Promise 2015-03-23

[zachariah]

Looks like we have a backstory in the offing, I look forward to it.

A bit of a Freudian slip there?

um, I'd say more like a Shakespearean slip... that sounds like a word he'd use, and i "KNOW" I've heard it; whether it's a legitimate word or not, I'm not sure, but i have heard it used that way before...

You've heard it most recently in the pirate films. Offing was most commonly used by sailors to indicate which part of the horizon they were going to make for when traveling in general. "We;ll make offing to the east." Basically we'll head toward that far away part of the ocean. lol.

[Dave]

That would be Sali holding the photo.

Yes, that confused me at first, too. Especially since the wood floor we see in the third panel would go more with what we see of the Bear Sisters' house in the background in panel two than the industrial look of the Gilchrist apartment.

In the third panel, we see some of what appears to be the same industrial window that we saw behind Atsali a couple of weeks ago.

The wood floor could make sense in context, too. In "War For The Oaks", Eddi's band has access to a practice space located in a loft in an old industrial repurposed industrial building in Minneapolis, and it's described as having thick wood-plank flooring. This might be common in older industrial structures in that area e.g. those built before the modern "concrete lab floor" design became popular. There are still a lot of these older buildings in use around East Coast cities... unreinforced masonry walls and wood floors... they don't survive large earthquakes well but those aren't common there.

The word-balloon shape in the third panel also strongly suggests that Atsali is right there saying those words. If we were "hearing" her speak over the phone, the word-balloon would probably (by convention) have either a wispy curvy tail, or no tail at all, instead of a strong tail pointing right at the person speaking.

It's nice to see Nadette looking happier again. She doesn't know whether Atsali "likes her", any more than she did a few minutes ago, but the phone call says for sure that Atsali cares about her. That's gotta be a lot better than nothing!

Any guesses as to what type of paranormal/mythic the young girl was? Her horns are quite prominent and seem to be shaped differently than Jacob's, which leads me to think she's maybe not a satyr. They're almost like those of the Minotaur we saw in the library, but her body plan seems wrong for a Minotaur (she's gracile rather than robust).

[DilyV]

Well, I think it's obvious that Atsali and the girl were friends... Though the flow of the last three comics seem to point to the fact that Atsali may have been the cause of the girl's suicide, I really hope that's not the case. I don't believe Atsali would have been giving vibes like she did with Nadette to the other girl... both seem too young for that sort of thing.

I wouldn't say cause I'd be willing to bet Atsali blames her own obliviousness as a contributing factor.

Judging from the way Atsali is looking at "Sweetie's" picture I'm guessing that she's looking at the incident all those years ago in a new light and wondering... "Did I do that?" (no Urkle jokes please). There are plenty of other reasons in that orphanage that she might have committed suicide, but given what just transpired with Nadette Atsali is probably rethinking the incident.

[Dave]

Judging from the way Atsali is looking at "Sweetie's" picture I'm guessing that she's looking at the incident all those years ago in a new light and wondering... "Did I do that?" (no Urkle jokes please). There are plenty of other reasons in that orphanage that she might have committed suicide, but given what just transpired with Nadette Atsali is probably rethinking the incident.

Even if a relationship with Atsali wasn't a factor in the girl's suicide in any way, Atsali could very well be asking herself "What did I not see? Were there warning signs that I missed? Was she asking me for help, and I was so oblivious I didn't notice it? Did she feel that I didn't care about her because I didn't respond, and could that be what pushed her over the edge?"

Just witnessing the aftermath of a friend's suicide would be horrible enough. Coming to believe that you might have been able to prevent it, if you hadn't been so clueless, would be.... gaaah. Awful.

It could be hard for Atsali not to hate herself, if that's how she ends up (re)interpreting what happened.

(Amanda Montrose comes back to life, after having been stabbed through the heart by an Immortal who had sworn retribution on her for having inadvertently caused the death of over a hundred soldiers)

Nick: It's OK. He's gone.
Amanda: He's gone? Why?
Nick: He left. He forgave you. Now comes the hard part.
Amanda: What's that?
Nick: Forgiving yourself.

[meisdadoo]

Judging from the way Atsali is looking at "Sweetie's" picture I'm guessing that she's looking at the incident all those years ago in a new light and wondering... "Did I do that?" (no Urkle jokes please). There are plenty of other reasons in that orphanage that she might have committed suicide, but given what just transpired with Nadette Atsali is probably rethinking the incident.

Even if a relationship with Atsali wasn't a factor in the girl's suicide in any way, Atsali could very well be asking herself "What did I not see? Were there warning signs that I missed? Was she asking me for help, and I was so oblivious I didn't notice it? Did she feel that I didn't care about her because I didn't respond, and could that be what pushed her over the edge?"

