You mean “trying her darndest to derail this relationship”, right? And yes, I think she said that all in one breath and in a voice that sounds somewhere between Fran Dreschler and Little Orphan Annie.
I don’t think any of that guy’s past psycho-girlfriends have prepared him for dating Shelly and I’m not talking about her but all the stuff around her. Imagine if he sees Monica POIT or something!
I cannot recollect her jumping on her own. As best memory serves, the only persons who can do that seem to have something in common – they are glyph readers
Don’t police officers take psychology classes in police academy? Seems like I heard that somewhere – so he can probably spot those warning flags. Paying them heed – is another question.
Reading that sentence made every warning alarm in my head go off, and that’s even with knowing where she’s coming from. If the man has any self preservation instincts he’s gonna bolt and not look back.
Right. Also, good grammar would have been “…and I mess this up…” because she changed the subject to “it” in the previous phrase. It’s a run-on sentence, anyway. I’ve done worse, though.
I am catching up on old xkcd strips using Archive Binge and happened to see that one right now.
@Paul: You might want to consider putting Wapsi on that, if you haven’t already. You can choose whether to allow it to display the graphics or just a link so you get the page hits.
that paniced sentence of shelly kinda makes her look like a psycho chick.
but his first statement does confuse me.
why does he need to warn her if he really assumes she is a psycho?
telling a nutter they’re nuts doesnt seem very sensible.
Maybe he is warning her about the fact his previous girlfriends might be still stalking him?
A warning along the lines of:
“I seem to be a psycho chick magnet and here’s my ‘doesn’t believe she’s my’ ex-girlfriend, she’s the one slashing your tires.”
Ouch. I think this is the first time I’ve wished an author could just “take back” something a character has said (because in theory, he could… digital medium, authorial agency, etc). Because we’ve all thought what Shelly’s saying, or something like it, but damn. That is NOT something you pull out of your back pocket after a one-night stand haha
I mean, I can identify more with Shelly in this situation and *I* want to run screaming.
… I think it’s also the super-panicked and desperate expression in her eyes (also: amazing art, as always)
(p.s. didn’t mean to imply that Shelly’s desperation was unintentional. Just sayin’ this seems like the equivalent of a real-life “oh god oh god did I actually say that I take it back please forget those words ever left my mouth augh” moment :D)
Paula, I agree completely–“Now that we’ve slept together, I just want to warn you that I usually sleep with losers.” Talk about passive aggressive.
I think both Shelly and her beau should probably pretend the exchange never occurred…or maybe Shelly’s going to wish she could go to the past and undo this exchange–and then actually go there…
His statement doesn’t seem so bad in the context of the previous couple of day’s strips. It is worded strangely and I agree that it comes off as passive-aggressive, though. I’m hoping that he didn’t mean it that way.
I’ll pick careless stumbling over strategic evasion of “certain subjects” any day. Maybe not “full” disclosure, but there is something to be said for honesty and openness in relationships, even if you’re only just starting one.
Any time someone says “play your cards right” I always want to rip the cardboard box “table” from under them. I’ll find the queen on my own tyvm!
Seconded. Life’s too short for petty card games where relationships are concerned. Yes, giving a powerpoint list would be a very bad idea, but don’t play too many mind games either. That just damages trust in the long run.
Acting “psycho” (or in this case, I think just desperate to get across a point that ordinarily would not come up for several more dates–or trysts, yuk yuk yuk) is not exclusive realm of women…I have been there before, but I came off less excited and desperate but more whiny (if you ever saw the Seinfeld episode where Bob Balaban’s character is begging Elaine for reassurance that she’ll call him back, it is almost verbatim).
In any event, she had the upper hand in this burgeoning relationship, but that has clearly shifted to Justin…it’ll be interesting to see if that was his plan.
I’d say it was unlikely. She’s just handed him the whole platter in one go. It may be because she doesn’t trust herself with relationships but to him it’s likely that it came across as “I am a passive-aggressive basketcase and I’m starving for a relationship but I will slowly drive you insane.”
