I agree. What Shelly needs right now is a friend to help her work through things as opposed to a lover who’s going to make her feel even more mixed up.
Ugh, way too many people seem to want these two to hook up, but that was already covered. All the posts that seem to demand they get physical seem to indicate that:
1. There are way too many guys who haven’t left the teenage mentality behind, FFS it’s a comic, seesh, go google pr0n if you want to see two women together. It’s not that hard to find.
2. Some have never had any sort of deep relationship that didn’t have a sex component to it. Friends can have a very deep connection without sex. I wonder how all those clamoring for them to kiss would feel if both characters were guys talking? I highly doubt they’d be so quick to request it then, but maybe not, never know about people now-a-days.
I’m with you. I think we’ve been brainwashed by Hollywood (among other media) into thinking that the only way to express love between adults is to hop into bed.
True love cares enough to set appropriate boundaries, so we don’t get into trouble, either with the one in question, or with our other commitments.
And what Shelly needs most right now is someone to listen and help sort out her confusion, her feelings, her thoughts…
Maybe I’m wrong but I am willing to believe that most of the Heather-Shelly shippers do not have ulterior motives. I suspect the reason for there being so many shippers is:
Before Vickie came on the scene the situation was that Heather and Shelly were spending a lot of time together. Heather was crazy about Shelly. Shelly was an attention-seeking flirt so basked in that attention. They spent so much time together that Tina, who can read auras, thought that they were an item.[1] Even the medical staff who treated Shelly after her bump on the head (with a bowling ball) thought that. In other words the old Heather-Shelly plot invoked the She’s Not My Girlfriend trope. If the comic was a Hollywood movie, they would have married by now.
However, people forget that this is not a Hollywood movie and, more importantly, the whole point of his arc is to show how recent events have matured and changed Shelly. They also forget that Paul loves taking tropes and subverting them.
Warning: This post contains a link to TV Tropes. Do not click unless you either are: a) strong willed or b) willing to spend a lot of time there. 😉
[1] Although Darren/Darrin, who cannot, probably had a more realistic take on the situation.
sorry this was a 7ambeforecoffee brainfart, ^^ (i live germany) and it was the first think that flashed up in my mind as i saw this panel.
i know that heather has vicky and shelly has officer tightbuns.
its not for me to decide whether they hookup or not and i dont care.
on1.: i dont think the guys which want lespr0n hookups are reading this comic there is too little lesyay fanservice in there ^^
on2.: i have one of those relationship without sex component and i think i had posted the same stuff if they where guys, the gender doesnt matter to me in such cases. ^^
@SoWhyMe: Wow, have you ever got that right. People in general may not always want much alone time, but as someone with an artistic bent, I know that if I don’t get time where people leave me alone, my creativity turns to overused motor oil (thick and glompy and unproductive) and I get grouchy… but I can never seem to explain the phenomenon properly.
Danzier: Solitude is important for artists to marinate their works, especially introverted ones. I too can get grouchy if I don’t have enough alone time.
I agree…I think a kiss would completely cheapen this moment.
Don’t get me wrong…I don’t have any problems with girl-on-girl fanservice, but while this comic is written by a man, he’s shown time and time again that he has a very good understanding of how women work.
Yes, many of us like sex, but we’re also capable of incredible emotional and physical proximity without wanting sex at all. 😛
I’m told that when my brother’s* book Path of the Fury came out, Baen Books got at least one letter taking them to task for putting a male pseudonym on a book obviously written by a woman**, since no man could possibly handle a female viewpoint character that well.
Interestingly, i just thought that Alicia deVries was a well-written badass who just happened to have different plumbing than me and Dave.
======================
*Yes – for those who missed it the last couple times, i am David Weber’s older brother.
**Which used to be common in the SF field, where the perception was that it was primarily a male field*** – that, or an ambiguous name – Alice Mary Norton/”Andre Norton” – or initials – Catherine Moore/”C.L.Moore”.
