Creaking Doors 2015-12-17

[Gyrrakavian]

I think Red from That 70's Show said that at one point... One I've heard is "put my boot so far up your rear you'll choke on it!"

Also: I am feeling very worried for the girls... And very sorry for the moms.

One does not startle paranormal heavy hitters for the same reason one does not jump-scare a hardened criminal - you will get your clock thoroughly cleaned.

I'm kind of partial to May's "EY! GEHT BAHK HARE OR I’LL PUNCH YA SOH HARD YE’LL BE PLAYIN’ PEEKABOO OUT YER ARSE!" from Supernormal Step. Well, in so far as entertainment derived from observing that sort of threat, that is.

[BrickJAK]

Ahhh memories ...

I swear, the only reason my little brother and I didn't bankrupt the family while growing up was because Mom was a nurse and it was a hick hospital in a little podunk town. You'd think we had a contest going on who could put each other in the ER more.

I was in the army for six years. I was a bouncer and worked event security at various places for nearly two decades. Even with those facts in place; my little brother is the one man whose hospitalized me more than anyone else ... combined.

[eee]

I am... suspicious.

It's certainly possible Atsali and Castela reacted with enough excess to injure each other. Although I'm not sure what it would take to hurt Castela physically. Or that we've got some sort of semi-humorous event like an angry 'Sali trying to shove Pickle into her jar in retaliation and both of them getting stuck in the opening, resulting in an ER trip. But in the last panel, Nadette especially doesn't look anxious enough for this to be anything serious, or perhaps even involving Atsali and Castela directly. And it is Thursday; If one of them IS severely damaged, that would be a heavy thing to lay on us for the weekend. I'm withholding judgement until tomorrow. We'll find out if this is something or not, tomorrow.

[Alkarii]

if it weren't for the fact that it'd have the little one playing with fire, a firework lobbed at the correct moment would have work just as well with less risk of an ER visit.

However, I think the ER visit is more of a punchline. I remember an old strip when Monica went to visit Kath in her office, and the last panel shows Monica looking shocked while Kath's legs dangle from the top of the panel. It gave me the impression she had killed herself.

The next strip showed that she had been doing some maintenance (either changing a light bulb or dusting the ceiling fan), when whatever she was standing on had fallen out from under her. I laughed a bit, and felt really relieved because right from the beginning she became my favorite.

[FreeFlier]

. . .

I find it very surprising that Kath would allow them to sleep over just the two of them.

Is it just the two of them, though? (And if it is, then that means Katherine and Castela are having their own sleepover/sleepovers somewhere else. More hijinks!) Is there some standard protocol on that sort of thing in the US?

As was the general norm at my house, if I had a friend overnight, my brother was allowed to have one too. Which is why I expect to see Pickle and a friend giggle from a hiding spot if things get...interesting.

Well, that was almost as called . . .

I think that's the moms . . . I think that anything serious enough to send them to the hospital, the small fry would be crying, and Nadette would be either angry or scared.

My guess is that they're trying to untangle everyone without doing any more injury.

In which case transport must have been interesting . . .

--FreeFlier

[Dave]

I think Red from That 70's Show said that at one point... One I've heard is "put my boot so far up your rear you'll choke on it!"

Also: I am feeling very worried for the girls... And very sorry for the moms.

One does not startle paranormal heavy hitters for the same reason one does not jump-scare a hardened criminal - you will get your clock thoroughly cleaned.

Same issue with a "pretend" attack on anyone trained in martial arts such as karate... especially if they're only partially trained. Combat reflexes don't understand the concept of a "joking punch".

[DinkyInky]

I think Red from That 70's Show said that at one point... One I've heard is "put my boot so far up your rear you'll choke on it!"

Also: I am feeling very worried for the girls... And very sorry for the moms.

One does not startle paranormal heavy hitters for the same reason one does not jump-scare a hardened criminal - you will get your clock thoroughly cleaned.

Same issue with a "pretend" attack on anyone trained in martial arts such as karate... especially if they're only partially trained. Combat reflexes don't understand the concept of a "joking punch".

Scarier still is when fully trained, and the "joking(but not really) puncher" is completely drunk, and martial artist is mildly inebriated.

