Hush 2012-08-17

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sonicthunder
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Re: Hush 2012-08-17

Post by sonicthunder »

scantrontb wrote:
Boxilar wrote:
sonicthunder wrote: Primarily Shelly. Shelly's given Monica the same speech of "I'm a monster / I'm a danger" more than once already, and Shelly is now generally the same species as Phix. I wouldn't be surprised to see Monica a bit hesitant around Shelly until the 'shock' wears.
Despite warnings from Tina that Phix was a predator with a predator's instincts, Monica has never seen anything more than vieled threats directed at Tina from Phix.
(...)
Even if Monica and Phix can renew thier relationship after Monica deals with what she's seen, there's going to be something between them that will always be broken. I think Monica always thought of Phix as a regular person who just happened to be a Sphinx. Now some part of her will always see Phix as something out of her deepest nightmares. For Monica, this is the moment Phix became a monster.
what i find funny about this page is that Monica is VOLUNTARILY reaching out to get a HUG ...BY A GORGON.... YET ANOTHER "MONSTER" from legends... and in the back of my mind, i'm waiting for the day that M see's Euryale doing something equivalent to what she just saw Phix doing... though i do think that M will "get over" this with Phix after a while, just like she did with the GGG's, and also with Tina, after each of them revealed their true nature's...
Fixed your quoting a bit here. You were giving me credit for things Boxilar had said in your original post.

The difference here is, the GGG and Tina never pretended to be safe, as did Phix. Phix however let the cat out of the bag, and displayed her visceral side infront of Monica. Bud, Brandi, and Jin (and Shellynx for that matter) may have threatened Monica, and Eurayle and Tina may have had a few panic moments, but none of them ever got very "graphic" infront of her.

Monica's used to people like Amanda and Shelly (and certain other figures from her past) putting on a tough front and over exaggerating their feelings and abilities. Monica may know deep down how powerful her newfound friends really are, but she still seems to always view them in the same light as Amanda and Shelly. This may have been a wakeup call that her friends are in fact what they've been telling her (even harmless looking, physically weak beings like Tepoz can technically be dangerous). If nothing else, we've seen how much Monica clings to her past trauma. This may be just like the rubber room and flash in Monica's mind whenever she has cause to remember.
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MerchManDan
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Re: Hush 2012-08-17

Post by MerchManDan »

Jabberwonky wrote:Maybe it's just me...
But I find the image of Monica from panel two, her hands shaking as she reaches out for consolation, more disturbing than that of Phix ears deep in some unknown creature's ribcage.
Not just you; that's affecting me as well. Out of all her experiences so far, we've finally found what can make our hero tremble with terror.
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Bathorys Daughter
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Re: Hush 2012-08-17

Post by Bathorys Daughter »

scantrontb wrote:what i find funny about this page is that Monica is VOLUNTARILY reaching out to get a HUG ...BY A GORGON.... YET ANOTHER "MONSTER" from legends... and in the back of my mind, i'm waiting for the day that M see's Euryale doing something equivalent to what she just saw Phix doing... though i do think that M will "get over" this with Phix after a while, just like she did with the GGG's, and also with Tina, after each of them revealed their true nature's...
I see Euryale's equivalent behavior as freezing someone, then smashing them. Maybe using the resulting ice shards to help make iced tea.
A society should not be judged on how it treats its outstanding citizens but by how it treats its criminals... ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky.
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chibichibi01
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Re: Hush 2012-08-17

Post by chibichibi01 »

M may eventually get over this, but i don't see it happening very soon. As others have said it will be hard for her to even trust Shelly at this rate. I think going home and curling up with her dog and her man and her speakers is a great idea.
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Re: Hush 2012-08-17

Post by Fairportfan »

Bathorys Daughter wrote:
scantrontb wrote:what i find funny about this page is that Monica is VOLUNTARILY reaching out to get a HUG ...BY A GORGON.... YET ANOTHER "MONSTER" from legends... and in the back of my mind, i'm waiting for the day that M see's Euryale doing something equivalent to what she just saw Phix doing... though i do think that M will "get over" this with Phix after a while, just like she did with the GGG's, and also with Tina, after each of them revealed their true nature's...
I see Euryale's equivalent behavior as freezing someone, then smashing them. Maybe using the resulting ice shards to help make iced tea.
With enough sugar to give a healthy person diabetes.
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Yamara
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Re: Hush 2012-08-17