She is being a classic geek here. I’ve been there too. 🙂
Oy vey. Now, there is no way she can talk about Teleportation, Golems, a school-marm Sphinx, skull-shanking her best friend with a shiv from Hell, or that ginormous clockwork Xerox machine that gave Time/Space the yips. There’s a small chance he might find her a little crazy. But if the sex is good, he might overlook a few things.
Clearly, Paul likes to have pretty much only female characters doing things and interacting among themselves in Wapsi, that’s why male characters don’t last long. That’s why Kevin is always gone somewhere. Personally, that’s fine with me, and, of course, it’s his strip so he can do whatever he sees fit. As I see it, the male characters are thrown in from time to time for love interest sort of thing and round out the various main character’s personality. This guy seems to be means for Shelly to come to terms with her past. Still, too much of that sort of thing and you turn Wapsi into a soap opera.
WHY is the knee-jerk reaction to something like this is “SHE’S PSYCHO!!1!”
Oh yeah, because it’s easier than thinking or feeling a shred of empathy.
Justin baited her with this line of thinking: “I tend to attract and be attracted to psycho chicks. I am attracted to you. Therefore you’re probably psycho.”
Shelly’s reaction is pretty much what you’d expect. “I sense a huge rejection, and this is getting really scary and off-track, so let me just be honest and say exactly what I’m thinking and feeling.”
And then Shelly’s the one who’s psycho? Christ, she’s just being honest. (Heh. Nerve hit much?)
Yes, I agree, which is why I was wondering above if he brought this up just to see if he’d get the reaction he got in spades.
I think a majority of us believe Shelly will realize soon (if not already, mid-outburst0 that the timing of this confession true feelings is a bit ill-timed…
And ChrisHerself? Liiiisten to the waaaaves and reeeeelllaaaaaaxxxx…..:-)
For what it’s worth, that’s not a psycho reaction. That’s Shelly being honest. A bit desperate and panicky, yes, but honest and allowing herself to be vulnerable.
Trust me on this, I’ve dated psycho chicks. They’re sweetness and light and terrific sex and lie to you all day long, until you call them on their bullshit, and then they get violent or abusive.
I’m with jordinyc on this one; a true psycho chick would be in denial or trying to be lie about it, and Shelly is wearing it on her sleeve. If I were Officer TB here, I’d be reassured, not scared. I’d also give her a hug for reassurance and apologize for rather obviously and inadvertently hitting a nerve.
But that’s me. A bit of baggage I don’t mind. The warning bells for “Psycho” really only ring when I smell dishonesty.
I think we can agree that Shelly is being up front and honest here. the unfortunate thing is that she is choosing to do it during this particular conversation. If Justin is enlightened, he’ll find the coincidence hilarious and empathize with what Shelly is saying. If, however, he is more like our fellow commenters whose advice is “Run”, well it’ll be over before she really has any chance to explain herself…
I agree shell’s reaction is more panicked and desperate than psycho chick crazy, but it is a kind of crazy that does not do well after justin just tried to warn her he has been burned in relationships before. he was trying to offer some of his baggage and painful past in return for shelleys but it was a bombshell in the minefield of her own problems, he should see his mistake from her response and both be able to work forward.
*sigh* I dated a guy who had the admitted history of dating “psycho” chicks. He assured me that I was his first stable relationship and how awesome that was, etc., etc….five years later he decided he couldn’t handle “stable” and sabotaged the relationship.
I love re-readings. One really has fun moments of, “Aha! So that’s when…”
No worries. I don’t explain future happenings. I also read through the entire archives for the first time. (About 3 times ago, this is #3 or #4 going through.)
I’m just share my delight in the comic, not spoilers.
Hey, if it takes quickly blurting it all out to get around those mental filters, then that’s what it takes. At least it’s getting out…That shows a willingness to improve.
