Not really. Given how Phix explained it way back when and Shelly today, it’s probably more a “Witch in the wardrobe” style mechanic (it even comes with its own Faun, who’s more likely to cause you trouble than help you).
The invited: Enter the front door, be transported to the library annex.
The uninvited: Enter the front door, enter the abandoned building.
Seeing that the Library Annex does not exist inside the building, but is only open to those who enter the doorway by invitation. Even then, it is protected by the Apotropaic Sphinxes and once again, a demigod. Given that, I think “Plane Site” holds true.
Actually — the Annex is probably more like a TARDIS — bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. Especially if there’s a way to walk thru the annex and show up at the Library Prime.
You know I love your work paul but I’ve been trying to do a small guest arc for your website and I feel that you really deserve to be commended for your work on this webcomic. I have been working on these few pages for a couple weeks now and I can’t focus on it at all. I owe major props to you Paul.
Now if only I could get better props in the fan comic.
*plink* (the sound of a happy pun jar)
Heck I really do owe him some major props in the comic then don’t I.
*THUD* (the sound of a happy pun jar with a wallet in it)
With Justin’s inability to accept the supernatural it is very possible that he does not know why he has such a high healing factor. (Of course he does have another good reason to not want to accept the supernatural with all the snuff fetishists that seem to find him)
Now THAT, would be interesting. Question would be how Prometheus had a kid though. If the healing was part of his punishment then he couldn’t conceivably pass it on prior to his imprisonment. Which would mean he at some point managed to escape and subsequently have a kid.
According to some versions of the myth, was freed by Hercules. Also, in some versions, his nightly healing was due to his immortality, and something Zeus simply took advantage of when deciding on his punishment.
I’M USUALLY THE ONE POINTING THE STORY OUT TO OTHERS.
Did you know Mary Shelly was 19 years old when she wrote that? It was in answer to a contest the ‘gentlemen’ in a men’s club she visited with an uncle started amongst themselves.
They ‘allowed’ her to participate only with the promise she would not enter the club again if she didn’t win the contest (normally females weren’t even allowed as guests).
That one has been banging around in my mind for the past couple of weeks ever since one of us forum dwellers had a thought of Justin being Prometheus when he first showed his abnormality.
Good one! Let me add to the current total on your behalf…
*tosses in handful of discounted Valentine’s candy, three bottles of Hyrule Blue Potion, twelve Wernicks, and one of those gold-plated Pokemon cards from Burger King.
OTOH, you wonder if maybe Paul was actually setting that one up for later, a grand in-story joke he can drop on us sometime in the future ….
… and instead is now banging his head on the desk screaming something about “six damn years setting up that joke” and “wiseass readers getting ahead of the punchline”. ::snicker::
So his crazy detector needed calibration? I thought we already knew which way Shelly made his needle point. 😉
I kind of hope Phix doesn’t know what Justin is therefore kicking off another adventure.
Exploding? neh.. Legion made it go into slow meltdown, the really painful one, like Star-Trek did.., although, that one left me slack-jawed too. (Spock bedding Uhura? Kirk a hot-headed, rather unsympathetic moron? really????)
1) People change over time.
2) Psychological research has shown that the best leaders (in life and death situations) tend to be those who have high social intelligence but low social disirability scores. That translates to someone who understands people but doesn’t care about being popular. The “teen tearaway” is one of the sets of personalities that meets those conditions.
The Kirk of TOS is a wiser and more experienced person.
Bear in mind, however, that the Kirk from TOS had a different childhood from the movie one; for one thing, his father wasn’t killed by Future Romulans on the day of his birth…
Kirk wasn’t a moron in the new movie. He was a genius (Pike said so early on in the film). He just was also a slacker…which, depending how you look at it, either made him look a bit moronic or highlighted how smart he was. 🙂
I have always said that it takes real brains to be truly lazy. How else could you come up with successful ways to not do the things you’re supposed to do? 😀
For me, there was a definite moment in Trek-reboot during which Kirk stopped being an asshat and started down the road to being “Captain Kirk.” That was when he said, in the transporter room, for the Enterprise to fire on Nero’s ship should he opportunity arise, without regard to his or Spock’s safety.
A search for The Man Who Was Too Lazy To Fail resulted in finding a treasure trove site. The site has not only the (free) complete works of Heinlein (or if not complete then 114 eBooks has to be pretty close), but also collections of eBooks by Asimov, Simek, Wells, Foster, Norton, Herbert, et al – all available for downloading. And that is just the science fiction section! [The Man Who Was Too Lazy To Fail is one of the tales in Time Enough For Love.]
Heinlein and Asimov were my teenage “sneak-a-flashlight-and-a-book-to-bed” authors that ruined my eyesight. Just this collection alone is enough material for the next 30 years. I regret that I have only one life to give to reading.
BTW – A reminder: Nominations for the 2012 Hugo awards close on Sunday, March 11th, 2012. I think Wapsi Square would be a great contender.