***Of course, the converse is true in romances – at least one SF pro my first wife and i knew wrote romances under a female name he was contractually forbidden to reveal – and his publisher actually sent a woman out on at least one signing tour for “her” books
Rant rant rant! This one goes out to people who don’t know squat about writing but presume to correct the writer who just put their pen/keyboard where their mouth was: With proper research and spies, anyone can write anything in any style, if they so choose. /Rant
Not that there’s anyone like that here, but it’s on the short list of things I rant about.
PTerry Pratchett once replied to some dork who had ranted at length about how bad/padded/just plain awful his latest book was, finishing by “How can Pratchett write this crap?”
“That’s just me not writing as well as you do. Pity you weren’t here when the paper was blank”
No, I don’t think so. This whole arc with Heather has no sexual or romantic tone but it does feel like Shelly crying out for some help in understanding what has happened. As Fransisco says, a friend to help fine clarity in the meaning and events in her life.
wow, Heather is really channeling Phix in this page!… both in the artwork, and the wisdom of what she’s saying. now all she needs to do is ask for Shelly to have a cookie (that she “just happens” to have on her)…
I don’t think Phix would be helpful in a situation like this. She has knowledge, but not wisdom. Sometimes she acts very childishly. I think Heather is very different and a much better choice.
Phix acting CHILDISHLY?… um are you sure you’re thinking of the right character?… if you had said that about Nudge. well ok, that’s a given. but i fail to see how Phix is/was acting that way. could you give examples?
http://youtu.be/2T4BsnXmJaI totally need a dream sequence, sphinx in heather… which, could be taken so wrongly… but that’s what your post reminded me of.
it actually gives me pain to say this as i tend to tell the peeps off at work for not watching mainline films (such as lord of the rings or x-men..honest..they hadn’t heard of them!!)
i can admit i have never seen Casablanca in full. (seen clips loads)
I need to get a movie bucketlist 🙂
I don’t think the wish for them to kiss is as fanboyish as one might think. Just a true expression of emotion.
While I wish the best for Shelly, in this quest for what price she has paid for all this time, I don’t think a kiss is what’s happening here. Just expressions of love and caring for her.
Good thing, too. If people rise/fall to the level of their incompetence, and life were fair, then all anyone would have would be a life of not mattering in a field of incompetent nincompoops.
I am so glad life’s not fair; I don’t want to be incompetent. I want to be better than I am. 😀
Heather is relieved that Shelly has found some badly needed balance and perspective. Brittleness is an impediment to using and understanding one’s strength.
Shelly has learned so much, yet..only Heather has her trust, and can get her to open up. Odd that not even her closest friends were allowed in by Shelly.
Me thinks that Heather went from “crush” to surrogate-mom to Shell
i wonder why.
maybe something about heather makes her remind her of her mum?
i would have assumed amanda would have but well..amanda didn’t really like shelly 🙂
Fairportfan: I am not talking about Shelly’s time-line!
I think her friends are still in “where’s the beach? / what does it do? / aaagh, shelly???” mode, only minutes have passed for them…
I think it all goes to her fighting to get back to Normal. Heather is the only one who can advise Shelly, as Shelly. Not as the Spinx girl, or the 80K trip girl.
This is the only person she can talk to that has none of that other worldy perspective and can probably provide some of the most rational answers she’s looking for.
/rant on
for everyone who keeps mentioning shelly and heather making out.
ok it *might* happen
but don’t you realise that Shelly is REALLY letting herself out here. making herself as vunerable as she can. it is with a person she can TRUST.
how much trust will she have in that person if theyv’e only been comforting her only as a means to get into her pants!
seriously people. every day now since shelly got back…
I don’t want full on make out session. I think at the least one of them getting a kiss on the cheek and the max a romantic lip lock with like hearts behind them and stuff would be nice. This is my favorite ‘couple’.
aww don’t get me wrong
i would love heather and shelly to get together as a couple
but the fact is shelly has just spent 80k years in a forest in which she turned into her mythical-creature heritage, had to find a plan to make herself die and actually cause herself to die through non-action.
her head is not in the right place at the moment.
sure she can have sex with her but have a relationship? totally different thing.