Looks like Shelly is going to try her darndest to keep this relationship going. Did she say all of that in one breath?
You mean “trying her darndest to derail this relationship”, right? And yes, I think she said that all in one breath and in a voice that sounds somewhere between Fran Dreschler and Little Orphan Annie.
I think she’s just darned panicking.
And i’m betting she probably sounds more like David Tennant’s Doctor Who and/or a very emotional Susan Powter.
I’m with jordinyc. Panicking. And thereby being vulnerable, and possibly risking it all to save the situation.
All in one breath and at the speed of a Catholic facing imminent death would recite The Lord’s Prayer.
I don’t think any of that guy’s past psycho-girlfriends have prepared him for dating Shelly and I’m not talking about her but all the stuff around her. Imagine if he sees Monica POIT or something!
And if he sticks around, he will.
Oh, boy – are you gonna find out different.
Danger! Danger Officer TB!
Uhm… grab the hat and run away! She’s psycho, and she can bench-press a car engine! On second thought, forget the hat, just RUN!
“Never sleep with anyone crazier than yourself.”
Unfortunately, since hardly any two people are precisely equally crazy, following that rule means no-one ever gets laid…
Which in the long run, would tend to solve a lot of the world’s problems … the human race being extinct and all.
Not always crazier, per se, but at times the particular flavor of Crazy plays a major role as well.
Well, she could have said, “So you’re saying we were MADE for each other, then???”
but it’d be more fun if she said, “Let’s see your past girlfriends top THIS” **poit!**
Can Shelly poit? I can’t remeber her ever doing it on her own……”But I’ve slept since then.”
I cannot recollect her jumping on her own. As best memory serves, the only persons who can do that seem to have something in common – they are glyph readers
Bona fide “oh, $#!^” moment for Shelly… Luckily, it looks like he’ll fit right in 🙂
Don’t police officers take psychology classes in police academy? Seems like I heard that somewhere – so he can probably spot those warning flags. Paying them heed – is another question.
Reading that sentence made every warning alarm in my head go off, and that’s even with knowing where she’s coming from. If the man has any self preservation instincts he’s gonna bolt and not look back.
Whoa! Hey there Shelly slow down.
Seems this isn’t a casual thing for her, at all. She’s starting to panic at the thought of Justin walking away.
What I’d like to know is why he even brought it up to her in the first place? That’s just not the kind of thing you’d bring up to a potential gf.
Z
sigh
OK, Grammar Nazi alert. The last get in Shelly’s rather panicky reply should be gets.
So shoot me.
We love you anyway, uncle
It adds to the urgency of her speech.
Right. Also, good grammar would have been “…and I mess this up…” because she changed the subject to “it” in the previous phrase. It’s a run-on sentence, anyway. I’ve done worse, though.
… if I said anything at all, rather than doing something like this.
I am catching up on old xkcd strips using Archive Binge and happened to see that one right now.
@Paul: You might want to consider putting Wapsi on that, if you haven’t already. You can choose whether to allow it to display the graphics or just a link so you get the page hits.
Thanks for the Archive Binge link .
Panic does not always go with good grammar.
that paniced sentence of shelly kinda makes her look like a psycho chick.
but his first statement does confuse me.
why does he need to warn her if he really assumes she is a psycho?
telling a nutter they’re nuts doesnt seem very sensible.
Maybe he is warning her about the fact his previous girlfriends might be still stalking him?
A warning along the lines of:
“I seem to be a psycho chick magnet and here’s my ‘doesn’t believe she’s my’ ex-girlfriend, she’s the one slashing your tires.”
I wonder how one gets to be a psycho-chick magnet? Does it just happen or does one have to cultivate it?
