It just seemed that the reaction had two possible meanings:
she was attempting to stop the fight, in which case those are just dramatic shadows
or she was bemoaning the flattening of her friend by her other friend
mind you Tina hasn’t had her full story so she is unlikely to die now so all that thought was irrelevant
I get the Feeling that Nudge is not really an integral part of the collective. An interloper, perhaps? A rogue hiding out with the others? Or maybe I’ve just had too much Dr Pepper today…
Now now….let’s not play the “I thought of it first” game. I’m pretty sure Fairportfan, eschmenk, Fat Uncle or someone else that theorizes frequently probably beat everyone to it. 😀
There’s a scene in the silly Western “The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County“. Mickey Rooney, as the town drunk, has been teasing his friend, the Charley blacksmith, played by Dan Blocker about something that humiliated him in front of pretty much the whole town.
Nothing malicious, just being an amusing asshole, as usual.
Finally, Charley can take no more.
For the first time in his life, apparently, he loses his temper. He reaches out, grabs Tom by the shirtfront, and lifts him off the ground, and slo-o-w-wly draws back a fist.
We get a shot from Rooney’s PoV, up that long arm, past Vlocker’s enraged face, to that cannon-ball-sized fist.
And then we get the reverse angle, down that long arm to his face above the hand clutching his shirt, and he says, almost wonderingly, “Oh, Charley, that’s gonna hu-u-u-r-rt…”
Well, I’ll be darned. They were in the library I didn ‘t think so. And noone was right about Phix. She wasn’t in her winged form or in her statuesque form. Hulk-Phix (Phulk?) is new.
I wonder if Phix is pulling a “scare the demon out” routine, like in the pyramid. hoping to get Nudge to leave so she can deal with her bitch a bitch? Or is all this juat a dream? Gad, I hope it’s not a dream.
Grab Tina and poit like you’ve never poited before!
I don’t think they were in the library Friday. I think the transition came when Monica was distracted by Phix’s actions. Tina’s head was slammed onto the counter in the shop; Monica is still sitting on the counter next to her in Friday’s page; she’s on her feet in front of a different background in this one.
I went back to Friday’s last panel and looked. The greyed-out background has the arched windows of the library, not the rectangular windows/signs of the coffee shop. Paul telegraphed what was happening and we all missed it.
Come to think of it, Monica often poits like she’s never poited before. Perhaps I should say poit Tina away faster than you’ve ever poited someone before. She can poit bullets “around” her without even thinking about it in times of great stress, perhaps she will do the same for Tina.
Of course, then she will have to deal with a Sphinx who is at her peak of blood lust and enraged that her quarry has just vanished. Monica better poit to Bud’s place not long thereafter.
I have been thinking about a confrontation between the Golem Guardians and Phix for some time. I think it would last just about as long as it took Phix to utter the phrase that shut down the GGG’s and returned them to inert clay form. Remember, Phix has every record ever made in that language.
Good point, Fatuncle. Artemisia, it’s likely the GGGs are more powerful, but that’s not the same thing; Phix has access to all the golem design notes ever made and could know of any back doors into their systems. If I were designing a doomsday device, I’d put in several shutdown features – and be selective about who I told about them.
Artemisia, I have been thinking that the writing on the G3’s is something like the program or mechanism, and the spoken word of command the key that triggers it. Do you remember, in the wine cellar, Monica commanding Bud to remember, with a word? I’d link to that strip, but can’t find it.
I think we know who to send Phix after next. You are clearly possessed by a rogue pun demon. And they are the hardest for Sphinxes to scrape off the bottom of their shoes afterwards.
Not really, Tina’s already dead. She would not be killing a human as such anymore. Besides, she may have already backstepped when she “delt” with the rogue demons.
I think it’s more like tens of thousands, not counting the loops. The sphinxes started going after the rogue demons after humans learned to write. I’m not sure, but I think IRL that happened less than 10,000 years ago. In the Wapsiverse, Lantis civilization was destroyed 12,500 years ago. If you give that a few thousand years to develop, I still think it would have only started to develop ~20,000 years ago. Still, it was well before the looping started.
I keep wanting to add a zero myself. It’s strange how recently civilization developed.
You’re probably right. Still, I seem to remember seeing the number 200,000 years somewhere. Perhaps is was in a post or some such, or I’m getting comics confused (again).
Must have been one hell of a riddle that Nudge stumped Phix with to get the latter all worked up like this. Normally, only puns induce this kind of rage.
hmm, didn’t phix say ANYONE who acts with agression in the library, the books turn to dust in their hands? maybe her plan was to make Phix unable to be the librarian, thus making her life a living hell?
uh… I think the turn to dust bit only works for those who are aggressive towards the BOOKS. otherwise Sphix wouldn’t be able to maul any trespassers in her realm.
Phix looks like an older sister rough-housing her sibling. She sort of looks like she’s grinning, and “Tag!” is such a non-threatening and playful thing to say…
And then Monica is just inadvertantly hilarious how silly she looks. She’s reacting as if she’s really worried, but it comes across as comedic and campy rather than actually worried.
It’s like that one scene from Troll 2. “They’re eatting her! And then they’re going to eat me! OH MY GOOOOOOOD!”
I think it’s just you. 🙂 I mean, Monica’s face in the last panel…if viewed by itself…might be a little giggle inducing, but Phix looks terrifying to me. I think the use of “Tag” is a bit sinister and not goofy at all.