You could try “DRADIS” if you can find the tech manuals from the Colonies in the Library. (Well someone did say that the Library is multi-universal after all)
Nah, the Navy keeps a cleaner ship than that… about the only place you could possibly see that would be at “Away Station Anime” if you follow the “Looking Glass” series from Travis S. Taylor
And that only occurs when the ASS Vorpal Blade is within the station’s shield. The place is normal (for strange values of same) when the Blade is elsewhere.
Not sure how usefull a Librarian whose sole conversational repritore consisted of “OOK” would be. On the other hand, I’m sure there would be a conecting portal between the Library and the Unseen University.
Indeed! One word is plenty for many situations — there’s even a computer programming language especially for bovines: COW. It has a set of operators, but all are variations of “Moo”.
Paranormal to us, but Paranormal to Wapsiverse? Outside of Amanda’s one blowup during Year-1, noone’s really reacted to Dietzel’s abilities and behavior at all.
Then there’s Amanda’s cat, who acts just as human-ish as Dietzel. Or Katherine’s beta, but guest-strips aside that may just be Kat’s own overactive imagination.
Really, the only “pet” we’ve seen that’s more “normal” by our standards is Tina’s cat.
Possibly a combination of Caller ID / ANI to figure out who is calling, Monica’s credit card being on file, and an automated push-button ordering system?
“Press 1 to order a small pizza. Press 2 to order a medium pizza. Press 3 to order a large pizza.
Press 1 for pepperoni. Press 2 for olives. Press 3 for artichoke hearts. Press 8*5336##46* for anchovies, as we would not wish to have you do this by mistake.”
Most phone companies offer a free internet-relay phone service, designed for the deaf and mute.
In short, you type in the phone# and what you want to say into an IRC chat engine, the operator will dial that phone#, identify he/she works for a relay chat, and then relay your message. He/she will then type the recipient’s reply, and the call continues from there until a party disconnects.
Considering Dietzel can work a controller, he could work a keyboard, so this is a possibility.
I thought the TTY system required a seperate equipment piece… but the advent of texting may have made it obsolete. Heck, if I can order a pizza by texting, why couldn’t Dietzel?
Interesting notion. Sure, Phix would be smart enough to keep tabs on the portal’s location to avoid any ‘complications’, but now that Nudge is back and verified to be a caretaker too…
Its likely another perception filter, so the building itself does not really exist..
A Doctor Who episode had a *single floor* house, with a spaceship on top, that looked just like a seedy two-floor house with bed-sits… the stairs did not really exist, you just thought they did..
but to answer, I’d bet no matter how much explosive you used, the ‘door frame’ would still be there..
With all the money/influence available to Phix and the others, I am quite sure that they own the building and can be assured that there will be no plans to demolish it any time in the foreseeable future.
Don’t worry. I am sure Phix picked a structure so encumbered by torts, leans, regulations, and a historical site next door, that it will 2112 before you can get all the parties to allow you to enter the place to check for lead contaminated paint, let alone a demolition permit.
I remember looking this up when Phix gave the address. The Wapsi Square neighborhood is being checked out a piece at a time as you drop in real-world sites, you know. *grin*
The Library seems to be a living entity so I would guess that it would register the loss of an entrance and create a new one at one of several preset locations.
Granted, it is still a fairly passive role. Shelly’s just bringing her new dolly around and showing it to all her friends, just like Monica did with Kevin.
Tepoz still has the most active male role in the comic… assuming he’s actually a male (not sure if he has a gender, given his origin).
Considering that he’s been present in the strip for quite a long time now, and conidering his newly-revealed regenerative power, I have a feeling that we’re witnessing the unveiling of a Chekhov’s human cannonball. I rather expect Justin will be playing a pivotal role in at least one upcoming adventure… not just as a boy-toy.
Maybe…maybe not. 🙂 I know plenty of people who drop the “me” in sentences like that nowadays. Granted, I hate it… it makes me cringe, but some people do talk that way.
Comment from the Grammar Gremlin – it’s unusual, but acceptable usage. You will see it more in British than American English; it appears occasionally in Pratchett’s works.
We don’t yet know how much of the total truth she’s told him. There may still be some things she hasn’t said, that she’s not sure he would take well.
Things like “I stabbed my best friend Monica in the head”, or “As a sphinx, during my exile in the Time Forest, I participated in the killing of dozens of people, all of whom were alternative versions of myself.”
1) Phix is a Sphinx.
2) Sphinxes like to strangle humans.
3) Phix probably has more stress these days now that Nudge is back in her life and she can’t simply kill Nudge.
4) Justin can survive any amount of strangling Phix deals.
So… in short, perhaps Shelly fears Justin will become Phix’s new stress ball (no, not like Monica’s boss, though considering Brandi’s reaction to seeing OfficerTB…)?
