And I know that name from somewhere. I’m terrible about remembering names so it may take me a couple of months to place where I heard it from. Brain damage is a cast-iron (derogatory term that also refers to a female dog) at times.
No, I’m thinking on the lines of anime, not video games or RPG. The “Ts” is a common Nihongo Japanese usage. But I have also seen it used in Mayan transliterations with different rules about when to and when not to pronounce the “t” part of the phoneme. And I watch a buttload of anime.
Tsillah… hmmm… sounds an awful lot like Scylla to me. And in one version of the myth, Scylla was quite literally joined at the hip with monstrous hounds.
Definitely a member of the fan club, it seems… but apparently not someone either of them has met before.
“Sage of the forest” seems clear enough, as does “Sister of the companion” (if the latter refers to CG Conscience). “Wielder of the key”… the Vimana cell artifact?
It certainly does seem as if the story of Shelly’s time in the forest has gotten around, if it’s on the lesson plan in Tsillah’s school. I wonder what more we’ll hear about whatever happened during those 80k years?
Shelly’s blush, and Justin’s reaction to it are really cute.
Do all the supernatural beings know about the loop? Would they know Shelly was in there for 80000 years and not just how ever many years since the loop last began again (I totally forgot how long each loop was)? I knew the library was independent of the loop, but not sure of everything else.
Major secrets like the Companion and stabbing Monica seem to be parapublic knowledge. And why not? They’re heroic sacrifices. Hope Justin is up to speed– this could all come out in an embarrassing tumble.
And Tsillah is a sweet name that the new Google algorithm is making a bear to research.
I think it;s more striking that there are schools for paranormals.Tsilla has the water bottle an backpack that would be for a typical teenager or college freshman. Just how extensive is the para-normal world? Are there entire communities around or next to the Earth (dimension)?
She just created clothes out of shadow. So her shadow being weird is kinda par for the course. My guess is that the shadow we see is a part of her and not based on where the light source is. which is why Shelly’s shadow isn’t visible in the last frame, nor is the notebook.
That’s already been seen — when she was conjuring clothes for them, her shadow was grinning gleefully, and she wasn’t (unless, as some speculate, the shadow is her, and the solid being is the shadow).
Holy crap, you’re right. I just flipped through the last couple of pages and noticed how incredibly creepy the shadow is being. I think the shadow may be a different entity, and is “attached” to her. It mimics Tsillah just for fun.
I noticed that Tsilla’s head horns/growths/whatever the heck they are tend to grown and shrink depending on emotional state. In the last panel her side horns have disappeared and the one on top are almost gone.
Tsilla is showing some of the same abilities, or behavior, that Tina does. Could this be another demon composite? Or just a demon? Phix would let a good demon in. She only kills the ones who break the laws and rules after all.
And once again, light is appearing in portions of her shadow image where it would not normally… her eyes this time. Definitely something quirly in the relationship between this young lady and her shadow… as her name implies!
I wonder who’s the “real” Tsillah, the ecclectic fan-girl, or the shadow…. An inverted relationship between physical shape and cast shadow, wouldn’t be too far out of the ordinary in WS.. :hmmm:
That would explain the shifting features of her body. Perhaps her shadow stays constant, and her “real” form shifts with the light? If that’s not the case here, I’m totally using it for something in the future.
We may be falling prey to an unwarranted dualism, when we ask “Which is the real Tsillah, the physical form or the shadow?” That may not be a question which has a one-or-the-other answer.
They may be two equally-valid aspects of a single being…. projections into 2- and 3-dimensional space of some sort of higher-dimensional entity. Both the “body” and the “shadow” seem to be subject to change from moment to moment… possibly neither is truly the “real Tsillah”.
She’s nowhere near cold enough to be from Palain VII, though, so I don’t expect her to start emfozing before our eyes (and it would probably wreck the strip’s YA status if she did)
This is someone that Phix allows into the library. So while I’m not sure I can trust her appearance to be what she actually looks like, I don’t distrust her on that aspect either.
After all we’ve seen the alternate forms of Shelly, Phix, Euryale, Nudge…and they are OK folks in general. Perhaps Nudge isn’t quite up there to “trustworthy” status, but I doubt that she’s likely to start any trouble.
And moved around her head, and also changed number… and as I mentioned yesterday, her figure changed, at least the part(s) we could watch. She went from a c-cup to a “scant” a-cup, but we couldn’t see her hips and waist after the bottom panel from Monday’s comic.
And she went back to a B in the first panel and then A at the last panel. Paul has shown in the past that he draws very consistent female figures, so there is something going on with this girl.
Very interesting… Tsillah is a woman’s name from the Old Testament, and is derived from “zillah” which means “shade”. Quite appropriate for a shadowshaper!
Yanno, I’m pretty sure there’s a dirty joke in there somewhere… but I’m too poor to keep paying the pun jar. I will rise to the occasion, with my head held high, and resist the urge to… oh sod it *clink, clink, clink*
Yes! Snowflakes at night seems the best description I’ve seen so far. It’s been bugging me why that “pattern” for her dress looked familiar. There’s no way I was going to remember snowflakes at night since I see that so rarely (stupid spring-flavored winters).
(tune- “Starry starry night”)
Starry starry suit… what happened to my other threads?
They’re burnt to cinders, ripped to shreds
and vaporized by firedogs straight from hell
‘splain to me dear Shell… who’s this that gushes over you?
a nineteen-sixties nightmare view
with shadows that don’t match her face or hands
I don’t understand- what the devil’s going on?
