reminds me of an old power girl joke;
“i thought you said you reinforced the door!?!”
“No! I said I was GOING to reinforce the door! Do you always rip doors off hinges?!”
The snort and look in Shelly’s eyes in the last panel bode rather ill towards Justin staying ignorant for much longer. I doubt he will take it well when she blasts him with her reality. But I will be a very disappointed reader If she doesn’t do something Dramatic that shows him just how real and honest she is being….
Hey, no haiuku! It attracts a bad element. Next thing you know, there’ll be ronin samurai running around attacking random people. It’ll be like Kirosawa movie in here!
I hate to admit that I know where Justin is coming from. Try to see this from the outside prospective of the real world. Justin has never seen any of the things that Shelly is saying. Now, just imagine for a second that at least one of the “damaged” girlfriends from his past had done things to hurt others when he was dating her. Use that as a hard memory to get rid of. Now, all he has running in his mind is that a few moments ago someone he cares for (who has prover herself to be a bit dangerous and violent, remember the BBQ pickup she used as a start) just tried to eviscerate him after making a heavy bag go poof. Then she starts throwing out all sorts of nonsense about being a mythological beast. He is pretty much handling this like anyone in the real world would. When confronted by impossible events the human mind has a major problem accepting it and tries to figure it all out, sometimes by dropping out some of the puzzle pieces to keep it sane. Sometimes you have to drop your comic book expectations when reading Paul’s work and think of it as happening in our real world.
Perhaps in the ER he will be forced to face a little reality. Those gashes were not made by fingernails or razor blades or knives, they were made by a large cat! And ER doctors know the difference.
I would like to see that conversation.
yea
i did’t get the first anger reaction. it seemed odd. but how his mind is working – this and the rest of the weeks comics have been perfect reactions to the situation.
i mean maybe he did jump on the loony wagon early but it seems the boy has dealt with ‘special ladies’ in the past. maybe they acted like shelly has?
And considering about the structure and arrangement of them, I think that the use of term ‘claws’ is incorrect, the correct term would be ‘talon’, as in a bird of prey. So they are going to be asking him about a 100 pound eagle.
Well, I guess with the wings she’s got to have some other bird morphology in the mix. I revise my senerio.
“These were caused by a griffon weighing at least 100 pounds.”
“No she said she was a Sphinx, not one of those eagle headed things.”
“Officer, these are clearly eagle talon wounds, and the only creature with eagle talons that size are Griffons. Either way, I would avoid the young lady.”
On the other hand, that “snort” in the last panel suggests to me that in a shake of a sphinxian tale Justin may have 1500-odd pounds of irrefutable evidence confronting him.
Not too sure the Bravo is warrented. The line that would work best would be..’I can prove it.’ If she going to be honest be all the way. Don’t invite him to classes, don’t just talk, just show him. Being a cop those words should get his attention. Cops love facts unless they can’t accept or believe the facts. So this scene leaves us wondering where it goes from here and just complicates things.
I’m guessing that she’ll go after him now just to prove it to him. However, he might be too faint from loss of blood and collapse and she’ll have to carry him to the hospital.
Which might make her doubt if coming out is such a good idea.
I think we’ve missed something incredibly simple here. There’s one other possible explanation for Justin’s behavior that I haven’t seen anyone consider.
He believes her.
Yep. His reaction fits.
When he saw what she did, he said it was proof she was crazy. Now, tell me one experienced cop that would think that? Name one experienced normal person?
No. I’d immediately think she was on some really dangerous narcotic. Justin, however, has seen druggies before, and he’d know all the signs, so it’s extremely doubtful he’d think that.
Then there’s the claws. Yep, the claws.
Now, last clue: Justin admitted that he’s some kind of ‘crazy magnet’. Now, if what Shelly did is what he calls ‘crazy’ then I’m guessing that it is his defense mechanism. His refusal to accept what he has just witness as anything other than insanity. Which then suggests that he may have witnessed something like this before.. and on more than one occasion.
In conclusion, I believe Justin has already witnessed the ‘crazy side of the Wapsiverse’ and was hurt… repeatedly perhaps. As a result, he labeled it as ‘crazy’ or ‘insane’.
What’s I think is needed here is a bona-fied supernatural therapist. Do we happen to know anyone qualified?
In Monica’s case she was committed because of magic and put a mental block up to try and refuse to see it.
In Justin’s case he might have had to commit someone and so he also refuses to accept the magic. But in his case he has never seen the magic happen except for brief flashes like the heavy bag. So it is not a block like M’s but the rules of reality as he was raised to know them.
I like this interpretation of Justin’s behavior. It fills in some glaring holes, like him ‘not noticing’ the the still present catlike markings, fangs and dissapearing/reappearing claws. There’s no way a trained observer missed them.
But “crazy” doesn’t just mean “hallucinations” or “delusions of grandeur”.
It also means not being able to tolerate other people behaving outside your expectations, and responding with deadly violence when they startle you.
I don’t care how badly you’re suffering from PTSD, you must not try to kill the people around you except in justified self defense.
I’ll link it again (and hopefully get the link right this time: “You’re. Going. To love me!“
Crazy is outright dangerous, particularly in the brain of an ancient, traumatized being of enormous power.
Especially if Justin believes her, he’s right to get the heck away from her.
And I’ll also say again: If Shelly wants to live among and even have sex with humans, she’s going to have to learn to tolerate having them do what they want, even if she really, really doesn’t like them doing that.
Anything less than that, and Justin is just her squeaky chew toy.
Well, Shelly did point out that she is taking classes to learn how to control that sphinxy tendency to lash out aggressively. We can’t expect her to make that transition overnight. She’s trying to fall back into human reactions and behaviors. I think you’re judging Shelly a bit harshly here.
She was assaulted. She reacted in self-defense and when she realized she wasn’t in danger stopped her counterattack. Lesson: Don’t startle trained martial artists, mmmk?
It was a thought I had yesterday… he’s been here, done that. It’d be a hell of a thing if he’d paired up with a sphinx in the past, neh? Or something else like it.
If this is the end of the scene, I was certainly wrong. It’s looking much less likely to be what I thought it was.
Though Justin’s quizzing her as what kind of creature a sphinx is is curious. Wouldn’t he jump to thinking “Sphinxes” were some gang? Or martial arts school?
She didn’t really mention mythology first. He did.
Sphinxes are known of in a mythological context, and there’s also that big monument in Egypt. Justin had already decided she’s crazy, so it’s also not a stretch for him to believe she “thinks” she’s one of those “fantasy” creatures.
Then he’d think of the monument with the human face. Most would. But, in these straits, he’s thinking a weird critter from heraldry or something.
His mind was already on the supernatural. So yes, Cherish’s idea she repeated today, that his “crazy” gfs have been supernaturals, is a good one, and he is in skeptic denial over them.
He might make (have made) a good match for Shelly Wahnee of South Minneapolis, who wanted nothing to do with all this spooky stuff. But Paul isn’t letting the Sage of the Time Forest or the Guardian of the Boiler Room pinch hit for her tonight, and she’s batting 0.000.
I think this comic is a perfect example of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. The five days of the week that the strip is updated fly by rapidly, but the two days that we have to wait for Monday’s strip seem eternal. The perceived passage of time is relative.
Are you suggesting we get farther away from the earth, thus decreasing the gravity we experience, so that the weekend goes by faster? Because I’ve got to tell you…that sounds like a lot of effort for an online comic, even one as amazing as Wapsi. 😛
no, that wasn’t Einstein..when ‘Theory of relativity’ is mentioned, everyone wrongly quotes him, but he only did ‘special relativity’.. Galileo was the man..
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galilean_relativity
– if you cannot see or feel it, you cannot tell whether you are moving or not.
the same with perception – if you are doing something interesting, you will not notice time passing..
eg, ‘a watched kettle never boils’ – if you concentrate on it, it will seem like ages, but if you go and do something else interesting, it will seem faster – in fact , it will take the same time on a stopwatch…
Not sure how to react to this one. I know quite a few people called it, but still, I think most of us were waiting for her to “sphinx out”. She could still follow him out the door next week, but I’m really not so sure that’d be the smartest move right now–especially given that with this little speech, she just dug herself in deeper with his perception of her as a lunatic.
Of course, about a month ago, there was a strip with her contemplating how to break up with him… not sure what to think here in that vein, other than “be careful what you wish for”.
I’m not sure whether that is an angry snort, or a “Well, I tried… so much for that relationship” snort of finality and resignation, or an “I’ll show him!” snort of resolve.
In any case, it’s far from the worst reaction Shelly could have shown to having been walked out on like this.
The SNORT is her getting ready to fight for what she wants. The universe is so big and time so long that when you find the person, friend, lover, buddy, or any other form of significant other you want to have in your life you will fight to keep them. I don’t know what is fair in this case but Shelly “knows what she wants now” and it looks like its Jason. Now that’s REAL magic!
Or it could be her own way of saying “#&@* you!” because she finally realizes that Justin is not worth the effort. Shelly knows she is not crazy, and if Justin cares so little for her that he is not even willing to try to help her with what he sees as her “delusion”, then she is better off without him. Someone who truly cared for her might think she was crazy, but would want to try to help her.
If someone I cared about attacked me and said they were a supernatural creature, I might be scared spitless, but I would want to help them. Justin has shown no sign of really caring for Shelly. I think to him she was just a slightly kinky convenient lay. Now he sees her as too much trouble to worry about.
That may be the right assessment. Frankly, that’s a tight analysis of Justin’s limitations, and I would hate to be in his pink body if he goes and tries to pull that sh!t with Bud.
However, that looks like fighting stance in the last panel. It could be the sphinx side satisfied it chased off an unwelcome intruder from her territory. Or maybe Shell will be out lifting Justin’s car off the ground come Monday.
“The SNORT is her getting ready to fight for what she wants.”
Uh huh.
Like any human testosterone monster beating on his girlfriend’s door with an crowbar because the stupid bint simply will not listen to him explain how much he loves her, and he wouldn’t have hit her if she hadn’t startled him like that, she knows he hates that, he just lost control for a second, he’s trying to change, he’s going to therapy, he’s taking that class, that anger management class, but dammit, baby, she just needs to let him in so they can talk!
“Just fighting for what he wants,” right? Right? Gotta have some sympathy for a poor guy like that, what’s he supposed to do, let her mock him like that?
Meh, I’ve seen the gender reversed aurgument a couple of times over the past few updates, and while I agree that a stalker is a stalker and dangerous behavior is bad, this is a whole different ball of wax. Shelly fits in a category way past ‘crazy girlfriend’ if she gets all stalkerish. More like cat and mouse. I don’t think she will though. The worst we’re going to see is her Sphinxing out, scaring the piss out of him, then walking away. Right now I see her just walking away.
Wait refugee, so you’re comparing Shelly’s instinctive “protective” aggression (remember, she didn’t know who swatted her on the backside until she was already lashing out, at which point she pulled the strike back…and broke into tears when she realized what had happened and who she had hurt)…you’re comparing that to someone who beats their significant other knowing who they’re hitting?
Yes. I do think those are two entirely different situations and need to be handled/considered differently.
Reaction to being hit:
Classic PTSD: Overreact to normal situations because they are not in the present but back in the situation that gave them their trauma where those reactions that kept them safe.
That doesn’t mean those actions are right nor does it mean that anybody should accept or put up with those reactions. However, it’s not the same as deliberate beating.
The snort seems to me to be from someone who feels they are unjustly accused of a crime: He basically stated that he thought that she was delusional in believing that she was a sphinx.
The more I think about it the more I am persuaded that it is not a good idea to go sphinx. She’s just been through the emotional wringer and now she’s responding with anger. If she does go sphinx under that anger she will be closer to the person you fear she is. I don’t think it’s a “You will love me” but more “I am not a liar and I am not delusional!”
Of course, if he’s outside, then she does confirm the charge of being crazy because supernatural creatures are meant to be discreet. Being a sphinx out in the open is not recommended.
we already know that Phix keeps an unseen eye out for the girls and can pull a poit to the library at will, so they both could end up in the library instead of exposed in public.
I never said anything about violence. Fighting for what you want in a relationship should never involve a crowbar or a strike, physical or mental, of any kind and I don’t think I’ve seen any character in this strip that exhibits that tendency. If Shelly clobbers him it will be way out of character. If, on the other hand, she acts with determination for whatever decision she has made she will be a good example of the strong female characters this strip is based on (and the reason we follow it).
It might be different for her, given her perspective. But from his perspective, and given the limited amount he actually knows, it seems the same to me.
In all honesty, what did Shelly expect, that he’d simply believe her ?
If all that has happened would have happened to me, I would still call someone bonkers if he/she said that he or she is a Sphinx or whatever mythological figure.