[meisdadoo]

I had to scroll back quite a few pages, but finally found some good pics of Berdine, and they do not look like the lady in the middle, so most likey their mom.

I don't know who got hurt or how bad, other than bad enough for them to go to the emergency room.

Which raises the question, If there is a para-normal emergency room, is there a paranormal hospital as well?

given the nature of paranormals in general, they seem to be able to take a significant amount of (for lack of a better word) impact without suffering damage.
Granted not all of them are as immortal as Monica, but it seems that most of them can either be killed, or just bruised a little with no real middle ground.

Oh well, magic comes with a price dearies . . .

[Raventhorne]

poor birdy probably got a broken wing and some cuts after that scare

[lake_wrangler]

Oh well, magic comes with a price dearies . . .

I'm hunting for crocodile... seen any, lately?

[Julie]

I don't see Atsali or Pickle in the waiting room, just Kath, Nadette, and Pickle's friend.

Daylla, if memory serves.

EDIT: still getting used to the tags on the comics.

Those aren't the other moms, though. Kath is the only "adult" in the last frame.

Actually, it looks like Paul confirmed on his Facebook post that the last image is the three moms. Yay for official words from on high clearing up confusion!!

[DilyV]

I don't see Atsali or Pickle in the waiting room, just Kath, Nadette, and Pickle's friend.

Daylla, if memory serves.

EDIT: still getting used to the tags on the comics.

Those aren't the other moms, though. Kath is the only "adult" in the last frame.

Actually, it looks like Paul confirmed on his Facebook post that the last image is the three moms. Yay for official words from on high clearing up confusion!!

In that case it truly is "OH NOES!!!"

There are bound to be a lot of bad feelings after this incident... Castela is always instigating stuff with Atsali... sometimes unintentional like the Air Force snare trap but other times its done with malice and aforethought... I just hope that no one is seriously injured... the looks on those faces, especially Kath's doesn't bode well.

The last panel also brings up a very good question that I alluded to earlier... Are there para hospitals? How are paras not found out in the Wapsi world if when they go to the hospital they show that they aren't exactly human. Then too... How would a para hospital keep itself secret from the rest of the world?

[Julie]

The last panel also brings up a very good question that I alluded to earlier... Are there para hospitals? How are paras not found out in the Wapsi world if when they go to the hospital they show that they aren't exactly human. Then too... How would a para hospital keep itself secret from the rest of the world?

Simple...it's a hospital that is open to everyone, but is "para-friendly". There are MiB types and para-doctors/nurses on staff who can handle the cases that need to be kept under wraps, and there's likely a special section of the hospital designated for para use only so no normals accidentally see something they shouldn't. That way it's a hospital that doesn't have to disguise itself, but it also can treat the paranormal community without drawing undue attention. Now that I think about it, that's likely where Tina went when she broke her arm...which would explain why no one freaked out about her not having a pulse. I remember that being a point of discussion/confusion way back when.

[FreeFlier]

. . . There are bound to be a lot of bad feelings after this incident... Castela is always instigating stuff with Atsali... sometimes unintentional like the Air Force snare trap but other times its done with malice and aforethought... I just hope that no one is seriously injured... the looks on those faces, especially Kath's doesn't bode well. . . .

I disagree that Castela is malicious . . . deliberate provocations, yes, but that's in the younger-sibling job description. And she doesn't think things through, but that's just being a kid.

I don't think they're anxious enough for there to be serious injury . . . that attitude's more like "a little more than we could deal with".

As I said, I think they're trying to get everybody untangled without further injury.

I had to disentangle a pickup from wire once . . . quite a project, and that wasn't even barbed wire! And we didn't have to worry about damage to the wire, either . . . just cut as necessary. The blackberry vines were annoying, but again we just cut them away . . . Can't do that here!

The last panel also brings up a very good question that I alluded to earlier... Are there para hospitals? How are paras not found out in the Wapsi world if when they go to the hospital they show that they aren't exactly human. Then too... How would a para hospital keep itself secret from the rest of the world?