All my sanity and logic’s gone
screaming as it flees- paranormal life is odd to me, and yet it’s all I see
Can you imagine what doing an animation of this character would be like? With the horns moving around and changing shape and her figure changing shape, and it wouldn’t surprize me at all that she changed height, too but we haven’t had anything to scale off of for her…
Last panel is ultra-cute!
(Had to say that)
And yeah, she’s just a kid – that explains the clothing choice and the bunny teeth.
Needless to say, but I like her already (has there been a new character introduced in Wapsi that wasn’t instantly likeable? Apart from Creepy, maybe, but she also grew out of that)
That would be interesting. Although Shelly was associated more with wind iirc (her answer to Phix’s riddle…and there was even a strip or two with her wearing a shirt with the character for “wind” on it).
Interesting body positioning today. It shows a lot of the growth, or new stage, of relationship between Shelly and Justin.
I pretty sure the “ZOMG, you’re nekkked!!11!!” along with a downward glance is the reason Shelly have her hand around Justin’s arm in panel 2.
It’s last panel that’s interesting. Shelly moved forward a step forward, part to show pre-eminence, part to mark her territory. Said territory is bowing his head, part bemused, part acknowledging Shelly’s pre-eminence. Shelly is looking back at him blushing, part accepting his pledge, part because she’s feeling too forward; which is completly natural given what we know of her character.
Hell… I want a suit like that (at least with that kind of fabric).
Interesting interpretation of the body language. I read Justin’s reaction as amusement with regards to Shelly having a fangirl, but your take on it is certainly plausible.
Hell, a woman in a men’s style suit cut to accentuate her figure is all kinds of sexy. It’s a nice blend of implied power and femininity. At least to me, anyway.
The poses also convey that Shelly is a bit embarrassed by the gushing, but also something of “see Justin? All I said, however crazy it sounds, is true”
Justin has his head bowed in the sort of admissive “Yes, you were totally true, I stand corrected”
“Creepy Girl” is going to be difficult to shed as her moniker. Especially since CG is so easy to type and remember. It’s already ingrained into Wapsi comment lore. I think it was even mentioned in the dialog baloons but I’m not sure.
They have constantly referred to “creepy girl” as her companion which is evident here http://wapsisquare.com/comic/we-can-practice/
Phix called Shelly’s partner who you all call “creepy girl” her companion. So the companion is her, not Nudge.
That’s true. It appears as if the shadow is trying to introduce itself as well. Maybe tomorrow we’ll see it turn to Tsillah with that “aren’t you going to introduce me too?” look.
Either that or, like the retracting of the horns, the shadow is simply a manifestation of her current mood or actions rather than just following her movements like a normal shadow would. It does what it does due to her ability to manipulate darkness. She’s probably not even trying to control it. It’s purely atonomic.
This girl is cute. I love the little buck teeth, she comes across as about 14 or so. Nice touches with the differences between Tsillah and her shadow. Always a delight to read Wapsi, Paul.
As Dave said, Tsillah is a derivative of “צָלַל” (tsalal) meaning “dark”. Delightful name for someone who can manipulate shadows. As I thought about their “clothing” yesterday, it came to me that it would feel like they were walking around in their birthday suits – shadows wouldn’t have any sensation at all. I guess they don’t mind.
Strange, I used Google and BING Translators on צָלַל and they said it translates meaning ‘Plunged’ or ‘Dived’. Babelfish wouldn’t translate at all.
Oh and just so I’m clear, the “T” in Tsilla is silent Yes?
The sea was used numerous times as a metaphor for darkness and separation in the Old Testament. This would probably explain why the term “The Depths” was translated as tsillah or some variant thereof.
Tsilla rabbit….Trix – NEVER MIND. Cute name though.
Wow, Its like OSCAR NIGHT at Wapsi Square.
I wanna see Shelly do a Catherine Zeta-Jones in that dress.
….the leg thing?
D’ya suppose this arc was to coincide with said event before the scanner went down?
I almost didn’t recognize you in your new avatar! You people who change things up…you make me have to pay attention to names instead of faces. Not fair! I’m so much better with faces!
nah, before the Time-Forest/ Relic incident, Shelly actually had short hair. but then she went/came back from the T-F and INSTANTLY had LONG hair, but to hide this from everyone NOT in-the-know, she had it put up into a short haircut, that when she sneezed it popped out… if i remember correctly that is…
Tsillah (Shade, via Dave) is actually the Shadow on the wall, using her unique skills to project a body. The body then can interact with the corporeal world, but her “shadow” is her manifestation within this plane of existence. Thus, as Tsillah interacts with corporeal beings, her physical projection may tend to change shape (bust line, horns) to suit the situation, or her level of distraction.
If her body is a projection, and the shadow is real, then the projection is solid enough to carry a water bottle and heavy book bag.
On another point, I thought that Creepy Girl was a part of Shelly, not her sister. If that is so, the CG is not The Companion, and we have yet to meet TC.
CG “Connie” is an entity in her own right… she was created out of Shelly’s demons, during the stress of Shelly’s near-death experience. Normal demons are autonomous, immortal, survive after the death of their host human, and can even be “assigned” to more than one living human at a time. We’ve been told that Connie now has the same lifespan as Shelly… the process that created her by “combining” Shelly’s demons into one, apparently limited her lifetime. I don’t think we know whether the individual demons would then re-emerge separately, or whether they are gone for good.