Post by Yamara »

chibichibi01 wrote:M may eventually get over this, but i don't see it happening very soon. As others have said it will be hard for her to even trust Shelly at this rate. I think going home and curling up with her dog and her man and her speakers is a great idea.
Even if spending time at home... with only her mysteriously intelligent dog, her loving man who's used to her confidence in handling the supernatural, and her own native demons and still unexplained power of teleportation at will... could somehow be configured as relaxing in this circumstance, there's still Monday morning.

Coffee, running into friends, a meeting with her boss.

What a difference a decade makes: http://wapsisquare.com/comic/11042002/
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chibichibi01
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Re: Hush 2012-08-17

Post by chibichibi01 »

Yamara wrote:
chibichibi01 wrote:M may eventually get over this, but i don't see it happening very soon. As others have said it will be hard for her to even trust Shelly at this rate. I think going home and curling up with her dog and her man and her speakers is a great idea.
Even if spending time at home... with only her mysteriously intelligent dog, her loving man who's used to her confidence in handling the supernatural, and her own native demons and still unexplained power of teleportation at will... could somehow be configured as relaxing in this circumstance, there's still Monday morning.

Coffee, running into friends, a meeting with her boss.

What a difference a decade makes: http://wapsisquare.com/comic/11042002/
That's actually not a bad idea. Getting shoved back into a normal work schedule at this point would be more relaxing than shivering at home.

The thought never occurred to me. I'm not used to work or class being thought of that way
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lake_wrangler
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Re: Hush 2012-08-17

Post by lake_wrangler »

scantrontb wrote:
Bookworm wrote:She may not have had the need or desire to eat at all while there. Consider that she's been told that as long as she stays there, she will not age. To me, that implies that normal metabolic processes have been ceased (bereft of life, she rests in peace. If she hadn't been nailed to the perch... Sorry. Digression). Eating is as much of a metabolic process as aging - if you don't age, why would you need to eat? :)
however, so is the act of moving, breathing, thinking... if you are not "changing" then those processes stop as well... you can't move without expending energy, and if you are not eating to replace the energy that was used just by "existing", then you WILL run out of energy sooner or later, and die... therefore she had to eat. therefore she was aging... but since this is a "supernatural" kind of comic, we let that pass as part of our suspension-of-disbelief and don't worry about it.
[MST3K]This is just a webcomic... This is just a webcomic... This is just a webcomic...[/MST3K] :P

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Boxilar
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Re: Hush 2012-08-17

Post by Boxilar »

shadowinthelight wrote:
Mark N wrote:
Bookworm wrote: She may not have had the need or desire to eat at all while there. Consider that she's been told that as long as she stays there, she will not age. To me, that implies that normal metabolic processes have been ceased (bereft of life, she rests in peace. If she hadn't been nailed to the perch... Sorry. Digression). Eating is as much of a metabolic process as aging - if you don't age, why would you need to eat? :)
I do not remember Shelly being told that she will not age in the Library. What strip was this in?
Shelly's wall of skulls was in the Time Forest where she did not age.
From this month's revelations (Has it really been four weeks of strips?) I think the thing to take away where Shelly is concerned is that the Time Forrest activated Shelly's Sphinx genes allowing her to shape shift and giving her the powers of a supernatural apex predator allong with those instincts. Her Sphinx heritage has also apparently fully bonded with her Titan genes, burning out her human fraility, making her Immortal and extremly powerful. It is true that the Time Forrest bonded to her and accepted her as its "Gardian Sphinx" making her invulnerable to all but other Sphinxes. Shelly was led to believe, by Phix, that her longevity was do to the forrest keeping her from aging. That she would have a normal human lifespan once she left the Forrest.

