Ascension

Actually he's just doing this gig because blood bank jobs are hard to get.

107 thoughts on “Ascension

  1. FIRST!!!

    1. :3

      1. THE CIRCLE IS NOW COMPLETE! NICK WILL NOW OFFER YOU THREE WISHES OF HIS CHOICE BECAUSE HE IS AWESOME.

        1. As long as no one wishes for the TARDIS he gave me, I’m good.

        2. oops…

        3. Dr. Who reference = WIN.

        4. Look under your chairs, everybody! TARDISES FOR EVERYONE!

          But you can’t have David’s. It’s pink. Special order.

        5. isnt the plural for Tardis…Tardis?…also Sweet I got a Tardis 😀

        6. Hey, you missed me (either that, or the chameleon circuit is working so well I can’t spot the bloody thing).

        7. It’s an acronym, so it gets pluralized like any other English word ending in “is”.

        8. After much interwebbing, I too now agree with you…
          TARDISes is the plural of TARDIS…

        9. Tardi? maybe?

        10. Sweet my very own TARDIS 🙂

        11. TARDI would be “Time And Relative Dimensions In… … … ?!?!?! !!!!!!!!!1” which just leads to confusion.

          I’d suggest Tardirs: Time And Relative Dimensions In Relatives Spaces.

    2. You must be unaware of the new criteria for being first. Your comment must contain at least two coherent sentences pertaining to the comic.

      Just FYI.

      -TJD

  2. FIRST AND YAS FINALLY

  3. First?

    Please say yes

  4. Wow, Les’s ex is back. I wonder if she’ll be a reoccurring character. First.

    1. WRONG.

      Given that she’s asking him out, it seems that she’ll be in a couple more, at least.

  5. SECOND! Btw, nice comic so far man =)

    1. Thanks Dude!

      1. So… is it just me or is she wearing an upside down Ankh around her neck?

        1. Yes, indeed she is wearing the upside-down Ankh. If I am not mistaking, it’s the symbol of death. Befitting 😛

        2. Lilith is also the Goddess of the Underworld.. appropriate much?

        3. It also seems to be that if you take any religious symbol and turn it upside down, it becomes Satanic: pentagrams, crucifixes, and apparently even Christmas trees (that one surprised me – how the Hell do you get an upside-down Christmas tree?)

        4. you obtain upside down christmas tree with the help of gorilla glue an duct tape, then set it on fire because everyone knows burning christmas trees are cooler then normal ones

        5. er…actually an upside crucifix is the symbol for st. peter because he refused to be crucified the same way as christ..not really satanic in the least…though the upside down christmas tree is a new one i haven’t heard about…i’ll have to look that one up.

        6. Perhaps I should rephrase: Some people believe that reversing any symbol makes it Satanic. The crucifix can be a symbol for St. Peter, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only meaning the symbol has – a lot of the “Satanic” symbols are just symbols taken from other believes and reversed or “corrupted”. In my experience, Satanists are either incredibly satirical (and quite intelligent about it) or just idiot kids (doesn’t matter how old they are – they can still be kids) trying to go against the “mainstream religions”.

          At the art college I go to, there is a girl there that claims to be “Satanic” who wears upside-down crucifixes, pentagrams and yes, ankhs too, and if asked why, she says “Becasue it’s Satanic, and so am I.” She’s actually kind of a bitch…

        7. That’s a pretty good assessment. I haven’t looked into it in a while, but I seem to recall there being a difference between the Satanists who actually claim to worship Satan and the Anton LaVey Satanists, who are basically humanists who don’t mind being jerks about it.

        8. Hanging fir trees upside down goes back to the Middle Ages, when Europeans did it to represent the Trinity. But now, Christmas trees are shaped with the tip pointing to heaven, and some think an upside-down Christmas tree is disrespectful or sacrilegious.

        9. I think they make the most festive video game spike trap. Especially when on fire and screaming. You mean they don’t scream? Well they should.

          *Patents the band name Screaming Christmas Trees.*

        10. Upsidedown Christmas tree is a Polish christmas tree. Very popular around Milwaukee WI.

        11. Actually it’s not the symbol of death. The “Ankh” represents Life, Death, and Rebirth as well as eternal life. Reversing it does not reverse it’s meaning.

  6. Damn I misses. I stayed up for this?

    Lame (me too)

    1. PF from TSC?

      1. Dunno what TSC is, but I am Pink Freud from N9, RHPS, and I’ve been using Pink Freud on various BBS’s since 1990. I am not the first, but the only one I ever found who used the name before me was out on the west coast.