Perhaps Paul is showing Phix acting like a cat. Cats play with their prey. That’s a bit sinister from the point of view of the prey, at least. 🙂 I wouldn’t take it as being goofy, either.
Crap. This ruins my theory that poiting is a skill associated with the runes. But if Phix does it too… unless she has some runes in/on her too…
Theory: If Tina’s demons ran her because Tina died (and somehow Nudge got in there then…), then killing her again might drive Nudge out and let Tina’s demons to regroup.
…More likely, Phix views it as expedient to eat them now and deal with it later…
Interestingly enough, ‘Apotropaic’ implies repulsion. Crucifixes and garlic are apotropaic to vampires. In theory, Phix’s presence alone should be enough to drive off demons.
@eschmenk: But I had the impression she went through the ‘branches’ of the library. Putting one down can be done by magic, but until this weekend, I didn’t think that Phix could just poit herself. Kinda like an elevator, she could set the floor, but had to travel through the box. But M and the GGs could just jump between floors.
OK so, let me guess: both Monica AND myself are having inappropriate, irrational, needless, and invalid reactions, and everyone saw this final epilogue coming but us?
I’m not sure what’s going to upset me more, zombie girl doing her last panels here, or the inexorable smug 4chan-esque jokes that follow. “Another one bites the dust. Twice!” “K THX BAI” “Boom, headshot” “Dibs on the trailor!”
hate to raise a sour subject but their hair looks exactly the same. to the effect that it took me a while to realize that this was indeed Phix rather than some weird combo of Monica and Shelley
Has it never happened around you that women’s hairstyles tend to follow trends?
I’ve worked places where the styles changed in waves; the trend-setters get the latest cut and then little by little everyone else follows. Not a big shock to anyone who has observed women in large groups.
I think it might be a reference to calling yourself “safe” in the middle of a game of tag…kinda like calling “time” in dodgeball when three red rubber balls are inches from your face…
I’m voting for the “Scare Nudge Out Into The Open” option.
M’s Doubt has revealed that the destruction of the Calendar Machine has caused/allowed for a Demon Rules of Order change — specifically, Nose Flicks! Demons are now allowed a form of direct physical action on the humans they manifest in, not just nightmares and whispers anymore.
Phix is a guardian of sanity in this whole affair, authorized and empowered to terminate human life, if necessary, to halt/destroy the demons who are screwing people over big time.
Nudge, as previously pointed out, is outside the loop it seems, both in terms of the Calendar Resets and Tina 2.0’s prior existence. Tina 2.0s demons have lost their collective memories for reasons unknown but Phix describes as a punishment. Nudge seems to have moved in with the crowd (hiding from Phix, no doubt) and relying on the other demons amnesia to blend in as one of them
Likely Outcome: Nudge flees Tina 2.0, showing some empathy for once in her existence, thus letting Phix use other measures to allow Tina to live and separate Nudge from her. Nudge then is dealt with in some incredibly interesting way keeping all of us on our toes for the coming months while Tina goes back to her coffee shop little the wiser but somehow relieved, as all those memories have fled her.
Or it’s something else entirely! Hey — it could happen!
Sonofagun. I never paid attention to that. That essentially means Brandi killed Tina.And it wasn’t really the demon’s fault. “But … but we got permission from a golem!” They were just doing what demons do under Brandi’s direction/influence.
I think that only doubt demons can do the nose flick. I think it was a reward for helping with the rogue demons and didn’t have anything to do with the calendar machine.
I don’t think that Tina 2.0 will get to forget this little episode. They’ve only forgotten everything up until the time their punishment began, and I don’t know about you, but this would leave an indelible mark on my brain.
would it be any better for Tina 2.0 if they did scare nudge out? remember she did that experiment where nudge left and then she stood around and “looked into a spider” we can’t have forgotten that Nudge leaving Tina wouldn’t be showing Compassion It would be leaving the rest trapped in a shell that was utterly paralyzed
I think it was to increase the creep factor. Though Tina has admitted that she doesn’t sleep as much as lay in bed and wait until morning.
…I can remember when I first read that strip thinking that maybe the demons were battling inside, hence the flames. I may have to re-adopt that theory depending on how this pans out…
I think we’re about to see just how indestructible Monica is; I just know she is going to impose herself in between Tina, and that great big club, also known as Phix;s fist.
I doubt she’s that fast. But she must be there for a reason known only to Phix. She could have taken Tina at any time when Tina was alone. Must be a reason to drag Monica along.
This may be a setup for an apotheosis of sorts,or at least a synthesis, of Tina 2.0 for all of her demons.
Sequence: 1a. Nudge flees Tina to save Tina and face the music. Nudge demonstrates empathy and responsibility.
or:
1b. Monica interposes her self to protect Tina and halt Phix. Again, Nudge reveals herself to protect Monica and Tina.
