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"Different Directions"
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Different Directions
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Latest Medusa Comic

Different Directions

by Paul Taylor on June 29, 2022 at 7:40 pm
Story: Wapsi-Archive
Characters: Castela, Shawna
Location: Gryphon Club Room, Gryphon High

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Discussion (33) ¬

  1. TheDOCTOR
    June 29, 2022, 7:57 pm | # | Reply

    Ladies and Gentleman: I introduce to you, “The Return of DOUBT!” Wapsi Squares favorite Demon. I’m just glad Paul isn’t writing all her Dialogue in REVERSE cause that was a pain in the a** holding a mirror to the Monitor screen.

    • Bobbs
      June 30, 2022, 10:11 am | # | Reply

      Well, it’s from Cass’ point of view, so it would be reversed, but with the camera pointed at Shawna it appears the correct way for the viewer.

      • BØmar
        July 1, 2022, 11:13 am | #

        That would imply that Cas can see Both of Them, [and the Dialogue Balloons.] Has Paul ever done any 4th Wall Meta-Humor like that?

    • Dave
      July 2, 2022, 10:56 am | # | Reply

      I found it an interesting exercise to read what Doubt was saying, without using a mirror. I was never able to do it at more than a slow crawl (a tiny fraction of normal reading speed) but it got easier with practice.

      Iʇ ʍɐs pǝɟᴉuᴉʇǝlʎ ǝɐsᴉǝɹ ʇɥɐu ʇɹʎᴉuƃ ʇo ɯɐʞǝ ɐ dᴉuǝɐddlǝ ndsᴉpǝ-poʍu ɔɐʞǝ ʍᴉʇɥonʇ nsᴉuƃ ɐ ƃɹɐʌᴉʇʎ unllᴉɟᴉǝɹ˙

      • Guesticules
        July 3, 2022, 1:20 am | #

        The hardest part for me reading that last sentence, was figuring out it wasn’t reversed 😛

    • BØmar
      July 3, 2022, 9:30 am | # | Reply

      … Also I am not clear that there is One Doubt. If every Human, and Para have their own Demons, and They CAN’T Influence Anyone Else, that Suggests to Me that the Demon Realm is AT Least as Populous as Ours. It’s What’cha Call Cardinal [Pretty Clearly NOT Orthogonal, but there IS a 1-1 Correspondence.]
      Sorry, Math Geek

      • Dave
        July 4, 2022, 9:24 am | #

        If I recall correctly, there was some in-strip discussion years ago that a single demon can be associated with more than one mortal (thanks in part to the fact that demons exist outside of linear time).

        Again, IIRC, it’s not that demons are unable to influence more than a single mortal… it’s that they are forbidden (by the sphinxes) to influence mortals to whom they are not “assigned”, or to collaborate or conspire with other demons. Before the sphinxes stepped in and “laid down the law” demons tormented whomever they wanted to.

        So, this demon could be an aspect of the same Doubt we’ve seen Monica dealing with, or (like Jet’s Doubt) a different entity. Or, maybe, that’s a meaningless distinction?

  2. Matt Grayson
    June 29, 2022, 7:58 pm | # | Reply

    Look, Shawna, I broke up with a girlfriend who was going to college a year before me. Biggest mistake of my life.

  3. Himax
    June 29, 2022, 8:06 pm | # | Reply

    Wow, so Monica isn’t the only one who gets a physical manifestation of Doubt. And she’s so young…

    • Sirnomad
      June 29, 2022, 11:05 pm | # | Reply

      I am pretty sure Georgette has one thanks to Monica and We know Cricket has her own as well.

      The only main player we know who doesn’t have one is Shelly for special reasons.

      • Valkeiper2020
        July 4, 2022, 8:32 pm | #

        Shelly has ‘Connie’.
        Not doubt, but close enough to NOT say she doesn’t have personal demons.

    • Mike
      June 30, 2022, 11:51 am | # | Reply

      Since when does Doubt have a physical age limit? It’s not a roller coaster ride; “You must be this old for Doubt to ride along.” I knew an eight-year-old who was frequently almost paralyzed with self-doubt.

      • Guesticules
        July 3, 2022, 1:37 am | #

        From the sounds of it, this isn’t the first time whatever that demon is has shown up and ‘messed things up’ for Shawna, they are simply using that age as an excuse for the breakup

  4. Robert Nowall
    June 29, 2022, 8:35 pm | # | Reply

    Look, Shawna is eighteen, and Castela is older than dirt. There’s a substantial difference in their ages, but it’s the other direction.

    • me
      July 3, 2022, 2:26 am | # | Reply

      About Castela’s age …

      As blackthorn she’s definitely older than dirt – but her experiences in her Castela persona are limited to those of a teenage girl.

      The blackthorn has never been a “person” in the way we would define it before.