Bia shot that notion down. Shell lived so long because she IS a Titan. She's immortal, despite what she believed until now. Her metabolic processes weren't stopped. They were changed. She's the first Titan/Sphinx hybrid successfully bred. Thing is, I'm bettting Bia has tried before, but she went the convoluted route of convincing Phix to give up her son to secretly breed with until she got a daughter because a direct Shinx/Titan mating didn't work. Bia needed human glue to stick two incompatable parts together.

Did I mention I really don't like Bia? :evil:
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Bathorys Daughter
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Re: Hush 2012-08-17

Post by Bathorys Daughter »

Might as well face it, to the supernaturals we're just pets with fleetingly short lifespans and the fragility of a damsel fly. To any of them we are little more than cattle to breed or do with as they see fit. Who is to stop them? And if other beings could stop them, would they or would we be even less that that to them? I see it as natural progression. Even Shelly will eventually get to be that way. People will come and go as she goes on endlessly. At some point our petty dealings will just become annoying and she, like all the rest, will stop caring all that much. Sure, some may care for some of us as a means to an end. Some will even come to care about some of us as individuals. But then we die, and they go on, looking for the next thing to give their life some meaning. Looking for the next pet to care for. Some will stop looking altogether and become hardened to it all, sticking with their own kind. Worse yet, manipulating us by the millions as some sort of diversion to help with their boredom. I don't see how it can turn out any other way. Eternity is a bitch.
A society should not be judged on how it treats its outstanding citizens but by how it treats its criminals... ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky.
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Re: Hush 2012-08-17

Post by Yamara »

lake_wrangler wrote:
scantrontb wrote:
Bookworm wrote:She may not have had the need or desire to eat at all while there. Consider that she's been told that as long as she stays there, she will not age. To me, that implies that normal metabolic processes have been ceased (bereft of life, she rests in peace. If she hadn't been nailed to the perch... Sorry. Digression). Eating is as much of a metabolic process as aging - if you don't age, why would you need to eat? :)
however, so is the act of moving, breathing, thinking... if you are not "changing" then those processes stop as well... you can't move without expending energy, and if you are not eating to replace the energy that was used just by "existing", then you WILL run out of energy sooner or later, and die... therefore she had to eat. therefore she was aging... but since this is a "supernatural" kind of comic, we let that pass as part of our suspension-of-disbelief and don't worry about it.
[MST3K]This is just a webcomic... This is just a webcomic... This is just a webcomic...[/MST3K] :P

Or is it, "Don't bring science to a webcomic fight"? ;)
The MST3K rule is to not trouble about "science facts", because your inner geek wants to bring down your suspension of disbelief whenever it hasn't been fed a workaround for the Second Law of Thermodynamics. "It's just a show" means "watch the characters and enjoy the plot already".

But here, you see, in Friday's installment, the questions "What do sphinxes eat?" "When do they eat?" "How much do they eat?" and "Who do they eat and why did I never think this through?" are questions that are going through Monica's mind right now.

They're kind of important, because Monica trusted that Shelly was learning how to control her sphinxbourne violence under the tutelage of Phix. That's why Monica came to the Library.

Which of her friends isn't a secretly rapacious monster or an innocent human? Maybe Jin, finally? Jin wanted a timer installed to bow the hell out. Because, among so many other reasons, there would never be a right time to tell Monica the whole truth.

And so nonviolent Nudge pulled the cord on this reveal. "I help them determine why they're doing something, and some don't like the answers that they find."
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Dave
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Re: Hush 2012-08-17

Post by Dave »

Yamara wrote:And so nonviolent Nudge pulled the cord on this reveal. "I help them determine why they're doing something, and some don't like the answers that they find."
"I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell." (Harry Truman)
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Boxilar
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Re: Hush 2012-08-17

Post by Boxilar »