Only problem with your hopes is presented right here on this page. How good of a couple would they be if Shelly didn’t share everything?
And before someone trots out the argument: I know that Monica hid all of this from Kevin for a while, but I would venture that their relationship wasn’t as much of an emotional mess as Shelly & Heather’s. After all of the communication talks they had, Shelly’s making a conscious decision not to be open with Heather.
Besides, that door closed long ago…and Heather just said that in spite of her fears in her current relationship, she thinks that her girlfriend is very much right for her.
I dunno – i think Shelly is feeling her way to how much she can tell Heather without giving away too many of her friends’ secrets, vs how much she wants to tell her.
While i can’t see Heather taking advantage, i can see that if Shelly has come to the conclusion that it’s all good and gives her a sign, she might well be willing to take it to the next level.
But i don’t see her just grabbing Shelly and beginning to put the moves on her; she’s too level-headed and classy for that. She’d make sure that Shelly was aware and willing before she proceeded.
I fully agree. There is more in this (and their), world than sex. Any sex or sexuality (including just kissing), now would be totally out of place and is the last thing on their minds. I think too many people here are projecting their own desires onto these characters.
While at this point I doubt anything ‘romantic’ will occur between the two, I’ll give some credit to the “OMG LEZZES KISSING” crowd for one simple fact I still struggle to overcome.
Why Heather?
Don’t get me wrong, I liked the character of Heather and am enjoying her return to the storyline. I just wonder why Shelly would have selected Heather of all people unless she had some ulterior motive (not necessarily sexual).
She has other friends outside the masquerade to whom she can open herself, some (such as Jacqui and, arguably, Darin) who know her just as well if not moreso than Heather. And for being a former love-interest with whom Shelly ended the relationship, it takes a bit more effort to start communication again, making Owen just as viable a candidate as Heather, even moreso considering the closeness those two once shared.
While I agree, I doubt this conversation at this point has any sexual intention by either party, I still am expecting Shelly to do something to answer “Why pick Heather over the others?”, just have no idea what that something is going to be.
Heather was the first person she let in since her mother died. Remember, when she received the bowling ball to her head, she had a nightmare where her child self tried to stab Heather for being close to her as she was with her mother. Jacqui and the others never got that close to her.
She has loved Heather for a long time but not the way the shippers think she does.
I expect Shelly just needs some more time; she’s only been back for – what, a day or two? Something like this needs to be processed (I’m guessing; can’t honestly say that I’ve been through what she’s been through).
Remain confident, Shelly, that when you really need your wisdom, it won’t abandon you.
“And I gave, so much.” That could be the most understated bit of dialog in the whole series. I have to wonder if the vulnerable part has to do with her waiting for the other shoe to drop. It seems to me someone who has been through what she went through would be a tad paranoid. She was placed into the situation totally unaware. One could wonder when one might be jerked back there due to something as yet to occur, or if there are additinal events coming her way over which she has no control. Of course, compared to being an indestructable sphinx for 80K years, she would feel really tiny and fragile now by comparison.
I don’t think Phix can be of much help either. She had 80K years to talk to her about the whole situation. A few more minutes with her in the Library probably isn’t going to yield any new insights.
Interesting idea. I thought the “vulnerable” comment was more to show that she is finally in touch with her emotional aspect and acknowledges that when you care, and give, you can feel pain and hurt.
Funny, that’s when I’ve usually found the deepest emotions, both good and bad, and many people seem to never go past the first level of their inner psyche so never experience that.
To care, truly care about anything, is to expose yourself to whatever can happen. It’s not being a sphinx that can make you feel vulnerable and fragile, it’s simply being human and having the capacity to care for others and yourself.
Not only has she been indestructible for 80,000 years, she’s watched herself die over 50 times during that span (talk about “giving so much”!) — and now she’s back in the mortal world where it could be “Shelly 57” next time. That’s gotta make anybody feel fragile and vulnerable.
she thinks she gave so much (~80k years) but in wapsi square time it was only a couple of minutes and now by comparison she is probably crushed and tries to find what she has gained in those years of partly solitute.
