Castella is the Briarwood, as she’s said in a previous strip, even beings that dwell between worlds like Cthulu are afraid of her and what she can do. Oh, and don’t forget, Cthulu may be the best known of the Outer Gods, but he’s the one they left behind to wake them up. She’s probably not too afraid of an alarm clock…
At least she was able to prevent an unnecessary blow up towards her sister and future sister in law by saying all of the important facts about that weekend.
Hey Paul
I haven’t commented in years, but that was one of your best short-arc-wrap-ups and final panel finishers I’ve read for ages. Bloody well done mate! 😀
THAT particular critter is to Stinky as the SUPER Yamato is to a rowboat.
It is (according to the credits) none other than the most powerful and most terrifying of the Lovecraftian Elder gods…
Cthulhu.
According to all the things written about him and his fellow elder gods, just SEEING one tends to drive even the most hardened human mind insane.
Notice how he not exactly in the ‘hell-raising’ mood while talking to our little Pickle.
Actually, that is debatable. Cthulhu’s claim to distinction in the mythos is that he is dead, but gets better when the stars are right. Hastur, sorry The King in Yellow (the one you should never speak nor write the name of) is active in the present time and has actual representatives. Unless you count the Deep Ones, who worship a deity that humans call Dagon but that bears a striking resemblance…)
🙂 😛 and there IS something more powerful than her… BAD RUMORS!!! spread by other mean students.. they cannot be touched, and killing the student causing them is TEN times worse.. :O
I noticed that the being in the last panel is not named in the character list below the comic. This probably means we will have to wait until it’s revealed later. *lé-sigh* Any hints? Doesn’t seem to be Stinky, so who, then?
Since the ‘King of Terrors’ (Cthulhu) seems to be just a slight bit on the ‘tread lightly’ frame of mind around our little Pickle, I’d say his opinion would be Katherine is the scarier.
It does disturb kids, if the parents aren’t even-handed in raising them, if they seem to favor one over the other, or are harsher to one over the other…but at this point Castela is old enough to be leveled with, as Katherine does.
Holy hell, Paul! That exoskeleton/tentacle texture is AMAZING! I’m used to your superb blood spatter and bright light glow, but this is a new one. And speaking of mini-arcs, I often wonder about that girl in the Library whose toe Dietzel licked.
Cthulhu: Yeah, wow. I may drive the rest of humanity insane, drive the stars from the skies, and devour all hope in the world you know, but remind me NEVER to piss your Mom off.
I have noticed that quite a few people are thinking that Cthulu is just on its best behaviour because of Pickles power. But what if the truth here is that like many of the characters and species that Paul has shown us, this one is just another that has been slandered by human fears and misunderstanding. That or Lovecraft was just a hateful prick.
A marvelous twist on this idea can be found in Randall Garrett’s short story “The Horror Out of Time”. It’s a Lovecraftian pastiche, which reads like a typical story in the Cthulhu mythos, but ends in a twist which makes it clear that the protagonist has rather badly misunderstood the situation.
I’d wondered if it was just me thinking that Katherine has come a long, Long, LONG way from her early painfully shy and timid days, but reading the comments I see I am not. That woman is both a paragon of parental love and care, compassion, and fucking terrifying, all in a single word or look.
Wonder who ‘Stela is talking to in the last panel?
And a very good job of fixing her good.
Goof.
I bloody freaking hate auto correct 😑😑🤪
“A very goof job fixing her goof”? :*)
Autocorrupt?
Auto coWRECK?
find a ‘sender’ that will give a ‘delayed send’ so you can stop it when you see a mistrake!!! 😀
Listed in credits as Cthulhu
Seems more mild mannered than he was in 1928.
A milder Cthulu, of course, he’s aged
Castella is the Briarwood, as she’s said in a previous strip, even beings that dwell between worlds like Cthulu are afraid of her and what she can do. Oh, and don’t forget, Cthulu may be the best known of the Outer Gods, but he’s the one they left behind to wake them up. She’s probably not too afraid of an alarm clock…
So! only TWO names invoked. She got off easy. That exchange didn’t fry every Human Tween synapse of her Nural Net. .. Easy
Good for Kath. No histrionics, just a clear setting of terms and boundaries.
“Yeah, your mom’s SCARY.” – Cthulhu
I want to upvote this comment many time.
Amen.
Baby Cthulhu asks his mom to check under the bed for Katherine Gilchrist.
“My only regret is that I don’t have even one Like to give on this forum board.”
~Almost, but not Quite, Nathan Hale
At least she was able to prevent an unnecessary blow up towards her sister and future sister in law by saying all of the important facts about that weekend.
Hey Paul
I haven’t commented in years, but that was one of your best short-arc-wrap-ups and final panel finishers I’ve read for ages. Bloody well done mate! 😀
Thanks so much! ^_^
That might be someone’s pet sea monster…. I will say this much if a leviathan sympathizes with you then it was a scary moment lol
Tis Cthulhu
oh. well… that was awkward. at least he looks well after that encounter with the ghostbusters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGZevVdjoUU
Roller toaster?
…Stinky???
That was my guess
Cthulhu
THAT particular critter is to Stinky as the SUPER Yamato is to a rowboat.