She ALMOST had him… if she had just SHOWN him instead of SAYING that “she’ll be taking CLASSES” huh!!? how do you take CLASSES to become an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT GENETIC ENTITY?… OH Yeah, an entirely MYTHOLOGICAL one to boot?!… nope she’s crazy…. However: if she had morphed right after the “i’m a sphinx, and…” then yes, he would have freaked, basically because one REALLY DOESN’T EXPECT TO SEE SOMEONE CHANGE SHAPES/SPECIES BEFORE THEIR VERY EYES (we expect the Inquisition more than that!) but he would no longer have the “you’re crazy” excuse to fall back on and they could get a bit more productive talking going on after that point.
right NOW though, the way she’s snorting, and that squinty eyed/ furrowed brow she has in panel 5, i’m saying that it looks like Shellinx is PISSED, and will morph either just before, or just after she goes thru the door after him… i won’t even apply for any Moxana points for what happens after that, as i have no clue what’ll happen!
AAND, i just noticed on rereading the strip, that she’s already physically LARGER in panel 5 than she was in panel 4, so i guess i answered my own guess about when she’s going to transform… it’s going to be: before she goes out the door!!
since Paul is very consistent with drawing Shelly’s head/hair sizes in panels 2,3, and 4 with the distance from the back edge of her ear to the tip of her nose in those 3 panels. when compared to the mirror/window panes on the wall, panel 5 shows she gotten bigger…
She’s certainly sphinxing a tad. Her being bigger isn’t certain because Paul does focus pulls like in photography. (She may just be “closer”.)
And wanting some action with the drama doesn’t make you a bad person. Feeling gleeful at a decent person’s failure makes you a Sith Nazi Lanthian priest, so there’s that.
Hurm. Well I really don’t want Junior to kick my ass, and I don’t want to be in the same solar system with a pissed off Bud or Brandi, so I guess I’ll go with trading veiled threats and cryptic asides with the Son of Skywalker.
If Jar Jar shows up, all bets are off, though. Let bud vaporise me.
I just want May to biuld me another calender machine to go back and retcon the prequels out of existence. Or at least change them so they make some kind of sense.
As far as singing around a Sphinx, I have a feeling she’d eat me or break into song. And if the singing sounds anything my cat in full yowl, I might prefer being a snack.
I’l refrain from commenting on what kind of person that makes you, but I will say that from the background–although it’s not conclusive–it certainly looks like her head is growing in size against the windows.
Boxilar, the machine would have to be built and sent in motion before the point you wanted to return to, so that opportunity has passed. There’s a hastily scribbled note in Brandi’s book that simply reads: “Stop the Jar Jar clones, Episode 2B.” So maybe we had better count our blessings.
bmonk, I’m starting to think the panel 5 head is a little larger than the rest. Good thing Google Earth blacks out Minneapolis, and no one uses smart phones there.
@Yamara. *sigh* I know. It was just a though that bubbled up through my brain in the wee hours. If I’m ever in Minneapolis I’ll have to look up Brandi and thank her. I can only imagine the horror.
Thank you, Bmonk. I admit it’s my darker side that wants to see Shelly Sphinx out, But honestly, the more I think about it the worse the idea sounds.
Back here: http://wapsisquare.com/comic/spider-dreams/
we see her transformation isn’t that subtle. In fact it seems to be downright painful. So it seems unlikely she simply starts getting bigger.
…This is gonna show up clear at the bottom of the comments, isn’t it?
@scantronb: Never show the guy before you tell the guy. It eliminates possible disaster. If he reacts badly to the words you can always say, “Haha, gotcha!” (well, Shelly can’t, but it’s the code.)
@all the girls reading this: I’m sorry. I had to tell. I will apply to get my girl card reissued on Monday.
I agree. what i meant was more along the lines of “I’m a Sphinx…” POOF… she then Transmogrifies into her Sphinx-form
instead she just did a non sequitor and threw out some nonsense about school… THAT’s what caused him to split. if she hadn’t said anything about classes, and just showed him then it would be less messed up than it is right now.
She’s smart enough to have meddled in the whole CM affair, together with Nudge, but, indeed, on the social interaction thing, she’s kind of a short-fused dimwit….
She’s a ” don’t understand? Get Angry” type. Not the most sympathetic kind of people. Luckily she combines itbwith a willingness to dó something about it.
Nah! He was finished. I don’t even think he registered. She could have said “And I sparkle like a vampire!” and it would have been the same. He was out of there.
Oh well. She didn’t Sphinx out, which is best for all concerned, I think. (I still wanted to see it though.) I’m kinda glad to see the anger at the end. I think it means she’ll be moving on from this point. She wanted to get closer to him and build something other than a mostly physical relationship, but I don’t think she’s so deep in that she can’t write it off and let go. Justin certainly has.
Despite the fact that I want to, I can’t really blame Justin for walking away, given what little he knows and his apparent past history, and there’s no doubt that Shelly could have handled the whole thing better. Not sure how, exactly, given how the whole ‘I’m a Sphinx since last week’ was something she hadn’t gotten a handle on yet. Of course she wasn’t emotionaly ready to let him get that close before her stay in the time forrest, so it’s kind of a catch 22 situation for her. Anyway, my ramblins may well be rendered moot in an update or two so I’m gonna fasten my seatbelt and enjoy the ride. It’s been pretty damn good so far.
As Refugee mentioned above,a gender reversed version of this comic would set chills into our spines.
Shelly’s wounds, however deep they are, are no excuse for her behaviour now toward Justin. It’s like we’re back in the Shelly/Owen days of olds. What she cannot have by being open or trustng, she plans to get by force. This is a repeating occurence now, unhealthy.
Letting the cat out of the bag would be the worst way to solve this now.
Should Shelly goes sphinx and confronts Justin in the short run he may turn around and accept her; in the long run she’ll have proof that using strength is an okay way to get whatever she wants whether or not the other persons involved are willing or not.
I think the question of if we’d feel uncomfortable if Shelly were a man and Justin were a woman misses the point. Under usual (read; non supernatural) circumstances, the gender reversed question would be to invoke the image of a physicaly more powerful man threatening a less powerful woman. That scenario is already in full effect. Shelly is so much more physicaly powerful than Justin. She could do anything she wanted to him and there is nothing he could do about it. Thinking about it is chilling.
Shelly is also NOT HUMAN ANYMORE. She wants to be. Her memories tell her she was. But now she has the hair trigger reflexes of a cat. Eaons of living in the time forrest may have left her more ready to be emotionaly open, but it also left her with some strong self preservation instincts. Having the Apotropic Sphinxes show up every so often to rattle your cage would leave you a little jumpy. Add in the occasional idiot who showed up to be hero and slay the monster and god knows what else wandering through and you’d get downright paranoid. Maybe they couldn’t hurt you, but it’d get annoying pretty quickly.
Despite her memories in Wapsi taking the forefront in her mind, all those other experiences are in there too. She has peace now, but it’s the peace of a warrior, balanced on a razors edge, ready to respond to the slightest threat.
Shelly’s concerns after the bar beat down were valid. She, like Tina, is a wild creature. The tragedy here is that she changed and couldn’t figure out how to tell Justin. And then it became to late.
I can’t blame her, because she lashed out like a wild animal caught off gaurd. Slap any cat on the butt and you’re likely to get a handful of claws.
I can’t blame Justin, because he has no IDEA what he hell is going on, other than his up till now cool girlfreind went Freddy Kruger on him.
I know I’ve said I want to see Shelly Sphinx out and prove him wrong, and part of me, The NaziSithLanthianPriest, (Thanks Yamara) wants to see it, the truth is, this one is done. His trust in her is broken and turning into a giant monster of myth ain’t bringing it back.
I hope Shelly can let it go, But from that expression in the last panel, I think she’s about to take a parting shot.
one slight difference between your ‘normal gender reversed’ scenario and Shelly’s ‘supernatural’ scene…
the weaker woman (as opposed to Justin) would know she doesn’t stand a chance against the man (as opposed to a sphinxed-out Shelly).
Now, Justin is indeed aware Shelly is capable of feats of above average strength; he still believes he has a chance to counter her at a combative encounter.
I think it is incredibly unfair to compare Shelly with people who abuse their SOs. A) She doesn’t have a history of abusing Justin. B) She reacted on instinct to attack the unknown entity that “attacked” her. C) She was instantly remorseful after only one swipe (that many commenters seem to believe she pulled at least a bit once she realized who she was attacking, which indicates she’s learning to control herself). D) She is dealing with being a supernatural being and has only just started to take classes to control that creature’s instincts (classes she started taking before ever attacking Justin).
I think the gender flip is unnecessary. It doesn’t matter which gender is the abuser, abuse is wrong. However, what Shelly has done is not abuse. It’s been mistake after mistake (and she probably was hoping she’d get a reaction like Kevin’s to Monica’s revelation), but that does not constitute calling it (or even comparing it to) abuse.
Shelly is doing the very best she can, give what has happened to her and what she knows.
So is Justin, given his history.
Neither of them is being abusive, or willfully cruel, up to this point.
Both of them know that Shelly’s a dangerous loose cannon right now… they just have different explanations for why this is, based on their different levels of knowledge.
There is a huge difference between what Shelly did, and what your average slime-ball abuser does when abusing his (or, less frequently, her) Significant Other… motive. Domestic abuse is largely about maintaining control and power over another person, by means of physical and psychological threat and domination and violence. That’s one of the biggest warning signs… if your SO tries to isolate you from other people, and control everything you do, run like hell!
Up until now, Shelly has not tried to dominate or control Justin. She didn’t threaten or use violence as part of an argument, or because he wouldn’t do what she wanted. The slashing was a very unfortunate reflex accident.
Shelly could cross the line into being an abuser, though, if she sphinxes out and pursues Justin out the door, and tries to deny him his free right to walk away. That would be an act of domination by threat of force – that’s where she would cross the line.
See, this is what political correctness has done to us. Overthinking every situation and calling everything some sort of abuse is absurd. Especially here. It’s a story. Stories have drama if they are good stories. The characters tend not to overthink what they do. Like most people in real life, they just “do.” Especially in times of great stress. Blocking his freedom to leave? Comon. Making a bad situation worse is what a good drama is all about. Let it happen. As I once read concerning writing … “think of what the worst thing that could happen to your character would be, then do it.”
But if PC is the worst thing happening to you, SoWhyMe, why aren’t you enjoying the drama?
That method (and description) of writing drama is credited to Lois McMaster Bujold, and she pulls it off well.
But, y’know, if everyone does that, all the time, it gets old. For instance, torture porn fits that criteria, and is a very shallow form, dramatically.
What I find disappointing is critiquing a work as if it’s not the toy one wants to be playing with. Wapsi Square is not a tragedy. If Paul turns it into one, I’ll weigh the twists and turns and decisions he took to get there, when he gets there.
But salivating for the worst at every turn gets lame. Surely that’s unsatisfying when elsewhere, a lifetime of TP awaits.
I think part of the over analisis comes from the fact that we’re seeing small snippets in time and have time to think about every single gesture and nuance, while the characters are living it in the moment and responding the best way they can.
I know I used the word tragedy to describe the breakup going on here and maybe that was overly dramatic. Most of Wapsi’s true tragedy happened well before the story started and the bulk of the narrative has been about people moving on in spite of it.
@SoWhyMe – I think we’re going to have to agree to disagree on this one, on several counts.
The “think of what the worst thing that could happen to your character would be, then do it” school of drama… well, I don’t care for it all that much. Its logical conclusion is just what Yamara points out… slasher movies, torture porn, and books filled with thoroughly unsympathetic characters. Not to my taste… if it sparks your jets, go for it, but I’d personally rather not.
I’m a pretty empathetic kind of guy. When I read good, engaging fiction, I tend to react to what happens to the characters in the same way I’d react if the same thing happened to people I personally know. Similarly, I tend to consider the rightness and wrongness of a fictional character’s actions, in the same sort of way I’d judge the actions of a real person (possibly myself) in an analogous situation.
Wapsi Square is plenty good enough fiction for me to be operating in that mode, mentally and emotionally. So, please forgive me if I treat Shelly as a friend, whom I would not wish to see do anything stupid and irreparable.
I’ve seen Wapsi condemned as a “bad webcomic” in part because the reviewer felt that Paul mistreats his characters. I don’t agree… some of the characters have been through hell (literally) but the telling and after-effects have been much too sympathetically portrayed for me to toss Wapsi into the “web torture porn” class… far from it. I think Paul has struck an admirable (and probably difficult) balance.
I’m also somewhat touchy on the subject of “abuse”, I suppose, because my wife is a trained psychotherapist with quite a lot of training and some experience in dealing with people in these sorts of situations. From her, I’ve learned quite a lot about where the boundary lines are drawn, both in current psychology and in current law. You’re free to condemn this as “political correctness” if you wish, but I don’t see inter-personal abuse (and, conversely, the proper treating of one another with respect as individuals) as just an issue of PC.
I’m sorry you find the amount of back-and-forth which takes place here to be over-analytical hand-wringing. I rather enjoy it… there’s a lot of very thoughtful commentary, discussion, and speculation going on (and Wapsi is well within the “speculative fiction” realm so I figure that’s fair game), and a lot of bright and insightful people taking part and putting forth their perspectives. The fact that a lot of the plot-guessing and speculation don’t turn out to match what Paul has planned for the future… well, that’s fine with me, personally… everybody gets to stretch their imaginations.
If this all clogs your innards too badly, you need not participate.