It just happens. The sex is great, but the breakups can be terrifying. Or monumental, or monumentally terrifying. But mostly just plain weird.
or you get hit with a curse buy a mystical being and are SOL
Ouch. I think this is the first time I’ve wished an author could just “take back” something a character has said (because in theory, he could… digital medium, authorial agency, etc). Because we’ve all thought what Shelly’s saying, or something like it, but damn. That is NOT something you pull out of your back pocket after a one-night stand haha
I mean, I can identify more with Shelly in this situation and *I* want to run screaming.
… I think it’s also the super-panicked and desperate expression in her eyes (also: amazing art, as always)
Can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow!
(p.s. didn’t mean to imply that Shelly’s desperation was unintentional. Just sayin’ this seems like the equivalent of a real-life “oh god oh god did I actually say that I take it back please forget those words ever left my mouth augh” moment :D)
*points to M’s comments* What he/she said. (sorry…don’t know your gender M :))
Paula, I agree completely–“Now that we’ve slept together, I just want to warn you that I usually sleep with losers.” Talk about passive aggressive.
I think both Shelly and her beau should probably pretend the exchange never occurred…or maybe Shelly’s going to wish she could go to the past and undo this exchange–and then actually go there…
His statement doesn’t seem so bad in the context of the previous couple of day’s strips. It is worded strangely and I agree that it comes off as passive-aggressive, though. I’m hoping that he didn’t mean it that way.
Uh-oh . They hook up first , and now seem to be going for full discloser . I hope these kids can make it work .
No worries – the men fade to the back of this strip anyway. Run TB, Run!
Hrmm.. looks like they both said things that they probably shouldn’t have. All in the name of full disclosure.
I’ll pick careless stumbling over strategic evasion of “certain subjects” any day. Maybe not “full” disclosure, but there is something to be said for honesty and openness in relationships, even if you’re only just starting one.
Any time someone says “play your cards right” I always want to rip the cardboard box “table” from under them. I’ll find the queen on my own tyvm!
Seconded. Life’s too short for petty card games where relationships are concerned. Yes, giving a powerpoint list would be a very bad idea, but don’t play too many mind games either. That just damages trust in the long run.
Xander and Anya’s big song in the Buffy musical episode, “Once More with Feeling”…
Acting “psycho” (or in this case, I think just desperate to get across a point that ordinarily would not come up for several more dates–or trysts, yuk yuk yuk) is not exclusive realm of women…I have been there before, but I came off less excited and desperate but more whiny (if you ever saw the Seinfeld episode where Bob Balaban’s character is begging Elaine for reassurance that she’ll call him back, it is almost verbatim).
In any event, she had the upper hand in this burgeoning relationship, but that has clearly shifted to Justin…it’ll be interesting to see if that was his plan.
I’d say it was unlikely. She’s just handed him the whole platter in one go. It may be because she doesn’t trust herself with relationships but to him it’s likely that it came across as “I am a passive-aggressive basketcase and I’m starving for a relationship but I will slowly drive you insane.”
She is being a classic geek here. I’ve been there too. 🙂
Birds of a feather, Heather!
😀
Oy vey. Now, there is no way she can talk about Teleportation, Golems, a school-marm Sphinx, skull-shanking her best friend with a shiv from Hell, or that ginormous clockwork Xerox machine that gave Time/Space the yips. There’s a small chance he might find her a little crazy. But if the sex is good, he might overlook a few things.
STEP 1) Try to make it outside.
STEP 2) Pick a compass point.
STEP 3) GO.
Riddle: Why don’t male characters last very long in Waspi?
Answer: If you hooked up with a Wapsi Girl, how long would YOU last?
If you hooked up with a Wapsi Girl, how long would YOU last?
Until the grammar killed me, I suppose …
snerk!
Clearly, Paul likes to have pretty much only female characters doing things and interacting among themselves in Wapsi, that’s why male characters don’t last long. That’s why Kevin is always gone somewhere. Personally, that’s fine with me, and, of course, it’s his strip so he can do whatever he sees fit. As I see it, the male characters are thrown in from time to time for love interest sort of thing and round out the various main character’s personality. This guy seems to be means for Shelly to come to terms with her past. Still, too much of that sort of thing and you turn Wapsi into a soap opera.