Calling Shelly and Connie “sisters” isn’t literally correct in the usual human sense, but it does seem a reasonable metaphor for the nature of their relationship. Perhaps a Tau Phi (“Time Forest”) sorority, membership of two?
Shelly herself referred to Connie as her “companion” just after she/they returned from the Time Forest, and Phix also used that term in a clear reference to Connie. It would definitely be a twist if Tsillah were actually referring to someone else with this term.
I’m thinking the non-corporeal being has a corporeal projection, a’la Flatland. The 2-D Flatlanders could not imagine 3-D, and the 3-D being interjecting into 2-D merely presented a changing shape. Solidity is a consequence of the projection.
And Kudos to W for the ST:TOS Zefram Cochrane reference!
Oh geeze it’s another fangirl. If this is going to happen every time one of the Wapsi crew goes to the Library we need to get Tina there as soon as possible.
I find it interesting her focus is on Shelly as Connie’s ‘sister’…
In the world and lore of demons, Connie may well be a unique entity and perhaps quite famous.
She’s not a single demon in the original sense… she’s a stress- or pressure-combined composite demon (a bit like the Tina 2.0 collective but taken all the way to the point of individuality). She has apparently achieved a bond with Shelly strong enough to become mortal, and limited to Shelly’s own lifetime. And, she’s unique and disturbing (and powerful??) enough to scare and stand off the apo sphinxes for thousands of years, protecting Shelly while she matured… the very sphinxes who make a habit of destroying demons of whom they disapprove.
Small wonder Connie would be a focus of attention. She’s a Damascus-steel Hattori Hanzo sword.
…Especially when the notebook doesn’t show up in Tsillah’s “shadow”. I’m thinking the cutesy fangirl bit is a put-on to make Shelly drop her guard. Guess we’ll find out in a few hours…
Oddly, she seems to be looking to Justin for the autograph.
I think the choice of name is largely due to it’s similarity to “silly,” thereby relating to her personality.
I also think her relation to the shadow is more of a shelly-companion kind of relationship. The shadow is a part of her, yet has an existance somewhat apart from hers.
From where is all this light eminating in the first place? Why does only Tsillah have a shadow? Perhaps the light is not from some conventional source such as a bulb, but a general glow provided from a supernatural source. Apparently not something which usally casts shadows, indicating Tsillah’s shadow is more than the blocking of light.
I’m starting to think Phix is beginning to introduce our Wacky Collection of Oddballs to the greater community of mythic creatures. Wasn’t Eurale placed where she was because Phix informed her a book she wanted was ready?
“Weilder of the Key”
Snerk. Nice term for what she (c)locked Monica down with. “10 turns gently clockwise, then pull …’ Clack. “huh, guess it’s suppose to stay in there.”
Oh, hey, Oscar’s night at the annex. I hope that’s not Justin’s middle name.
Did you by any chance include two different URLs in it? The forum software seems to be set up to allow one URL by itself, but to require Paul’s Gesture of Moderation Approval for any comment which includes two or more. It’s a blogspam-filtering technique.
Use of certain words might also trigger a moderation requirement… I don’t know for sure if that’s enabled here or not.
I’m stll troubled by Phix’s absence. If she knew Shelly and Justin were coming, why isn’t she there? And why didn’t the Annex materialize for them if they were invited?
While I like Tsillah, I’m not entirely sure she is being truthful and trustworthy. I think S&J should be very careful until she is ok’d by Phix. After all, she does appear to be a demon, and even Tina said that she herself (themselves?) is not trustworthy
I think this is something the Library has been doing on its own. Remember that during the Phix/Nudge fight the Library spoke up and told them to knock it off and be nice, and that everybody was free top come and go as they pleased? I think the Library has too many different editions of Asimov’s joke book and dirty limericks.
Just thought of something. How was Justin’s hair safe from the fire? It’s obviously not invulnerable like the rest of him or he’d never be able to cut it.
OfficerTB’s not invulnerable, just a combination of a high regenerative ability and pain/damage tolerance.
The Cerberus’s fire, for example. The brunt of the heat and impact was taken by Shelly, yet still enough hit OfficerTB to melt his clothes, glasses, and flesh (as we saw some skull there).
His skin regrew almost instantly after the fire stopped burning him. No reason to believe his hair can’t respond the same way.
And given how buff OfficerTB was after being burned alive, compared to previous instances of us seeing OfficerTB without a shirt, it seems his body overcompensates to regenerate loss flesh, then settles back down to normal (similar to the hypertrophy of bone affect that Hanineal mentioned the other day). This could include his hair and explain why he doesn’t look like “Cousin It” from the Addams Family instead.
That goes back to the theory that he recovers back to whatever state he was the moment before the injury. As if his DNA, or whatever keeps, a record of his state from moment to moment, calling upon the last “snapshot” to reconstruct him. Also, the healing mechanism can decern the difference between reall trauma and everyday “normal” events, like clipping fingernails or cutting hair.
In a tall glass with ice,
1 part Grenadine
1 part Sambuca
1 part Frangelico
1 part Malibu Black
Trust me. The aftertaste is better than the first sip. You just have to rest between pulls on the straw!
Do Not serve to people you like on Facebook!
Do Not serve to your grandmother!
Do not serve to your Third Grade Teacher!
Get the hint???????
FIRST!