      So in some ways, especially emotionally and in terms of personal development, Castela really is just a girl of maybe sixteen years.

  5. DMC_Run
    June 29, 2022, 9:38 pm | # | Reply

    So, is this deliberate eavesdropping, or just bad timing on Castela’s part…?
    … or calculated timing on Doubt’s part?

    • littlebubulle
      June 30, 2022, 6:28 am | # | Reply

      Or Castela can’t help but to eavesdrop. Castela’s body is the fabric containing reality. She probably can hear anything anywhere.

      • Guesticules
        July 3, 2022, 1:22 am | #

        Then… she would know that that is Doubt talking, and not truly Shawna’s feelings

  6. Alex C
    June 30, 2022, 2:55 pm | # | Reply

    I’m with Shawna’s entity on this one. Make a decision and stick with it. I’m not calling the entity Doubt…. I’m calling the entity: Bother.

  7. Myk Streja
    June 30, 2022, 6:36 pm | # | Reply

    Shawna, if you give up on this now, you will always wonder, “What if I’d stuck it out? Cass, wants this, why can’t I?”

  8. Goober
    July 1, 2022, 2:57 am | # | Reply

    So, here’s the truth of the matter. If Castela actually is STARTING high school still? They have no business being together. That’s a 3-4 year difference which once you are an adult doesn’t matter, but it matters a lot in regards to teenaged years. There’s also that small creep factor of it all, because let us be honest people wouldn’t find it a “cute couple” if Shawna were a guy.

    I’m kind of expecting that they do break up. Mostly because we’ve yet to actually see Castela hit her “rebellious” phase that was hinted at by a pinup Paul did a long time ago, the one of her in the leather jacket. But I’m fine with that because it’s realistic, a lot more realistic than the Atsali/Nadette pairing somehow lasting well into their 20’s.

    • Matt Grayson
      July 1, 2022, 4:36 am | # | Reply

      They are 2 years apart.

    • Guesticules
      July 3, 2022, 1:24 am | # | Reply

      You… do know that there are plenty of couples who have been together since Junior High, right? So what exactly is it about Sali and Dette still being together that bothers you?

      • Goober
        July 3, 2022, 8:12 pm | #

        It doesn’t bother me, it just isn’t all that realistic. And I know, I know, fiction and all that.

      • DMC_Run
        July 5, 2022, 10:05 am | #

        @Goober:
        If I’m remembering the formula, the youngest age that you can date without appearing creepy is to add 7 to half your own age.
        If Castela is 16 & Shawna is 18, then (18/2)+7=16.
        So, this is “on the border”, but still inside the boundaries of what society accepts…
        … frankly, even if it was just a little bit more of an age difference, given the personalities of the people involved here, I’m inclined to see this as having the potential for a good match – an ‘outlier’, perhaps, but not creepy.
        From a storytelling perspective, a drama-free relationship would be hard-pressed to keep the audiences attention. You need hurdles for them to overcome, and some way to overcome them that’s not too obvious.

  9. Kazmat
    July 1, 2022, 9:24 am | # | Reply

    Oh for goodness’ sake, Shawna! Talk to your mother, or another advisor! Both your moms are going to get involved in the aftermath of a breakup anyway (I’d like to think), so talk to her before hand.

    Seriously, child, you’re making a mountain out of a mile hill.

    • Kazmat
      July 1, 2022, 9:25 am | # | Reply

      *sigh* MOLE hill. Really, autocowreck? Stop replacing my words with what you think they should be!

      • mcubedb
        July 19, 2022, 11:41 am | #

        Autocorrupt

  10. Mark N
    July 2, 2022, 6:10 am | # | Reply

    Shawna really needs to go to Mucho Moca.

    • Dave
      July 2, 2022, 10:50 am | # | Reply

      Agreed. Some time to chat with Tina, and a steamed-milk-and-nutmeg Pixie special (humans, do not try this at home!) may help clarify the situation.

  11. Guesticules
    July 3, 2022, 1:40 am | # | Reply

    That last panel perfectly sums up that, while Stela the Blackroot is older than Old Gods, Stela the Sprout is still only 16 with everything comes with that age, specially when it comes to relationships

  12. Centaur71
    July 5, 2022, 6:26 am | # | Reply

    We all have our ‘demons’ to deal with, and now Shawna it speaking with her version of ‘doubt’ (this doesn’t bode well, I must say)

  13. Gin
    July 5, 2022, 2:15 pm | # | Reply

    I can see this going one of a few ways. Our darling weed panics and either barges in or runs away before hearing the answer to that question and further shenanigans ensue, or Shawna tells this doubt cloud to shove that catastrophizing crud where the sun don’t shine and Cass gets to have warm fuzzies about her girlfriend being awesome. I’m hoping for the last one. Or Cass runs and Shawna still does the thing and then has to go talk to Cass and they have a good cuddle about it after.

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