I love how Paul manages to twist the story around, drop hints, change expected results and still maintain a very coherent, if convoluted storyline. Truly a master at work
I hope the next strip will be Monica pointing out that Jin wasn’t exactly a shining beacon of psychological stability BEFORE the calendar machine was destroyed.
She really has had a rough time of it.
First she becomes immortal via her mum making the calender machine.
then she watches her mum ‘poit’ to the demon realm
then she gets tortured and betrayed by her bf and turned into a golem.
It’s thoughts like that which make me shudder in true horror.
Humanity really does have a capacity for incredible forces when pushed. The chimera in this story is a fictional representation of forces I feel are very real, a conglomeration of the connected human psyche and condition which we all deal with. If you break someone, you can unleash potential that can level worlds.
I’m tempted to suggest this has already happened. Most recently we had a schism in human psycology with the World Wars. The scars of those series of events will last a good long while, and the first one is already nearly a century past.
I like where you’re going with this….metaphor? Alliteration? Crap. Having experienced some truly evil people in my life, the one thing I could hold on to when I felt my humanity slipping away was that itself. People can completely violate every cell of your being, but they still lose if you retain what makes you human and humane.
Let’s keep in mind that Jin and Mayahuel were already golems before the calendar machine incident, which means they were already pretty much immortal. The calender just sucked May into the demon realm and got Jin stuck in a constantly repeating loop.
She didn’t return to human when the machine was destroyed because she wasn’t human when it was activated.
I think you are confusing two different events. Jin was just an 18 year old girl when Mayahuel activated the time machine. Jin and everyone else in the room stopped aging then. No one was a golem yet. Much later, Mayahuel tried to destroy the machine and was sent to the demon realm. Jin was present that time, too. Both Jin and Mayauel were golems by that time. I think Jin was unrecognizable to Mayajuel, though, because Tepoz wasn’t finished fixing the GGGs yet.
But… I distinctly remember I think Phix saying that Jin and May were both golems during the beginning of the calendar machine incident. I don’t think there were two separate incidents. Now there [i]was[/i] the chimera creation process which made them all into golems and that way way preceded the calendar machine.
That’s my understanding anyway, then again knowing my luck it’s probably totally and completely wrong. Considering how convoluted and contradicted this plot is it’s amazing I know anything about it at all.
Eschmenk is correct. 🙂 The calendar was activated first, then there was a religious backlash and the Lanthan priests took over, May (but she also goes by Maya) went with a plan to get it back. She was made into a golem soon followed by Jin. Then much much later, May tried to destroy the calendar, and the rest you know.
Y’know what? I did not know that Monica was a doorway to the demon realm until you came right out and told me in the comments, Paul. That’s how well I’m able to follow the plot now.
Ok, I guess I need to reread some of the archives. From how far back do I need to start in order to truly understand what’s currently going on?
It’s my understanding that it was Jin trying to destroy the calendar machine that started the loop, and *that* is the Status Quo Ante to which Jin is returned … one in which she WAS already a golem.
You know, something I haven’t been able to figure out: why was the calendar machine built in the first place? What was its intended function?
Which begs other questions: Why was starting it up such a big deal? How did anyone even know something had gone wrong? Why did the priests of Lanthis seize the machine? What profit did they see in doing that?
What outcome did Mayahuel fear so much that she willingly suffered a horrible death to prevent it?
And the really fun thing is, none of these questions need be answered to further the story. Lanthis and its people are dust and myth, the calendar machine particles on the solar wind, and as with many a mystery, we are left with questions, and no answers. That’s life …
…and that is the classic definition of a McGuffin – something of overwhelming importance to the characters, something that drives the action – but which, really, doesn’t concern the audience.
Well, I think they can be partially answered based on something Paul wrote in the comments a while ago. I think the priests originally had a monopoly on magic and were able to use it to intimidate everyone else so they could remain in power. I think Maya and others figured out magic more scientifically and mechanically and built the calendar machine. I don’t know what it’s specific purpose was, but apparently it was a big deal. Originally, the priests ignored or underestimated what Maya and others were doing, but were alarmed by the calendar machine. It made them realize their hold on power was threatened. They tried to seize it and wipe out anyone connected to it, but were unable to control it. I think Maya let them kill her and turn her into a golem so she could get the time machine away from them before they could figure it out. It may have also allowed her to help her friends and supporters to escape from the priests.