And we have a name for Creepy Girl – “The Companion”.
And our crazy looking lady too – Tsillah. Interesting.
And I know that name from somewhere. I’m terrible about remembering names so it may take me a couple of months to place where I heard it from. Brain damage is a cast-iron (derogatory term that also refers to a female dog) at times.
Old Testament Hebrew name… see my note below… It does appear to be a significant name!
Yes, but it has a media reference that i can’t put my finger on.
A name in the game Shadowpriest
No, I’m thinking on the lines of anime, not video games or RPG. The “Ts” is a common Nihongo Japanese usage. But I have also seen it used in Mayan transliterations with different rules about when to and when not to pronounce the “t” part of the phoneme. And I watch a buttload of anime.
My browser has got even mo’ Tsillah…
*dumps wallet into pun jar*
Tsillah… hmmm… sounds an awful lot like Scylla to me. And in one version of the myth, Scylla was quite literally joined at the hip with monstrous hounds.
Now I gotta ask, where’s Charybdis?
Probably chilling somewhere around here.
Hm, code swallowed the link whole.
The lovely Straits of Messina.
Neat. There’s even a street view of the area.
Glad I’m not the only one who had that immediate thought.
That was also my immediate thought, though I’m still not sure why my mind made that jump.
It just occured to me – she called Shelly ‘Sister of the Companion”. Sister!? Whole ‘nother can o’ worms there….
It does, doesn’t it. What if CG is not really what she says she is and, instead, is the spirit of a sister Shelly didn’t know she had?
OTOH, they are essentially sisters, given they know all about each other and spring from the same mind.
Definitely a member of the fan club, it seems… but apparently not someone either of them has met before.
“Sage of the forest” seems clear enough, as does “Sister of the companion” (if the latter refers to CG Conscience). “Wielder of the key”… the Vimana cell artifact?
It certainly does seem as if the story of Shelly’s time in the forest has gotten around, if it’s on the lesson plan in Tsillah’s school. I wonder what more we’ll hear about whatever happened during those 80k years?
Shelly’s blush, and Justin’s reaction to it are really cute.
Do all the supernatural beings know about the loop? Would they know Shelly was in there for 80000 years and not just how ever many years since the loop last began again (I totally forgot how long each loop was)? I knew the library was independent of the loop, but not sure of everything else.
Looks like Euryale knew about the loop. So I guess that answers that.
What do they teach them in these schools.
Major secrets like the Companion and stabbing Monica seem to be parapublic knowledge. And why not? They’re heroic sacrifices. Hope Justin is up to speed– this could all come out in an embarrassing tumble.
And Tsillah is a sweet name that the new Google algorithm is making a bear to research.
try google now – a lot more than this morning!!
I think it;s more striking that there are schools for paranormals.Tsilla has the water bottle an backpack that would be for a typical teenager or college freshman. Just how extensive is the para-normal world? Are there entire communities around or next to the Earth (dimension)?
“Wielder of the Key” – wielded it right into the top of Monica’s head…
Gaah! Why didn’t remember that?? Late night syndrome I guess.
So, the kids are getting the full historic runthrough, including both the CM loop and its resolution as well as the Time Forest saga.
I love Shelly’s blush and Justin’s amusement, too.
So Tsillah is a Shelly fangirl? A fangirl whose shadow has its own eyes, aparently.
Yah, those shadows are beginnin’ to creep me out. Her shadow also does not have a notebook shadow in the last panel.
Woah, didn’t catch that. Now I’m wondering where I can get a notebook like that.
Actually what makes me more curious is how the shadows hand doesn’t match up with the normal hand at all.
She just created clothes out of shadow. So her shadow being weird is kinda par for the course. My guess is that the shadow we see is a part of her and not based on where the light source is. which is why Shelly’s shadow isn’t visible in the last frame, nor is the notebook.
That’s already been seen — when she was conjuring clothes for them, her shadow was grinning gleefully, and she wasn’t (unless, as some speculate, the shadow is her, and the solid being is the shadow).
Holy crap, you’re right. I just flipped through the last couple of pages and noticed how incredibly creepy the shadow is being. I think the shadow may be a different entity, and is “attached” to her. It mimics Tsillah just for fun.
it looks like that’s not *her* shadow, but her demon’s…
- note the shadow hand is open, not ‘holding’…
I think that the “shadow” is Tsilla, and the physical body holding the notebook is some sort of projection.
Does she control the shadow or does the shadow control her?
I noticed that Tsilla’s head horns/growths/whatever the heck they are tend to grown and shrink depending on emotional state. In the last panel her side horns have disappeared and the one on top are almost gone.
Tsilla is showing some of the same abilities, or behavior, that Tina does. Could this be another demon composite? Or just a demon? Phix would let a good demon in. She only kills the ones who break the laws and rules after all.
And now we see Shelly’s fan club.. and gushing fangirl.
And Justin is finding out that the weird can be downright normal.
Or, at least, normally weird.
Weird is relative…
And relatives can be the weirdest of all.
Her horns – retracted…..
And in panel four her shadow doesn’t HAVE horns. I am beginning to distrust what I see about Tsillah.
Tsillah Googled: Old Testament antedeluvian female name, and World of Warecraft references….
Sorry – World of WARcraft….
No no, you had it right the first time…
And once again, light is appearing in portions of her shadow image where it would not normally… her eyes this time. Definitely something quirly in the relationship between this young lady and her shadow… as her name implies!