Typical overreaction. It seems to be the norm here. “If you don’t like some part of the story, quit reading it.” If you have a different opinion of the hand wringing going on in the comments concerning a particular non-event, quit reading them. Better yet quit participating.” That’s just great. As usual the only “valid” opinion is that which is in line with certain others. Don’t you DARE tromp on my carefully crafted little world of conjecture. Get a grip. My whole point is so much of the commentary is about something which has not even happened and may never happen. Judgements are thrown out as if all this is real in some twisted way and as if the characters existed in a perfect world of thought and reason. Additionally it goes on and on in endless repetition. It’s a COMIC for god’s sake! Get over yourselves and dismount your high horse for a while.
Specifically in response to Yamara:
Torture porn? WTF? This is an actual category? Heck, most horror movies are like that. Even many so-called Action Adventure movies.
Did I say I wanted every story (or even this one) to be that way ALL the time? No. Basically, I’m addressing the comments associated with this particular situation. I’m not critiquing the story here (or Paul). It’s fine, if a bit drawn out. I’m critiquing some of the comments.
All I’m saying is it would be better, in this particular case, to let it play out before going on endlessly about things which have not even occured.
Gotta wonder why your mind went to torture porn right off though.
SoWhyMe: I was critiquing your critiquing, too. My mind “went” to torture porn because you do say you want the story to go that way. All the time.
Not exclusively of course. I enjoy a lot of your insights and comments. But “all the time” as in reliably negative, to the point where the grumping overrides the logic. Those critiques read like you’d rather be reading something else.
That being the case, the question of sowhyposthere naturally arises. You come off as too confident and intelligent for mere trolling, so I am curious why you’re a fan that consistently expresses a desire to see the opposite of what Wapsi Square represents in Wapsi Square.
But don’t you dare go anywhere. This comments section would visibly dim without you.
Now that you and other’s have mentioned it..yeah. And I know what Shelly’s thinking:
Justin: …I’m not going your way.
…
Shelly: *SNORT* You wanna bet?\\
It may be that Shelly realizes that she may have lost him. But it’s gonna for what she really is and not for what Justin think’s she is. Next week is gonna be very interesting.
Yes. I could be reading my own attitude into this, but at this point I’d be thinking, OK, we may be over, but he’s not getting out of here calling me delusional. So that’s the way I read Shelly’s *snort*. And crinkled brow.
Expecting: A ‘Heeeeeeere’s JOHNNY!’ busting through the door with a Sphinx.
Hoping: Justin is sitting just outside, back against the wall, staring off into nothing.
Shelly’s Show off rage/enthusiasm hits a brick wall on Justin’s expression.
Both just kind of sit there for a few panels. Before Justin finally goes ‘GEEBUM CROW IT’S A LION-oh hi shell’
Removing yourself from a target of anger tends to leave you with a bitter little fire that either burns itself in deep, or starts burning you. And being a trained police officer, he should really have better emotional control… But we’ve argued that element already. So now it’s the emotional battle of wills for Shelly.
Of course, the simplest way out is to send him a letter to ask him, nicely, to join her for one of the classes, and then take him down the proverbial rabbit hole… a bit late, though.
I don’t think you can get away with smacking a sphinx on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper.
Unless, perhaps, you’re Bud.
That would be amusing to see. >:)
And how well is that going to go? I can see it now:
[after long explanation]
Justin: So one of your associates was a powerful being who had Schizophrenia? In order to cure her you needed a powerful artifact? For that artifact to work you neeed Shelly to spend 80,000 years in a forest? That lead to her pyschological stability being affected because of recessive genes and PTSD coming to the fore? She now has the strength and speed to kill anyone with a propensity to react violently at the drop of a hat?
But in the Wapsiverse, we must also restrain our brains a little (especially on Fridays) lest they go *splat* on the inside of the monitor and leave grey splotches on the archives. 😀
I don’t suppose asking you to not push this issue or to refrain from having her transform would be out out of the question? I mean, its not like in the real world this would work. What are you going for here? Angry makeup sex? Let him go.
Tune in next week to Wapsi Square with host Bob Villa as he attempts to restore a small apartment Building in Minnesota that was the scene of multiple wall demolitions.
Thanks to the fact one of the instructors here is a sphinx, we were able to save a good bit on not having to rent cranes or heavy equipment. In fact it’s just Norm and me and the landscaper. Perhaps you’d like to meet the sphinx. The last we saw she was talking with Louise Mickenfic, our landscaping expert. They should be around the back, come this way. Odd, she’s not here. Uh, Norm … have you seen Louise? Norm, have you …? Wait … where’s Norm?
Body language time again. Oh boy! is Paul a master of expression.
Panel 1: Justin is keeping a distance, shying away
Panel 2: Both are leaning toward one another. But Justin arms are down, Shelly’s reaching.
That one is interesting; during all this time I’ve yet to see Justin acting/posturing in anger toward Shelly. I sense ingrained cop training here.
Panels 3,4 & 5: The size increase in the last panel might due to a closing up/focusing. But the shoulders, from slump, to straight to aggressively forward. It’s as if I was seeing a she-lion getting ready to pounce on her target/prey/mate.
i’m going with the tip of the nose to the back of the ear measurement. in all panels 2 thru 5 the back of the ear is “just about” even with the window pane, and in panels 2-4 the tip of her nose is ~2/3 of a window pane, but in panel 5 it actually TOUCHES the edge of the window pane… ergo, she got bigger. though i do also agree she shifted her neck forward, and tilted her head up, too. but that’s not enough to cause that amount of difference.
It is difficult for us as readers to cut Justin a fair and realistic break given what we know and our intense live for the wapsiverse characters. We know Shelly is nice and clearly just dealing with her inner turmoil which is much more difficult than most humans have to deal with.
That being said what Justin is saying and doing is 100% the proper response given his history. If someone you care for is having emotional trouble and it is within the limits of your capability to comfort and care for them then youau find yourself putting it out there, being understanding, and offering support.
In this case however Shelly not only went off the deep end in his eyes but she wounded him badly physically and mentally. Having recently been in a car accident and gone into shock I can understand where he’s coming from. That injury looked and probably was extremely painful. If a man wounded his significant other that severely people would lock him up in a heartbeat or scream for her to get away. Violence and abuse are scary and deserve to be responded to in a harsh manner.
Her defense about being a supernatural creature and taking classes isn’t winning any points. If he does t believe in that stuff, which most normal people do not, the crazy points just tripled. rightly so.
If you were dating a woman in real life and after a few months of dating her she clawed your nipple off and proceeded to tell you she’s a mythical beast I’m pretty sure you’re going to cut bait.
Indeed! Justin’s been there before (psycho chick magnet) and has learned when to defensively cut bait. Add to that his job experiences with liars, blowhards, and violent loonies, and his choice 100% rational in his experience.
At least Monica had the chance to introduce the topic over coffee with her boyfriend.
I agree. I don’t think Justin’s really done anything out of line at this point. All of his reactions are completely justified based on his limited understanding of the siutation.
And I actually disagree with the people who have been saying that Shelly going sphinx right now would be crossing a line or something. All of those people seem assuming she’ll attack Justin. What if all she does is turn sphinx, and get him to look at her…maybe say “Do you still think I’m crazy?” *shrugs* I’m not saying that this course of action would necessarily be good for the relationship (or good for Justin’s health since he may well pass out and hit his head on something). I’m just saying that she could follow him and proove she’s not fabricating reality without being antagonistic.
Then again, the look in her eyes in the last panel suggests she might not be able to rein in the temper enough to achieve that. 😛
I am getting the image of an angry injured Justin in the foreground stomping into the night, and behind him the front of Punk Yoga with a huge Shelly head filling the window.
or possibly “Grrr… what a meathead!” (substitute adjective of your choice)
In any case… everything Shelly did up to this point in the encounter was either reflexive, or was trying to undo the damage she had done. I truly don’t blame her for Justin’s injury (she’s responsible, but not to blame, if you see the distinction) and I don’t blame Justin for his angry reaction and walk-out (at worst he’s a bit hotheaded, but given his crazy-chick history it’s understandable).
I really hope Shelly now keeps control of her sphinx aggressiveness, and does not transform and go after him (especially where she could be seen in public). Doing so now would very probably make a bad situation worse, and Shelly would be at fault for that.
Let him walk away, Shelly. If you want to try to win him back, do it later, after things have calmed down and you’ve had a chance to consult with your friends.
In a tabletop game I used to play (called SFB) there were two races called Kzinti and Lyran (both cat species).
Diplomats (even of the most combat capable species) were instructed to NEVER get between a kzin and lyran at any time (even in the conference seems to being going well).
Shelly could have cut this whole argument short by just transforming. She didn’t. The only explanation I can think of, beyond her not wanting to destroy her gym clothes, is it takes concentration to change voluntarily and she was too emotionally upset to do it. Now, though, she’s angry. I would be amazed if she DIDN’T change. I hope she thinks to go through the door before she does, though, because if she tries it AFTERWARD there’ll be no more door there.
And that anger, and her sphinxly tendency to strike out without thought, are precisely what she knows she must learn to control, if she is to be safe around humans.
For Shelly to “go sphinx” now, and chase Justin down, would be giving in to The Dark Side of Her Beast. It would be repeating what happened when she reflexively slashed him, but with far less excuse.
So far, her full Sphinx transformations have been driven by lusty thought, not anger (if I remember right – the shower and the bedroom come to mind). She has yet to learn the How-To part of the connection, so things have been happenstance.
Now that’s she’s angry, she may have locked herself out of being able to transform at the moment! Sooo… Justin storms off to get medical attention, and Shelly become increasingly frustrated over the loss and the inability to transform.
I see a series of Missed Opportunity/Confusion plot lines ahead for Shelly/Justin.
Shelly may, one day, be traumatized out of being able to easily transform, but I’m starting to agree with others that her head (at least) is expanding in panel 5.
This is looking like she’s barrelling towards real catastrophe. Everything mistimed and mis-said. Wouldn’t be surprised if she really does intend to crash the window and pounce on him yelling about the ghost she made out of demons watching them have sex.
Ever have that dream where Sphinx classes are half over, you haven’t attended a single one and the exam is coming up, and you wake up so stressed that you inadvertently transform and shred your unsuspecting significant other to pieces?
If Shelly doesn’t sphinx out on him on Monday, I can see the following go down:
A few day later, Justin is answering a call dealing with the other crazy chick in his life, the one with the hunting cap. And when he makes grumbling noises about his ex-girlfriend the “sphinx”, Bud asks, “You know Shelly?”
After Bud gives Justin the scoop about the real deal, he goes to patch things up with her. But Shelly is having none of it. She tried to show him, tried to bring him in, and he refused. So she is over it, and over him.
(I’ve seen it before: Guy dumps girl. Girl is all broken up about it. Later, guy realizes he made a terrible mistake and wants back in. Girl has realized she’s better off without him, and tells him to take a hike.)
I just had another horrible thought — remember when Monica had Shelly turn up to rescue her from her date in case it went badly. What if Bud asked her to do the same thing?
Even better yet, Justin needs to bounce from available girl to girl who are all able to transform into some animal. So from Shelly to Bud to Brandi to Nudge (who’s animalistic), and each time, the relationship goes great until they mention something about being able to transform into an animal until he finally goes insane! Muahahahaha!
He’d be more likely to think she’s lying. Also, just you try to get a pregnant lady to not have her baby (presuming she says “baby”) and you’ll likely land in the morgue. ER. Hospital. Dangerous plan, Will Robinson, Dangerous plan!
Oh, man, if there’s one thing I hope Paul never does is do a pregnant storyline along the lines of the couple wasn’t trying to have a baby, and the woman has to break the news to the guy.
In fact, hopefully there will never be a pregnancy storyline in WS, but I’m not holding my breath. 🙂
As I see it the only way Shelly can pull this out in her favor is to sphinx, pounce Justin, and lick his wounds until he is all better.
Otherwise she just needs to let him walk.
209 (now 210) comments before the weekend even started? oh boy..
Something about his second line tells me he doesn’t actually think she is crazy. At the least, that he doesn’t want to believe that she is, but is denying it. Think about it, she answered his question, calmly, and he goes and insults her more. That tells me he isn’t going to be talked down because he doesn’t want to be talked down. He is reacting aggressively to escape a “situation” that he feels will only hurt him later. I say give him a day, and have someone else, who isn’t Shelly talk to him. Of course Shelly is about to blow that chance by storming out after him, but that’s for Monday.
Indeed! That’s why she needs schooling! Is it lust, anger, fear, a combination, or something else? That and she can’t Poit — yet — either. Phix would be summoning Shelly to the school.
I think Monday will involve a very frustrated/angry Shelly trying to transform and simply making a fool of her self, to great comedic effect!
Well, that’s possible. I took Tina’s observation to mean that sphinxination is also an involuntary defense mechanism in Shelly, when it is only supposed to be voluntary. Because we were shown that Shelly seems to be able to deflate at will:
I have tried really hard not to comment on this whole event, simply because I believe a lot of people would have trouble understanding my logic. I agree with Shelly here though, his anger is not very justified, even for the little scratches on his chest, I have had worse done to me by the opposite sex. This is a situation where they should both be calmly talking, and it is not happening, frankly I don’t get that at all, but I suppose I am just weird.