Being vulnerable means being open to surprises, rather than thinking one has complete control over life and its vagaries. It’s a good state to be in. Go Shelly! 😀
Weak, exposed, shivering, wet, like when a invertabrate moults its old carapace, before it becomes bigger, stronger, and in some cases, more tasty with drawn butter.
I found this quote on Teresa Burritt’s Frog Blog and share it here because it seems totally relevant to many of the Wapsi characters:
“As soon as we are alone… inner chaos opens up in us. This chaos can be so disturbing and so confusing that we can hardly wait to get busy again. Entering a private room and shutting the door, therefore, does not mean that we immediately shut out all our inner doubts, anxieties, fears, bad memories, unresolved conflicts, angry feelings and impulsive desires. On the contrary, when we have removed our outer distraction, we often find that our inner distraction manifest themselves to us in full force. We often use the outer distractions to shield ourselves from the interior noises. This makes the discipline of solitude all the more important.” ~Henri J.M. Nouwen
I just realised something else — the fact that, despite her emotional turmoil and connection to Heather, she kept everything secret is another sign of how much Shelly has matured.
However, she was still able to get across the important point (from her perspective) and she covered up what the mistake she made without raising further suspicion.
If you are feeling fragile and vulnerable after 80K years, I say something is very wrong. What that something is is up for grabs, but still something is very wrong.
You discover transcendence only in retrospect.
that retrospect is quite wise really 🙂
most things are discovered via that 🙂
Hindsight is seen with 20/20 vision.
“A Tree Grows in Brooklyn”?
Don’t tell the dogs in the other boroughs that.
What’s up, Doc?
WB FTW!
Bonus Question: What was the name of the song that Buggs sang in that cartoon?
“The Daughter of Rosie O’Grady”
I had to cheat tho. I can sing the song, but couldn’t remember the title
Everyone’s a Winner!
my thoughts on the last panel,
“you may now kiss the bride”. XD
i know everyone seems to be gnashing at the teeth for that but i hope not.
i really REALLY hope not.
I agree. What Shelly needs right now is a friend to help her work through things as opposed to a lover who’s going to make her feel even more mixed up.
Agreed.
Ugh, way too many people seem to want these two to hook up, but that was already covered. All the posts that seem to demand they get physical seem to indicate that:
1. There are way too many guys who haven’t left the teenage mentality behind, FFS it’s a comic, seesh, go google pr0n if you want to see two women together. It’s not that hard to find.
2. Some have never had any sort of deep relationship that didn’t have a sex component to it. Friends can have a very deep connection without sex. I wonder how all those clamoring for them to kiss would feel if both characters were guys talking? I highly doubt they’d be so quick to request it then, but maybe not, never know about people now-a-days.
I’m with you. I think we’ve been brainwashed by Hollywood (among other media) into thinking that the only way to express love between adults is to hop into bed.
True love cares enough to set appropriate boundaries, so we don’t get into trouble, either with the one in question, or with our other commitments.
And what Shelly needs most right now is someone to listen and help sort out her confusion, her feelings, her thoughts…
Agree totally.
Maybe I’m wrong but I am willing to believe that most of the Heather-Shelly shippers do not have ulterior motives. I suspect the reason for there being so many shippers is:
Before Vickie came on the scene the situation was that Heather and Shelly were spending a lot of time together. Heather was crazy about Shelly. Shelly was an attention-seeking flirt so basked in that attention. They spent so much time together that Tina, who can read auras, thought that they were an item.[1] Even the medical staff who treated Shelly after her bump on the head (with a bowling ball) thought that. In other words the old Heather-Shelly plot invoked the She’s Not My Girlfriend trope. If the comic was a Hollywood movie, they would have married by now.
However, people forget that this is not a Hollywood movie and, more importantly, the whole point of his arc is to show how recent events have matured and changed Shelly. They also forget that Paul loves taking tropes and subverting them.
Warning: This post contains a link to TV Tropes. Do not click unless you either are: a) strong willed or b) willing to spend a lot of time there. 😉
[1] Although Darren/Darrin, who cannot, probably had a more realistic take on the situation.