2. Phix relents, but calls the remaining demon host to exit and reveal. “See? These are who you’re dealing with.”
3. Delightful “Come to Jesus” meeting with Phix sorting out what’s what and Monica learning tons of background. Tina 1.0 is simply an empty shell at this point and rests, catatonic. (insert Spider Sunrise comic link here)
4. Phix works with the demons to coalesce within Tina 1.0 to become Tina 2.1 — A new Soul is born!
Ya know. I think poiting is actually a relatively low tech scam. Here’s how I see it working. When the poiter thinks to poit, some being stops all time, at least in the solar system, or whatever. Everyone and everything freezes. A couple of the beings swoop in via a flying craft and pick up the poiter. If anyone else is nearby, they leave a little self destructing device, which they can suspend in mid air. This device will, when time resumes, make the poiting noise and flash of light. They fly to the other end and the poiter is dropped off, with another little device. Once out of sight, time is resumed, the little device goes off, and, *poof* there they are! Simple.
1) Suspend time and pick up client
2) Drop off client and resume time
3) ???
4)Profit!
Question: If time is stopped, how are these beings moving? If D=v/t, then by definition, they cannot move if there is no time (t=0).
The answer is in the noise. If it were simply moving of mass, then there would be a bang, as air was displaced. Instead, we get a nice energy sound (as well as occasional velocity changes, as evidenced by Monica in the porta-potty). Far more likely is that ‘poiting’ is a conversion to energy and reassembling at a set point. This also makes the ‘only poit to places you have been’ rule make sense too.
Phix is a power level up from the sexuh librarian, but she is not in sphinx form. I think if this was going to be a lethal confrontation Phix would be manifested in her true Aspect, sphinx-form or maybe even Winged lion.
I just realized that I was interpreting the game of tag backwards. If Nudge is “it”, then Phix needs to run and hide! The person who is “it” tries to tag the other players. Does Phix not know how to play the game?
I’ve been wondering if Phix is doing this for Monica’s benefit. Phix brought Monica there for some reason. What is it? I suggested above that maybe Phix was trying to get Nudge to jump into Monica. Perhaps Phix is trying to get Monica to save Tina by utilizing some power that Monica doesn’t know she has.
Well, I guess Phix tagged her on Friday. Is that why Phix said, “Tag, Nudge! You’re it?” So is today’s pose daring Nudge to tag her back?
Did Nudge ever tag Phix in the first place? Is it possible that sphinxes are susceptible to personal demons? Was Nudge ever Phix’s demon? Could Nudge have nudged Phix somehow and made her be overly aggressive or punish herself?
“Will Beowulf conquer the Dragon? Will Tristan return to Iseult? Will Peewee find her dolly? Tune in this channel tomorrow night and in the meantime, wake up and hurry to your neighborhood druggist for a cake of Skyway’s Kwikbrite Armor Polish, the better polish used by the better knights sans peur et sans reproche.” -Heinlein
:confused: (probably won’t work)
Um, Pee-Wee Herman was a “he”, more or less, and I think he was missing a bicycle, not a dolly. Actually, Dolly found his playhouse, so she wasn’t missing. I don’t know what other Peewees might be missing dollies (dollys?). Peewee is a brand name for camera dollies, though. That’s about all I could figure out from Google.
I interpret Phix saying “Tag you’re it” as a one-liner describing what she’s about to do. Next strip, unless something prevents it as has been discussed, will depict a roughly ten-megaton tagging.
No reason to get to worried yet. This is not a strip that has bad things happen to be people, but it loves to tease something might happen. We should get some good information out of this though. ^_^
Ok, I take back any implication of innocence on the sphinxes’ part. The evidence suggests that the sphinxes are unstable and prone to flipping out over non-standard answers to riddles and sent by an Authority of questionable morality.
I’m not sure that any definition of morality to which humanity holds is binding upon Phix. We tend to think of the universe, our religions, and our interactions with other species in a very human-centric fashion. I am beginning to suspect that to the Library, and its agents, humans are much like dogs. It would explain Phix killing humans to get to demons. If your pet contracts rabies, no matter how beloved and valuable he may be, there is only one thing you can do — put the dog down.
Do you remember this strip? It puzzled the hell out of me when Paul posted it. I am beginning to wonder if he was showing us a metaphor as to the status of humanity in this tale. Are we collectively a Deitzel? Are we even capable of understanding just what Nudge’s crime may be? Could Monica explain a Ponzi scheme, and the resulting damage to the pensions of widows and orphans, to Dietzel? The concept would be beyond him.
Monica’s dismay is much as Dietzel would react if Monica was taken into custody by the police.
——————————————————————-
I think SoWhyMe and Fairportfan pretty well nailed it — Phix had a diagnostic tool that suddenly started showing false positives. So she stopped using it, and had to find another way.
There are at least three ways this situation can progress (that I can see) and danged if I can see any indication as to which is more likely — or if Paul has a fourth way, which is just as likely!
I’d never compose code of any sort in a word processor. I would stick with a text editor. You’re almost certainly in Windows, which has Notepad as its bundled text editor, and some very grave limitations. You might prefer Notepad++ or some other giftware text editor, available from this page on nonags.com, a wonderful resource for Windows users.
This is off the topic of the current comic but I felt I need to say this.Wapsi Square is like a really good novel. One of the ones that keeps you reading and you just can’t seem to put it down. Hell, reading through, I had to wait for a lull in the plot so I could go to bed. The story and plot is truly riveting!! Thank you, Paul, and keep up the amazing work
No. Seriously. Think about it. Tina JUST got a scratch, a fresh one, earlier that day… Nudge hasn’t done jack or shit enough to warrant another one yet. Also, Phix wouldn’t want Monica upset… she could easily accidentally unlock that locked door in her mind through uncontrolled rage/trauma.