Really, really sure? No, I don’t think we are. But, we have rarely been 100% sure about the complete GoodGuy-ness of any of the Wapsi character. They’ve all had their various demons (literal or figurative), dark sides, layers of revelation, weaknesses, questionable motives, occasional stupidities… in other words they’re like the rest of us 🙂
Consider Brandi – we know she worked hard to manipulate herself (and others) into a solution to the CM problem, we know she was a murdered innocent, we know that she now literally doesn’t want to harm a fly (or a mouse)… and yet we have strong reason to suspect that there are aspects to her chessmaster-manipulator personality which may have had a dark side (her as-yet-unexplained “deal”), and perhaps some manipulations which even she does not remember. Is she “good”? Yes, no, maybe, mostly, sort of… pick an answer, and feel free to change your mind later 🙂
The same is true for most of the other major characters, I think.
We don’t know than a small amount about Justin’s back-story… not what he really is, not how old he is, not what he’s actually done in his life (other than get involved in what were apparently some kinky sexual relationships with some fringe paranormals). It’s not out of the question that he could have some dark-side issues in his past, which could come into play again now that he’s being reintroduced to the paranormal community.
That being said, though, I don’t find anything particularly ambiguous or ominous about his wording today. It all seems consistent with his being a person who has been “in hiding” for some time, concealing his true nature as a means of survival on some level (emotional if nothing else), and is now finding the ability to share secrets with another secret-holder to being a refreshing and liberating one.
Thanks! Unfortunately, my brain doesn’t always make the switch between typing the full tags (in a real browser) and using a shortcut (on my iPad). I think I ended up with a hybrid of the two on this one, after the word “really”.
Fortunately it seems that WordPress doesn’t have a run-on-italic vulnerability, the way it seems to allow “bold” tags to overstay their welcome.
Heh. I learned it the hard way–I messed up something and it turned all the comments into italics, and Paul had to fix it for me. From thence springs all jokes about me being the queen of internet breaking. 😀
I don’t know, maybe Shelly is worried about how Phix will ask Justin the riddle. Remember, Phix can be really scary and it seems to be a rite of passage, to be scared by her. Since Justin has been harmed by supernaturals before, she may feel that this may be too much for Justin and is worried about how he will take it.
If he is someone like Longinus, that may cause the Library to read him as an adventurer. And we may suddenly be introduced to some old acquaintances of Shelly’s that we have never met…
What I’m semi-expecting is that Shelly won’t be able to get in, and all she’ll be able to show Justin is an empty building. Phix did say it would only open if there’s no duress, and there are probably some security arrangements about guests. If Shelly is nervous enough, or if Justin is similar enough to an “adventurer”… well… it could end up setting off his crazy detector. “Sure, she *is* a sphinx, but sadly, she’s halucinating about her mentor this library thingie; probably just wishful thinking on her part.” Then, a need to go to somebody who can poit to get into the library proper, etc, etc, etc, during which time he might get more and more skeptical…
Ah well. I’m only *semi* expecting that; I can hope something else occurs.
I was thinking the two of them would end up in different parts of the library, with Shelly ending up in the “classroom” with Phix and Justin being entertained by Nudge.
What I want to see is Phix come raring to give Justin the ‘treatment’ and stop in mid-stride (as she recognizes his ‘true self’) and bows to him saying something like “Welcome back, my lord. It is a pleasure to once again be in your presence”.
And nudge also bows to him (gleefully).
All the while, Shelly and Justin gape without a clue.
I used to run some VERY popular D&D and traveler campaigns.
The most popular were when I insisted the players submit backgrounds for their characters one weekend (before the campaign begins) and the players discovered those backgrounds were integrated into the campaign the next weekend.
I generally didn’t go out of my way to kill characters. I simply let the players’ mistakes do it.
A very good example is in a traveler (a Sci-Fi RPG) campaign.
At one point three players were chasing a modern-day ninja (who uses both modern devices and the ‘tried and true’).
The ninja ran into a dark alley with the 3 player-characters in hot pursuit; but the players decided rushing into a dark alley to face a ‘night warrior’ was not a good idea (not exactly a foolish decision).
the leader ordered the other two to ‘cover him’ as he ‘shoulder-rolled’ into the alley to get to some cover.
I had a hard time not laughing as I showed the player what I had written for the encounter. He didn’t even try. The other players couldn’t understand why he and I were laughing so hard until the player picked up dice to start rolling damage.
The ninja had left foot spikes in the alley to ‘discourage pursuit’.
Try these coordinates. Small uninhabited island in the Bahamas. The nearest island island is Concepcion National Park (uninhabited). There is a nice beach on the east side and another on the northwest. Sorry about the name, which is oddly appropriate, Booby Cay.
nm, I just realized what I was doing – Shift- rather than f5. more used to using the toolbar buttons; Ctrl-Refresh opens another copy of the page in a new tab.
What? Honesty? That’s preposterous.
Truth???? you cant handle the truth!!!! >:)
The Truth Is In There. Even now.
That’s what she’s worried about.