  7. crazy white manboy

    SECOND YES and cool les’ ex is back

  8. YES! Bring Back Matlock!!

    1. Matloooooock!

    2. [Grampa]MAAAAAAATLOOOOOOOOOOOOCK!!![/Grampa]

      1. That was my hashtag for this update on Twitter.

        1. I used to watch that show a LOT (on rereuns, I mean). I remember this one time Matlock pwnd these dudes who weren’t sure about hiring him (’cause he was old, y’know?). He just quoted a super-high retainer ($75,000, I think) and that was it; he was hired! Money rules all. 😉

  9. BTW, second is best LOL, and I need to re read this comic again, there are too many characters i forgot about =(

  10. Lilith? As in the first wife of adam?

    Classic Nick, just classic.

    1. Evangelion reference?

      1. Someone watches waaaaay too much anime….

        1. Hey, Anime is better than most of the crap on tv now

        2. You say that likes its a BAD thing.com

    2. You, sir, need to check your sources.. Did you seriously think they were the first ones to take that name?

    3. i was thinking about the demoness from Piers Anthony’s “Incarnations of Immortality” Seriously good read for any scifi-fantasy fans

  11. I think he was going for more of a succubus vibe.

  12. The return of Les! Also, love the detail on Lilith’s neck.

  13. Dinner with the ex…a storm is coming this way

  14. The plot thickens…?

    1. First you gotta add some rosemary to it and a bit of butter.

      It’s a good thing.

      1. So THAT’S why my plots all turn out like crap.

  15. IINTERESTING!! 😉 Great job on this comic. (THANKS!! Now my addiction be worse) lol!!

  16. This comic makes me smile on several levels. From Les’s verbiage, being back in meats, and getting together with Lilith to the mime quip and the Matlock sweatshirt.

  17. The fact Les was able to make a semi normal conversation and actually impress a woman at the same time is impressive in it’s own right.

    But the last panel was kind of confusing though. Was it in reference that for once Les’s speech actually didn’t creep anyone out?

    1. It’s a reference to the fact that she thinks they look like mimes. Pale faces, black clothes, etc.

  18. Heh. Next she’ll be telling him: “No blood as lubricant!”

    1. I think you’ve identified a gap in the market, there. I don’t know whether blood-look lube would sell well enough to make it a viable product, or whether it could be made non-staining or given an authentic taste, but it definitely holds possibilities.

    2. Must….resist…urge…. to make… tacky…menstrual…joke….

      1. Why bother to resist?

        YEAAAAHHHH! Get yer menstruation lube here, half price during that time of the month!!!

        1. Shoot, I was thinking along the lines of “If you want him to think he’s your first, not just another muffstuffer, prep yourself with HY Lube.”

  19. hot goth chick….

    Yess. But not my thing.

    1. Yeah, I’m all about dark hair and fair skin but piercings just creep me out. Seriously…

      1. That Jewish Dude is turned on by piercings. No idea why, but hi just finds them so sexy…

        -TJD

  20. The man who knows all

    Meanwhile in the meat department.

  21. Man, there really is someone for everyone, isn’t there? Especially if that someone has a history of poor decisions.

    Great comic btw.

  22. That blood bank comment gave me a nostalgia-flashback of that creepy guy who worked in the Santa Monica Med Clinic in Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines dealing in the black market blood trade.

    lols

    1. Is that the guy who uses his own severed arm as a weapon? I can’t remember – don’t really have time to play it anymore, what with college and looking for employment. The only parts I can really remember are the werewolf near the observatory, the “Tuna and the Chef” story you get while talking to the TV (the wonders of being a Malkavian), and the guy on zombie-watch at the cemetery who wants you to either bring him hookers or keep watch while he goes looking for one himself. That, and the Lacuna Coil poster stuck to a wall at one random point…

      1. They turned the card game into a video game/computer game?

  23. Wow, even Les is showing some personal growth. I wonder whether Lilith will still feel attracted to him if he actually manages to outgrow the whole vampire-coping mechanism.

    And on a sidenote, I am -still- creeped out by those bite marks on Lilith’s neck. They were there the first time she showed up and they’re still here, so either she applies them every day or they’re actual scars. I just hope Les didn’t put them there.

    1. I was pretty sure they were scars (made by Les), but I just had to look back.

      https://og.treadingground.com/?p=886

      Lilith sure has changed a lot since she was first introduced.