Bathorys Daughter wrote:Might as well face it, to the supernaturals we're just pets with fleetingly short lifespans and the fragility of a damsel fly. To any of them we are little more than cattle to breed or do with as they see fit. Who is to stop them? And if other beings could stop them, would they or would we be even less that that to them? I see it as natural progression. Even Shelly will eventually get to be that way. People will come and go as she goes on endlessly. At some point our petty dealings will just become annoying and she, like all the rest, will stop caring all that much. Sure, some may care for some of us as a means to an end. Some will even come to care about some of us as individuals. But then we die, and they go on, looking for the next thing to give their life some meaning. Looking for the next pet to care for. Some will stop looking altogether and become hardened to it all, sticking with their own kind. Worse yet, manipulating us by the millions as some sort of diversion to help with their boredom. I don't see how it can turn out any other way. Eternity is a bitch.
I think Shelly has been that way, then remembered being human when she came back from the Time Forrest. She has a unique perspective in that she was a feral Sphinx that had some role in the deaths of 56 of her alternate selves and then suddenly regained her humanity. Shelly's almost desperate need to live a "human life" is because she remembers what that was like, and dosen't want to go back to it. And to be fair to Phix, it's entirely possible she didn't realize Shelly was immortal, at least before Bia showed up. Shelly's reason for vamoosing to brood out on the rocks is that she realized her dream of picking up her mortal life where she left off is now over, probably even more than the revalation that Phix is her grandmother. And remember, she didn't stick around long enough to hear the bit about Bia being her actual mother.

And Bud has as much as said what you're saying now. But despite everything she's been through, she still cares. If anyone has an excuse to be malajusted, horrible people, it's the GGGs.

They aren't.

Nudge is immortal and she has compassion for mere mortals. She cares. And Eyrale, despite her immortality, is showing the best kind of compassion toward Monica right now.

Phix is in the snit she's in right now because she cares

My last dog had a lifespan that was only a quarter of the life I've lived so far. I still cried when he died.

I've also known real life people who were horrible to others and used them simply because they had no empathy or compassion.

Brandi has said that she dosen't like to think too much because she starts seeing people as chess pieces, so she lives in the now.

The immortals of the story may see the mortals as pets, but you can still love a pet.

Bia may view the world and the things in it as her playthings, but it isn't because she's an immortal. It's because she's a terrible person.

I'll hold to that until Paul shows me otherwise.

EDIT; New reason dicovered to dislike Bia.

http://wapsisquare.com/comic/didyouhearme/
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Re: Hush 2012-08-17

Post by TheDOCTOR »

meisdadoo wrote:♫Soft kitty,
Warm kitty,
Little ball of fur.
Happy kitty,
Sleepy kitty,
Purr, purr, purr.♫
"Thats only when you're sick!" - Sheldon Cooper :D
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Re: Hush 2012-08-17

Post by TheDOCTOR »

Mark N wrote:
Fairportfan wrote: "Demons run when a good man goes to war."
You are a Whovian as well. Cool.
WHO isn't, Hmmmmm? ;)
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bmonk
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Re: Hush 2012-08-17

Post by bmonk »

scantrontb wrote:what i find funny about this page is that Monica is VOLUNTARILY reaching out to get a HUG ...BY A GORGON.... YET ANOTHER "MONSTER" from legends... and in the back of my mind, i'm waiting for the day that M see's Euryale doing something equivalent to what she just saw Phix doing... though i do think that M will "get over" this with Phix after a while, just like she did with the GGG's, and also with Tina, after each of them revealed their true nature's...
I think part of what makes monsters so frightening is that we are not used to them. For example, some people are terrified by snakes, say. Yet others treat them with respect and care--but voluntarily work with them, or even have them as pets. I think that, by this time, Monica is more used to dealing with monsters than any of us would be, and can see their good side, even if at the moment Phix is back on her terror list.
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Re: Hush 2012-08-17

Post by Opus the Poet »

Mark N wrote:
Bookworm wrote: She may not have had the need or desire to eat at all while there. Consider that she's been told that as long as she stays there, she will not age. To me, that implies that normal metabolic processes have been ceased (bereft of life, she rests in peace. If she hadn't been nailed to the perch... Sorry. Digression). Eating is as much of a metabolic process as aging - if you don't age, why would you need to eat? :)
I do not remember Shelly being told that she will not age in the Library. What strip was this in?
Not the Library, the Time Forest.
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Re: Hush 2012-08-17

Post by Bathorys Daughter »

Boxilar wrote:I think Shelly has been that way, then remembered being human when she came back from the Time Forrest. She has a unique perspective in that she was a feral Sphinx that had some role in the deaths of 56 of her alternate selves and then suddenly regained her humanity. Shelly's almost desperate need to live a "human life" is because she remembers what that was like, and dosen't want to go back to it. And to be fair to Phix, it's entirely possible she didn't realize Shelly was immortal, at least before Bia showed up. Shelly's reason for vamoosing to brood out on the rocks is that she realized her dream of picking up her mortal life where she left off is now over, probably even more than the revalation that Phix is her grandmother. And remember, she didn't stick around long enough to hear the bit about Bia being her actual mother.