Suppose we have a soldier who actually does suffer from PSTD and shoots his wife because she startled him. Everyone here is going to scold his wife for abandoning him in his time of crisis, right?
I wouldn’t. If his self control is that poor, even though there’s a very good reason behind it, even though I’m entirely supportive of what he went through, and know it’s not his fault, even though he very much regrets his action, he’s still not safe to live with.
Neither is Shelly. Best will in the world, she’s not safe for any human being to live with, much less be sexually involved with.
Shelly’s reaction to Justin’s playful swat (and I’ll emphasize, PLAYFUL swat, not remotely a serious strike), followed by her very real regret, proves she’s unable to control her violence, and her partial manifestation.
If Shelly fully transforms right now, she doesn’t prove she’s sane. She proves she’s inhumanely powerful, and that if Justin ever really does piss her off, he’s a dead man.
So: ignorant of human mating play, emotionally unstable, uncontrollably violent, inhumanly powerful…
And Justin’s? the bad guy here? Justin’s the one who needs to take a chill pill? Justin deserves to terrified by an ancient eldritch monster/pounded to a pulp/eviscerated/carried to the top of the Empire State Building? (Although that last was pretty funny….)
Really?
I’m very pleased to see more and more support for the idea that Justin is, by any reasonable standard, well within his rights to react the way he did. Special recognition to Dave (“responsible, but not to blame”, yes, that’s it in a nutshell), to Maark30, Boxilar, and Swedish Chef, among others for making excellent points. (Although don’t blame any of them for my rantings.)
But I’ll say it even more strongly than that: there’s absolutely no reason whatsoever for Justin to do anything else but go away. Right now, he must leave to protect himself, and even more so if Shelly transforms.
I am not encouraged by Shelly’s expression in the last panel. She did wrong, folks, she made the guy bleed, and the only thing she can do, right this moment, is let him walk away.
Any effort to show him just how powerful she is will do nothing but remove any possibility that she can ever believe any emotional display other than fear. She would never know if anything he says or does is heartfelt or compelled.
She doesn’t need to prove she’s not “delusional”, she needs to prove he can get away with standing up to her, offending even hurting her feelings.
Because, yes, anything else is exactly and precisely stalker or even abusive spouse behavior. She may not quite have crossed over that line yet, but if she transforms, she needs to locked up or put down.
I don’t disagree with you on any point in this post. As I said above:
“That doesn’t mean those actions are right nor does it mean that anybody should accept or put up with those reactions. ”
If she does transform not only does she cross a moral line she proves she’s both stupid and crazy because “keeping the supernatural secret” is something that has been drummed into her for last few years in the city.
In the PTSD senerio the aforementioned soldier would have to retrieve a firearm to shoot his wife. Most soldiers don’t carry weapons in civil life, at least in the US. This is closer to PTSD soldier physicaly lashing out when startled, using damaging but not leathal force in a moment of surprise. Shelly didn’t use lethal force either. Even in a moment of raw instinctive response she wounded rather than killed. Considering what she did to the heavy bag, if she had wanted to kill, she would have left a bloody smear on the wall. I’m not saying she’s not dangerous, or that she didn’t dosen’t need to get a handle on her feral side. But what she did was an instinctive warning swat to get him to back off in a moment of surprise, which explains the snarl and show of teeth.
Had another thought. The only scenerio where Shelly going full Sphinx wouldn’t be totaly disaterous is if she changes, tells him something like,
“I’m not crazy, I AM a Sphinx,” and then walks away to let him process the new information.
Several folks have pointed out that given what he knows and given his past history, Justin’s reaction is a reasonable response to Shelly’s apparent over the top reaction. (By the by, a true over the top reaction from Shelly would have been to kill him and level the biulding. The girl is still adjusting to living in a world of cardboard. Ihttp://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WorldOfCardboardSpeech ) If he’s going to make an informed decision about weather or not she’s worth it, he needs all the facts.
Why is she waiting so long to sphinx out and show him? >D
I WANT TO SEE HIM FAINT AND WAKE UP IN THE LIBRARY WITH PHIX AND HER ALL FANGY HELLO! (Just fangs in human outfits, then both change in front of him into Sphinx while one of them explains calmly – probably Phix.)
=)
The more I look at this, the more I think it is a “worst-case” simulation in the Library. Shelly is an intelligent woman, yet here, everything she has said/done has been irretrievably wrong, leading to a worser and worser situation. Her going sphinx would be the worst thing she could do right now. (Though I would love to see it, and his reaction!)
Do I want it to be a simulation? Not really, that would seem to me kinda lame after all this. But it seems to me to be the only thing that explains all the little discrepancies in the last few strips.
Besides, I think it would be a LOT easier on Shelly than having this be real.
Just my latest thoughts on the matter, and they have gone back and forth from one scenario to another.
Hurry Monday!
While it has been remodelled in the past, and the library does possess some powers of its own, to what extent they were the library’s doing, Phix’s, Nudge’s, or someone else (Brandi and Euryale frequent it, among others) is never really shown.
And even if the library could simulate Wapsisquare perfectly for Shelly, simulating a fully functioning hologram of a humanoid seems a bit beyond it’s capabilities. Especially considering it took eons for the place to even acknowledge Phix’s presence.
Never said the Library was producing the simulation (maybe a better word is ‘illusion’, because I think it is a sort of hypnosis). But Phix did say they would be training there. If it is a hypnotic illusion, then it could be very realistic.
Well, ya know it did produce moving shelves of books for Monica in the annex. Not to mention a table for her to place books upon. And it does produce some kind of “books” that people can actually take with them into our world. So one has to wonder what else it can do that simulates physical objects, much like a holodeck.
Let the real games begin!
Oh it’s on like Donkey Kong.
He left though.. she cannot still pounce on him..can he?
unless thats just the door to the studio and he is in the lobby 😀
Like Shelly is going to let a little thing such as a door get in her way? LOL
reminds me of an old power girl joke;
“i thought you said you reinforced the door!?!”
“No! I said I was GOING to reinforce the door! Do you always rip doors off hinges?!”
Beast Mode in 1 . . . 2 . . .
i doubt he will leave that building still convinced she’s a different kind of crazy.
Justin has left the building.
Well, gone to the locker room to change anyway.
He’s no Elvis anyway. But he could have gone to the men’s locker to get his keys and clothes.
Perfect moment to #@&* up further by charging in.
The snort and look in Shelly’s eyes in the last panel bode rather ill towards Justin staying ignorant for much longer. I doubt he will take it well when she blasts him with her reality. But I will be a very disappointed reader If she doesn’t do something Dramatic that shows him just how real and honest she is being….
“I’ll be taking classes!”
Tragic and hilarious at the same time! Bravo!
looking for a pun that coincides with lamaze and can’t find one.. amazingly.
Stay classy, Minneapolis!
Since no word actually rhymes, you are permitted to use “orange”. Or, just do a haiku… they don’t have to rhyme.
He does not believe
A sphinx she must become now
And face him with wings
Hey, no haiuku! It attracts a bad element. Next thing you know, there’ll be ronin samurai running around attacking random people. It’ll be like Kirosawa movie in here!
The proper response to Haiuku is ‘Gesundheit’.
Arigoto
A sphinxy haiku
On the spur of the moment?
I am most impressed.
That’s really good I like it.
@ Boxilar: You say “It’ll be like a Kurosawa movie” like that would be a BAD thing.
t’renn- You say that like was ever a bad Kurosawa movie. OOPS!, ah, never mind.
It’s sad, how many guys go all threatened and unsupportive when they learn that the women in their lives want to go back to school…
Justin has no class.
I hate to admit that I know where Justin is coming from. Try to see this from the outside prospective of the real world. Justin has never seen any of the things that Shelly is saying. Now, just imagine for a second that at least one of the “damaged” girlfriends from his past had done things to hurt others when he was dating her. Use that as a hard memory to get rid of. Now, all he has running in his mind is that a few moments ago someone he cares for (who has prover herself to be a bit dangerous and violent, remember the BBQ pickup she used as a start) just tried to eviscerate him after making a heavy bag go poof. Then she starts throwing out all sorts of nonsense about being a mythological beast. He is pretty much handling this like anyone in the real world would. When confronted by impossible events the human mind has a major problem accepting it and tries to figure it all out, sometimes by dropping out some of the puzzle pieces to keep it sane. Sometimes you have to drop your comic book expectations when reading Paul’s work and think of it as happening in our real world.
I still want to see the emergency room visit where he explains how he got clawed by a big cat.
Yes yes yes!
When Paul is on, he is really on, and this is as realistic as Wapsi gets.
I’m stunned Justin is handling this as well as he is; I’d be laying passed out in a pool of my own body waste.
He doesn’t fight, he doesn’t shoot, he just disengages and walks out on someone whose has clearly demonstrated she can’t control her immense power.
Go Paul. Let Justin do the right thing for his own safety, and let Shelly learn.
Perhaps in the ER he will be forced to face a little reality. Those gashes were not made by fingernails or razor blades or knives, they were made by a large cat! And ER doctors know the difference.
I would like to see that conversation.
“These were made by a crazy woman!”
“Officer, those are claw marks from a cat that’s at least 100 pounds.”
yea
i did’t get the first anger reaction. it seemed odd. but how his mind is working – this and the rest of the weeks comics have been perfect reactions to the situation.
i mean maybe he did jump on the loony wagon early but it seems the boy has dealt with ‘special ladies’ in the past. maybe they acted like shelly has?
The front limbs on a sphinx end in hands not paws, so the ER is unlikely to think cat.
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/i-know-you/
And considering about the structure and arrangement of them, I think that the use of term ‘claws’ is incorrect, the correct term would be ‘talon’, as in a bird of prey. So they are going to be asking him about a 100 pound eagle.
Well, I guess with the wings she’s got to have some other bird morphology in the mix. I revise my senerio.
“These were caused by a griffon weighing at least 100 pounds.”
“No she said she was a Sphinx, not one of those eagle headed things.”
“Officer, these are clearly eagle talon wounds, and the only creature with eagle talons that size are Griffons. Either way, I would avoid the young lady.”
Sounds like a conversation Marc, Betsy the Vampire Queen’s friend who’s an Emergency Room doctor might have – including the calm tone.
On the other hand, that “snort” in the last panel suggests to me that in a shake of a sphinxian tale Justin may have 1500-odd pounds of irrefutable evidence confronting him.
@My2Cents, thank you for costing me an hour at work. I started reading comics and had a hard time…stopping.
Pun jar Cherish! 😛
Excuse me? She almost gutted him, and now she looks ready to kill! who’s the one without class, huh?
I lost it at your comment!!
Not too sure the Bravo is warrented. The line that would work best would be..’I can prove it.’ If she going to be honest be all the way. Don’t invite him to classes, don’t just talk, just show him. Being a cop those words should get his attention. Cops love facts unless they can’t accept or believe the facts. So this scene leaves us wondering where it goes from here and just complicates things.
I’m guessing that she’ll go after him now just to prove it to him. However, he might be too faint from loss of blood and collapse and she’ll have to carry him to the hospital.
Which might make her doubt if coming out is such a good idea.
We’ll just have to wait until Monday to find out.
oh great! nothing like ripping him apart to prove your point and get back in his good graces! is violence excusable when it’s done by a woman???
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/the-truth/#comment-74980
I posted this just as Paul updated.
Here it is again.
– – –
GUYS.
I think we’ve missed something incredibly simple here. There’s one other possible explanation for Justin’s behavior that I haven’t seen anyone consider.
He believes her.
Yep. His reaction fits.
When he saw what she did, he said it was proof she was crazy. Now, tell me one experienced cop that would think that? Name one experienced normal person?
No. I’d immediately think she was on some really dangerous narcotic. Justin, however, has seen druggies before, and he’d know all the signs, so it’s extremely doubtful he’d think that.
Then there’s the claws. Yep, the claws.
Now, last clue: Justin admitted that he’s some kind of ‘crazy magnet’. Now, if what Shelly did is what he calls ‘crazy’ then I’m guessing that it is his defense mechanism. His refusal to accept what he has just witness as anything other than insanity. Which then suggests that he may have witnessed something like this before.. and on more than one occasion.
In conclusion, I believe Justin has already witnessed the ‘crazy side of the Wapsiverse’ and was hurt… repeatedly perhaps. As a result, he labeled it as ‘crazy’ or ‘insane’.
What’s I think is needed here is a bona-fied supernatural therapist. Do we happen to know anyone qualified?
Tina has a degree in psychology. At least her first incarnation did.
Tina’s better than any therapist. She can tell you to be happy and you will be.
*Yoda voice*
You WILL be.
No, for correct Yoda-ese, it’s “Be, you WILL.”
Eh-HEM! Exhibit A, M’lud.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPOb3DlB7WA
Yeah, when Yoda gets serious, his sentence structure goes all… correct.
Chills up your spine, man.
Interesting idea. You’re saying it be something like Monica’s old refusal to accept anything as magic? Hmmmm.
In Monica’s case she was committed because of magic and put a mental block up to try and refuse to see it.
