Jay-Em wrote:Yes, well, legends about ancient gods, miracles and magic are also full of holes. Your point being?
I do not see a problem. "Magic" can be anything an author wants. Wanna do better? No-one is stopping You from starting Your own, logically sound, web-comic.
Jay-Em obviously does not know who I am or about the strip my wife and I make... but that is OK, I do not see a problem.
Dave wrote:Well, if you're going to ask that all of Wapsi Square be explained purely in terms of "reasonable physics as we know it", you're going to be rather frustrated
As an intellectual exercise, though, it's fun to tackle the questions you're raised, and try to resolve them within the framework of Wapsi as Paul has shown it to us.
I was not so much asking that all of Wapsi Square be explained but rather one specific newly demonstrated ability of a single character which I felt had/has some big holes in it as it has some far reaching implications regardless of how it works on the plot and back-story. And as you pointed out creates conflicts or at least multiple "explanations" regarding other characters (Justin) who have been shown to do similar things under similar events and exhibit different outcomes and effects.
It is a lack of consistency if anything - If Monica's regeneration is unique and specific to the distinct mechanisms and circumstances of its activation then simply say that an move on, if not then demonstrate how it actually fits into the Wapsi world "rules" - but if the "rules" can be bent or broken with "magic" then it does not matter and the overall plot is weakened along with the new ability.
Fairportfan wrote:It's magic.
If we knew how it works, it wouldn't be magic.
Do not try to analyse {analyze} it.
By definition, you CANNOT.
A lack of understanding or explanation does not make it by default magic.
Thus it can be analyzed and upon that consideration found to not fit the existing set of explanations.
Whereupon it can be defined as magic because it breaks those sets in some manner.
So, as it breaks the rules of the storyline, it is a rework, ret-con or other device to maneuver out of a plot-hole, dead-end or painting oneself into a corner.
Magic is the lame, weak, sloppy, or lazy get-out-of-jail free card that can be played at any time. The only problem is that now the jail is far less meaningful and the other players start to wonder why they don't have one also... hence the proliferation of powers we have seen in Wapsi these last few months.
MarkN wrote:I am thinking that her memories are more linked to her astral projection than the wetware of mortal brain. So while her body may reset to a default point, her memories will continue unaffected. i am also thinking that she regenerates basic damage without a body-wide reset, but major damage (loss of a heart or brain) causes her to go into full Phoenix mode and she burns up to the default.
Mark - that sound fine to me. Sort of a graduated regen version 1 (Justin-style) for small stuff and regen version 2 (Phoenix-style) for the major stuff. In both cases her memories are being maintained in her astral state and somehow reintegrated post-regen. That works within aspects previously disclosed in the strip, not just recent stuff. It also sets up some more rules to remember and it will be interesting to see if Mr. P follows them and for how long...
It also means that her memories are "stored" elsewhere which opens up more plot possibilities for her and other characters with similar ability.
My 