It is (according to the credits) none other than the most powerful and most terrifying of the Lovecraftian Elder gods…
Cthulhu.
According to all the things written about him and his fellow elder gods, just SEEING one tends to drive even the most hardened human mind insane.
Notice how he not exactly in the ‘hell-raising’ mood while talking to our little Pickle.
Actually, that is debatable. Cthulhu’s claim to distinction in the mythos is that he is dead, but gets better when the stars are right. Hastur, sorry The King in Yellow (the one you should never speak nor write the name of) is active in the present time and has actual representatives. Unless you count the Deep Ones, who worship a deity that humans call Dagon but that bears a striking resemblance…)
Is that Stinky? I had no idea that she knew about him…Her…IT?
Castela has integrated the Blackthorn and it’s memories. If she knows where Emrakul is just to assert dominance, she probably knows about Stinky.
That or Bud told her.
We can be relatively sure that Pickle has played with Stinky on the beach at so.e point when going there with her auntie Bud.
I’m pretty sure that’s the unspeakable horror she showed everyone the other day to get her point across
I don’t think this is Stinky OR Emrakul.
Nope.
It’s that unspeakable horror’s BOSS…
and you will notice he’s not in the mood to cause trouble.
Pretty sure Rei is right. That can’t be Stinky. Stinky doesn’t have a body that can sit on fully out of water.
Cthulhu
I like how Katherine addresses Castela as both a 15 year old teen girl and the ancient Blackthorn in the second panel.
To the 15 year old girl : You are only 15 and you need to remember to be careful.
To the Blackthorn : I don’t care how ancient you are or how powerful you are. You are now part of my daughter so thread lightly.
🙂 😛 and there IS something more powerful than her… BAD RUMORS!!! spread by other mean students.. they cannot be touched, and killing the student causing them is TEN times worse.. :O
This is a side of kath that I’d as soon NOT know…
Well done, Katherine!
I noticed that the being in the last panel is not named in the character list below the comic. This probably means we will have to wait until it’s revealed later. *lé-sigh* Any hints? Doesn’t seem to be Stinky, so who, then?
It is now.
Who does the “teen” Blackthorn call to confide in? Why the only being scaryer then her mom. ( from casses point of view) CTHULLHU!
You mean LESS scary then her mom.
Since the ‘King of Terrors’ (Cthulhu) seems to be just a slight bit on the ‘tread lightly’ frame of mind around our little Pickle, I’d say his opinion would be Katherine is the scarier.
It does disturb kids, if the parents aren’t even-handed in raising them, if they seem to favor one over the other, or are harsher to one over the other…but at this point Castela is old enough to be leveled with, as Katherine does.
Holy hell, Paul! That exoskeleton/tentacle texture is AMAZING! I’m used to your superb blood spatter and bright light glow, but this is a new one. And speaking of mini-arcs, I often wonder about that girl in the Library whose toe Dietzel licked.
Ooooooo, Cthulhu moment. Like! More please.
Cthulhu: Yeah, wow. I may drive the rest of humanity insane, drive the stars from the skies, and devour all hope in the world you know, but remind me NEVER to piss your Mom off.
We have seen that Blackthorn has great physical powers. Now character to have Cthulhu as one of your confidants to talk out bumps in the road of life.
Relative of Val’s?
Distant Cousin.
very, very distant.
Devyn is the granddaughter of Kronos. Needn’t be that distant.
Katherine Gilchrist: STILL probably the only being in the known Wapsiverse capable of making the Blackthorn go “eep!”
Even over Monica: The “Demon Shepherd” ?
As the Elder God can relate, I wonder how Cthulhu’s mom was like when the horror was just a young netherbeing of chaos just napping in Rh’lyeh.
“Castela! Why did I just get invited to speak at the R’lyeh University graduation ceremony?”
Cthulu is wide-eyed in awe…this is the power of “mom-voice”…
I have noticed that quite a few people are thinking that Cthulu is just on its best behaviour because of Pickles power. But what if the truth here is that like many of the characters and species that Paul has shown us, this one is just another that has been slandered by human fears and misunderstanding. That or Lovecraft was just a hateful prick.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a little bit of BOTH… then again, there is always the possibility that all of it IS true too…
It’s like when Hollywood stars marry other Hollywood stars—who else can they hang out with long enough to meet someone?
A marvelous twist on this idea can be found in Randall Garrett’s short story “The Horror Out of Time”. It’s a Lovecraftian pastiche, which reads like a typical story in the Cthulhu mythos, but ends in a twist which makes it clear that the protagonist has rather badly misunderstood the situation.
It’s in Garrett’s “Takeoff!” collection.
Let me think on this a while…
a long, long while.
Castela just cracks me up sometimes:
Possible monsters or burglars in the house? SCARY!!
Actual eldritch horrors? Hey dude, wanna have a little chat?
I’d wondered if it was just me thinking that Katherine has come a long, Long, LONG way from her early painfully shy and timid days, but reading the comments I see I am not. That woman is both a paragon of parental love and care, compassion, and fucking terrifying, all in a single word or look.
Well damned done, Paul.
So, Lesson #1:
Fix your makeup, after you makeout.