I wonder who’s the “real” Tsillah, the ecclectic fan-girl, or the shadow…. An inverted relationship between physical shape and cast shadow, wouldn’t be too far out of the ordinary in WS.. :hmmm:
That would explain the shifting features of her body. Perhaps her shadow stays constant, and her “real” form shifts with the light? If that’s not the case here, I’m totally using it for something in the future.
Wonderful speculation.
We may be falling prey to an unwarranted dualism, when we ask “Which is the real Tsillah, the physical form or the shadow?” That may not be a question which has a one-or-the-other answer.
They may be two equally-valid aspects of a single being…. projections into 2- and 3-dimensional space of some sort of higher-dimensional entity. Both the “body” and the “shadow” seem to be subject to change from moment to moment… possibly neither is truly the “real Tsillah”.
She’s nowhere near cold enough to be from Palain VII, though, so I don’t expect her to start emfozing before our eyes (and it would probably wreck the strip’s YA status if she did)
The horns were there two days ago.
Add today’s thumb shadow is slightly different from the real thumb, not parrallel with forefinger.
I’d guess the light source moved or our pov moved so they appear differently.
This is someone that Phix allows into the library. So while I’m not sure I can trust her appearance to be what she actually looks like, I don’t distrust her on that aspect either.
After all we’ve seen the alternate forms of Shelly, Phix, Euryale, Nudge…and they are OK folks in general. Perhaps Nudge isn’t quite up there to “trustworthy” status, but I doubt that she’s likely to start any trouble.
And moved around her head, and also changed number… and as I mentioned yesterday, her figure changed, at least the part(s) we could watch. She went from a c-cup to a “scant” a-cup, but we couldn’t see her hips and waist after the bottom panel from Monday’s comic.
And she went back to a B in the first panel and then A at the last panel. Paul has shown in the past that he draws very consistent female figures, so there is something going on with this girl.
Maybe she is an “emotional meta-morph” and changes with her emotional state.
Very interesting… Tsillah is a woman’s name from the Old Testament, and is derived from “zillah” which means “shade”. Quite appropriate for a shadowshaper!
a few isreali girls called that today, in Google…
Her name is Tsilla, very Tsilla.
Does she want the Companion’s autograph too?
Sorry. I meant “Tsillah”.
Fan service!
Hair horns?
They may be like Panic’s tentacles, and stand out the most when there’s a perception of danger.
Yanno, I’m pretty sure there’s a dirty joke in there somewhere… but I’m too poor to keep paying the pun jar. I will rise to the occasion, with my head held high, and resist the urge to… oh sod it *clink, clink, clink*
D’aww, fan girl! I really like her.
His suit is definitely starry sky; her dress is more snowflakes at night?
Yesterday his tie wad dark, today it is light. An effect of the shadow? Or an “oops”?
I was curious about the tie too, but I am glad I’m not the only one who noticed the tie.
Her shadow hand also looks like she is reaching out to him.
Yes! Snowflakes at night seems the best description I’ve seen so far.
It’s been bugging me why that “pattern” for her dress looked familiar. There’s no way I was going to remember snowflakes at night since I see that so rarely (stupid spring-flavored winters).
(tune- “Starry starry night”)
Starry starry suit… what happened to my other threads?
They’re burnt to cinders, ripped to shreds
and vaporized by firedogs straight from hell
‘splain to me dear Shell… who’s this that gushes over you?
a nineteen-sixties nightmare view
with shadows that don’t match her face or hands
I don’t understand- what the devil’s going on?
All my sanity and logic’s gone
screaming as it flees- paranormal life is odd to me, and yet it’s all I see
That one gets a 10 out of 10 from the Earth Judge.
Can you imagine what doing an animation of this character would be like? With the horns moving around and changing shape and her figure changing shape, and it wouldn’t surprize me at all that she changed height, too but we haven’t had anything to scale off of for her…
Very mercurial. Wonder if her personality is like that – when she’s not fangirling?
Wait wait School? … A school full of girls like her? How long do they have school? And who are the teacher?
Ever watched Monster High?
Phix gotta be the teacher…
Or, lord help us, Nudge is.
No, probably someone normal – like, say, Athena.
Who are the teachers? Mean ugly rascals with chair, whip and pistol as standard gear
OH, COOL!!! Now Shelly has a Fan-Dom.
Last panel is ultra-cute!
(Had to say that)
And yeah, she’s just a kid – that explains the clothing choice and the bunny teeth.
Needless to say, but I like her already (has there been a new character introduced in Wapsi that wasn’t instantly likeable? Apart from Creepy, maybe, but she also grew out of that)
Monica goes to the Annex, gets greeted with ice, and meets a fan.
Shelly goes to the Annex, gets greeted with fire, and meets a fan.
Hmm…
Indeed. There seems to be a pattern here.
Thenn.. Katherine should be greeted with water (remember? fishy-eyes and piranha-teeth?)
That would be interesting.
Although Shelly was associated more with wind iirc (her answer to Phix’s riddle…and there was even a strip or two with her wearing a shirt with the character for “wind” on it).
So who’s going to get the dirt clod thrown at them? Hmm…dirt…clay…
I just picture Sphix going to the door of the annex and getting hit with a water balloon and nudge running for her life afterwards.
If I went to the annex I’d get greeted by a bill collector…
They do seem to be everywhere, don’t they….
Shelly blush is so cute … really like this one !