@Ari
Spoken like a true woman.
Hiding the truth in plane site?
By Plane I’m assuming you mean alternate planes of reality right?
Not really. Given how Phix explained it way back when and Shelly today, it’s probably more a “Witch in the wardrobe” style mechanic (it even comes with its own Faun, who’s more likely to cause you trouble than help you).
The invited: Enter the front door, be transported to the library annex.
The uninvited: Enter the front door, enter the abandoned building.
Plane site? Hide the trust at an airport?
Hmm. That’s just crazy enough to work. 😀
And the truth too.
Actually, the library “site” is way north of MSP International…
North, as in billions of light years North maybe
Seeing that the Library Annex does not exist inside the building, but is only open to those who enter the doorway by invitation. Even then, it is protected by the Apotropaic Sphinxes and once again, a demigod. Given that, I think “Plane Site” holds true.
Actually — the Annex is probably more like a TARDIS — bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. Especially if there’s a way to walk thru the annex and show up at the Library Prime.
Couldn’t have put it better Myself, Old Chap.
You know I love your work paul but I’ve been trying to do a small guest arc for your website and I feel that you really deserve to be commended for your work on this webcomic. I have been working on these few pages for a couple weeks now and I can’t focus on it at all. I owe major props to you Paul.
Now if only I could get better props in the fan comic.
*plink* (the sound of a happy pun jar)
Heck I really do owe him some major props in the comic then don’t I.
*THUD* (the sound of a happy pun jar with a wallet in it)
So — Does Justin know what he is, or does he have to research it?
Cue backstory in 3… 2… 1…
With Justin’s inability to accept the supernatural it is very possible that he does not know why he has such a high healing factor. (Of course he does have another good reason to not want to accept the supernatural with all the snuff fetishists that seem to find him)
Just wait till someone in the medical field gets ahold of him.
*taps syringe*
“So Justin, what disease shall we be curing today?”
Well, I guess its one of his maladjusted paranormal GFs that gave him super-healing, so he would not die too much during ‘playing’… 😛
Mutant, metahuman, alpha, Inhuman, bang baby, nova, take your pick…
Or, if he’s somehow tied to mythology the way everyone else is, I’m banking on descendant of Prometheus.
Now THAT, would be interesting. Question would be how Prometheus had a kid though. If the healing was part of his punishment then he couldn’t conceivably pass it on prior to his imprisonment. Which would mean he at some point managed to escape and subsequently have a kid.
According to some versions of the myth, was freed by Hercules. Also, in some versions, his nightly healing was due to his immortality, and something Zeus simply took advantage of when deciding on his punishment.
I recently read a book on mythology. At some point that isn’t clear, Prometheus was freed and he and Zeus became friends again.
Rex, you are the keeper of the Cool Point for today! I really like that idea.
Well if he is a kid of Promethius then he is “The Modern Promethius” and all he has to do then is “Marry Shelly”
(Drops next 5 paychecks into the pun jar)
AAAAAAAGH!!!
HORRIBLE!! HORRIBLE!!
GAAAAAAH!!!!!
…okay, actually that was pretty good.
Oh my. That was very good. 🙂
Ow, Maark. Just… ow.
OH…DAMN…
That has got to be the awesomest pun ever inflicted upon the Wapsi message boards. I bow at the feet of the master.
You win!
That was exceptionally wince-making. Nicely done!
???
I don’t understand where the pun is. Judging from the reactions, it has something to do with the ‘modern day Prometheus’ and/or the ‘Marry Shelly’.
Is this some movie-based pun?
Well, there’s a novel which was published back in 1818… its full title is Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Yes, that “Frankenstein”.
It was written by a woman named Mary Shelley.
It was awesome!
EGAD!!!!
WHY DIDN’T I SEE THAT?
I’M USUALLY THE ONE POINTING THE STORY OUT TO OTHERS.
Did you know Mary Shelly was 19 years old when she wrote that? It was in answer to a contest the ‘gentlemen’ in a men’s club she visited with an uncle started amongst themselves.
They ‘allowed’ her to participate only with the promise she would not enter the club again if she didn’t win the contest (normally females weren’t even allowed as guests).
She got a life-time membership to the club.
So bad – it burned out the pun detectors in my brain, and the cognitive center had to process that. Kudos, or any other snack cookie….
That one has been banging around in my mind for the past couple of weeks ever since one of us forum dwellers had a thought of Justin being Prometheus when he first showed his abnormality.
The beauty of it is, it was sitting there the entire time, and no one else even suspected. Bravo, Maark.
Good one! Let me add to the current total on your behalf…
*tosses in handful of discounted Valentine’s candy, three bottles of Hyrule Blue Potion, twelve Wernicks, and one of those gold-plated Pokemon cards from Burger King.
Don’t forget the six Ningis in there. Two more and they can be exchanged for a Pu!
Almost a shame they’re so darn big…
Darn it — Ningi. There. Read and enjoy (item 5)!