In Justin’s case he might have had to commit someone and so he also refuses to accept the magic. But in his case he has never seen the magic happen except for brief flashes like the heavy bag. So it is not a block like M’s but the rules of reality as he was raised to know them.
I’m thinking that Justin has seen Hella lot of the Wapsiverse, and this is where we learn just how deep he’s gone been the rabbit hole.
Or I could be way off and Paul is sniggering at my cluelessness.
I mean, “we could see just how far he’s already gone down the rabbit hole.”
(wish we could edit our posts here)
I like this interpretation of Justin’s behavior. It fills in some glaring holes, like him ‘not noticing’ the the still present catlike markings, fangs and dissapearing/reappearing claws. There’s no way a trained observer missed them.
He is in a panicked state now. No one in such a state can think clearly. You will tend to miss all sorts of things.
“He believes her. Yep. His reaction fits.”
It does, absolutely, and very good point.
But “crazy” doesn’t just mean “hallucinations” or “delusions of grandeur”.
It also means not being able to tolerate other people behaving outside your expectations, and responding with deadly violence when they startle you.
I don’t care how badly you’re suffering from PTSD, you must not try to kill the people around you except in justified self defense.
I’ll link it again (and hopefully get the link right this time: “You’re. Going. To love me!“
Crazy is outright dangerous, particularly in the brain of an ancient, traumatized being of enormous power.
Especially if Justin believes her, he’s right to get the heck away from her.
And I’ll also say again: If Shelly wants to live among and even have sex with humans, she’s going to have to learn to tolerate having them do what they want, even if she really, really doesn’t like them doing that.
Anything less than that, and Justin is just her squeaky chew toy.
I get the impression sphinxes don’t need humanity’s approval to try and have sex with individual humans.
Also, interestingly, one mistake Shelly has not made is to use the “L” word. Unless I’m mistaken, neither she nor Justin have used it on stage, ever.
Shelly is clear she isn’t afraid of being alone, but she may have little tolerance for being misunderstood.
I think she’d like to get to that stage with someone and was hoping Justin was the person she could fall in love with.
Well, Shelly did point out that she is taking classes to learn how to control that sphinxy tendency to lash out aggressively. We can’t expect her to make that transition overnight. She’s trying to fall back into human reactions and behaviors. I think you’re judging Shelly a bit harshly here.
She was assaulted. She reacted in self-defense and when she realized she wasn’t in danger stopped her counterattack. Lesson: Don’t startle trained martial artists, mmmk?
It was a thought I had yesterday… he’s been here, done that. It’d be a hell of a thing if he’d paired up with a sphinx in the past, neh? Or something else like it.
Surprise! You’re part minotaur, too.
And, eh, this isn’t Subnormality, Shell. Somebody has to pay for sphinxes busting down shop walls.
Hey Yamara, ready to tell us about the secret bet yet? Or are you going to remain inscrutable? Or as one might say, Sphinx like?
If this is the end of the scene, I was certainly wrong. It’s looking much less likely to be what I thought it was.
Though Justin’s quizzing her as what kind of creature a sphinx is is curious. Wouldn’t he jump to thinking “Sphinxes” were some gang? Or martial arts school?
She didn’t really mention mythology first. He did.
Well, that jibes with Cherish Bloom’s theory that Jusin is at least a litte bit in the know and dosen’t want any part of it.
Sphinxes are known of in a mythological context, and there’s also that big monument in Egypt. Justin had already decided she’s crazy, so it’s also not a stretch for him to believe she “thinks” she’s one of those “fantasy” creatures.
Then he’d think of the monument with the human face. Most would. But, in these straits, he’s thinking a weird critter from heraldry or something.
His mind was already on the supernatural. So yes, Cherish’s idea she repeated today, that his “crazy” gfs have been supernaturals, is a good one, and he is in skeptic denial over them.
He might make (have made) a good match for Shelly Wahnee of South Minneapolis, who wanted nothing to do with all this spooky stuff. But Paul isn’t letting the Sage of the Time Forest or the Guardian of the Boiler Room pinch hit for her tonight, and she’s batting 0.000.
…. always with the cliff hangers… tune in in a month when paul returns to this arc… 😉
(seriously don’t stop Paul i’m not complaining… I just wish I could see the next… several years of comics NOW)
I think this comic is a perfect example of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. The five days of the week that the strip is updated fly by rapidly, but the two days that we have to wait for Monday’s strip seem eternal. The perceived passage of time is relative.
surely one would appreciate the greater gravity of the situation. and physics purports that higher gravity slows time down.
Are you suggesting we get farther away from the earth, thus decreasing the gravity we experience, so that the weekend goes by faster? Because I’ve got to tell you…that sounds like a lot of effort for an online comic, even one as amazing as Wapsi. 😛
I have always felt that Wapsi was stellar.
*donates to the Edgar and Hugo’s “literacy fund” – a store that should get a mention in the strip someday*
*shakes pun jar*
Heh. You ought to see the Misfile forum on Fridays.
no, that wasn’t Einstein..when ‘Theory of relativity’ is mentioned, everyone wrongly quotes him, but he only did ‘special relativity’.. Galileo was the man..
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galilean_relativity
– if you cannot see or feel it, you cannot tell whether you are moving or not.
the same with perception – if you are doing something interesting, you will not notice time passing..
eg, ‘a watched kettle never boils’ – if you concentrate on it, it will seem like ages, but if you go and do something else interesting, it will seem faster – in fact , it will take the same time on a stopwatch…
just like when you go on holiday, get bored to find NO internet any way.. a week will seem like a month….:(
Like the school clock, ten minutes to three.
Not sure how to react to this one. I know quite a few people called it, but still, I think most of us were waiting for her to “sphinx out”. She could still follow him out the door next week, but I’m really not so sure that’d be the smartest move right now–especially given that with this little speech, she just dug herself in deeper with his perception of her as a lunatic.
Of course, about a month ago, there was a strip with her contemplating how to break up with him… not sure what to think here in that vein, other than “be careful what you wish for”.
Some of us are still waiting for the sphinx to appear.
[sits with a sphinxine smile.]
I’m not sure whether that is an angry snort, or a “Well, I tried… so much for that relationship” snort of finality and resignation, or an “I’ll show him!” snort of resolve.
In any case, it’s far from the worst reaction Shelly could have shown to having been walked out on like this.
The worst always happens on a Monday. I hate Mondays.
The SNORT is her getting ready to fight for what she wants. The universe is so big and time so long that when you find the person, friend, lover, buddy, or any other form of significant other you want to have in your life you will fight to keep them. I don’t know what is fair in this case but Shelly “knows what she wants now” and it looks like its Jason. Now that’s REAL magic!
Or it could be her own way of saying “#&@* you!” because she finally realizes that Justin is not worth the effort. Shelly knows she is not crazy, and if Justin cares so little for her that he is not even willing to try to help her with what he sees as her “delusion”, then she is better off without him. Someone who truly cared for her might think she was crazy, but would want to try to help her.
If someone I cared about attacked me and said they were a supernatural creature, I might be scared spitless, but I would want to help them. Justin has shown no sign of really caring for Shelly. I think to him she was just a slightly kinky convenient lay. Now he sees her as too much trouble to worry about.
Sorry, but that snort and glare is what someone does when thy about to pull out all the stops and make a ‘Hail Mary’ play.
That may be the right assessment. Frankly, that’s a tight analysis of Justin’s limitations, and I would hate to be in his pink body if he goes and tries to pull that sh!t with Bud.
However, that looks like fighting stance in the last panel. It could be the sphinx side satisfied it chased off an unwelcome intruder from her territory. Or maybe Shell will be out lifting Justin’s car off the ground come Monday.
Only Brandi thinks she knows for sure.
“The SNORT is her getting ready to fight for what she wants.”
Uh huh.
Like any human testosterone monster beating on his girlfriend’s door with an crowbar because the stupid bint simply will not listen to him explain how much he loves her, and he wouldn’t have hit her if she hadn’t startled him like that, she knows he hates that, he just lost control for a second, he’s trying to change, he’s going to therapy, he’s taking that class, that anger management class, but dammit, baby, she just needs to let him in so they can talk!
“Just fighting for what he wants,” right? Right? Gotta have some sympathy for a poor guy like that, what’s he supposed to do, let her mock him like that?
Right?
Or is this different, somehow?
Meh, I’ve seen the gender reversed aurgument a couple of times over the past few updates, and while I agree that a stalker is a stalker and dangerous behavior is bad, this is a whole different ball of wax. Shelly fits in a category way past ‘crazy girlfriend’ if she gets all stalkerish. More like cat and mouse. I don’t think she will though. The worst we’re going to see is her Sphinxing out, scaring the piss out of him, then walking away. Right now I see her just walking away.
But I’ve been wrong before.
We’re past talking stalker here, we’re deep into spouse beating territory.
And heading south.
Nah, we’re in ‘lion mauling a gazelle’ territory.
Same thing.
Wait refugee, so you’re comparing Shelly’s instinctive “protective” aggression (remember, she didn’t know who swatted her on the backside until she was already lashing out, at which point she pulled the strike back…and broke into tears when she realized what had happened and who she had hurt)…you’re comparing that to someone who beats their significant other knowing who they’re hitting?
Yes. I do think those are two entirely different situations and need to be handled/considered differently.
I see a different set of scenarios:
Reaction to being hit:
Classic PTSD: Overreact to normal situations because they are not in the present but back in the situation that gave them their trauma where those reactions that kept them safe.
That doesn’t mean those actions are right nor does it mean that anybody should accept or put up with those reactions. However, it’s not the same as deliberate beating.
The snort seems to me to be from someone who feels they are unjustly accused of a crime: He basically stated that he thought that she was delusional in believing that she was a sphinx.
The more I think about it the more I am persuaded that it is not a good idea to go sphinx. She’s just been through the emotional wringer and now she’s responding with anger. If she does go sphinx under that anger she will be closer to the person you fear she is. I don’t think it’s a “You will love me” but more “I am not a liar and I am not delusional!”
Of course, if he’s outside, then she does confirm the charge of being crazy because supernatural creatures are meant to be discreet. Being a sphinx out in the open is not recommended.
out in the open?
One word: poit.
we already know that Phix keeps an unseen eye out for the girls and can pull a poit to the library at will, so they both could end up in the library instead of exposed in public.
I never said anything about violence. Fighting for what you want in a relationship should never involve a crowbar or a strike, physical or mental, of any kind and I don’t think I’ve seen any character in this strip that exhibits that tendency. If Shelly clobbers him it will be way out of character. If, on the other hand, she acts with determination for whatever decision she has made she will be a good example of the strong female characters this strip is based on (and the reason we follow it).
nah, I’d say “Lioness mauling mouse.”
I agree with Julie.
Shelly reacted (actually over reacted) instinctively to a surprise assault.
That does not put her into the same boat (or even the same ocean) with the idiots who stalk, beat, and even kill those they supposedly love dearly.
It might be different for her, given her perspective. But from his perspective, and given the limited amount he actually knows, it seems the same to me.
In all honesty, what did Shelly expect, that he’d simply believe her ?
If all that has happened would have happened to me, I would still call someone bonkers if he/she said that he or she is a Sphinx or whatever mythological figure.
She ALMOST had him… if she had just SHOWN him instead of SAYING that “she’ll be taking CLASSES” huh!!? how do you take CLASSES to become an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT GENETIC ENTITY?… OH Yeah, an entirely MYTHOLOGICAL one to boot?!… nope she’s crazy…. However: if she had morphed right after the “i’m a sphinx, and…” then yes, he would have freaked, basically because one REALLY DOESN’T EXPECT TO SEE SOMEONE CHANGE SHAPES/SPECIES BEFORE THEIR VERY EYES (we expect the Inquisition more than that!) but he would no longer have the “you’re crazy” excuse to fall back on and they could get a bit more productive talking going on after that point.
right NOW though, the way she’s snorting, and that squinty eyed/ furrowed brow she has in panel 5, i’m saying that it looks like Shellinx is PISSED, and will morph either just before, or just after she goes thru the door after him… i won’t even apply for any Moxana points for what happens after that, as i have no clue what’ll happen!
AAND, i just noticed on rereading the strip, that she’s already physically LARGER in panel 5 than she was in panel 4, so i guess i answered my own guess about when she’s going to transform… it’s going to be: before she goes out the door!!
since Paul is very consistent with drawing Shelly’s head/hair sizes in panels 2,3, and 4 with the distance from the back edge of her ear to the tip of her nose in those 3 panels. when compared to the mirror/window panes on the wall, panel 5 shows she gotten bigger…
Missed that. So I may get my Sphinx out on Monday after all. Probably a bad idea overall, but I do want to see it. Does that make me a bad person?
She’s certainly sphinxing a tad. Her being bigger isn’t certain because Paul does focus pulls like in photography. (She may just be “closer”.)
And wanting some action with the drama doesn’t make you a bad person. Feeling gleeful at a decent person’s failure makes you a Sith Nazi Lanthian priest, so there’s that.
Ouch. Sith and Nazi I could handle, but Lanthian Priest? That hurts.
Well, I wouldn’t want Indiana Jones and the GGs to hate me, and have Luke Skywalker treat me with studied indifference. The choice is yours.