And the shadow is so COOL. Good One ! (thumbs up)
Tsillah? How do you pronounce that? Also, her shadow on Panel #4 is really cute.
@Paul
Is that the Andromeda Galaxy in OTB’s jacket?
If it follows Hebrew it will be pronounced ‘Seelah’
Cool, nice to meet you Tsillah. Any relation to Charybdis?
Sweet Minerva I hope not. Charybdis and her sister Scylla aren’t exactly known for being the most pleasant to deal with.
That would be an interesting tie-in.
Well, with so much fangirling in evidence in Wapsi lately, it would be reasonable that we would also encounter a rock star or two.
That’s just too funny. Shelly has a fangirl just like Monica now. lol
Interesting body positioning today. It shows a lot of the growth, or new stage, of relationship between Shelly and Justin.
I pretty sure the “ZOMG, you’re nekkked!!11!!” along with a downward glance is the reason Shelly have her hand around Justin’s arm in panel 2.
It’s last panel that’s interesting. Shelly moved forward a step forward, part to show pre-eminence, part to mark her territory. Said territory is bowing his head, part bemused, part acknowledging Shelly’s pre-eminence. Shelly is looking back at him blushing, part accepting his pledge, part because she’s feeling too forward; which is completly natural given what we know of her character.
We’re looking at bonding here.
Oblivious fangirl is oblivious.
ps: I want a suit like that.
Hell… I want a suit like that (at least with that kind of fabric).
Interesting interpretation of the body language. I read Justin’s reaction as amusement with regards to Shelly having a fangirl, but your take on it is certainly plausible.
Hell, a woman in a men’s style suit cut to accentuate her figure is all kinds of sexy. It’s a nice blend of implied power and femininity. At least to me, anyway.
The poses also convey that Shelly is a bit embarrassed by the gushing, but also something of “see Justin? All I said, however crazy it sounds, is true”
Justin has his head bowed in the sort of admissive “Yes, you were totally true, I stand corrected”
Heheheh.. Aaaaand another fan..
Still. “Tsilla”?? hmmm.. nothing I can dig-up from my trivia-swamped mind (except “tiny Godzilla) to relate thet name to something.
Wowowowo..wait right there! “Sister of the Companion”?????
Now whát?? “Companion=Creepy Girl orrr..companion = Nudge ???
*I need a strong coffee, possibility-overload*
My vote is on Creepy Girl, who, unless I find out otherwise, I am going to call The Companion. Feels less insulting.
“Creepy Girl” is going to be difficult to shed as her moniker. Especially since CG is so easy to type and remember. It’s already ingrained into Wapsi comment lore. I think it was even mentioned in the dialog baloons but I’m not sure.
CG = “Companion Girl”. Problem solved.
They have constantly referred to “creepy girl” as her companion which is evident here
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/we-can-practice/
Phix called Shelly’s partner who you all call “creepy girl” her companion. So the companion is her, not Nudge.
@Jay-Em – took me a while before the nickel dropped, too – that’s another kettle of metaphysical fish altogether (All: “metafishical!”)
(klinc, klink, klinq)
Gojira’s kid is Minira. She doesn’t strike me as Japanese at all, if anything her clothing is more like Amerindian themed to me.
Hm, she’s cute fer sure, but her shadow is saying ‘Gimme the yummy hooman!’ to me.
Not enough to be offensive, but I think enough to make sure the wings & claws are on standby…
“gimme the yummy human”?
Not to me. That shadow looks more like the “Oh my gawd! Can I shake your hand?” pose that I see rather frequently in the convention circuits.
There is a picture of me looking much like that shadow the day I met Walter Koenig at GenCon
Guys! Guys! ShadowTsillah’s expression is a floor wax and a dessert topping!
I always thought it was a Doctor AND a floor wax! (“He’s dead, Jim, but look at that shine!”)
Khaaaaaaaannnn!
Talk about an old SNL skit.
That’s true. It appears as if the shadow is trying to introduce itself as well. Maybe tomorrow we’ll see it turn to Tsillah with that “aren’t you going to introduce me too?” look.
Either that or, like the retracting of the horns, the shadow is simply a manifestation of her current mood or actions rather than just following her movements like a normal shadow would. It does what it does due to her ability to manipulate darkness. She’s probably not even trying to control it. It’s purely atonomic.
Fangirl!
This girl is cute. I love the little buck teeth, she comes across as about 14 or so. Nice touches with the differences between Tsillah and her shadow. Always a delight to read Wapsi, Paul.
As Dave said, Tsillah is a derivative of “צָלַל” (tsalal) meaning “dark”. Delightful name for someone who can manipulate shadows. As I thought about their “clothing” yesterday, it came to me that it would feel like they were walking around in their birthday suits – shadows wouldn’t have any sensation at all. I guess they don’t mind.
Strange, I used Google and BING Translators on צָלַל and they said it translates meaning ‘Plunged’ or ‘Dived’. Babelfish wouldn’t translate at all.
Oh and just so I’m clear, the “T” in Tsilla is silent Yes?
Strong’s Bible Concordance gives several meanings
http://concordances.org/hebrew/6749.htm
http://concordances.org/hebrew/6750.htm
http://concordances.org/hebrew/6751.htm
including “be submerged” (that would be your “dived”, “quiver,” and “dark. In any event, the “t” is pronounced – the first letter is “tsaddi”.