Come to think of it, I wonder if it’s the Everyone Can See It trope that Paul tried to invoke the first time round.
<< shutting down TV Tropes now before gets caught
..
i shouldn’t have clicked that link…
@Paula,
TV Tropes is addictive, isn’t it? 😉
On the matter of links to TVTropes (or that certain Other Site)…
sorry this was a 7ambeforecoffee brainfart, ^^ (i live germany) and it was the first think that flashed up in my mind as i saw this panel.
i know that heather has vicky and shelly has officer tightbuns.
its not for me to decide whether they hookup or not and i dont care.
on1.: i dont think the guys which want lespr0n hookups are reading this comic there is too little lesyay fanservice in there ^^
on2.: i have one of those relationship without sex component and i think i had posted the same stuff if they where guys, the gender doesnt matter to me in such cases. ^^
Concerning Fairportfan’s link, I would like to add “and being alone is not the same as being lonely.”
Oops, put that under the wrong reply.
@SoWhyMe: Wow, have you ever got that right. People in general may not always want much alone time, but as someone with an artistic bent, I know that if I don’t get time where people leave me alone, my creativity turns to overused motor oil (thick and glompy and unproductive) and I get grouchy… but I can never seem to explain the phenomenon properly.
Danzier: Solitude is important for artists to marinate their works, especially introverted ones. I too can get grouchy if I don’t have enough alone time.
Yep.
Susan is asexual, Justin is gay and Dan is a squirrel.
great now i have another comic in my daily routine. ^^
Gee, i’m sorry…
That was the first comic i ever read on the interwebs!
I agree…I think a kiss would completely cheapen this moment.
Don’t get me wrong…I don’t have any problems with girl-on-girl fanservice, but while this comic is written by a man, he’s shown time and time again that he has a very good understanding of how women work.
Yes, many of us like sex, but we’re also capable of incredible emotional and physical proximity without wanting sex at all. 😛
He may consult his wife frequently when venturing into girl world.
I’m told that when my brother’s* book Path of the Fury came out, Baen Books got at least one letter taking them to task for putting a male pseudonym on a book obviously written by a woman**, since no man could possibly handle a female viewpoint character that well.
Interestingly, i just thought that Alicia deVries was a well-written badass who just happened to have different plumbing than me and Dave.
======================
*Yes – for those who missed it the last couple times, i am David Weber’s older brother.
**Which used to be common in the SF field, where the perception was that it was primarily a male field*** – that, or an ambiguous name – Alice Mary Norton/”Andre Norton” – or initials – Catherine Moore/”C.L.Moore”.
***Of course, the converse is true in romances – at least one SF pro my first wife and i knew wrote romances under a female name he was contractually forbidden to reveal – and his publisher actually sent a woman out on at least one signing tour for “her” books
Rant rant rant! This one goes out to people who don’t know squat about writing but presume to correct the writer who just put their pen/keyboard where their mouth was: With proper research and spies, anyone can write anything in any style, if they so choose. /Rant
Not that there’s anyone like that here, but it’s on the short list of things I rant about.
PTerry Pratchett once replied to some dork who had ranted at length about how bad/padded/just plain awful his latest book was, finishing by “How can Pratchett write this crap?”
“That’s just me not writing as well as you do. Pity you weren’t here when the paper was blank”
No, I don’t think so. This whole arc with Heather has no sexual or romantic tone but it does feel like Shelly crying out for some help in understanding what has happened. As Fransisco says, a friend to help fine clarity in the meaning and events in her life.
Nah. Heather is “big-sis” to Shelly.
Heather is Shelly’s ‘Amanda’ I guess.
(I had a very elaborate answer, but my switch decided to conq-out..grrrr.. crappy sagem)
Dude! Paul, that’s so deep…
wow, Heather is really channeling Phix in this page!… both in the artwork, and the wisdom of what she’s saying. now all she needs to do is ask for Shelly to have a cookie (that she “just happens” to have on her)…
I believe that I called that prediction a few pages back.
you may now do the happy dance 🙂
And eat your cookie.