This isn’t gonna go any more violent. That’s my prediction. Either Monica will jump in the way and Phix will have to stop, or Phix’ll pull a “Gotcha! Omigod you should see your face! XD”
Uh-oh !
She looks like she’s getting ready to knock the “Nudge” out of her!
Ooo-o-okay – Phix is in human form, but Even Bigger Than Before.
Her fist is almost as big as Tina’s head.
Seems like that’s about how big she’d be if her spinx form was fully human, IIRC.
Yep. Remember, yesterday we were discussing just what form she was in…
So that fist weighs, what, twenty-five pounds?
Forget what it weighs. Consider the muscle behind it.
Girl’s got biceps!
I’m actually curious about why she’s in her human form.
You’d think her old-school monster form would be a better look for killing.
…course, she prolly didn’t wanna get kitty fur on that dress…
Sh-h-h! This is a Library, not a Tag-Team Match!
OK, you tell Phix that.
Yeah…we’ll watch from a safe distance. 🙂
A Minotaur vs a Sphinx? I’d pay to see that!
There you go:
http://yafgc.net/?id=480
Thankx DorthLous,
Now all I see are topless Phixes. Ah-mooo!
okay so someone Phixed the hulk?
It must be terrible for Monica to see her friends fighting like that.
*facepalm* of course it is captain obvious
Huh. For some reason the first two thoughts into my head were “Damn, Phix puts the she-hulk to shame” and “Phix should be a politician…” o,o
Followed closely by, “Oh, right, TINA NOOOOOO!!!”
is that white stuff on the walls Tina’s blood?
I don’t believe so .
It just seemed that the reaction had two possible meanings:
she was attempting to stop the fight, in which case those are just dramatic shadows
or she was bemoaning the flattening of her friend by her other friend
mind you Tina hasn’t had her full story so she is unlikely to die now so all that thought was irrelevant
I’ve noticed, also, Monica’s exclamatory interjections have changed drastically from “Dear Goodness”
i belie the white is sunlight inside the room
Would sunlight actually stream into a place that is in another dimension? Or is this the part of the annex that is in the real world?
If Phix wants sunshine streaming in her windows, then sunshine streaming in her windows she shall have!
You going to argue the point with her?
It looks to me like it’s dark outside and the lights are on. It looks very different in daylight.
This sounds stupid of me, but it never occurred to me that the Library might have an outside.
As someone who plays D&D and is thus very accustomed to extraplanar settings, I can say it is not stupid of you to think that.
Sweet!
I get the Feeling that Nudge is not really an integral part of the collective. An interloper, perhaps? A rogue hiding out with the others? Or maybe I’ve just had too much Dr Pepper today…
I am so addicted to Wapsi, it’s just not funny.
hey! I thought of Nudge being a rogue last week! get your own ideas!
;p
Now now….let’s not play the “I thought of it first” game. I’m pretty sure Fairportfan, eschmenk, Fat Uncle or someone else that theorizes frequently probably beat everyone to it. 😀
“If you don’t write it down, it didn’t happen.”
The fact that Nudge may be rogue has been explicitly stated some time ago, though most may not have seen what was said that way.
There’s a scene in the silly Western “The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County“. Mickey Rooney, as the town drunk, has been teasing his friend, the Charley blacksmith, played by Dan Blocker about something that humiliated him in front of pretty much the whole town.
Nothing malicious, just being an amusing asshole, as usual.
Finally, Charley can take no more.
For the first time in his life, apparently, he loses his temper. He reaches out, grabs Tom by the shirtfront, and lifts him off the ground, and slo-o-w-wly draws back a fist.
We get a shot from Rooney’s PoV, up that long arm, past Vlocker’s enraged face, to that cannon-ball-sized fist.
And then we get the reverse angle, down that long arm to his face above the hand clutching his shirt, and he says, almost wonderingly, “Oh, Charley, that’s gonna hu-u-u-r-rt…”
I kinda get the same vibe from Tina here.
Well, I’ll be darned. They were in the library I didn ‘t think so. And noone was right about Phix. She wasn’t in her winged form or in her statuesque form. Hulk-Phix (Phulk?) is new.
I wonder if Phix is pulling a “scare the demon out” routine, like in the pyramid. hoping to get Nudge to leave so she can deal with her bitch a bitch? Or is all this juat a dream? Gad, I hope it’s not a dream.
Grab Tina and poit like you’ve never poited before!
And there is the possibility for Phix’s fist to stop just short of Tina’s head and to nose flick her instead.
Heh heh. Yeah.
I was just thinking that. Although I am also thinking Tina’s going to need a chance of undergarments.
I don’t think they were in the library Friday. I think the transition came when Monica was distracted by Phix’s actions. Tina’s head was slammed onto the counter in the shop; Monica is still sitting on the counter next to her in Friday’s page; she’s on her feet in front of a different background in this one.
I went back to Friday’s last panel and looked. The greyed-out background has the arched windows of the library, not the rectangular windows/signs of the coffee shop. Paul telegraphed what was happening and we all missed it.
Come to think of it, Monica often poits like she’s never poited before. Perhaps I should say poit Tina away faster than you’ve ever poited someone before. She can poit bullets “around” her without even thinking about it in times of great stress, perhaps she will do the same for Tina.
