Blur the Lines
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Blur the Lines is a webcomic written by Bob Kusiak which uses the escapades of its two gay male protagonists, Rick and Drew (who are partners), to comment on popular culture, contemporary politics, and the dynamics of gay sexuality. According to the author, many of the situations in the comic are inspired by actual conversations he has with his real-life partner. Each comic is accompanied with a blog entry by the author about the train of thought that led to the comic's creation, his thoughts on recent events, messages to his readership, stories about his life, and other such things. The comic started in October 2009 and has grown in popularity thanks to links from other like-minded sites.
The element of gay chubby chasing is a big theme of Blur the Lines. Rick is a chubby chaser, Drew is a chub, and Kusiak is an unabashed chubby chaser himself, making Blur the Lines a clear case of Author Appeal. Even when the "more to love" demographic is not the subject of a strip, there is almost always a chubby character included. If you don't share Kusiak's taste in men, expect quite a few Squick moments from this comic strip. Even if you do share Kusiak's taste in men, the comic is decidedly Not Safe for Work and may evoke a Squick reaction in you, anyways.
- A Good Name for a Rock Band: The hardcore fuck-metal band "Poop-Dick".
- All Gays Are Promiscuous: Though Rick and Drew are partners, they frequently seek out sex with other men. They are also both ok with the other's promiscuity, leading to a My Girl Is a Slut scenario.
- Subverted when Rick refuses to feel up a guy because he thinks the man's bitter ex-boyfriend may be watching them.
- Angrish: [1]
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Jesus... Fuck! I... people... can't... fuck! |
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- Author Appeal: As explained above.
- Author Avatar: Though Rick and Drew resemble the author and his boyfriend, respectively, the author and his boyfriend themselves make an appearance in the 100th comic.
- Batman Gambit: Rick is very good at luring overweight straight men into sexual encounters without making them realize he is doing so, such as when he convinced a straight man to give him oral sex to get back at his girlfriend [2], or when he bet a man at PAX that he couldn't roll four evens out of ten. (For losing that bet, Rick had to give oral sex to every fat man in the room.)
- The Bear
- Big Beautiful Man: Many of the male characters fit this trope, for reasons already mentioned.
- Brain Bleach: Drew asks for this after Rick explains the difference between under armor and spandex.
- He also screams for this after Rick ruins food for him.
- Completely Missing the Point: Rick is kicked out of a Dungeons & Dragons round because he keeps trying to "bluff" his way into the pants of his fellow players; he thinks they kicked him out just because he's gay.
- Cultural Stereotypes: The rural poor.
- Used again here.
- Despair Event Horizon: The male escort goes beyond it when he realizes that if he wants to earn money by being "gay for pay," he needs to actually be gay. [3]
- Double Entendre: About snow, no less.
- Even the Guys Want Him: Even Rick's hapless straight friend would go for Brad Pitt.
- Fan Service: Especially the following strips: Under Construction, Limp Wrists, and Skills to Pay the Bills
- Warning: The more a strip becomes Fan Service for people who share Kusiak's taste in men, the more it becomes Squick for people who don't. You Have Been Warned.
- As well as the photos Kusiak took at PAX.
- And the photos Kusiak took at a Motor City Pride event, especially those of the bear car wash.
- G-Rated Drug: Rick's reaction to eating a whole box of chocolate covered espresso beans.
- Gag Penis: The mannequin's bulge.
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Rick: ...It's the dead of winter, his package shouldn't be nearly so pronounced... |
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- Good Angel, Bad Angel: Subverted in that the good angel and bad angel eventually agree that taking both of their suggestions would be the best thing to do. [4]
- Ho Yay: Exaggerated in this strip, where Drew writes a very erotic Penny Arcade fan fic.
- Hypocritical Humor: Rick joined BeautifulPeople.com just to "fuck with pretty people" and is then offended when his profile is deleted because he put on weight.
- Incredibly Lame Pun: The potential names of Rick's superhero persona.
- There's also the conversation between the dildo and the fleshlight. Seriously.
- As well as the pick-up line the biker tries to use on Rick.
- Bowels of hell.
- Honorable discharge.
- It Got Worse: Rick thought Drew had a tiny comb because he had crabs, but it's actually for his Edward Cullen doll. [5]
- King of All Cosmos: God is a Bear.
- Leather Man: The BSDM leather daddy and the biker.
- Life Embellished: As was mentioned, the author claims that many of the comics are based on conversations he has with his real-life partner, and Rick and Drew resemble the author and his boyfriend, as was made clear when the author and his boyfriend make an appearance in the 100th comic.
- MacGyvering: Rick makes a fleshlight out of an empty can and some ground chuck (meat). [6]
- Marilyn Maneuver: The kilt-wearing man performs one of these involuntarily.
- Meaningful Name: Jhizrag, Kumguzzle, and Arsenuzzle.
- My Girl Is a Slut: Rick and Drew openly discuss their sexual escapades with each other, even though they have been partners for ten years.
- Our Zombies Are Different: They are also erotic.
- Playing to The Fetishes: Rick accuses The Hobbit of doing this by continuously describing how fat Bombur is. [7]
- Porn Without Plot: Conversed, then discussed. [8]
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Rick: Porno could be so much more in the right hands... but it's mainly just, "Whoops, wrong door! Let's fuck!" |
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- Porn with Plot: Rick's plan to make an X-Tube video that is also a social commentary on the BP oil spill. [9]
- Refuge in Audacity: If that isn't abundantly clear by now, then you haven't actually been reading the examples, have you?
- Secret Identity Change Trick: Lampshaded [10]
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Drew: What the fuck?! How did you change that fast?! |
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Rick: Is this like a "Seinfeld monologue, or do you expect an answer? |
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- Shout-Out: "I've had it with the mother-fucking fatties on this mother-fucking plane!" [12]
- Slice of Life
- Invisible to Gaydar: Both of the main characters fit this trope, as do most of the other gay characters in the comic.
- Parodied when Drew mocks Rick for asking his mother for a flannel shirt for Christmas. [13]
- Discussed, then deconstructed when Drew considers whether he should check himself off as "Straight Acting" on a dating site, thinks of what his heterosexual friends are like, and decides against it. Turns out that even straight people can be decidedly un-straight acting.
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Rick: I wonder if on straight dating sites they have a "gay acting" check-box... |
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- Stripper Cop Confusion: [14]
- Stuffed Into the Fridge: Subverted [15]
- Time Stands Still: Rick accidentally stops time and uses the opportunity to get... intimate with a friend of his. [16]
- Too Kinky to Torture: Subverted before Rick beats up a man with a homophobic bumper sticker on his car. [17]
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Rick: Thank God, because this would feel a lot more dirty if I thought you were enjoying it... |
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- Write Who You Know: Kusiak sometimes works cartoon-ized versions of his friends into his strips.