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
WHY is the knee-jerk reaction to something like this is “SHE’S PSYCHO!!1!”
Oh yeah, because it’s easier than thinking or feeling a shred of empathy.
Justin baited her with this line of thinking: “I tend to attract and be attracted to psycho chicks. I am attracted to you. Therefore you’re probably psycho.”
Shelly’s reaction is pretty much what you’d expect. “I sense a huge rejection, and this is getting really scary and off-track, so let me just be honest and say exactly what I’m thinking and feeling.”
And then Shelly’s the one who’s psycho? Christ, she’s just being honest. (Heh. Nerve hit much?)
Yes, I agree, which is why I was wondering above if he brought this up just to see if he’d get the reaction he got in spades.
I think a majority of us believe Shelly will realize soon (if not already, mid-outburst0 that the timing of this confession true feelings is a bit ill-timed…
And ChrisHerself? Liiiisten to the waaaaves and reeeeelllaaaaaaxxxx…..:-)
Lulz – yes, and I STILL need my coffee 😛 Lucky I live in San Diego though, right?
And she really is just being honest, ill-timed though it is.
You just need to wait and read tomorrow’s comic. 😉
Ruh Roh.
Ruh RAY!
Heh–btw–I was irritated with all the comments, not the strip 😉
I lovethe excellent job I did on that middle paragraph right above ^^^^^
For the record, none of the psycho chicks that I dated ever gave me a speech like that.
(that’s a compliment to Shelly btw)
Goosfraba
For what it’s worth, that’s not a psycho reaction. That’s Shelly being honest. A bit desperate and panicky, yes, but honest and allowing herself to be vulnerable.
Trust me on this, I’ve dated psycho chicks. They’re sweetness and light and terrific sex and lie to you all day long, until you call them on their bullshit, and then they get violent or abusive.
I’m with jordinyc on this one; a true psycho chick would be in denial or trying to be lie about it, and Shelly is wearing it on her sleeve. If I were Officer TB here, I’d be reassured, not scared. I’d also give her a hug for reassurance and apologize for rather obviously and inadvertently hitting a nerve.
But that’s me. A bit of baggage I don’t mind. The warning bells for “Psycho” really only ring when I smell dishonesty.
I think we can agree that Shelly is being up front and honest here. the unfortunate thing is that she is choosing to do it during this particular conversation. If Justin is enlightened, he’ll find the coincidence hilarious and empathize with what Shelly is saying. If, however, he is more like our fellow commenters whose advice is “Run”, well it’ll be over before she really has any chance to explain herself…
I agree shell’s reaction is more panicked and desperate than psycho chick crazy, but it is a kind of crazy that does not do well after justin just tried to warn her he has been burned in relationships before. he was trying to offer some of his baggage and painful past in return for shelleys but it was a bombshell in the minefield of her own problems, he should see his mistake from her response and both be able to work forward.
Of course we’re all assuming it’s real and not just something playing out in her mind as what she would like to say.
There is that, yes.
*sigh* I dated a guy who had the admitted history of dating “psycho” chicks. He assured me that I was his first stable relationship and how awesome that was, etc., etc….five years later he decided he couldn’t handle “stable” and sabotaged the relationship.
I’m feeling huge empathy for both parties, here.
I love re-readings. One really has fun moments of, “Aha! So that’s when…”
No worries. I don’t explain future happenings. I also read through the entire archives for the first time. (About 3 times ago, this is #3 or #4 going through.)
I’m just share my delight in the comic, not spoilers.
Hey, if it takes quickly blurting it all out to get around those mental filters, then that’s what it takes. At least it’s getting out…That shows a willingness to improve.
THIS is exactly why I don’t want to be in a relationship; WAAAY too much drama for my taste!