Ha! I told you the pun jar had its own special version of n-space/L-space/The Thing Your Aunt Gave You/Pocket Black Holes! I told you! 😀
Atomic, you next pun is on me, should you choose to make one.
*Tosses blank check in pun jar (on fishing line so it can be filled out later)*
Thank you Danzier! It will be some time however, considering the new standard set by the “Marry Shelly” pun put up recently…
OTOH, you wonder if maybe Paul was actually setting that one up for later, a grand in-story joke he can drop on us sometime in the future ….
… and instead is now banging his head on the desk screaming something about “six damn years setting up that joke” and “wiseass readers getting ahead of the punchline”. ::snicker::
Communication is the key to a successful relationship. The wreckage of past relationship is proof of that.
So his crazy detector needed calibration? I thought we already knew which way Shelly made his needle point. 😉
I kind of hope Phix doesn’t know what Justin is therefore kicking off another adventure.
Even if she does know it can still kick off another adventure.
So what are they going to be looking up in the library and are there going to be any naked gorgons hanging around?
Sometimes one leads to the other, especially in the Wapsiverse. 🙂
Monica might be there looking for promising new islands to poit to.
I suspect Phix would have had a word with her (can’t remember how to spell Eu..’s name) and warned her that Shelly and Justin may pop in.
Euryale.
Thank you very much.
After getting sphinx-slapped, then meeting Bud and Brandi and Tina, I think the reason his crazy detector’s stopped going off is because it exploded.
I’d be curious what his answer to Phix’s riddle would be, though.
I’m guessing that’s like the time my bad movie detector exploded when I saw the trailer to Legion.
Or the time I forgot to put my gaydar into sleep mode before going to a drag show.
Exploding? neh.. Legion made it go into slow meltdown, the really painful one, like Star-Trek did.., although, that one left me slack-jawed too. (Spock bedding Uhura? Kirk a hot-headed, rather unsympathetic moron? really????)
The Kirk thing is believable as:
1) People change over time.
2) Psychological research has shown that the best leaders (in life and death situations) tend to be those who have high social intelligence but low social disirability scores. That translates to someone who understands people but doesn’t care about being popular. The “teen tearaway” is one of the sets of personalities that meets those conditions.
The Kirk of TOS is a wiser and more experienced person.
Bear in mind, however, that the Kirk from TOS had a different childhood from the movie one; for one thing, his father wasn’t killed by Future Romulans on the day of his birth…
Fred,
That’s true as well.
Kirk wasn’t a moron in the new movie. He was a genius (Pike said so early on in the film). He just was also a slacker…which, depending how you look at it, either made him look a bit moronic or highlighted how smart he was. 🙂
I have always said that it takes real brains to be truly lazy. How else could you come up with successful ways to not do the things you’re supposed to do? 😀
I think the late great author Robert Heinlein would ave liked you.
Aye. The Man Who Was Too Lazy To Fail is one of my favorites.
For me, there was a definite moment in Trek-reboot during which Kirk stopped being an asshat and started down the road to being “Captain Kirk.” That was when he said, in the transporter room, for the Enterprise to fire on Nero’s ship should he opportunity arise, without regard to his or Spock’s safety.
Julie – have you read Heinlein’s ‘The Man Who Was Too Lazy to Fail’? Try it. 🙂
This is a good reason why I love this forum; most of the forumies are so well read.
Well, ohkay, he was a moronic genius with a streak of ass-hat.
Suffice to say that I hate the re-boot with a vengeange. Something I only reserve for the most insulting of movies.
Even the charming addition of Zoe Seldana didn’t make this seething disgust disappear.
It was a beyond-stupid “kablooi-fest” for me. Alternate universes, the tool of lazy X-men writers……
@dadman Thanks for the lead.
A search for The Man Who Was Too Lazy To Fail resulted in finding a treasure trove site. The site has not only the (free) complete works of Heinlein (or if not complete then 114 eBooks has to be pretty close), but also collections of eBooks by Asimov, Simek, Wells, Foster, Norton, Herbert, et al – all available for downloading. And that is just the science fiction section! [The Man Who Was Too Lazy To Fail is one of the tales in Time Enough For Love.]
Heinlein and Asimov were my teenage “sneak-a-flashlight-and-a-book-to-bed” authors that ruined my eyesight. Just this collection alone is enough material for the next 30 years. I regret that I have only one life to give to reading.
BTW – A reminder: Nominations for the 2012 Hugo awards close on Sunday, March 11th, 2012. I think Wapsi Square would be a great contender.
With innumerable answers at his fingertips this could be fun to find out.
Katharine’s was “Where’s the bathroom?”
I’m half expecting that his answer would be, “Aw crap! How do you know my ex??”
Considering recent conversations… radar?
No way any radar can track this. It flies “OVER THE PULSE RADAR” and ‘TOO DANG FAST FOR THE DOPPLER RADAR”.