Of course, then she will have to deal with a Sphinx who is at her peak of blood lust and enraged that her quarry has just vanished. Monica better poit to Bud’s place not long thereafter.
Poit the Sphinx.
… After that, I’m at a complete loss. Where could you run fast enough? Other than to the GG’s? And then, could you explain quick enough?
I have been thinking about a confrontation between the Golem Guardians and Phix for some time. I think it would last just about as long as it took Phix to utter the phrase that shut down the GGG’s and returned them to inert clay form. Remember, Phix has every record ever made in that language.
wouldn’t she have to write it on their bodies… that would be some pretty intrusive fighting, personal space much
Phix said that she can’t be harmed in the library, but she also said that Brandi could have protected Monica from her. That made it sound as if the GGGs are more powerful.
It sounded as if Phix was equating herself with the books in that strip, so I’m not sure if Phix could be harmed by the GGGs or not.
Good point, Fatuncle. Artemisia, it’s likely the GGGs are more powerful, but that’s not the same thing; Phix has access to all the golem design notes ever made and could know of any back doors into their systems. If I were designing a doomsday device, I’d put in several shutdown features – and be selective about who I told about them.
Artemisia, I have been thinking that the writing on the G3’s is something like the program or mechanism, and the spoken word of command the key that triggers it. Do you remember, in the wine cellar, Monica commanding Bud to remember, with a word? I’d link to that strip, but can’t find it.
If, in fact, Phix hasn’t shut down Monica’s capability to poit from within the Library.
I don’t think we have seen a fraction of what Phix can do. And the Library is the place of her power, and she is in it.
Goodbye, Nudge. It’s been nice knowin’ ya. *scratches name off Xmas list* :p
How/when did they poit over to the library? And is this the annex, or the actual library?
Right after Phix slammed Tina’s head on her own counter, apparently. See my comment above.
Dontcha jest luuuuuuuv it when the Monday edition after a cliffhanger is an even bigger cliffhanger??
Yeah – there’s a shorter wait for our next fix.
Don’t you mean “Phix”.
Get a gryphon yourself, we’ve done the ‘Phix’ pun to death. Unicorn come up with other mythological puns if you try.
I think we know who to send Phix after next. You are clearly possessed by a rogue pun demon. And they are the hardest for Sphinxes to scrape off the bottom of their shoes afterwards.
What? Sphinxes wear Converse yay!!!
ICK! But worth the trouble, just to squash ’em.
Now don’t be catty because you aren’t feline fine about the punny things being batted around. You should just pounce on the opportunity phix it.
AAAAAUGH! Shock treatments! Now!
Youse Guys are Phixated.
hey Analyst! you ain’t Lion
Nudge is an independent, not a rogue. That’s likely why she could give an answer that stumped Phix.
That said, if Phix causes any real harm, she undoes all of the progress she made over the millenia.
Not to mention it now looks like Tina is in a similar (if inverted) situation as Shelley. Definitely something worth investigating.
Not really, Tina’s already dead. She would not be killing a human as such anymore. Besides, she may have already backstepped when she “delt” with the rogue demons.
And this is her function, no?
Normally, yes, but I have the impression Phix had not done any of that stuff for hundreds of thousands of years. Until recently. But I could be wrong.
57×1451 ya Id say quite a long time
Thats just the time loops. As I understand it she was in the library long before those even began.
I think it’s more like tens of thousands, not counting the loops. The sphinxes started going after the rogue demons after humans learned to write. I’m not sure, but I think IRL that happened less than 10,000 years ago. In the Wapsiverse, Lantis civilization was destroyed 12,500 years ago. If you give that a few thousand years to develop, I still think it would have only started to develop ~20,000 years ago. Still, it was well before the looping started.
I keep wanting to add a zero myself. It’s strange how recently civilization developed.
You’re probably right. Still, I seem to remember seeing the number 200,000 years somewhere. Perhaps is was in a post or some such, or I’m getting comics confused (again).
TAG! YOU’RE IT, SPIRAL EYES!
Oh no! Somebody please save Nudge.
…why?
Cuz nudge is inside Tina, and we don’t wanna see Tina broken just so Phix can get some ole fashioned revengence on Nudge
Must have been one hell of a riddle that Nudge stumped Phix with to get the latter all worked up like this. Normally, only puns induce this kind of rage.
I’ll bet it was a pun and probably had something to do with the sphincter.
or she was in the library reading our never ending “Phix” puns and never got around to eating nudge
Wonder if this could be part of Nudge’s plan too (assuming she actually has one). She is, after all, in the library now.
hmm, didn’t phix say ANYONE who acts with agression in the library, the books turn to dust in their hands? maybe her plan was to make Phix unable to be the librarian, thus making her life a living hell?
uh… I think the turn to dust bit only works for those who are aggressive towards the BOOKS. otherwise Sphix wouldn’t be able to maul any trespassers in her realm.
Any OUTSIDER. http://wapsisquare.com/comic/turntodust/
Despite the fact I love Nudge to death, I can’t get over how awesome musclebound Phix looks like.
You’re just distracted by the Little Black Dress. Wait until you see her in her ragged purple pants. Phix smash!
Technically wouldn’t it be a Big Little Black Dress?
Is it me, or is this sort of… goofy?