The sea was used numerous times as a metaphor for darkness and separation in the Old Testament. This would probably explain why the term “The Depths” was translated as tsillah or some variant thereof.
Tsilla rabbit….Trix – NEVER MIND. Cute name though.
Wow, Its like OSCAR NIGHT at Wapsi Square.
I wanna see Shelly do a Catherine Zeta-Jones in that dress.
….the leg thing?
D’ya suppose this arc was to coincide with said event before the scanner went down?
I almost didn’t recognize you in your new avatar!
You people who change things up…you make me have to pay attention to names instead of faces. Not fair! I’m so much better with faces! 
Aww, The 4th and best ‘Doctor Who.’ No. No, no. There is no arguing this.
Why Thank you, “Julie” and “W”. Actually I think I’m most comfortable in this skin. Classic.
Wasn’t Shelly’s spirit guide a rabbit? And if so, given the changeable form of Tsillah, there could be some serious fan-girling goin’ on.
So, we alter her nickname to Shadow Rabbit Girl?
“Growing my hair out like yours.” Heh. Shelly’s current hair length wasn’t exactly a deliberate choice. Not everyone can sneeze up long locks.
nah, before the Time-Forest/ Relic incident, Shelly actually had short hair. but then she went/came back from the T-F and INSTANTLY had LONG hair, but to hide this from everyone NOT in-the-know, she had it put up into a short haircut, that when she sneezed it popped out… if i remember correctly that is…
Yup, she cut it short, then sneeze-morphed it long….
Following on from Jay-Em’s idea:
Tsillah (Shade, via Dave) is actually the Shadow on the wall, using her unique skills to project a body. The body then can interact with the corporeal world, but her “shadow” is her manifestation within this plane of existence. Thus, as Tsillah interacts with corporeal beings, her physical projection may tend to change shape (bust line, horns) to suit the situation, or her level of distraction.
Back to you, Chet….
If her body is a projection, and the shadow is real, then the projection is solid enough to carry a water bottle and heavy book bag.
On another point, I thought that Creepy Girl was a part of Shelly, not her sister. If that is so, the CG is not The Companion, and we have yet to meet TC.
CG “Connie” is an entity in her own right… she was created out of Shelly’s demons, during the stress of Shelly’s near-death experience. Normal demons are autonomous, immortal, survive after the death of their host human, and can even be “assigned” to more than one living human at a time. We’ve been told that Connie now has the same lifespan as Shelly… the process that created her by “combining” Shelly’s demons into one, apparently limited her lifetime. I don’t think we know whether the individual demons would then re-emerge separately, or whether they are gone for good.
Calling Shelly and Connie “sisters” isn’t literally correct in the usual human sense, but it does seem a reasonable metaphor for the nature of their relationship. Perhaps a Tau Phi (“Time Forest”) sorority, membership of two?
Shelly herself referred to Connie as her “companion” just after she/they returned from the Time Forest, and Phix also used that term in a clear reference to Connie. It would definitely be a twist if Tsillah were actually referring to someone else with this term.
Thanks for clarifying. As for another “Companion” being a twist, well, Paul does often leave us all in knots. from chasing our own tails.
I’m getting a Zefram Cochrane vibe from The Companion name. He would have gone crazy without ‘it.’
Gaaahhh that’s what it was. Thanks for mentioning him; I wouldn’t have remembered that by myself.
I’m thinking the non-corporeal being has a corporeal projection, a’la Flatland. The 2-D Flatlanders could not imagine 3-D, and the 3-D being interjecting into 2-D merely presented a changing shape. Solidity is a consequence of the projection.
And Kudos to W for the ST:TOS Zefram Cochrane reference!
Oh geeze it’s another fangirl. If this is going to happen every time one of the Wapsi crew goes to the Library we need to get Tina there as soon as possible.
I find it interesting her focus is on Shelly as Connie’s ‘sister’…
In the world and lore of demons, Connie may well be a unique entity and perhaps quite famous.
She’s not a single demon in the original sense… she’s a stress- or pressure-combined composite demon (a bit like the Tina 2.0 collective but taken all the way to the point of individuality). She has apparently achieved a bond with Shelly strong enough to become mortal, and limited to Shelly’s own lifetime. And, she’s unique and disturbing (and powerful??) enough to scare and stand off the apo sphinxes for thousands of years, protecting Shelly while she matured… the very sphinxes who make a habit of destroying demons of whom they disapprove.
Small wonder Connie would be a focus of attention. She’s a Damascus-steel Hattori Hanzo sword.
Re: the Apos standing off — I read it as much more a matter of CLG being conceptually disturbing than one of her being powerful.
Three things occurring right now.
One — so far, we only have Tsillah’s word that Phix even knows she’s there, let alone that she’s approved her presence.
Two — in occult circles, writing your name in a book can have consequences.
Three — are we all familiar with the role of the Shadow in Jungian psychology?
spoiling teh surprise are we?.
Add the naming thingy is more Celtic/Hindi than anything else. Her name is abrahamic it seems.
…Especially when the notebook doesn’t show up in Tsillah’s “shadow”. I’m thinking the cutesy fangirl bit is a put-on to make Shelly drop her guard. Guess we’ll find out in a few hours…
Oddly, she seems to be looking to Justin for the autograph.
I think the choice of name is largely due to it’s similarity to “silly,” thereby relating to her personality.
I also think her relation to the shadow is more of a shelly-companion kind of relationship. The shadow is a part of her, yet has an existance somewhat apart from hers.