And Bud has as much as said what you're saying now. But despite everything she's been through, she still cares. If anyone has an excuse to be malajusted, horrible people, it's the GGGs.

They aren't.

Nudge is immortal and she has compassion for mere mortals. She cares. And Eyrale, despite her immortality, is showing the best kind of compassion toward Monica right now.

Phix is in the snit she's in right now because she cares

My last dog had a lifespan that was only a quarter of the life I've lived so far. I still cried when he died.

I've also known real life people who were horrible to others and used them simply because they had no empathy or compassion.

Brandi has said that she dosen't like to think too much because she starts seeing people as chess pieces, so she lives in the now.

The immortals of the story may see the mortals as pets, but you can still love a pet.

Bia may view the world and the things in it as her playthings, but it isn't because she's an immortal. It's because she's a terrible person.

I'll hold to that until Paul shows me otherwise.

EDIT; New reason dicovered to dislike Bia.
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/didyouhearme/
Yes, people love their pets and grieve when they die. Even after the 5th or 10th pet, etc. But what about after the 1000th, or 10,000th? Long before that, you would likely have given up having pets. It just eventually wouldn't be worth the grief. That, or you'd stop feeling grief and just get another. Like getting another dish when one breaks. Same with people.

And yes, the immortals in the story seem to care. I just don't think it would really be like that. Shelly wants to be human and live a normal human life, but she won't. At some point it will become clear that dream is over. She will give up even caring about being human and finally come to terms with the fact she is NOT human. She never was. She simply lived a human life for a relatively short period of her tens of thousands of years of existence. Her formative years were as a human and she (right now, anyway) wants that back. She can play at being human for a while, but it will get old.

Must remember, the golems have had free will and a human-like life for just a short while so they're not bored with it yet. It's sill new and different. What about after another 10,000 years? Can they realistically sustain that feeling that long?

While Paul's story is great and I love it the way it is, with all the caring "monsters." That's the way we would like it to be. Like in "Where The Wild Things Are" or "Monsters Inc," or more recently, "How to Train Your Dragon." Potentially deadly beings actually turning out to be really nice folks. I just think all immortals would end up like Bia eventually.
A society should not be judged on how it treats its outstanding citizens but by how it treats its criminals... ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky.
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Re: Hush 2012-08-17

Post by Mark N »

Bathorys Daughter wrote:While Paul's story is great and I love it the way it is, with all the caring "monsters." That's the way we would like it to be. Like in "Where The Wild Things Are" or "Monsters Inc," or more recently, "How to Train Your Dragon." Potentially deadly beings actually turning out to be really nice folks. I just think all immortals would end up like Bia eventually.
I have to disagree with you there. Just because you are immortal does not mean you will stop caring for ephemeral beings. The ones that lose touch with them are probably isolated. Bia may have always been cold and calculating bitch and it is not the immortality that made her so. In Shelly's case this is why she has Justin who is probably almost as old as Bia and he was doing what he could to help people by being a cop before his brain-ectomy messed up his path. My point is that just because you live forever does not mean that you must end up aloof and uncaring. Remember, the supernaturals are not alone here. There are always others so the crushing loneliness of being unable to connect or confide is not here.
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Re: Hush 2012-08-17

Post by MerchManDan »

TheDOCTOR wrote:
meisdadoo wrote:♫Soft kitty,
Warm kitty,
Little ball of fur.
Happy kitty,
Sleepy kitty,
Purr, purr, purr.♫
"Thats only when you're sick!" - Sheldon Cooper :D
Getting scared senseless is a kind of sick!
"Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you." - Nim the chimp
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