You could try “DRADIS” if you can find the tech manuals from the Colonies in the Library. (Well someone did say that the Library is multi-universal after all)
LIDAR then, that should be able to track it!
.. or how about –
‘angry face’ – “we’ve met!! >:(“
WHOOHOO!! MORE STORY!! XD
Can’t wait to see more Phix.
Or see if they encounter any other library denizens. 🙂
I keep looking for an orangutan in the background, or a discarded banana peel.
Nah, the Navy keeps a cleaner ship than that… about the only place you could possibly see that would be at “Away Station Anime” if you follow the “Looking Glass” series from Travis S. Taylor
And that only occurs when the ASS Vorpal Blade is within the station’s shield. The place is normal (for strange values of same) when the Blade is elsewhere.
Not sure how usefull a Librarian whose sole conversational repritore consisted of “OOK” would be. On the other hand, I’m sure there would be a conecting portal between the Library and the Unseen University.
I tell you, that Orangutan has a heck of a conversational voice for a one-word vocabulary. I secretly think all the stories are about him.
Wait, did I say that out loud? Aw crap.
Indeed! One word is plenty for many situations — there’s even a computer programming language especially for bovines: COW. It has a set of operators, but all are variations of “Moo”.
I’m certainly enjoying it.
Finally a paranormal dude besides Tepoz. Variety for the win!
… I want more Tepoz.
I’m really starting to wonder what happened to him.
”
Pawned off the GGG: Check!
Ensure Monica’s protection: Check!
Verify the creator’s back from hell: Check!
Well, my to-do list is done, and I barely had to lift a finger. Time for another vacation in Utah!
“
Like!
What about Dietzel? Or are we ignoring the fact that this dog can call & order pizza, and does tricks Lassie would be amazed by?
So? And Your point being? Don’t all well-adjusted dogs with opposing thumbs do that?? 😛
Paranormal to us, but Paranormal to Wapsiverse? Outside of Amanda’s one blowup during Year-1, noone’s really reacted to Dietzel’s abilities and behavior at all.
Then there’s Amanda’s cat, who acts just as human-ish as Dietzel. Or Katherine’s beta, but guest-strips aside that may just be Kat’s own overactive imagination.
Really, the only “pet” we’ve seen that’s more “normal” by our standards is Tina’s cat.
How does Dietzel phone out for pizza, anyway? We’ve never heard him talk…
Possibly a combination of Caller ID / ANI to figure out who is calling, Monica’s credit card being on file, and an automated push-button ordering system?
“Press 1 to order a small pizza. Press 2 to order a medium pizza. Press 3 to order a large pizza.
Press 1 for pepperoni. Press 2 for olives. Press 3 for artichoke hearts. Press 8*5336##46* for anchovies, as we would not wish to have you do this by mistake.”
Anchovies-code=win!
Most phone companies offer a free internet-relay phone service, designed for the deaf and mute.
In short, you type in the phone# and what you want to say into an IRC chat engine, the operator will dial that phone#, identify he/she works for a relay chat, and then relay your message. He/she will then type the recipient’s reply, and the call continues from there until a party disconnects.
Considering Dietzel can work a controller, he could work a keyboard, so this is a possibility.
I thought the TTY system required a seperate equipment piece… but the advent of texting may have made it obsolete. Heck, if I can order a pizza by texting, why couldn’t Dietzel?
I wonder if the building ever got demolished, would the doorway still work? Is the ability linked to the door or the location???
Yes. It is.
Thank you ever so much! 🙂
Interesting notion. Sure, Phix would be smart enough to keep tabs on the portal’s location to avoid any ‘complications’, but now that Nudge is back and verified to be a caretaker too…
Its likely another perception filter, so the building itself does not really exist..
A Doctor Who episode had a *single floor* house, with a spaceship on top, that looked just like a seedy two-floor house with bed-sits… the stairs did not really exist, you just thought they did..
but to answer, I’d bet no matter how much explosive you used, the ‘door frame’ would still be there..
With all the money/influence available to Phix and the others, I am quite sure that they own the building and can be assured that there will be no plans to demolish it any time in the foreseeable future.
Don’t worry. I am sure Phix picked a structure so encumbered by torts, leans, regulations, and a historical site next door, that it will 2112 before you can get all the parties to allow you to enter the place to check for lead contaminated paint, let alone a demolition permit.
Yep! The only way to fight bureaucracy is with even more bureaucracy
Crazy enough, you can actually check this one out yourself in the real world. =) Right here.
That is entirely cool – thanks for that, Paul!
I remember looking this up when Phix gave the address. The Wapsi Square neighborhood is being checked out a piece at a time as you drop in real-world sites, you know. *grin*
Watch that house end up being owned by a reader of Wapsi (assuming it’s not Paul’s!)
I think demolishing the building would break the link, either naturally or by triggering the closing of it from the other side.
After all, that’s what happened when the Library of Alexandria burned…
The Library seems to be a living entity so I would guess that it would register the loss of an entrance and create a new one at one of several preset locations.