From where is all this light eminating in the first place? Why does only Tsillah have a shadow? Perhaps the light is not from some conventional source such as a bulb, but a general glow provided from a supernatural source. Apparently not something which usally casts shadows, indicating Tsillah’s shadow is more than the blocking of light.
Totally blown away – can’t wait for Fridays’ offering !
I’m starting to think Phix is beginning to introduce our Wacky Collection of Oddballs to the greater community of mythic creatures. Wasn’t Eurale placed where she was because Phix informed her a book she wanted was ready?
the 2nd wife of Lamech and mother of Tubal-cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron
“Weilder of the Key”
Snerk. Nice term for what she (c)locked Monica down with. “10 turns gently clockwise, then pull …’ Clack. “huh, guess it’s suppose to stay in there.”
Oh, hey, Oscar’s night at the annex. I hope that’s not Justin’s middle name.
“Your comment is awaiting moderation.” O_o? What’s that all about?
Did you by any chance include two different URLs in it? The forum software seems to be set up to allow one URL by itself, but to require Paul’s Gesture of Moderation Approval for any comment which includes two or more. It’s a blogspam-filtering technique.
Use of certain words might also trigger a moderation requirement… I don’t know for sure if that’s enabled here or not.
Maybe Justin’s shirt (and tie?) are actually pale yellow, like a shadow cast by black light.
Awww, is so cute!
I’m stll troubled by Phix’s absence. If she knew Shelly and Justin were coming, why isn’t she there? And why didn’t the Annex materialize for them if they were invited?
While I like Tsillah, I’m not entirely sure she is being truthful and trustworthy. I think S&J should be very careful until she is ok’d by Phix. After all, she does appear to be a demon, and even Tina said that she herself (themselves?) is not trustworthy
This business of new entrants being frozen or fried on entry smells like Nudge to me.
Maybe it’s a way to discourage casual traffic.
Or just to keep Nudge entertained during her shifts.
Or to annoy Phix.
- – - – -
Nudge: “Yaba-daba-doo! Shift’s over.”
Phix: “Why is there a melted smurf all over the floor of the children’s section?”
Nudge: “Your problem now, not mine!”
That was the problem with the cat, not the smurf.
I think this is something the Library has been doing on its own. Remember that during the Phix/Nudge fight the Library spoke up and told them to knock it off and be nice, and that everybody was free top come and go as they pleased? I think the Library has too many different editions of Asimov’s joke book and dirty limericks.
At least 53 editions of the book I would think.
Love Tsilliah’s shadow.
Her shadow reminds me of Peter Pan’s shadow. It’s her shadow; however, it’s doing its own thing.
Just thought of something. How was Justin’s hair safe from the fire? It’s obviously not invulnerable like the rest of him or he’d never be able to cut it.
Oh damnit I’ve become a nitpicker.
OfficerTB’s not invulnerable, just a combination of a high regenerative ability and pain/damage tolerance.
The Cerberus’s fire, for example. The brunt of the heat and impact was taken by Shelly, yet still enough hit OfficerTB to melt his clothes, glasses, and flesh (as we saw some skull there).
His skin regrew almost instantly after the fire stopped burning him. No reason to believe his hair can’t respond the same way.
And given how buff OfficerTB was after being burned alive, compared to previous instances of us seeing OfficerTB without a shirt, it seems his body overcompensates to regenerate loss flesh, then settles back down to normal (similar to the hypertrophy of bone affect that Hanineal mentioned the other day). This could include his hair and explain why he doesn’t look like “Cousin It” from the Addams Family instead.
Or Uncle Fester?
That goes back to the theory that he recovers back to whatever state he was the moment before the injury. As if his DNA, or whatever keeps, a record of his state from moment to moment, calling upon the last “snapshot” to reconstruct him. Also, the healing mechanism can decern the difference between reall trauma and everyday “normal” events, like clipping fingernails or cutting hair.
That works for me.
Oh, whoops, the top of his coat is darker than the rest (panel 2).
It seems as if the little sparkley points on his suit are casting a glow on the “fabric” which makes certain areas seem lighter.
His coat appears to be a photo of a starfield; the lighter area on his left side looks like a nebulosity.
Awwwww…this comic is totally cute! I like this idea better then all the drama from beforehand
Can’t wait for the update!
Last drink for tonight: Not EVEN in Vegas!
In a tall glass with ice,
1 part Grenadine
1 part Sambuca
1 part Frangelico
1 part Malibu Black
Trust me. The aftertaste is better than the first sip. You just have to rest between pulls on the straw!
Do Not serve to people you like on Facebook!
Do Not serve to your grandmother!
Do not serve to your Third Grade Teacher!
Get the hint???????
Wht do you call this drink? A Hand Grenade?
I’ll offer up an old classic drink from the dark side.
1 part Jose Cuervo
2 parts whole milk
1 part Hershey’s chocolate syrup
Blend well and serve.
Bah! 3:05am and no Friday Cliffhanger yet!!!
Will the book explode?
Is she asking Justin to sign??
What about Naomi???
Oh, teh drama!!
did anyone else notice that she lost 2 horns in the last panel?
Paul used a different style than usual on the cerberi. It reminds me of M K Brown if she were to draw Hell Hounds.
Huh? I typed this into the next day’s comments?!?
Fan girl, fan demon, fan…something?
tsillah spelled backwards is hallist.
Perhaps she worships halls?