Just witnessing the aftermath of a friend's suicide would be horrible enough. Coming to believe that you might have been able to prevent it, if you hadn't been so clueless, would be.... gaaah. Awful.

[/i]

It is more awful than you could possibly imagine. It would consume your soul in the fires of hell and drown your essence in a sea of guilt. If you survived that part, the road to recovery includes a new super power. Like the Hulk, when faced with a similar situation in the future, you will transform into a creature capable of doing the impossible and utterly controlled by one single minded purpose. But instead of "Hulk Smash" it will be "Do everything necessary to prevent it from happening again".

By the way, the only thing worse than losing a friend that way is losing a loved family member that way--don't ask me how I know.

Upon reflection, I don't think Asali and her swinging friend were all that close, which would explain the twinge of guilt. Thinking that if only you had extended the hand of friendship the tragedy would have been prevented is nothing like losing a close friend from a failure to act.

*Tired of reflecting on the painful past, Meisdadoo throws a hand mirror into the pun jar and leaves for a while*

[Dave]

By the way, the only thing worse than losing a friend that way is losing a loved family member that way--don't ask me how I know.

Won't ask. Will just say I'm sorry that you've had occasion to know this for yourself.

[KnightDelight]

The horns could indicate suicide girl is the same species as Jacob.

I think Atsali did, indeed, have a part in the suicide and is determined not to let it happen again. This may be one reason she is so concerned about abandoning Castela as well. And she will be certain to see Nadette for herself on Monday so as to be as sure as she can be that history is not about to repeat itself. It's very unlikely now since Atsali calling has reassured Nadette that Atsali really does care about her, even if it's not in the way she would like it to be.

Apparently though, Atsali is still just as oblivious now as she was then since it took Castela to point it out to her. At the least, she is in denial about any such intentions on Nadett's part. Though that could come from a deep seated desire to have such a thing as not even being a possibility due to the death of suicide girl. Ignore/deny that possibility and it doesn't exist.

[TazManiac]

I dont think that the 'that girl', the one from the Orphanage, was a type like the coffee-boy barista.

Rather, my initial take was she was a Devil-Girl, and then i came across this again;

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1999

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTYwMFgxMTk3/ ... E/$_57.JPG

It turns out the horn are a bit different, but still, thats what I think....

[scantrontb]

Any guesses as to what type of paranormal/mythic the young girl was? Her horns are quite prominent and seem to be shaped differently than Jacob's, which leads me to think she's maybe not a satyr. They're almost like those of the Minotaur we saw in the library, but her body plan seems wrong for a Minotaur (she's gracile rather than robust).

well, a Male Duck doesn't look the same as a Female Duck, so i can also see that happening with Jacob and his sister, same species but look different in their various aspects... and by extension, the girl at the orphanage was also the same, a female satyr.

[TazManiac]

I'm thinking... not so much a Satyr.

i bet One Bagel towards the Pun Jar...

[Warrl]

well, a Male Duck doesn't look the same as a Female Duck, so i can also see that happening with Jacob and his sister, same species but look different in their various aspects.

Don't forget Tananda and Chumley.

(Chumley is a troll. Tananda is his sister - a trollop. That's them on the left.)

[oldmanmickey]

well, a Male Duck doesn't look the same as a Female Duck, so i can also see that happening with Jacob and his sister, same species but look different in their various aspects.

Don't forget Tananda and Chumley.

(Chumley is a troll. Tananda is his sister - a trollop. That's them on the left.)

love that series

[scantrontb]

Don't forget Tananda and Chumley.

(Chumley is a troll. Tananda is his sister - a trollop. That's them on the left.)

it must have been a while since you've last read that... the female is, indeed Tananda. but the large bipedal green scaly one, is none other than Aahz... NOT Chumley. in fact, i don't think we've ever seen a cover art OF Chumley.... nitpicks aside, i agree that they do NOT look alike as far as species go... neither Aahz NOR Chumley in relation to Tananda...

[AnotherFairportfan]

Don't forget Tananda and Chumley.

(Chumley is a troll. Tananda is his sister - a trollop. That's them on the left.)

it must have been a while since you've last read that... the female is, indeed Tananda. but the large bipedal green scaly one, is none other than Aahz... NOT Chumley. in fact, i don't think we've ever seen a cover art OF Chumley.... nitpicks aside, i agree that they do NOT look alike as far as species go... neither Aahz NOR Chumley in relation to Tananda...

There was cover art of Chumley in either one of the original covers by Kelly Freas, or by Foglio...