Phix looks like an older sister rough-housing her sibling. She sort of looks like she’s grinning, and “Tag!” is such a non-threatening and playful thing to say…
And then Monica is just inadvertantly hilarious how silly she looks. She’s reacting as if she’s really worried, but it comes across as comedic and campy rather than actually worried.
It’s like that one scene from Troll 2. “They’re eatting her! And then they’re going to eat me! OH MY GOOOOOOOD!”
~D.
I think it’s just you. 🙂 I mean, Monica’s face in the last panel…if viewed by itself…might be a little giggle inducing, but Phix looks terrifying to me. I think the use of “Tag” is a bit sinister and not goofy at all.
Perhaps Paul is showing Phix acting like a cat. Cats play with their prey. That’s a bit sinister from the point of view of the prey, at least. 🙂 I wouldn’t take it as being goofy, either.
Ah, so they’re just playing tag in the library?
Tag for keeps. You’re it! I mean … you’re dead! If it is tag, it’s a really looooooonnnng time between moves.
It’s like freeze tag. But permanent.
Toe tag?
Oooo…that was bad. 🙂
Agreed, that one was bad. And besides Tina has already been “toe tagged”.
But don’t puns have an inverse ratio of badness to quality? The worse they are, the better they are?
Crap. This ruins my theory that poiting is a skill associated with the runes. But if Phix does it too… unless she has some runes in/on her too…
Theory: If Tina’s demons ran her because Tina died (and somehow Nudge got in there then…), then killing her again might drive Nudge out and let Tina’s demons to regroup.
…More likely, Phix views it as expedient to eat them now and deal with it later…
Interestingly enough, ‘Apotropaic’ implies repulsion. Crucifixes and garlic are apotropaic to vampires. In theory, Phix’s presence alone should be enough to drive off demons.
maybe she tapped into Monica’s power and the fact that monica was thinking about the library in order too induce poiting
I’ve been wondering if she was trying to frighten Nudge into leaving. Is it possible that she’s trying to frighten Nudge to jump into Monica?
I don’t think she’s tapping into Monica’s power. Phix made it to the Earth from the library and back before.
As Head Demon Wrangler?
@eschmenk: But I had the impression she went through the ‘branches’ of the library. Putting one down can be done by magic, but until this weekend, I didn’t think that Phix could just poit herself. Kinda like an elevator, she could set the floor, but had to travel through the box. But M and the GGs could just jump between floors.
I can’t help but imagine Phix lightly punching Tina’s arm and says , ” Twice for flinching . “
And one more for cardiac arrest.
That’s an impressive dramatic “no” from Monica
Yep, and better than showing her face scrunched up and saying “EWWWW!” I’m surprised her eyes haven’t lit up by now.
Don’t you DARE link to “that website” over the Dramatic NOOOOO!
?
No, you are NOT going to get me to link to TVT.
OK so, let me guess: both Monica AND myself are having inappropriate, irrational, needless, and invalid reactions, and everyone saw this final epilogue coming but us?
I’m not sure what’s going to upset me more, zombie girl doing her last panels here, or the inexorable smug 4chan-esque jokes that follow. “Another one bites the dust. Twice!” “K THX BAI” “Boom, headshot” “Dibs on the trailor!”
For one I saw nothing heading this way, much less coming. Frankly along with the screaming, I would also be dampening the tile.
I’m just envisioning Phix suddenly giving Tina a noogie from hell and then bringing out the cookies.
Knowing some of the things Paul has pulled out of his hat in the past, that may be more plausible than any theory I’ve managed to come up with!
Actually, it’s going to turn out to be a pat on the head and Phix saying, “You pass!”
hate to raise a sour subject but their hair looks exactly the same. to the effect that it took me a while to realize that this was indeed Phix rather than some weird combo of Monica and Shelley
Has it never happened around you that women’s hairstyles tend to follow trends?
I’ve worked places where the styles changed in waves; the trend-setters get the latest cut and then little by little everyone else follows. Not a big shock to anyone who has observed women in large groups.
…and if the worked really closely together, they got cranky on the same days, too.
Yes, cycle synchronization is a terrible thing to behold.
Yes but I doubt Monica was basing her look on Phix or vice versa
I’ve worked in situations like that. You learn to keep your head WAY DOWN when you are the only male in those situations…
ummm….. A B C, base on me?
…..meep…..
What?
I think it might be a reference to calling yourself “safe” in the middle of a game of tag…kinda like calling “time” in dodgeball when three red rubber balls are inches from your face…
Correct. You tag base, say that then proceed to wreak havoc by blocking whoever’s “it” from tagging others. Oh and you can totally form chains 🙂
Okay, I’ll take your word for it. I never did that sort of thing.
I’m voting for the “Scare Nudge Out Into The Open” option.
M’s Doubt has revealed that the destruction of the Calendar Machine has caused/allowed for a Demon Rules of Order change — specifically, Nose Flicks! Demons are now allowed a form of direct physical action on the humans they manifest in, not just nightmares and whispers anymore.
Phix is a guardian of sanity in this whole affair, authorized and empowered to terminate human life, if necessary, to halt/destroy the demons who are screwing people over big time.