      1. The only change I can see is that she seems to be a bit more receptive to Rick/Les now, which may be because he’s finally acting with a bit more restraint and thus advancing in the world, however little.

    2. Probably tats.

  24. Careful Les

    To quote the Admiral – “IT”S A TRAP!!”

  25. “Mr. Simpson, your house is hindering construction of our new Matlock Expressway.”

  26. I’d totally go Goth for Lilith.

  27. am i the only one who’s thinking of the simply awful innuendo here, or is everyone else just politely ignoring it in the hope that it’ll go die under a rock somewhere?

    1. Well now I’m curious. What innuendo?

      1. The only thing I can think of is the mentioning of having dinner together, when at least one of the people involved has a vampire thing going, and vampire feeding is considered an erotic act nowadays.

      2. In YOUR end-o!

        Truly though, I’m not sure. Maybe something about “working in the meat department”?

      3. Working on the basic premise that innuendo can be found in just about anything, here is a reading of the comic with innuendo:

        “You’re working in the meat department now?” – Your “meat department” (hur, hur) is now functional again (you managed to get over your erectile disfunction problems?)

        “I was not aware that you obtained your provisions here” – So, this is where you go to fulfil your sexual urges?

        “… I have regained my place as a severer of sinew” – heck, I don’t just “beat the meat”, I have advanced to a further stage than that…

        “I am in control of my own destiny & engage in activities that suit me” – Meat Master Bates…

        “That’s … Pretty sexy actually” – I’m a voyeur & the above turns me on

        “…get together for dinner sometime?” – Vampire –> feed off humans –> dinner suggested by potential victim = “eat me”

        I’m sure there are plenty of other ways of reading different/more innuendo into this particular strip, but that’s one option off the top of my head.

  28. Lilith is hot, and should appear in this comic more often. Yes, I have a thing for goth chicks. Especially goth chicks with short hair.

    1. Let’s go and pretend to shop on Hot Topic together, I’ll be your wing-man!! :3

      1. The man who knows all

        You could also go to a vampire convention or a coffee shop during open mike night.

      2. I do actually occasionally shop there, but I’m not one of those people who buys their entire wardrobe there. None of their clothes fit around my hips or my chest. But, yes, be my wing man, I can shop for Hello Kitty stuff AND cute goth girls.

  29. Alright, who the hell is the redhaired model in the Snorg Tees ads? She has the most amazing face…

    1. I don’t know, but they “hot redheads, possibly exposing underwear” is certainly a smart advertising strategy for this site.

  30. Holy shit Les must have leveled up at the picnic, he has mastered his need for blood and has picked up an old flame, let the people rejoice. also lol mines.

  31. A friend introduced me to this strip.. and I just finished a marathon read from first panel to the present.

    I’m definately a Treading Ground addict now. The characters are awesome, I feel like I know each one personally, and seeing them interact with eachother is hilarious. Cool seeing your artwork evolve, too, Nick.

    Love it

    1. Awesome! Glad you’re enjoying it, and thanks for the comment!

    2. Me too! This is definitely one of my favourite strips. I love that the NSFW element isn’t your entire selling point.
      (btw, this marathon read finished at 1:36am my time. Woo staying up late reading comics!)

  32. If I may, when are we going to see Purvous again?

  33. Poor guy… he just doesn’t have the ambition and drive to cause a nuclear apocalypse and hold a small town hostage for blood packs…

  34. Careful, Les… there’s a reason they are called “ex’s”. Also been doing a bit of a re-read of the comic… it was kind of fun(I got up to page 90 and it was getting kind of late so I had to stop).

  35. Hey, I just noticed – a new banner!! Good job!

    1. That Jewish Dude says that you fail for not noticing it sooner. It has been up for over a month.

      -TJD

      1. Well.. try clearing your cookies ’cause there is CLEARLY a new banner.

  36. She Still Has His Bitemarks, Too. I Foresee A Romantic Reunion.

    1. I’m thinking renenge. Never judge a book by it’s cover. Especially when it’s a female with questionable taste in clothing & a jacked-up dating past…

      1. You Are Clearly Relating This To A Past Trauma. It Is Okay To Cry, My Friend. And Not All Women Are Evil.

        …Disregard That Last Sentence.

  37. TG is Still Alive

    I always thought she was pretty hot. Sadly she was never a recurrent and we never really knew anything about her. 🙁

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