Granted, it is still a fairly passive role. Shelly’s just bringing her new dolly around and showing it to all her friends, just like Monica did with Kevin.
Tepoz still has the most active male role in the comic… assuming he’s actually a male (not sure if he has a gender, given his origin).
Considering that he’s been present in the strip for quite a long time now, and conidering his newly-revealed regenerative power, I have a feeling that we’re witnessing the unveiling of a Chekhov’s human cannonball. I rather expect Justin will be playing a pivotal role in at least one upcoming adventure… not just as a boy-toy.
Does that mean that, by the end of act three, the cannon will go off? And where will Justin end up then??
He’ll be Saint Justin, of course.
(emits an evil grin, knowing that it’s sometimes more fun to leave the pun just sitting there waiting to snap shut on the reader’s foot…)
Wow. Just – wow.
Thanks, Paul!
Now he gets to meet Phix… this is gonna be one heck of a ride – again! 🙂
Am I too punchy from staying up to late or does the first balloon in the third panel need some work?
Yup! There’s a “Me” missing…
Maybe…maybe not. 🙂 I know plenty of people who drop the “me” in sentences like that nowadays. Granted, I hate it… it makes me cringe, but some people do talk that way.
Comment from the Grammar Gremlin – it’s unusual, but acceptable usage. You will see it more in British than American English; it appears occasionally in Pratchett’s works.
As in “Jeet yet? I’m going to get some Za, Wan’a come with?” or something to that effect?
And what happens next – if they walk in through the Portal – Phix looks up -and says – Hi Son..
Yes it does .. bad grammar —
Hmm thought the grammar comment would have landed in as a reply to Sheik..
Why does she look so nervous in the last panel? Maybe because she’s bringing Justin and isn’t sure how Phix will react? This could get interesting.
We don’t yet know how much of the total truth she’s told him. There may still be some things she hasn’t said, that she’s not sure he would take well.
Things like “I stabbed my best friend Monica in the head”, or “As a sphinx, during my exile in the Time Forest, I participated in the killing of dozens of people, all of whom were alternative versions of myself.”
Or she’s just nervous about the first day of school.
Well…
1) Phix is a Sphinx.
2) Sphinxes like to strangle humans.
3) Phix probably has more stress these days now that Nudge is back in her life and she can’t simply kill Nudge.
4) Justin can survive any amount of strangling Phix deals.
So… in short, perhaps Shelly fears Justin will become Phix’s new stress ball (no, not like Monica’s boss, though considering Brandi’s reaction to seeing OfficerTB…)?
Not likely, since knocking Nudge on the head makes for some satisfying display of stars, she’d be a great stress-ball on her own.
Aggravating as Nudge can be, she is probably right that Phix actually likes her..in an odd way that might mistify Phix herself too.
No need to involve Justin.
Hmm, co-ed night at Anger Management Class.
“A little honesty goes a long way”
You have NO idea, Justin. Not that the distance can be measured in miles, or even light years, mind you.
I’m a little concerned at the ambiguity present in some of Justin’s comments today.
Are we sure he’s a good guy? I mean really sure?
Really, really sure? No, I don’t think we are. But, we have rarely been 100% sure about the complete GoodGuy-ness of any of the Wapsi character. They’ve all had their various demons (literal or figurative), dark sides, layers of revelation, weaknesses, questionable motives, occasional stupidities… in other words they’re like the rest of us 🙂
Consider Brandi – we know she worked hard to manipulate herself (and others) into a solution to the CM problem, we know she was a murdered innocent, we know that she now literally doesn’t want to harm a fly (or a mouse)… and yet we have strong reason to suspect that there are aspects to her chessmaster-manipulator personality which may have had a dark side (her as-yet-unexplained “deal”), and perhaps some manipulations which even she does not remember. Is she “good”? Yes, no, maybe, mostly, sort of… pick an answer, and feel free to change your mind later 🙂
The same is true for most of the other major characters, I think.
We don’t know than a small amount about Justin’s back-story… not what he really is, not how old he is, not what he’s actually done in his life (other than get involved in what were apparently some kinky sexual relationships with some fringe paranormals). It’s not out of the question that he could have some dark-side issues in his past, which could come into play again now that he’s being reintroduced to the paranormal community.
That being said, though, I don’t find anything particularly ambiguous or ominous about his wording today. It all seems consistent with his being a person who has been “in hiding” for some time, concealing his true nature as a means of survival on some level (emotional if nothing else), and is now finding the ability to share secrets with another secret-holder to being a refreshing and liberating one.
[ / i ] .
Thanks! Unfortunately, my brain doesn’t always make the switch between typing the full tags (in a real browser) and using a shortcut (on my iPad). I think I ended up with a hybrid of the two on this one, after the word “really”.
Fortunately it seems that WordPress doesn’t have a run-on-italic vulnerability, the way it seems to allow “bold” tags to overstay their welcome.