We don’t know what the calendar machine was supposed to do or even everything it actually did do. It wasn’t supposed to cause people to stop aging and Maya obviously didn’t know that it would defend itself by sticking her in the demon realm. I suppose the priests didn’t know what was intentional and what wasn’t, either. They probably assumed the worst.
“Phix” is the name of the only Sphinx to appear in Greek Mythology, daughter of Echidna and either Orthrus or Typhon.
Interestingly, there may be ties to the chimera. The greeks envisioned a sphinx as having the head of a woman, the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and a serpent headed tail.
The Greeks recognized the sphinx as a foreign concept having come from Egypt. They knew of the Egyptian usage of the creatures in artwork and statues, and the Greeks even adopted the symbolism for several of their own works, including a sphinx on the helmet of the famous statue of Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon, as well as the adoption of the creature as symbol of the city of Chios.
For the greeks, a sphinx was a bad omen and a gatekeeper, and the most famous greek story of one is the tale of Oedipus traveling to Thebes, which was guarded by Phix, who was sent by the gods as punishment for Thebian sin. She tells her riddle (sometimes two) and Oedipus gets it right, so she inexplicably kills herself.
I really meant in terms of Paul’s mythology – how long has she been around? Did she pre-date Lanthis? Is she a Living Artifact, as the G³s are, or a natural creature? How did she learn to place herself outside of the normal time stream? Is shapeshifting something she learned, or something she is? How did her Library come to be, and what are it’s mechanisms for collecting books?
One of the demons told Monica that entire structures of existence have come into being and then vanished without a trace – did Phix originate in one of those? That would explain a lot.
Phix’s back story could be quite extensive, but as we are only concerned with her interface with Monica, we may never learn much about it. A pity.
Considering the amount of teleporting and inter-dimensional hardware in Wapsiverse (everything from the canvas/tatoo to Monica/Shelly/Tina) and the established link between the Calendar Machine and the Demon Realm, I wouldn’t be surprised if the ‘intent’ for creating the Calendar Machine was to access/harness that realm.
To what extent/purpose I can only speculate (but considering Jin, Tepoz, Kukuclan, and Phix’s dialogue, a being like Monica is rare (even moreso than a being like Tina or Shelly) so maybe having free access to one rather than waiting for chance would be worth the huge risks of that science/magic)
Once you have a dog trained to go outside, you don’t leave the paper inside. Dietzel did pee inside once when Monica left him inside too long. Another time he gave Monica a tardy slip.
Oh. Then she is not oblivious to her problems. Well, that’s a starting point.
Yep . Gotta start somewhere , I suppose .
“…and all psychological imperfections.”
Ruh-roh!
Indeed .
Uh… what kind of “psychological imperfections” are we talking about here, Tochtli?
Is she thinking about the time she snapped? That wouldn’t explain the way she acted in front of Tina, recently, I don’t think.
So Jin is telling Monica that she is going to go insane? I guess that means that not a whole lot is going to change then.
I think it’s more to do with returning feelings. she’s been without them for so long but now she’s starting to feel things again.
I love how Paul manages to twist the story around, drop hints, change expected results and still maintain a very coherent, if convoluted storyline. Truly a master at work
Because Jin didn’t have ANY psychological imperfections up until this point, right? 😉
My thought exactly. Not even counting the time she’s spent with Monica, EVERY flashback with Jin from Tepoz & Bud involve her… going ballistic.
I wonder if Jin’s just noticing her ‘obscurities” and blaming it on the Calendar Machine.
Well as far as I can tell, Jin has some pretty unusual imperfections.
I hope the next strip will be Monica pointing out that Jin wasn’t exactly a shining beacon of psychological stability BEFORE the calendar machine was destroyed.
No – that’s what Jin is pointing out in *this* strip.
M: Oh really? And what would those imperfections be, perchance?’
J: Um… I tend to rob banks when I’m sleepwalking.
Wearing a green mask and a Zoot suit?
Poor Jin.
She really has had a rough time of it.