Simple...it's a hospital that is open to everyone, but is "para-friendly". There are MiB types and para-doctors/nurses on staff who can handle the cases that need to be kept under wraps, and there's likely a special section of the hospital designated for para use only so no normals accidentally see something they shouldn't. That way it's a hospital that doesn't have to disguise itself, but it also can treat the paranormal community without drawing undue attention. Now that I think about it, that's likely where Tina went when she broke her arm...which would explain why no one freaked out about her not having a pulse. I remember that being a point of discussion/confusion way back when.

That sounds likely. Don't make things more complicated than necessary.

I suspect they handle police and media the same way: there's a semi-insider (in my worldlines they're called cognezinti) who quashes inconvenient reports or routes them to the appropriate place, where they softly and silently vanish away from the mundanes.

--FreeFlier

[eee]

I don't see Atsali or Pickle in the waiting room, just Kath, Nadette, and Pickle's friend.

Daylla, if memory serves.

EDIT: still getting used to the tags on the comics.

Those aren't the other moms, though. Kath is the only "adult" in the last frame.

Actually, it looks like Paul confirmed on his Facebook post that the last image is the three moms. Yay for official words from on high clearing up confusion!!

Ah. That changes things! Thanks for conveying the information.

Although none of the moms is in a sufficient state of fear / anger for this to be overly serous...

That these are the moms, though, IS interesting. Nadette's mom has apparently morphed into a form close to her daughter's' and if this is a paranormal hospital, you'd have to wonder why. Surely they know of ursamorphs... But it's Daylla's mom that raises questions. I've been assuming Daylla was a hybrid, like Pickle, and therefore you couldn't be sure what her parents were. Now it appears she's the spitting image of her mother. So what creature in myth or nature looks like THAT???

[Julie]

That these are the moms, though, IS interesting. Nadette's mom has apparently morphed into a form close to her daughter's' and if this is a paranormal hospital, you'd have to wonder why. Surely they know of ursamorphs...

Well, if the paranormals are treated at a facility that also treats mundanes, she'd have taken human form to go unnoticed as she went through the less paranormal section of the hospital...or as a courtesy to Kat who doesn't have any other form (though Kat's obviously comfortable with paranormals in their natural forms)...or perhaps she took fully human form out of habit when out of the house...I mean, if you think about it, when Atsali and Nadette have been hanging out at home, they do so in human form in spite of being in the privacy of a paranormal home. Maybe it's just as comfortable as any other form?

[jwhouk]

In case it hasn't been mentioned: Confirmation from Facebook - it is, indeed, all three moms.

[kingklash]

Let's see:
Atsali, with her ability to switch modes between Normal tall girl, Chicken Boo, and now Demon Damsel.
Nadette, Bear-ful Polymorph.
Castela, Giggly Squiggly High-speed Tumbly-weed.
Daylla, not sure what kind of skillz, but can certainly keep up with Pickle.

Between Nadette and Castela, I think they're all tangled up something awful right now. As soon as the Mamas know the girls are going to be okay, they're gonna Laaauuuugh!

[AnotherFairportfan]

Let's see:
Atsali, with her ability to switch modes between Normal tall girl, Chicken Boo, and now Demon Damsel.
Nadette, Bear-ful Polymorph.
Castela, Giggly Squiggly High-speed Tumbly-weed.
Daylla, not sure what kind of skillz, but can certainly keep up with Pickle.

Between Nadette and Castela, I think they're all tangled up something awful right now. As soon as the Mamas know the girls are going to be okay, they're gonna Laaauuuugh!

Yeah. that last panel doesn't look like fearful-for-my-child's-life/well-being - more like planning-the-lecture-for-when-it's-straightened-out.

[DinkyInky]

Let's see:
Atsali, with her ability to switch modes between Normal tall girl, Chicken Boo, and now Demon Damsel.
Nadette, Bear-ful Polymorph.
Castela, Giggly Squiggly High-speed Tumbly-weed.
Daylla, not sure what kind of skillz, but can certainly keep up with Pickle.

Between Nadette and Castela, I think they're all tangled up something awful right now. As soon as the Mamas know the girls are going to be okay, they're gonna Laaauuuugh!

Yeah. that last panel doesn't look like fearful-for-my-child's-life/well-being - more like planning-the-lecture-for-when-it's-straightened-out.

They all need someone to bring them coffee from Mucho Mocha's to get them set for battle plans.