Hurm. Well I really don’t want Junior to kick my ass, and I don’t want to be in the same solar system with a pissed off Bud or Brandi, so I guess I’ll go with trading veiled threats and cryptic asides with the Son of Skywalker.
If Jar Jar shows up, all bets are off, though. Let bud vaporise me.
Look, Jar Jar is in that galaxy.
Cutting back on glee is healthier for you anyway.
Can I get Bud to blow up that galaxy? It’d be for the greater good.
Besides, I kinda like Glee, though the last season could have been better.
Bud could target Jar Jar, I’d imagine. If Lucas doesn’t retcon him somewhere else. And if you break into song near a sphinx, I cannot be responsible.
I just want May to biuld me another calender machine to go back and retcon the prequels out of existence. Or at least change them so they make some kind of sense.
As far as singing around a Sphinx, I have a feeling she’d eat me or break into song. And if the singing sounds anything my cat in full yowl, I might prefer being a snack.
I’l refrain from commenting on what kind of person that makes you, but I will say that from the background–although it’s not conclusive–it certainly looks like her head is growing in size against the windows.
Boxilar, the machine would have to be built and sent in motion before the point you wanted to return to, so that opportunity has passed. There’s a hastily scribbled note in Brandi’s book that simply reads: “Stop the Jar Jar clones, Episode 2B.” So maybe we had better count our blessings.
bmonk, I’m starting to think the panel 5 head is a little larger than the rest. Good thing Google Earth blacks out Minneapolis, and no one uses smart phones there.
@Yamara. *sigh* I know. It was just a though that bubbled up through my brain in the wee hours. If I’m ever in Minneapolis I’ll have to look up Brandi and thank her. I can only imagine the horror.
Thank you, Bmonk. I admit it’s my darker side that wants to see Shelly Sphinx out, But honestly, the more I think about it the worse the idea sounds.
“get my sphinx out”?
You have any idea how wrong that sounds? LOL!
Back here:
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/spider-dreams/
we see her transformation isn’t that subtle. In fact it seems to be downright painful. So it seems unlikely she simply starts getting bigger.
SoWhyMe- but if the transformations are emotion driven could not the emotions alter the transformation?
…This is gonna show up clear at the bottom of the comments, isn’t it?
@scantronb: Never show the guy before you tell the guy. It eliminates possible disaster. If he reacts badly to the words you can always say, “Haha, gotcha!” (well, Shelly can’t, but it’s the code.)
@all the girls reading this: I’m sorry. I had to tell. I will apply to get my girl card reissued on Monday.
Yep. Until someone comes along to post a reply to you. 😉
I agree. what i meant was more along the lines of “I’m a Sphinx…” POOF… she then Transmogrifies into her Sphinx-form
instead she just did a non sequitor and threw out some nonsense about school… THAT’s what caused him to split. if she hadn’t said anything about classes, and just showed him then it would be less messed up than it is right now.
I’ve only seen a few Pogo strips, but one of them had a footnote in the last panel that I think applies here:
“To be drug out.”
Or – met the enemy and it’s us !
Good, good, Bwahahaha!
Embrace your anger.
Oh just shove it Palpataine. ;-p
What? LOL 😀
My quote would be ..
“The stupid is strong in this one”
Indeed it is strong. 😀
Stigmartyr762- the stupid is always strong, and dangerous!
I guess Shelly’s in just too much of a panic to use her brain.
“Taking classes”? Really Shelly?
That’s going to (and did) weird him out even more!!
I love Shelly to death, but she ain’t the sharpest bulb in the drawer. Bless her heart.
She’s smart enough to have meddled in the whole CM affair, together with Nudge, but, indeed, on the social interaction thing, she’s kind of a short-fused dimwit….
She’s a ” don’t understand? Get Angry” type. Not the most sympathetic kind of people. Luckily she combines itbwith a willingness to dó something about it.
maybe not, but she IS ‘the sharpest knife in the drawer’
several knives.
>clink, clink<
Nah! He was finished. I don’t even think he registered. She could have said “And I sparkle like a vampire!” and it would have been the same. He was out of there.
I’m not even talking about him.
Whether what she said registered or not, it was still dumb. I blame her current frantic state.
Oh well. She didn’t Sphinx out, which is best for all concerned, I think. (I still wanted to see it though.) I’m kinda glad to see the anger at the end. I think it means she’ll be moving on from this point. She wanted to get closer to him and build something other than a mostly physical relationship, but I don’t think she’s so deep in that she can’t write it off and let go. Justin certainly has.
Despite the fact that I want to, I can’t really blame Justin for walking away, given what little he knows and his apparent past history, and there’s no doubt that Shelly could have handled the whole thing better. Not sure how, exactly, given how the whole ‘I’m a Sphinx since last week’ was something she hadn’t gotten a handle on yet. Of course she wasn’t emotionaly ready to let him get that close before her stay in the time forrest, so it’s kind of a catch 22 situation for her. Anyway, my ramblins may well be rendered moot in an update or two so I’m gonna fasten my seatbelt and enjoy the ride. It’s been pretty damn good so far.
It may be completely off base, but I’m getting a serious “you’re staying OR ELSE” vibe from that last panel.
I concur.
As Refugee mentioned above,a gender reversed version of this comic would set chills into our spines.
Shelly’s wounds, however deep they are, are no excuse for her behaviour now toward Justin. It’s like we’re back in the Shelly/Owen days of olds. What she cannot have by being open or trustng, she plans to get by force. This is a repeating occurence now, unhealthy.
Letting the cat out of the bag would be the worst way to solve this now.
Should Shelly goes sphinx and confronts Justin in the short run he may turn around and accept her; in the long run she’ll have proof that using strength is an okay way to get whatever she wants whether or not the other persons involved are willing or not.
I think the question of if we’d feel uncomfortable if Shelly were a man and Justin were a woman misses the point. Under usual (read; non supernatural) circumstances, the gender reversed question would be to invoke the image of a physicaly more powerful man threatening a less powerful woman. That scenario is already in full effect. Shelly is so much more physicaly powerful than Justin. She could do anything she wanted to him and there is nothing he could do about it. Thinking about it is chilling.
Shelly is also NOT HUMAN ANYMORE. She wants to be. Her memories tell her she was. But now she has the hair trigger reflexes of a cat. Eaons of living in the time forrest may have left her more ready to be emotionaly open, but it also left her with some strong self preservation instincts. Having the Apotropic Sphinxes show up every so often to rattle your cage would leave you a little jumpy. Add in the occasional idiot who showed up to be hero and slay the monster and god knows what else wandering through and you’d get downright paranoid. Maybe they couldn’t hurt you, but it’d get annoying pretty quickly.
Despite her memories in Wapsi taking the forefront in her mind, all those other experiences are in there too. She has peace now, but it’s the peace of a warrior, balanced on a razors edge, ready to respond to the slightest threat.
Shelly’s concerns after the bar beat down were valid. She, like Tina, is a wild creature. The tragedy here is that she changed and couldn’t figure out how to tell Justin. And then it became to late.
I can’t blame her, because she lashed out like a wild animal caught off gaurd. Slap any cat on the butt and you’re likely to get a handful of claws.
I can’t blame Justin, because he has no IDEA what he hell is going on, other than his up till now cool girlfreind went Freddy Kruger on him.
I know I’ve said I want to see Shelly Sphinx out and prove him wrong, and part of me, The NaziSithLanthianPriest, (Thanks Yamara) wants to see it, the truth is, this one is done. His trust in her is broken and turning into a giant monster of myth ain’t bringing it back.
I hope Shelly can let it go, But from that expression in the last panel, I think she’s about to take a parting shot.
I wasn’t aware of any mention of gender issues in my post, nor did I intend to imply such.
Apologies, I saw the post that was actually being referenced.
Not a problem. I tend to ramble sometimes without making it clear who I’m responding to.
one slight difference between your ‘normal gender reversed’ scenario and Shelly’s ‘supernatural’ scene…
the weaker woman (as opposed to Justin) would know she doesn’t stand a chance against the man (as opposed to a sphinxed-out Shelly).
Now, Justin is indeed aware Shelly is capable of feats of above average strength; he still believes he has a chance to counter her at a combative encounter.
What Boxilar said in his wall of text. 😛
I think it is incredibly unfair to compare Shelly with people who abuse their SOs. A) She doesn’t have a history of abusing Justin. B) She reacted on instinct to attack the unknown entity that “attacked” her. C) She was instantly remorseful after only one swipe (that many commenters seem to believe she pulled at least a bit once she realized who she was attacking, which indicates she’s learning to control herself). D) She is dealing with being a supernatural being and has only just started to take classes to control that creature’s instincts (classes she started taking before ever attacking Justin).
I think the gender flip is unnecessary. It doesn’t matter which gender is the abuser, abuse is wrong. However, what Shelly has done is not abuse. It’s been mistake after mistake (and she probably was hoping she’d get a reaction like Kevin’s to Monica’s revelation), but that does not constitute calling it (or even comparing it to) abuse.
I agree.
Shelly is doing the very best she can, give what has happened to her and what she knows.
So is Justin, given his history.
Neither of them is being abusive, or willfully cruel, up to this point.
Both of them know that Shelly’s a dangerous loose cannon right now… they just have different explanations for why this is, based on their different levels of knowledge.
There is a huge difference between what Shelly did, and what your average slime-ball abuser does when abusing his (or, less frequently, her) Significant Other… motive. Domestic abuse is largely about maintaining control and power over another person, by means of physical and psychological threat and domination and violence. That’s one of the biggest warning signs… if your SO tries to isolate you from other people, and control everything you do, run like hell!
Up until now, Shelly has not tried to dominate or control Justin. She didn’t threaten or use violence as part of an argument, or because he wouldn’t do what she wanted. The slashing was a very unfortunate reflex accident.
Shelly could cross the line into being an abuser, though, if she sphinxes out and pursues Justin out the door, and tries to deny him his free right to walk away. That would be an act of domination by threat of force – that’s where she would cross the line.
I really hope she does not do so.
See, this is what political correctness has done to us. Overthinking every situation and calling everything some sort of abuse is absurd. Especially here. It’s a story. Stories have drama if they are good stories. The characters tend not to overthink what they do. Like most people in real life, they just “do.” Especially in times of great stress. Blocking his freedom to leave? Comon. Making a bad situation worse is what a good drama is all about. Let it happen. As I once read concerning writing … “think of what the worst thing that could happen to your character would be, then do it.”
But if PC is the worst thing happening to you, SoWhyMe, why aren’t you enjoying the drama?
That method (and description) of writing drama is credited to Lois McMaster Bujold, and she pulls it off well.
But, y’know, if everyone does that, all the time, it gets old. For instance, torture porn fits that criteria, and is a very shallow form, dramatically.
What I find disappointing is critiquing a work as if it’s not the toy one wants to be playing with. Wapsi Square is not a tragedy. If Paul turns it into one, I’ll weigh the twists and turns and decisions he took to get there, when he gets there.
But salivating for the worst at every turn gets lame. Surely that’s unsatisfying when elsewhere, a lifetime of TP awaits.
I think part of the over analisis comes from the fact that we’re seeing small snippets in time and have time to think about every single gesture and nuance, while the characters are living it in the moment and responding the best way they can.
I know I used the word tragedy to describe the breakup going on here and maybe that was overly dramatic. Most of Wapsi’s true tragedy happened well before the story started and the bulk of the narrative has been about people moving on in spite of it.
@SoWhyMe – I think we’re going to have to agree to disagree on this one, on several counts.
The “think of what the worst thing that could happen to your character would be, then do it” school of drama… well, I don’t care for it all that much. Its logical conclusion is just what Yamara points out… slasher movies, torture porn, and books filled with thoroughly unsympathetic characters. Not to my taste… if it sparks your jets, go for it, but I’d personally rather not.
I’m a pretty empathetic kind of guy. When I read good, engaging fiction, I tend to react to what happens to the characters in the same way I’d react if the same thing happened to people I personally know. Similarly, I tend to consider the rightness and wrongness of a fictional character’s actions, in the same sort of way I’d judge the actions of a real person (possibly myself) in an analogous situation.
Wapsi Square is plenty good enough fiction for me to be operating in that mode, mentally and emotionally. So, please forgive me if I treat Shelly as a friend, whom I would not wish to see do anything stupid and irreparable.
I’ve seen Wapsi condemned as a “bad webcomic” in part because the reviewer felt that Paul mistreats his characters. I don’t agree… some of the characters have been through hell (literally) but the telling and after-effects have been much too sympathetically portrayed for me to toss Wapsi into the “web torture porn” class… far from it. I think Paul has struck an admirable (and probably difficult) balance.
I’m also somewhat touchy on the subject of “abuse”, I suppose, because my wife is a trained psychotherapist with quite a lot of training and some experience in dealing with people in these sorts of situations. From her, I’ve learned quite a lot about where the boundary lines are drawn, both in current psychology and in current law. You’re free to condemn this as “political correctness” if you wish, but I don’t see inter-personal abuse (and, conversely, the proper treating of one another with respect as individuals) as just an issue of PC.