First she becomes immortal via her mum making the calender machine.
then she watches her mum ‘poit’ to the demon realm
then she gets tortured and betrayed by her bf and turned into a golem.
tbh she has held it together pretty well so far…
It’s thoughts like that which make me shudder in true horror.
Humanity really does have a capacity for incredible forces when pushed. The chimera in this story is a fictional representation of forces I feel are very real, a conglomeration of the connected human psyche and condition which we all deal with. If you break someone, you can unleash potential that can level worlds.
I’m tempted to suggest this has already happened. Most recently we had a schism in human psycology with the World Wars. The scars of those series of events will last a good long while, and the first one is already nearly a century past.
~D.
I like where you’re going with this….metaphor? Alliteration? Crap. Having experienced some truly evil people in my life, the one thing I could hold on to when I felt my humanity slipping away was that itself. People can completely violate every cell of your being, but they still lose if you retain what makes you human and humane.
Let’s keep in mind that Jin and Mayahuel were already golems before the calendar machine incident, which means they were already pretty much immortal. The calender just sucked May into the demon realm and got Jin stuck in a constantly repeating loop.
She didn’t return to human when the machine was destroyed because she wasn’t human when it was activated.
I think you are confusing two different events. Jin was just an 18 year old girl when Mayahuel activated the time machine. Jin and everyone else in the room stopped aging then. No one was a golem yet. Much later, Mayahuel tried to destroy the machine and was sent to the demon realm. Jin was present that time, too. Both Jin and Mayauel were golems by that time. I think Jin was unrecognizable to Mayajuel, though, because Tepoz wasn’t finished fixing the GGGs yet.
But… I distinctly remember I think Phix saying that Jin and May were both golems during the beginning of the calendar machine incident. I don’t think there were two separate incidents. Now there [i]was[/i] the chimera creation process which made them all into golems and that way way preceded the calendar machine.
That’s my understanding anyway, then again knowing my luck it’s probably totally and completely wrong. Considering how convoluted and contradicted this plot is it’s amazing I know anything about it at all.
Eschmenk is correct. 🙂 The calendar was activated first, then there was a religious backlash and the Lanthan priests took over, May (but she also goes by Maya) went with a plan to get it back. She was made into a golem soon followed by Jin. Then much much later, May tried to destroy the calendar, and the rest you know.
How… in… the…hell…?
Y’know what? I did not know that Monica was a doorway to the demon realm until you came right out and told me in the comments, Paul. That’s how well I’m able to follow the plot now.
Ok, I guess I need to reread some of the archives. From how far back do I need to start in order to truly understand what’s currently going on?
Tepoz’s take on things:
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/thosepoorgirls/
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/everybitasdangerous/
Bud’s take:
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/shewasoneofthem/
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/shesquitegoodatthat/
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/shegaveupwedidnt/
Monica’s interpretation:
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/wrestlewiththesun/
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/protectingyou/
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/theconnection/
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/heresacookie/
Phix explains:
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/nocontrol/
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/golemsandnasties/
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/electingthesameone/
Ah yes. Plenty of “Make-The-Comic-Better” single lines from strips years ago that I apparently misunderstood the first time around.
Screw it. I’m rereading the whole thing from the beginning.
Ganthan
Keep notes. I have to. I’ve re-read the whole thing once, and several sections several times, as later revelations come to light.
“Wait, wait – I thought he meant –”
Fun!
It’s my understanding that it was Jin trying to destroy the calendar machine that started the loop, and *that* is the Status Quo Ante to which Jin is returned … one in which she WAS already a golem.
Monica pointing out that Jin is unbalanced might not be the best choice. Considering that Jin has a tendency to become Shiva destroyer of worlds…
“But Fixing the Calendar Machine would never had” should be “would never have”.
Love your work.
Thanks, all fixed. 🙂
…(pausing after a thought or two)… So you were suicidal, Jin?
Jin can perform a TelePOITation Evacuation, we need to hear her out on this one, if only for the recent awe of magical waste removal.
Besides, her cat eyes are back. It’s Pay Attention Time!
Snake eyes, i believe.
Even if Jin has her “psychological problems” (gulp), she looks very good in that outfit, so her poit actually shows excellent taste…
You know, something I haven’t been able to figure out: why was the calendar machine built in the first place? What was its intended function?