Heh. I learned it the hard way–I messed up something and it turned all the comments into italics, and Paul had to fix it for me. From thence springs all jokes about me being the queen of internet breaking. 😀
I agree with that last part. Justin looks very excited and curious in all the panels.
🙂
That is all.
I don’t know, maybe Shelly is worried about how Phix will ask Justin the riddle. Remember, Phix can be really scary and it seems to be a rite of passage, to be scared by her. Since Justin has been harmed by supernaturals before, she may feel that this may be too much for Justin and is worried about how he will take it.
Riddles may no longer be standard procedure.
If he is someone like Longinus, that may cause the Library to read him as an adventurer. And we may suddenly be introduced to some old acquaintances of Shelly’s that we have never met…
You could be correct and probably are, but old habits die hard…
…And is it okay for a sphinx to riddle another sphinx’s boyfriend?
Depends on which definition of riddle.
What I’m semi-expecting is that Shelly won’t be able to get in, and all she’ll be able to show Justin is an empty building. Phix did say it would only open if there’s no duress, and there are probably some security arrangements about guests. If Shelly is nervous enough, or if Justin is similar enough to an “adventurer”… well… it could end up setting off his crazy detector. “Sure, she *is* a sphinx, but sadly, she’s halucinating about her mentor this library thingie; probably just wishful thinking on her part.” Then, a need to go to somebody who can poit to get into the library proper, etc, etc, etc, during which time he might get more and more skeptical…
Ah well. I’m only *semi* expecting that; I can hope something else occurs.
I was thinking the two of them would end up in different parts of the library, with Shelly ending up in the “classroom” with Phix and Justin being entertained by Nudge.
What I want to see is Phix come raring to give Justin the ‘treatment’ and stop in mid-stride (as she recognizes his ‘true self’) and bows to him saying something like “Welcome back, my lord. It is a pleasure to once again be in your presence”.
And nudge also bows to him (gleefully).
All the while, Shelly and Justin gape without a clue.
You are somewhat Evil, to enjoy torturing characters so 😉
I used to run some VERY popular D&D and traveler campaigns.
The most popular were when I insisted the players submit backgrounds for their characters one weekend (before the campaign begins) and the players discovered those backgrounds were integrated into the campaign the next weekend.
I generally didn’t go out of my way to kill characters. I simply let the players’ mistakes do it.
That is, of course, the best way to torture them – let them do it themselves 😀
A very good example is in a traveler (a Sci-Fi RPG) campaign.
At one point three players were chasing a modern-day ninja (who uses both modern devices and the ‘tried and true’).
The ninja ran into a dark alley with the 3 player-characters in hot pursuit; but the players decided rushing into a dark alley to face a ‘night warrior’ was not a good idea (not exactly a foolish decision).
the leader ordered the other two to ‘cover him’ as he ‘shoulder-rolled’ into the alley to get to some cover.
I had a hard time not laughing as I showed the player what I had written for the encounter. He didn’t even try. The other players couldn’t understand why he and I were laughing so hard until the player picked up dice to start rolling damage.
The ninja had left foot spikes in the alley to ‘discourage pursuit’.
Author, author!! 😉
He’s the amnesiac Wizard of Zao? If so, perhaps we will eventually find out where Yurp is?
Be honest with the cops and you’ll save your ass a LOT of trouble…
Try these coordinates. Small uninhabited island in the Bahamas. The nearest island island is Concepcion National Park (uninhabited). There is a nice beach on the east side and another on the northwest. Sorry about the name, which is oddly appropriate, Booby Cay.
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=27.474661,-82.256749&z=16&t=h&hl=en
Odd, it only getss me to a rather depressing stretch of road called “arcadia”- something in Florida….
gmaps list 5 booby cays.. 2 of those are actually the name of the ‘bay’ it seems…
Justin seems curious in a happy, even elated way. Maybe he is finally, thanx to his love for Shelly, embracing the supernatural part of his existence?
“Mom” Phix is gonna luuuve her protegé’s boyfriend, me thinks.
Late-night trivia!
Alex Rogan is the main character in what 1984 novel?
The Last Starfighter
Maark wins! And, yes, it’s a translation of the screenplay by the same name, and I liked the movie very much. 😉
I could have sworn it was “Silence of the Humorous Lambs” (original title “Rogan Josh”, a work of naanfiction).
See, that sounds like something by Seth Rogan.
Ctrl-f5, Ctrl-f5, Ctrl-f5, Ctrl-f5, Ctrl-f5, Ctrl-f5, lol
Ctrl-f5???? What kind of heathen browser are you using???
Shift-f5 iz da ticket. 😀 (jk)
nm, I just realized what I was doing – Shift- rather than f5. more used to using the toolbar buttons; Ctrl-Refresh opens another copy of the page in a new tab.
it’s almost 2 am here, time for bed…
Is Justin’s coat not sketched in all the way in the second panel?