I’m sorry you find the amount of back-and-forth which takes place here to be over-analytical hand-wringing. I rather enjoy it… there’s a lot of very thoughtful commentary, discussion, and speculation going on (and Wapsi is well within the “speculative fiction” realm so I figure that’s fair game), and a lot of bright and insightful people taking part and putting forth their perspectives. The fact that a lot of the plot-guessing and speculation don’t turn out to match what Paul has planned for the future… well, that’s fine with me, personally… everybody gets to stretch their imaginations.
If this all clogs your innards too badly, you need not participate.
Typical overreaction. It seems to be the norm here. “If you don’t like some part of the story, quit reading it.” If you have a different opinion of the hand wringing going on in the comments concerning a particular non-event, quit reading them. Better yet quit participating.” That’s just great. As usual the only “valid” opinion is that which is in line with certain others. Don’t you DARE tromp on my carefully crafted little world of conjecture. Get a grip. My whole point is so much of the commentary is about something which has not even happened and may never happen. Judgements are thrown out as if all this is real in some twisted way and as if the characters existed in a perfect world of thought and reason. Additionally it goes on and on in endless repetition. It’s a COMIC for god’s sake! Get over yourselves and dismount your high horse for a while.
Specifically in response to Yamara:
Torture porn? WTF? This is an actual category? Heck, most horror movies are like that. Even many so-called Action Adventure movies.
Did I say I wanted every story (or even this one) to be that way ALL the time? No. Basically, I’m addressing the comments associated with this particular situation. I’m not critiquing the story here (or Paul). It’s fine, if a bit drawn out. I’m critiquing some of the comments.
All I’m saying is it would be better, in this particular case, to let it play out before going on endlessly about things which have not even occured.
Gotta wonder why your mind went to torture porn right off though.
SoWhyMe: I was critiquing your critiquing, too. My mind “went” to torture porn because you do say you want the story to go that way. All the time.
Not exclusively of course. I enjoy a lot of your insights and comments. But “all the time” as in reliably negative, to the point where the grumping overrides the logic. Those critiques read like you’d rather be reading something else.
That being the case, the question of sowhyposthere naturally arises. You come off as too confident and intelligent for mere trolling, so I am curious why you’re a fan that consistently expresses a desire to see the opposite of what Wapsi Square represents in Wapsi Square.
But don’t you dare go anywhere. This comments section would visibly dim without you.
did anyone else notice she appears bigger in the last panel?
Now that you and other’s have mentioned it..yeah. And I know what Shelly’s thinking:
Justin: …I’m not going your way.
…
Shelly: *SNORT* You wanna bet?\\
It may be that Shelly realizes that she may have lost him. But it’s gonna for what she really is and not for what Justin think’s she is. Next week is gonna be very interesting.
Yes. I could be reading my own attitude into this, but at this point I’d be thinking, OK, we may be over, but he’s not getting out of here calling me delusional. So that’s the way I read Shelly’s *snort*. And crinkled brow.
“Note. Serious. Face.” — Ron Stoppable
And by the way, her eyes seem to have dried right up. Do you suppose those tears turned to steam for the *snort*?
Fresh meaning for “steampunk”.
If she’s going to sphinx out, she best strip first or she won’t have anything to wear when she reverts back.
Superspeed. Either to undress or streak to the locker room.
Shelly is just starting a workout in a gym, she will have a clean set cloths on hand for after she showers.
Expecting: A ‘Heeeeeeere’s JOHNNY!’ busting through the door with a Sphinx.
Hoping: Justin is sitting just outside, back against the wall, staring off into nothing.
Shelly’s Show off rage/enthusiasm hits a brick wall on Justin’s expression.
Both just kind of sit there for a few panels. Before Justin finally goes ‘GEEBUM CROW IT’S A LION-oh hi shell’
Removing yourself from a target of anger tends to leave you with a bitter little fire that either burns itself in deep, or starts burning you. And being a trained police officer, he should really have better emotional control… But we’ve argued that element already. So now it’s the emotional battle of wills for Shelly.
Of course, the simplest way out is to send him a letter to ask him, nicely, to join her for one of the classes, and then take him down the proverbial rabbit hole… a bit late, though.
I’m sensing either a pounce or her just going full sphinx mode and busting the door down
Welp, you gave him a chance. Now you have to eat him.
NO! NO EATING THE HUMANS! BAD SPHINX! BAD!
I don’t think you can get away with smacking a sphinx on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper.
Unless, perhaps, you’re Bud.
That would be amusing to see. >:)
Yes it would.
“Bad sphinx, bad! Don’t make me get the squirt gun out.”
Hmm.. “love” or “lunch” ..choices, choices
Jay-Em- Brings a whole new meaning to ‘beefcake’ doesn’t it?
Somebody is going to meet Phix real soon.
And his worldview is going to change.
Instantly!
Remember, Phix has had affairs with humans, like Monica’s boss. I am looking forward to this!
And how well is that going to go? I can see it now:
[after long explanation]
Justin: So one of your associates was a powerful being who had Schizophrenia? In order to cure her you needed a powerful artifact? For that artifact to work you neeed Shelly to spend 80,000 years in a forest? That lead to her pyschological stability being affected because of recessive genes and PTSD coming to the fore? She now has the strength and speed to kill anyone with a propensity to react violently at the drop of a hat?
[After getting that all confirmed]
Justin: This is your mess — you clean it up!
[Slam]
Something tells me that might be pretty close to Pablo’s plan.
Or not, and on that note ..*tightening six-point harness for a bit*
“enjoy the ride!”
6-point?
fighter crews (pilot and Rio) use 5-point.
But in the Wapsiverse, we must also restrain our brains a little (especially on Fridays) lest they go *splat* on the inside of the monitor and leave grey splotches on the archives. 😀
Jay-Em- Don’t forget the rollcage for when things do sudden loops.
Ruh Roh, Raggy!
I shoulda knowed this would be one a them Clifford-hangin’ thingies. *sob*.
Get that big red dog outta here!
Now I wonder whether Justin will be able to accept what he sees, when he sees it.
Guess we’ll have to keep tooned in, and see, huh?
I don’t suppose asking you to not push this issue or to refrain from having her transform would be out out of the question? I mean, its not like in the real world this would work. What are you going for here? Angry makeup sex? Let him go.
At this point in time I think she just wants him to take back the “crazy” and “delusional” labels.
Tune in next week to Wapsi Square with host Bob Villa as he attempts to restore a small apartment Building in Minnesota that was the scene of multiple wall demolitions.
LOL!!
Thanks to the fact one of the instructors here is a sphinx, we were able to save a good bit on not having to rent cranes or heavy equipment. In fact it’s just Norm and me and the landscaper. Perhaps you’d like to meet the sphinx. The last we saw she was talking with Louise Mickenfic, our landscaping expert. They should be around the back, come this way. Odd, she’s not here. Uh, Norm … have you seen Louise? Norm, have you …? Wait … where’s Norm?
Body language time again. Oh boy! is Paul a master of expression.
Panel 1: Justin is keeping a distance, shying away
Panel 2: Both are leaning toward one another. But Justin arms are down, Shelly’s reaching.
That one is interesting; during all this time I’ve yet to see Justin acting/posturing in anger toward Shelly. I sense ingrained cop training here.
Panels 3,4 & 5: The size increase in the last panel might due to a closing up/focusing. But the shoulders, from slump, to straight to aggressively forward. It’s as if I was seeing a she-lion getting ready to pounce on her target/prey/mate.
I think I’m leaning toward an increase in size.
Look at the background. In p4 the hairline-to-chin length is only, what 80% of the way down the glass brick?
In p5, it’s 100%.
Unless she’s moved ralative to the background, a simple zoom wouldn’t do that.
Add in the change in posture the Chef borked, and we’ve almost got the hulk-eye from the shower scene a few weeks ago.
I see it in register. She stood up, then tilted her head forward.
i’m going with the tip of the nose to the back of the ear measurement. in all panels 2 thru 5 the back of the ear is “just about” even with the window pane, and in panels 2-4 the tip of her nose is ~2/3 of a window pane, but in panel 5 it actually TOUCHES the edge of the window pane… ergo, she got bigger. though i do also agree she shifted her neck forward, and tilted her head up, too. but that’s not enough to cause that amount of difference.
It is difficult for us as readers to cut Justin a fair and realistic break given what we know and our intense live for the wapsiverse characters. We know Shelly is nice and clearly just dealing with her inner turmoil which is much more difficult than most humans have to deal with.
That being said what Justin is saying and doing is 100% the proper response given his history. If someone you care for is having emotional trouble and it is within the limits of your capability to comfort and care for them then youau find yourself putting it out there, being understanding, and offering support.
In this case however Shelly not only went off the deep end in his eyes but she wounded him badly physically and mentally. Having recently been in a car accident and gone into shock I can understand where he’s coming from. That injury looked and probably was extremely painful. If a man wounded his significant other that severely people would lock him up in a heartbeat or scream for her to get away. Violence and abuse are scary and deserve to be responded to in a harsh manner.
Her defense about being a supernatural creature and taking classes isn’t winning any points. If he does t believe in that stuff, which most normal people do not, the crazy points just tripled. rightly so.
If you were dating a woman in real life and after a few months of dating her she clawed your nipple off and proceeded to tell you she’s a mythical beast I’m pretty sure you’re going to cut bait.
Indeed! Justin’s been there before (psycho chick magnet) and has learned when to defensively cut bait. Add to that his job experiences with liars, blowhards, and violent loonies, and his choice 100% rational in his experience.
At least Monica had the chance to introduce the topic over coffee with her boyfriend.
Patience … just remember, all things come to he who baits.
I agree. I don’t think Justin’s really done anything out of line at this point. All of his reactions are completely justified based on his limited understanding of the siutation.
And I actually disagree with the people who have been saying that Shelly going sphinx right now would be crossing a line or something. All of those people seem assuming she’ll attack Justin. What if all she does is turn sphinx, and get him to look at her…maybe say “Do you still think I’m crazy?” *shrugs* I’m not saying that this course of action would necessarily be good for the relationship (or good for Justin’s health since he may well pass out and hit his head on something). I’m just saying that she could follow him and proove she’s not fabricating reality without being antagonistic.
Then again, the look in her eyes in the last panel suggests she might not be able to rein in the temper enough to achieve that. 😛
Heheh.. I think someone is about to see a rather odd, rather large shadow hovering above him going : Justin? Have a look, now whó’s delusional? 😛
I am getting the image of an angry injured Justin in the foreground stomping into the night, and behind him the front of Punk Yoga with a huge Shelly head filling the window.
SOON.
That last panel? It screams: “Oh YES you are.”
I actually heard “Oh really fool?” 😛
I doubt very much any words can describe her thoughts at the moment; but I doubt they’re of the ‘lovey-dovey’ type.
or possibly “Grrr… what a meathead!” (substitute adjective of your choice)
In any case… everything Shelly did up to this point in the encounter was either reflexive, or was trying to undo the damage she had done. I truly don’t blame her for Justin’s injury (she’s responsible, but not to blame, if you see the distinction) and I don’t blame Justin for his angry reaction and walk-out (at worst he’s a bit hotheaded, but given his crazy-chick history it’s understandable).
I really hope Shelly now keeps control of her sphinx aggressiveness, and does not transform and go after him (especially where she could be seen in public). Doing so now would very probably make a bad situation worse, and Shelly would be at fault for that.
Let him walk away, Shelly. If you want to try to win him back, do it later, after things have calmed down and you’ve had a chance to consult with your friends.
In a tabletop game I used to play (called SFB) there were two races called Kzinti and Lyran (both cat species).
Diplomats (even of the most combat capable species) were instructed to NEVER get between a kzin and lyran at any time (even in the conference seems to being going well).
>checks to ensure not between Shelly and Justin<
Shelly could have cut this whole argument short by just transforming. She didn’t. The only explanation I can think of, beyond her not wanting to destroy her gym clothes, is it takes concentration to change voluntarily and she was too emotionally upset to do it. Now, though, she’s angry. I would be amazed if she DIDN’T change. I hope she thinks to go through the door before she does, though, because if she tries it AFTERWARD there’ll be no more door there.
And that anger, and her sphinxly tendency to strike out without thought, are precisely what she knows she must learn to control, if she is to be safe around humans.
For Shelly to “go sphinx” now, and chase Justin down, would be giving in to The Dark Side of Her Beast. It would be repeating what happened when she reflexively slashed him, but with far less excuse.
I agree.
So far, her full Sphinx transformations have been driven by lusty thought, not anger (if I remember right – the shower and the bedroom come to mind). She has yet to learn the How-To part of the connection, so things have been happenstance.
Now that’s she’s angry, she may have locked herself out of being able to transform at the moment! Sooo… Justin storms off to get medical attention, and Shelly become increasingly frustrated over the loss and the inability to transform.
I see a series of Missed Opportunity/Confusion plot lines ahead for Shelly/Justin.
Shelly may, one day, be traumatized out of being able to easily transform, but I’m starting to agree with others that her head (at least) is expanding in panel 5.
This is looking like she’s barrelling towards real catastrophe. Everything mistimed and mis-said. Wouldn’t be surprised if she really does intend to crash the window and pounce on him yelling about the ghost she made out of demons watching them have sex.