Which begs other questions: Why was starting it up such a big deal? How did anyone even know something had gone wrong? Why did the priests of Lanthis seize the machine? What profit did they see in doing that?
What outcome did Mayahuel fear so much that she willingly suffered a horrible death to prevent it?
And the really fun thing is, none of these questions need be answered to further the story. Lanthis and its people are dust and myth, the calendar machine particles on the solar wind, and as with many a mystery, we are left with questions, and no answers. That’s life …
But I could stand to know where Phix came from.
…and that is the classic definition of a McGuffin – something of overwhelming importance to the characters, something that drives the action – but which, really, doesn’t concern the audience.
Well, I think they can be partially answered based on something Paul wrote in the comments a while ago. I think the priests originally had a monopoly on magic and were able to use it to intimidate everyone else so they could remain in power. I think Maya and others figured out magic more scientifically and mechanically and built the calendar machine. I don’t know what it’s specific purpose was, but apparently it was a big deal. Originally, the priests ignored or underestimated what Maya and others were doing, but were alarmed by the calendar machine. It made them realize their hold on power was threatened. They tried to seize it and wipe out anyone connected to it, but were unable to control it. I think Maya let them kill her and turn her into a golem so she could get the time machine away from them before they could figure it out. It may have also allowed her to help her friends and supporters to escape from the priests.
Of course, maybe Fatuncle knew all of that.
We don’t know what the calendar machine was supposed to do or even everything it actually did do. It wasn’t supposed to cause people to stop aging and Maya obviously didn’t know that it would defend itself by sticking her in the demon realm. I suppose the priests didn’t know what was intentional and what wasn’t, either. They probably assumed the worst.
Maybe I can force the issue.
Whined to the theme of Are We There Yet?:
Where did Phix come from?
Where did Phix come from?
Where did Phix come from?
Where did Phix come from?
Where did Phix come from?
Where did Phix etc …
“Phix” is the name of the only Sphinx to appear in Greek Mythology, daughter of Echidna and either Orthrus or Typhon.
Interestingly, there may be ties to the chimera. The greeks envisioned a sphinx as having the head of a woman, the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and a serpent headed tail.
The Greeks recognized the sphinx as a foreign concept having come from Egypt. They knew of the Egyptian usage of the creatures in artwork and statues, and the Greeks even adopted the symbolism for several of their own works, including a sphinx on the helmet of the famous statue of Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon, as well as the adoption of the creature as symbol of the city of Chios.
For the greeks, a sphinx was a bad omen and a gatekeeper, and the most famous greek story of one is the tale of Oedipus traveling to Thebes, which was guarded by Phix, who was sent by the gods as punishment for Thebian sin. She tells her riddle (sometimes two) and Oedipus gets it right, so she inexplicably kills herself.
~D.
D. Walker
I really meant in terms of Paul’s mythology – how long has she been around? Did she pre-date Lanthis? Is she a Living Artifact, as the G³s are, or a natural creature? How did she learn to place herself outside of the normal time stream? Is shapeshifting something she learned, or something she is? How did her Library come to be, and what are it’s mechanisms for collecting books?
One of the demons told Monica that entire structures of existence have come into being and then vanished without a trace – did Phix originate in one of those? That would explain a lot.
Phix’s back story could be quite extensive, but as we are only concerned with her interface with Monica, we may never learn much about it. A pity.
Considering the amount of teleporting and inter-dimensional hardware in Wapsiverse (everything from the canvas/tatoo to Monica/Shelly/Tina) and the established link between the Calendar Machine and the Demon Realm, I wouldn’t be surprised if the ‘intent’ for creating the Calendar Machine was to access/harness that realm.
To what extent/purpose I can only speculate (but considering Jin, Tepoz, Kukuclan, and Phix’s dialogue, a being like Monica is rare (even moreso than a being like Tina or Shelly) so maybe having free access to one rather than waiting for chance would be worth the huge risks of that science/magic)
All work and no play make Homer go something, something…..
Dietzel needs poiting too….
Why? Isn’t he paper-trained?
I can’t believe nobody has used the term “poit-a-potty” yet …
Once you have a dog trained to go outside, you don’t leave the paper inside. Dietzel did pee inside once when Monica left him inside too long. Another time he gave Monica a tardy slip.
Well relapsing never fun.