Nudge, as previously pointed out, is outside the loop it seems, both in terms of the Calendar Resets and Tina 2.0’s prior existence. Tina 2.0s demons have lost their collective memories for reasons unknown but Phix describes as a punishment. Nudge seems to have moved in with the crowd (hiding from Phix, no doubt) and relying on the other demons amnesia to blend in as one of them
Likely Outcome: Nudge flees Tina 2.0, showing some empathy for once in her existence, thus letting Phix use other measures to allow Tina to live and separate Nudge from her. Nudge then is dealt with in some incredibly interesting way keeping all of us on our toes for the coming months while Tina goes back to her coffee shop little the wiser but somehow relieved, as all those memories have fled her.
Or it’s something else entirely! Hey — it could happen!
Is Phix trying to get Nudge to hop into Monica? Why else would Phix have transported Monica to the library?
We know why the collective demons lost their memories. They were punished because they got Monica to hurt herself by making her try to commit suicide by running in front of the bus. (Tina asked what she had done 5-10 strips earlier.) The same thing was confirmed when Jin’s demon visited Monica.
Thank you for pointing out that strip! One of those tip-of-the-tongue memories I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
So that raises the question — since all turned out well in the end (Calendar Machine Gone), is there any point to the punishment (amnesia) now?
Sonofagun. I never paid attention to that. That essentially means Brandi killed Tina.And it wasn’t really the demon’s fault. “But … but we got permission from a golem!” They were just doing what demons do under Brandi’s direction/influence.
Which essentially explains why Brandi doesn’t remember anything about her “past” self.
I think that only doubt demons can do the nose flick. I think it was a reward for helping with the rogue demons and didn’t have anything to do with the calendar machine.
I don’t think that Tina 2.0 will get to forget this little episode. They’ve only forgotten everything up until the time their punishment began, and I don’t know about you, but this would leave an indelible mark on my brain.
would it be any better for Tina 2.0 if they did scare nudge out? remember she did that experiment where nudge left and then she stood around and “looked into a spider” we can’t have forgotten that Nudge leaving Tina wouldn’t be showing Compassion It would be leaving the rest trapped in a shell that was utterly paralyzed
…or would it be? If Nudge left, the other demons would still be able to function. Nudge was just the “platoon leader”, not the “sole operator”.
I didn’t get that from that strip. Though I did wonder why she shut down just then and there. You may be right.
It would explain a discrepancy. I thought that was just how Tina “sleeps”, but we’ve also seen her sleeping in a more human fashion.
Problem, though: When Tina “wakes up” (frying the spider) she doesn’t say or do anything suggesting that Nudge returning is what just happened.
I think it was to increase the creep factor. Though Tina has admitted that she doesn’t sleep as much as lay in bed and wait until morning.
…I can remember when I first read that strip thinking that maybe the demons were battling inside, hence the flames. I may have to re-adopt that theory depending on how this pans out…
I think we’re about to see just how indestructible Monica is; I just know she is going to impose herself in between Tina, and that great big club, also known as Phix;s fist.
I doubt she’s that fast. But she must be there for a reason known only to Phix. She could have taken Tina at any time when Tina was alone. Must be a reason to drag Monica along.
Ooo…good point! I hadn’t even gotten far enough past my initial reaction to the strip to think of Phix’s reasons for poiting Monica, too.
I should have added this was not entirely my idea as Eschmenk had already conjectured Monica might be there for Nudge to flee into.
With all of the demons she already has, does Monica have any vacancies for one more?
Excellent!
This may be a setup for an apotheosis of sorts,or at least a synthesis, of Tina 2.0 for all of her demons.
Sequence: 1a. Nudge flees Tina to save Tina and face the music. Nudge demonstrates empathy and responsibility.
or:
1b. Monica interposes her self to protect Tina and halt Phix. Again, Nudge reveals herself to protect Monica and Tina.
2. Phix relents, but calls the remaining demon host to exit and reveal. “See? These are who you’re dealing with.”
3. Delightful “Come to Jesus” meeting with Phix sorting out what’s what and Monica learning tons of background. Tina 1.0 is simply an empty shell at this point and rests, catatonic. (insert Spider Sunrise comic link here)
4. Phix works with the demons to coalesce within Tina 1.0 to become Tina 2.1 — A new Soul is born!
Happy ending? Problems solved??
Poiting is (theoretically) instantaneous.
Ya know. I think poiting is actually a relatively low tech scam. Here’s how I see it working. When the poiter thinks to poit, some being stops all time, at least in the solar system, or whatever. Everyone and everything freezes. A couple of the beings swoop in via a flying craft and pick up the poiter. If anyone else is nearby, they leave a little self destructing device, which they can suspend in mid air. This device will, when time resumes, make the poiting noise and flash of light. They fly to the other end and the poiter is dropped off, with another little device. Once out of sight, time is resumed, the little device goes off, and, *poof* there they are! Simple.
1) Suspend time and pick up client
2) Drop off client and resume time
3) ???
4)Profit!
Question: If time is stopped, how are these beings moving? If D=v/t, then by definition, they cannot move if there is no time (t=0).
The answer is in the noise. If it were simply moving of mass, then there would be a bang, as air was displaced. Instead, we get a nice energy sound (as well as occasional velocity changes, as evidenced by Monica in the porta-potty). Far more likely is that ‘poiting’ is a conversion to energy and reassembling at a set point. This also makes the ‘only poit to places you have been’ rule make sense too.
That comes {much} later.
She gets he face ripped off.
{For realz}
Phix is a power level up from the sexuh librarian, but she is not in sphinx form. I think if this was going to be a lethal confrontation Phix would be manifested in her true Aspect, sphinx-form or maybe even Winged lion.