Unless someone can stop her.
you know, she could have a backup plan. Everybody here would agree it would be effective (for a short time).
“Justin, I’m pregnant.”
Ever have that dream where Sphinx classes are half over, you haven’t attended a single one and the exam is coming up, and you wake up so stressed that you inadvertently transform and shred your unsuspecting significant other to pieces?
I hate when that happens…
Oh ya. Then there’s the trip to the nail salon to get THAT fixed, too…
Expenses, expenses.
Then you have to give the teacher that lame, “my sphinx-form ate my homework” excuse…
Or used it to help line her litterbox.
I hate it when I dream of being in front of sphinx class in my underwear and I don’t know what the assignment was.
Kessog- And I hate being designated ‘BAIT’ for todays class.
If Shelly doesn’t sphinx out on him on Monday, I can see the following go down:
A few day later, Justin is answering a call dealing with the other crazy chick in his life, the one with the hunting cap. And when he makes grumbling noises about his ex-girlfriend the “sphinx”, Bud asks, “You know Shelly?”
After Bud gives Justin the scoop about the real deal, he goes to patch things up with her. But Shelly is having none of it. She tried to show him, tried to bring him in, and he refused. So she is over it, and over him.
(I’ve seen it before: Guy dumps girl. Girl is all broken up about it. Later, guy realizes he made a terrible mistake and wants back in. Girl has realized she’s better off without him, and tells him to take a hike.)
I don’t think he and Bud have met socially…yet. She didn’t refer to him by name when experessing an interest.
However, I can imagine their first date:
[…after a lot of conversation…]
Bud: Why did you leave your ex?
Justin: She was crazy. She scratched me and then claimed that she was a sphinx.
Bud: She wouldn’t happen to be 5ft x in, has native American ancestry and works at Punk Yoga, would she?
Justin: How did you know?
Bud: [To restaurant staff] Check please.
I think that it could last till the third date, and the shirts are coming off.
And then the penny will drop for Bud, and Brandi may discover that she is a curveball.
You’re probably right.
I just had another horrible thought — remember when Monica had Shelly turn up to rescue her from her date in case it went badly. What if Bud asked her to do the same thing?
Even better yet, Justin needs to bounce from available girl to girl who are all able to transform into some animal. So from Shelly to Bud to Brandi to Nudge (who’s animalistic), and each time, the relationship goes great until they mention something about being able to transform into an animal until he finally goes insane! Muahahahaha!
Evil. Evil Eeeevillllll. 😉
TlalocW- A tip of the hat to you. The darkness is strong in these words.
All I am going to say is, “wrong answer, man.”
I say grab him and climb a tall building!
(Do watch out for airplanes tho).
Win.
Win.
Fin.
I’ll send you the bill for cleaning all the soda off my screen and out of my keyboard.
About.
Flipping.
Time.
Yes! NOW GO EAT HIM, DAMN IT! Or at least drop him into a valley of people who were unable to answer your riddles.
you know, Shelly still has a back strategy that does not involve changing into a winged lioness and it’s virtually guaranteed to get his attention…
“Justin, I’m pregnant.”
At this point in time I don’t think that would work. I’m sure Justin would say something to the effect of:
“If you think I’m going to let a crazy chick like you keep her baby then you’re mistaken!”
He’d be more likely to think she’s lying. Also, just you try to get a pregnant lady to not have her baby (presuming she says “baby”) and you’ll likely land in the morgue. ER. Hospital. Dangerous plan, Will Robinson, Dangerous plan!
Oh, man, if there’s one thing I hope Paul never does is do a pregnant storyline along the lines of the couple wasn’t trying to have a baby, and the woman has to break the news to the guy.
In fact, hopefully there will never be a pregnancy storyline in WS, but I’m not holding my breath. 🙂
Next week:
5 days of Kathrine talking to spiders!
Better than five days of Tina vaporizing them. o.0
As I see it the only way Shelly can pull this out in her favor is to sphinx, pounce Justin, and lick his wounds until he is all better.
Otherwise she just needs to let him walk.
I just had a silly idea for a scene:
Sphinx Shelly: [Now in front of Justin] So I’m delusional am I?
[Floor tiles crack under her weight]
Sphinx Shelly: [Looks down] Oh [bleep]! Luci’s going to kill me in the morning! [Transforms back to human]
209 (now 210) comments before the weekend even started? oh boy..
Something about his second line tells me he doesn’t actually think she is crazy. At the least, that he doesn’t want to believe that she is, but is denying it. Think about it, she answered his question, calmly, and he goes and insults her more. That tells me he isn’t going to be talked down because he doesn’t want to be talked down. He is reacting aggressively to escape a “situation” that he feels will only hurt him later. I say give him a day, and have someone else, who isn’t Shelly talk to him. Of course Shelly is about to blow that chance by storming out after him, but that’s for Monday.
GUYS. We’ve been forgetting one very important, crucial detail here.
Shelly can’t transform at will. Remember? Tina pointed that out. She should be able to, but instead it happens as a defensive reflex.
That means that:
A: Show, don’t tell is not an option for her, so let’s not waste any more time saying she should.
And, terrifyingly, B: That last panel today? Shelly’s rational, human side is not in the driver’s seat right now.
I fear for both of them. I really do.
And man, I cannot wait until tomorrow.
Monday, I mean. Ding bing it.
Indeed! That’s why she needs schooling! Is it lust, anger, fear, a combination, or something else? That and she can’t Poit — yet — either. Phix would be summoning Shelly to the school.
I think Monday will involve a very frustrated/angry Shelly trying to transform and simply making a fool of her self, to great comedic effect!
Well, that’s possible. I took Tina’s observation to mean that sphinxination is also an involuntary defense mechanism in Shelly, when it is only supposed to be voluntary. Because we were shown that Shelly seems to be able to deflate at will:
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/tons-of-question/
Also, she seemed to have some control over her hair length… at first. So I’ve been assuming she can just do it– but sometimes it can do her.
In any case, it looks like she’s starting to morph. But I don’t think Monday is going to be any funnier than last Monday.
And they would both have to survive in order to look back on this and laugh.
Doesn’t really prove anything one way or another. Once she woke up, she’d have realized there was no threat.
OTOH, you’re right, Tina didn’t outright say Shelly can’t transform at will. I kind of suspect not, though.
I’m gonna say it…
I hope Justin is not afraid of heights cause in mere moments he is gonna find himself at the top of the Foshay building… on the OUTSIDE.
So this must be what being a Furry is like? “don’t judge me, I’m taking classes on dressing up in a fur suit…”
I have tried really hard not to comment on this whole event, simply because I believe a lot of people would have trouble understanding my logic. I agree with Shelly here though, his anger is not very justified, even for the little scratches on his chest, I have had worse done to me by the opposite sex. This is a situation where they should both be calmly talking, and it is not happening, frankly I don’t get that at all, but I suppose I am just weird.
Little scratches meaning body-wide gouges that are going to probably need stitches?
I have known some rather strange, crazy and violent people…
Suppose we have a soldier who actually does suffer from PSTD and shoots his wife because she startled him. Everyone here is going to scold his wife for abandoning him in his time of crisis, right?
I wouldn’t. If his self control is that poor, even though there’s a very good reason behind it, even though I’m entirely supportive of what he went through, and know it’s not his fault, even though he very much regrets his action, he’s still not safe to live with.
Neither is Shelly. Best will in the world, she’s not safe for any human being to live with, much less be sexually involved with.
Shelly’s reaction to Justin’s playful swat (and I’ll emphasize, PLAYFUL swat, not remotely a serious strike), followed by her very real regret, proves she’s unable to control her violence, and her partial manifestation.
If Shelly fully transforms right now, she doesn’t prove she’s sane. She proves she’s inhumanely powerful, and that if Justin ever really does piss her off, he’s a dead man.
So: ignorant of human mating play, emotionally unstable, uncontrollably violent, inhumanly powerful…
And Justin’s? the bad guy here? Justin’s the one who needs to take a chill pill? Justin deserves to terrified by an ancient eldritch monster/pounded to a pulp/eviscerated/carried to the top of the Empire State Building? (Although that last was pretty funny….)
Really?
I’m very pleased to see more and more support for the idea that Justin is, by any reasonable standard, well within his rights to react the way he did. Special recognition to Dave (“responsible, but not to blame”, yes, that’s it in a nutshell), to Maark30, Boxilar, and Swedish Chef, among others for making excellent points. (Although don’t blame any of them for my rantings.)
But I’ll say it even more strongly than that: there’s absolutely no reason whatsoever for Justin to do anything else but go away. Right now, he must leave to protect himself, and even more so if Shelly transforms.
I am not encouraged by Shelly’s expression in the last panel. She did wrong, folks, she made the guy bleed, and the only thing she can do, right this moment, is let him walk away.
Any effort to show him just how powerful she is will do nothing but remove any possibility that she can ever believe any emotional display other than fear. She would never know if anything he says or does is heartfelt or compelled.
She doesn’t need to prove she’s not “delusional”, she needs to prove he can get away with standing up to her, offending even hurting her feelings.
Because, yes, anything else is exactly and precisely stalker or even abusive spouse behavior. She may not quite have crossed over that line yet, but if she transforms, she needs to locked up or put down.
Does she deserve that? Is that fair? Maybe not. But as Will Muny says to Little Bill Dagget, “Deserve’s got nothing to do with it.“
I don’t disagree with you on any point in this post. As I said above:
“That doesn’t mean those actions are right nor does it mean that anybody should accept or put up with those reactions. ”
If she does transform not only does she cross a moral line she proves she’s both stupid and crazy because “keeping the supernatural secret” is something that has been drummed into her for last few years in the city.
In the PTSD senerio the aforementioned soldier would have to retrieve a firearm to shoot his wife. Most soldiers don’t carry weapons in civil life, at least in the US. This is closer to PTSD soldier physicaly lashing out when startled, using damaging but not leathal force in a moment of surprise. Shelly didn’t use lethal force either. Even in a moment of raw instinctive response she wounded rather than killed. Considering what she did to the heavy bag, if she had wanted to kill, she would have left a bloody smear on the wall. I’m not saying she’s not dangerous, or that she didn’t dosen’t need to get a handle on her feral side. But what she did was an instinctive warning swat to get him to back off in a moment of surprise, which explains the snarl and show of teeth.
Had another thought. The only scenerio where Shelly going full Sphinx wouldn’t be totaly disaterous is if she changes, tells him something like,
“I’m not crazy, I AM a Sphinx,” and then walks away to let him process the new information.
Several folks have pointed out that given what he knows and given his past history, Justin’s reaction is a reasonable response to Shelly’s apparent over the top reaction. (By the by, a true over the top reaction from Shelly would have been to kill him and level the biulding. The girl is still adjusting to living in a world of cardboard. Ihttp://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WorldOfCardboardSpeech ) If he’s going to make an informed decision about weather or not she’s worth it, he needs all the facts.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WorldOfCardboardSpeech
Stupid link didnt work. I suck at this new fangled technology. Durn Kids.
The more I think about it the more I expect Phix to turn up to protect Justin.
Or at least to stop Shelly from doing somthing stupid.
Why is she waiting so long to sphinx out and show him? >D
I WANT TO SEE HIM FAINT AND WAKE UP IN THE LIBRARY WITH PHIX AND HER ALL FANGY HELLO! (Just fangs in human outfits, then both change in front of him into Sphinx while one of them explains calmly – probably Phix.)
=)
Anybody got a catnip grenade handy?
May probably does. Possibly Brandi. May’s could be a Photon katnip grenade….
The more I look at this, the more I think it is a “worst-case” simulation in the Library. Shelly is an intelligent woman, yet here, everything she has said/done has been irretrievably wrong, leading to a worser and worser situation. Her going sphinx would be the worst thing she could do right now. (Though I would love to see it, and his reaction!)
Do I want it to be a simulation? Not really, that would seem to me kinda lame after all this. But it seems to me to be the only thing that explains all the little discrepancies in the last few strips.
Besides, I think it would be a LOT easier on Shelly than having this be real.
Just my latest thoughts on the matter, and they have gone back and forth from one scenario to another.
Hurry Monday!
Dammit it’s a library not a holodeck! (>^_^)>
While it has been remodelled in the past, and the library does possess some powers of its own, to what extent they were the library’s doing, Phix’s, Nudge’s, or someone else (Brandi and Euryale frequent it, among others) is never really shown.
And even if the library could simulate Wapsisquare perfectly for Shelly, simulating a fully functioning hologram of a humanoid seems a bit beyond it’s capabilities. Especially considering it took eons for the place to even acknowledge Phix’s presence.
Never said the Library was producing the simulation (maybe a better word is ‘illusion’, because I think it is a sort of hypnosis). But Phix did say they would be training there. If it is a hypnotic illusion, then it could be very realistic.
Well, ya know it did produce moving shelves of books for Monica in the annex. Not to mention a table for her to place books upon. And it does produce some kind of “books” that people can actually take with them into our world. So one has to wonder what else it can do that simulates physical objects, much like a holodeck.
I hope this is real, however.