I don’t think Phix would be helpful in a situation like this. She has knowledge, but not wisdom. Sometimes she acts very childishly. I think Heather is very different and a much better choice.
Well, she had a very long grudge against Nudge.
Phix acting CHILDISHLY?… um are you sure you’re thinking of the right character?… if you had said that about Nudge. well ok, that’s a given. but i fail to see how Phix is/was acting that way. could you give examples?
One of life’s truths.
awww, so cute.
I think Shelly needs a big round of “Thank you!” and some chocolate.
That woman needs 500 cc’s of Häagen-Daz and a hug, stat!
Shelly needs…………….. Heather
http://youtu.be/2T4BsnXmJaI totally need a dream sequence, sphinx in heather… which, could be taken so wrongly… but that’s what your post reminded me of.
Meh….I prefer BlueBell. 😛
She is so sweet! She deserves hugs, thank you’s, kissies, and lots of very good Chocolate!
And… Maybe… Heather?
ahh
the perfect gift for a woman who has just told you a simple but very honest truth.
chocolate 🙂
D’aww, poor Shelly. (Though I think the kiss is still on the table. lol)
You must remember this
A kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh.
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by.
oh
now i get that verse….
Have you seen Casablanca? It’s pretty clear there, too.
(Of course, it wasn’t written for Casablanca – it was originally from a 1931 Broadway show. But it fits in so well in the film.)
it actually gives me pain to say this as i tend to tell the peeps off at work for not watching mainline films (such as lord of the rings or x-men..honest..they hadn’t heard of them!!)
i can admit i have never seen Casablanca in full. (seen clips loads)
I need to get a movie bucketlist 🙂
“And when two lovers woo,
they still say ‘I love you’–
On that you can rely…”
(And I didn’t hear it. )
“It’s still the same old story
A fight for love and glory,
A case of do-or-die…
The fundamental things apply….
As time goes by.”
I love that song so much.
“A kiss may not be the truth, but it is always what we wish were true.”
http://youtu.be/GOGGmhmp5ds
I don’t think the wish for them to kiss is as fanboyish as one might think. Just a true expression of emotion.
While I wish the best for Shelly, in this quest for what price she has paid for all this time, I don’t think a kiss is what’s happening here. Just expressions of love and caring for her.
Tears. Eyes.
Poor baby.
I know. Not fair, right?
Rule # 1 – lifes’ not fair.
Rule # 2 – see Rule #1
Good thing, too. If people rise/fall to the level of their incompetence, and life were fair, then all anyone would have would be a life of not mattering in a field of incompetent nincompoops.
I am so glad life’s not fair; I don’t want to be incompetent. I want to be better than I am. 😀
…
that is the most optomistic viewpoint i have ever read in my life.
it has beaten the last one which was when someone told me they liked mondays as mondays ment there were only 4 days left until the weekend.
all in perspective i see 🙂
“Life’s not fair. Anyone who tries to tell you different is trying to sell you something.” – The Princess Bride.
Heather is relieved that Shelly has found some badly needed balance and perspective. Brittleness is an impediment to using and understanding one’s strength.
Shelly has learned so much, yet..only Heather has her trust, and can get her to open up. Odd that not even her closest friends were allowed in by Shelly.
Me thinks that Heather went from “crush” to surrogate-mom to Shell
i wonder why.
maybe something about heather makes her remind her of her mum?
i would have assumed amanda would have but well..amanda didn’t really like shelly 🙂
well I think the rest of the group have their own stuff going on…
it can be refreshing to get an independent view from someone not affected by your past year or so…
“…your past year or so”
X 80K
Fairportfan: I am not talking about Shelly’s time-line!
I think her friends are still in “where’s the beach? / what does it do? / aaagh, shelly???” mode, only minutes have passed for them…
I think it all goes to her fighting to get back to Normal. Heather is the only one who can advise Shelly, as Shelly. Not as the Spinx girl, or the 80K trip girl.
This is the only person she can talk to that has none of that other worldy perspective and can probably provide some of the most rational answers she’s looking for.