I think you might be right, this is only going to be a beatdown and not something fatal.
I just realized that I was interpreting the game of tag backwards. If Nudge is “it”, then Phix needs to run and hide! The person who is “it” tries to tag the other players. Does Phix not know how to play the game?
I’ve been wondering if Phix is doing this for Monica’s benefit. Phix brought Monica there for some reason. What is it? I suggested above that maybe Phix was trying to get Nudge to jump into Monica. Perhaps Phix is trying to get Monica to save Tina by utilizing some power that Monica doesn’t know she has.
Well, I guess Phix tagged her on Friday. Is that why Phix said, “Tag, Nudge! You’re it?” So is today’s pose daring Nudge to tag her back?
Did Nudge ever tag Phix in the first place? Is it possible that sphinxes are susceptible to personal demons? Was Nudge ever Phix’s demon? Could Nudge have nudged Phix somehow and made her be overly aggressive or punish herself?
“Will Beowulf conquer the Dragon? Will Tristan return to Iseult? Will Peewee find her dolly? Tune in this channel tomorrow night and in the meantime, wake up and hurry to your neighborhood druggist for a cake of Skyway’s Kwikbrite Armor Polish, the better polish used by the better knights sans peur et sans reproche.” -Heinlein
“Will Peewee find her dolly?”
:confused: (probably won’t work)
Um, Pee-Wee Herman was a “he”, more or less, and I think he was missing a bicycle, not a dolly. Actually, Dolly found his playhouse, so she wasn’t missing. I don’t know what other Peewees might be missing dollies (dollys?). Peewee is a brand name for camera dollies, though. That’s about all I could figure out from Google.
Old Wolf is quoting Robert Heinlein’s HAVE SPACESUIT – WILL TRAVEL, one of Heinlein’s “juvenile fiction’ stories. Sigh. Good stuff.
I interpret Phix saying “Tag you’re it” as a one-liner describing what she’s about to do. Next strip, unless something prevents it as has been discussed, will depict a roughly ten-megaton tagging.
Man, I hope Phix doesn’t kill Tina. I love Tina..
No reason to get to worried yet. This is not a strip that has bad things happen to be people, but it loves to tease something might happen. We should get some good information out of this though. ^_^
Ok, I take back any implication of innocence on the sphinxes’ part. The evidence suggests that the sphinxes are unstable and prone to flipping out over non-standard answers to riddles and sent by an Authority of questionable morality.
I’m not sure that any definition of morality to which humanity holds is binding upon Phix. We tend to think of the universe, our religions, and our interactions with other species in a very human-centric fashion. I am beginning to suspect that to the Library, and its agents, humans are much like dogs. It would explain Phix killing humans to get to demons. If your pet contracts rabies, no matter how beloved and valuable he may be, there is only one thing you can do — put the dog down.
Do you remember this strip? It puzzled the hell out of me when Paul posted it. I am beginning to wonder if he was showing us a metaphor as to the status of humanity in this tale. Are we collectively a Deitzel? Are we even capable of understanding just what Nudge’s crime may be? Could Monica explain a Ponzi scheme, and the resulting damage to the pensions of widows and orphans, to Dietzel? The concept would be beyond him.
Monica’s dismay is much as Dietzel would react if Monica was taken into custody by the police.
——————————————————————-
I think SoWhyMe and Fairportfan pretty well nailed it — Phix had a diagnostic tool that suddenly started showing false positives. So she stopped using it, and had to find another way.
There are at least three ways this situation can progress (that I can see) and danged if I can see any indication as to which is more likely — or if Paul has a fourth way, which is just as likely!
Sorry, This strip ; I forget I can’t copy and paste directly from MS Word.
You just had two quotes trailing the the address, that’s why it didn’t work.
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/dietzel-speak/” as opposed to: http://wapsisquare.com/comic/dietzel-speak/ amazing that ” can mess stuff up. I mess up a lot so I always look for why stuff doesn’t work.
I’d never compose code of any sort in a word processor. I would stick with a text editor. You’re almost certainly in Windows, which has Notepad as its bundled text editor, and some very grave limitations. You might prefer Notepad++ or some other giftware text editor, available from this page on nonags.com, a wonderful resource for Windows users.
Phix in a murderous rage . . . still hot.
This is off the topic of the current comic but I felt I need to say this.Wapsi Square is like a really good novel. One of the ones that keeps you reading and you just can’t seem to put it down. Hell, reading through, I had to wait for a lull in the plot so I could go to bed. The story and plot is truly riveting!! Thank you, Paul, and keep up the amazing work
Aaannnd….. cue tickles.
No. Seriously. Think about it. Tina JUST got a scratch, a fresh one, earlier that day… Nudge hasn’t done jack or shit enough to warrant another one yet. Also, Phix wouldn’t want Monica upset… she could easily accidentally unlock that locked door in her mind through uncontrolled rage/trauma.
This isn’t gonna go any more violent. That’s my prediction. Either Monica will jump in the way and Phix will have to stop, or Phix’ll pull a “Gotcha! Omigod you should see your face! XD”
I don’t think i’ll EVER get used to Monica having a Pixie hairstyle. :-/
Oh you did NOT just do that Phix. Normally I’d be terrified and run away, but you mess with Tina, you mess with me. The gloves are coming off.