, it's his own selfishness that drove Theo into the arms of another man (Milo), who will treat him nicer than Jack ever did. But by then, it was too late to make amends.
- Gaslighting: Jack set up the whole orgy scene to simply make Theo hate himself and make him stay with Jack, who Theo had stated previously doesn't deserve him. By dragging Theo down to his level, Jack now has full control over him, since Jack doesn't mind being seen as a Jerkass.
- Gayngst: Justified, due to the setting. Anyone who has same-sex urges are all going through this one way or another, facilitating relationships of this nature to only happen behind closed doors.
- Humiliation Conga: The entire epilogue is this one for Jack. His tirade at a Hollywood Christmas party has gotten him fired, then he drives home drunk to his empty apartment only to see evidence of Theo, Milo, and Ivan's lovemaking on his bedsheets, which makes him seethe at first only to choke down a sob, culminating in grabbing a gun from his safe and pointing it at his head. Then it's revealed that he pissed himself while the revolver only let out a soft click because Theo had broken into his safe beforehand to take out the bullets from the chamber. Deprived of the chance to kill himself with what little dignity he has left, Jack becomes repentant at his treatment of Theo and begins sobbing miserably, forced to endure a life of loneliness with the memories of his past haunting him in the background.
- Husky Russkie: Ivan is a Russian living in the United States during the Red Scare. A twofer for the Lavender Scare as well since he is also gay, so now he is living in a time where he can be persecuted for being gay and Russian.
- Let's Duet: Theo and Milo make up by singing a duet of A Tea for Two by Dorry Day.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Milo is led to believe by Jack that Theo is into rough sex and has a degradation kink, but when Theo reveals that it was not all play, Milo is horrified.
- Jack reacts this way after a foiled suicide attempt forces him to realize that his odious behavior is the cause of his and Theo's relationship to deteriorate, and he's reduced to a soiled and crying mess.
- Porn with Plot: It's a story featuring homosexual characters having secret relations with one another, all of which are shown in explicit detail.
- Reality Is Unrealistic: When Jack rapes Theo in the shower, he blurts out the N-word. Nikko claims that Jack is a racist. However, since the comic takes place in an all-cats universe, racism wouldn't even apply.
- In Chapter 3, Ivan decides to head back to Russia and heads to the bus depot. However, it is physically impossible to travel from Hollywood, California to Russia by bus since it is across the Pacific Ocean. Ivan would have to either travel by plane or by ship.
- Red Scare: Mainly with Ivan, but people forget that homosexuals were also hunted during this time, dubbed by historians as the "Lavender Scare". So pretty much every major character is affected by this trope in an indirect way.
- Secret Relationship: Theo and Jack kept their sex lives hidden due to homophobic attitudes and laws at the time. This is why when Theo and Milo are caught post-coitus while at work, Theo is beside himself, trying to imagine what kind of punishment is in store for them while handcuffed to an arm rest.
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Unintentionally Sympathetic: Jack was originally written as a Hate Sink which was only partially succsessful. However, some readers see his character differently as they want a redeeming story for him.- Jack also falls into the Draco in Leather Pants trope because even though some of the audience hate him, they're still attracted to him which results in him winning two Rule 34 pinup polls.