Okay- a strange thought has occurred in my little skull: If Shelley is a Sphinx….Is Lakshmi a Roc? (I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t make a good Ogre…)
Dunno, she might look good in a leopard-print bikini and thigh boots….
Perhaps you meant Orc? A Roc is a huge bird.
/rant on
for everyone who keeps mentioning shelly and heather making out.
ok it *might* happen
but don’t you realise that Shelly is REALLY letting herself out here. making herself as vunerable as she can. it is with a person she can TRUST.
how much trust will she have in that person if theyv’e only been comforting her only as a means to get into her pants!
seriously people. every day now since shelly got back…
/rant off.
I don’t want full on make out session. I think at the least one of them getting a kiss on the cheek and the max a romantic lip lock with like hearts behind them and stuff would be nice. This is my favorite ‘couple’.
aww don’t get me wrong
i would love heather and shelly to get together as a couple
but the fact is shelly has just spent 80k years in a forest in which she turned into her mythical-creature heritage, had to find a plan to make herself die and actually cause herself to die through non-action.
her head is not in the right place at the moment.
sure she can have sex with her but have a relationship? totally different thing.
Only problem with your hopes is presented right here on this page. How good of a couple would they be if Shelly didn’t share everything?
And before someone trots out the argument: I know that Monica hid all of this from Kevin for a while, but I would venture that their relationship wasn’t as much of an emotional mess as Shelly & Heather’s. After all of the communication talks they had, Shelly’s making a conscious decision not to be open with Heather.
Besides, that door closed long ago…and Heather just said that in spite of her fears in her current relationship, she thinks that her girlfriend is very much right for her.
I dunno – i think Shelly is feeling her way to how much she can tell Heather without giving away too many of her friends’ secrets, vs how much she wants to tell her.
While i can’t see Heather taking advantage, i can see that if Shelly has come to the conclusion that it’s all good and gives her a sign, she might well be willing to take it to the next level.
But i don’t see her just grabbing Shelly and beginning to put the moves on her; she’s too level-headed and classy for that. She’d make sure that Shelly was aware and willing before she proceeded.
you’re right 🙂
i need to have more faith in heather 🙂
she has never acted badly in regards to shelly 🙂
yes peeps… stop thinkin’ with yer ‘lower brain’.. 😉
I fully agree. There is more in this (and their), world than sex. Any sex or sexuality (including just kissing), now would be totally out of place and is the last thing on their minds. I think too many people here are projecting their own desires onto these characters.
While at this point I doubt anything ‘romantic’ will occur between the two, I’ll give some credit to the “OMG LEZZES KISSING” crowd for one simple fact I still struggle to overcome.
Why Heather?
Don’t get me wrong, I liked the character of Heather and am enjoying her return to the storyline. I just wonder why Shelly would have selected Heather of all people unless she had some ulterior motive (not necessarily sexual).
She has other friends outside the masquerade to whom she can open herself, some (such as Jacqui and, arguably, Darin) who know her just as well if not moreso than Heather. And for being a former love-interest with whom Shelly ended the relationship, it takes a bit more effort to start communication again, making Owen just as viable a candidate as Heather, even moreso considering the closeness those two once shared.
While I agree, I doubt this conversation at this point has any sexual intention by either party, I still am expecting Shelly to do something to answer “Why pick Heather over the others?”, just have no idea what that something is going to be.
Heather was the first person she let in since her mother died. Remember, when she received the bowling ball to her head, she had a nightmare where her child self tried to stab Heather for being close to her as she was with her mother. Jacqui and the others never got that close to her.
She has loved Heather for a long time but not the way the shippers think she does.
It’s this page and the next one:
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/04272005/
And: http://wapsisquare.com/comic/becauseyourescared/
I agree with the ‘no kissy-kissy’ crowd. Shelly is just starting to get her head in order. Let the girl be.
Also, the relationship with Officer Watzizname is fun to read. 🙂
JUSTIN! JUSTIN! JUSTIN!
at the very least remember Officer Tight Buns…
Talking about perspective, I found it useful to go back a few pages (to the start of this meeting) and read the whole sequence through.
Whoa. Panel#2.
Is it just more, or does Shelly look ALOT like Tina in that panel?
I expect Shelly just needs some more time; she’s only been back for – what, a day or two? Something like this needs to be processed (I’m guessing; can’t honestly say that I’ve been through what she’s been through).
Remain confident, Shelly, that when you really need your wisdom, it won’t abandon you.
“And I gave, so much.” That could be the most understated bit of dialog in the whole series. I have to wonder if the vulnerable part has to do with her waiting for the other shoe to drop. It seems to me someone who has been through what she went through would be a tad paranoid. She was placed into the situation totally unaware. One could wonder when one might be jerked back there due to something as yet to occur, or if there are additinal events coming her way over which she has no control. Of course, compared to being an indestructable sphinx for 80K years, she would feel really tiny and fragile now by comparison.
I don’t think Phix can be of much help either. She had 80K years to talk to her about the whole situation. A few more minutes with her in the Library probably isn’t going to yield any new insights.
Interesting idea. I thought the “vulnerable” comment was more to show that she is finally in touch with her emotional aspect and acknowledges that when you care, and give, you can feel pain and hurt.
Funny, that’s when I’ve usually found the deepest emotions, both good and bad, and many people seem to never go past the first level of their inner psyche so never experience that.
To care, truly care about anything, is to expose yourself to whatever can happen. It’s not being a sphinx that can make you feel vulnerable and fragile, it’s simply being human and having the capacity to care for others and yourself.
Not only has she been indestructible for 80,000 years, she’s watched herself die over 50 times during that span (talk about “giving so much”!) — and now she’s back in the mortal world where it could be “Shelly 57” next time. That’s gotta make anybody feel fragile and vulnerable.
she thinks she gave so much (~80k years) but in wapsi square time it was only a couple of minutes and now by comparison she is probably crushed and tries to find what she has gained in those years of partly solitute.
D’awwwwww. Heather FTW.
Being vulnerable means being open to surprises, rather than thinking one has complete control over life and its vagaries. It’s a good state to be in. Go Shelly! 😀
I don’t know. Personally, I don’t like surprises.
“There are 2 types of surprises in life. “Happy Birthday” and “Pearl Harbor.” – In plain sight.
Woo! Heather FTW! I wouldn’t mind having her as an older sister either, and I can see why Shelly picked her to be one…XD
Weak, exposed, shivering, wet, like when a invertabrate moults its old carapace, before it becomes bigger, stronger, and in some cases, more tasty with drawn butter.
…ew?
I found this quote on Teresa Burritt’s Frog Blog and share it here because it seems totally relevant to many of the Wapsi characters:
“As soon as we are alone… inner chaos opens up in us. This chaos can be so disturbing and so confusing that we can hardly wait to get busy again. Entering a private room and shutting the door, therefore, does not mean that we immediately shut out all our inner doubts, anxieties, fears, bad memories, unresolved conflicts, angry feelings and impulsive desires. On the contrary, when we have removed our outer distraction, we often find that our inner distraction manifest themselves to us in full force. We often use the outer distractions to shield ourselves from the interior noises. This makes the discipline of solitude all the more important.”
~Henri J.M. Nouwen
THAT.
That is what I’ve been trying to tell people. For years.
…Thanks.
Thanks Old Wolf, I love that…
*nods*
i believe the appropriate response to that quote would be
Word!
This is the discipline of the monastic cell: to remove distractions so that we can grapple with our real difficulties and problems.
“If every boat you get on makes you seasick–it’s not the boats’ fault.”
Also: “Wherever you go, there you are.”
And your problems come with you.
I just realised something else — the fact that, despite her emotional turmoil and connection to Heather, she kept everything secret is another sign of how much Shelly has matured.
However, she was still able to get across the important point (from her perspective) and she covered up what the mistake she made without raising further suspicion.
If you are feeling fragile and vulnerable after 80K years, I say something is very wrong. What that something is is up for grabs, but still something is very wrong.
I just teared up a bit. Something about her allowing herself to admit to her vulnerability really got to me.