Confession To A Shadow 2012-11-30

[Yamara]

As a complete aside, after a little trawling of the archives, I came upon something interesting:
http://wapsisquare.com/comics/2006-11-2 ... ention.jpg
Does M's visage in that middle panel remind you of anything?

That one had been crossing my mind lately.


T minus 21 days.

[Wdot]

I was going to say that Monica is now in The Library. However it has been demonstrated pretty well by jwhouk. She is not floating in my opinion it just looks that way because The Library has marble floors and the reflections off of it make M look like shes floating.

I don't think Nudge is stupid. Maybe she isn't Brandi level, but she is close. Tricksters have to be smart and have imaginations to fill the role. Could she have miscalculated and lost her life? I suppose it's possible. However, she read Phix correctly and gambled successfully on what she knew about her to snap her out of her dark emotional turmoil. I cannot help but think she's done the same with Monica. So I believe even if Nudge is dead, she had a back-up plan to come back. With Phix, it was counting on Phix to snap out of it and save her. She may be counting on Monica to snap out of it and save her too.

The disturbing thing about this is Monica's action. Even if she didn't kill Nudge or can bring her back, she is kinda guilty of attempted murder. Maybe the gun wasn't loaded, but she did aim it and pull the trigger. She did this to a friend that made her angry. Phix did it to a bitter antagonist (probably with a long history of bullying Phix) and not someone she liked. I'd ask who is the bigger monster in this case, but Monica is still human and is reeling from all of these revalations being dumped onto her (heart ripped out anyone?). What I'm getting at is I guess everyone has the potential to be a "monster" under the right and or wrong circumstances. Actually realizing you are capable of being a monster is going to be a definite shock.

This of course has the benefit of getting Monica to talk to Phix one monster to another. She can perhaps now sympathize with what Phix did. It should also relieve her fear of Phix, because she now has the realization that she isn't a potential victim, but a high level predator also. I am still worried about Nudge because I like her and would miss her as a character if she was gone. There is also a reason to get Monica's head on straight. She will be needed. My guess anyway. TGIF even if we got two days stewing.

[TlalocW]

What are the fines for damaging/destroying a librarian?

TlalocW

[lake_wrangler]

I'm hoping the next scene comprises of Phix giving a great, big, motherly-type hug to Monica, Monica crying on Phix' shoulder, and for Nudge to show up, however singed she may be, but still alive.

By the by. As I understand it, Monica can pick-up on people's fears, and place/poit them in exáctly that situation?? That's even more unpleasant than the combustion-thing. Moonstar,of x-force fame could do something alike: use people's fears to project illusions. Scary SCARY power!!!! She scared the heebies outta me.

And when, pray tell, did you ever meet such a one?

[Fairportfan]

As a complete aside, after a little trawling of the archives, I came upon something interesting:



Does M's visage in that middle panel remind you of anything?

The whole panel does.

[Jabberwonky]

Yep, she's in the Library now - but, judging from the background, she's (floating?) at least one level off the floor.....

I was going to say that Monica is now in The Library. However it has been demonstrated pretty well by jwhouk. She is not floating in my opinion it just looks that way because The Library has marble floors and the reflections off of it make M look like shes floating.

There are a lot of balconies...

[meisdadoo]

When did we go back to the library? I don't think we ever actually left, from about the time Tsillah introduced herself as liaison and guide assigned to Monica by her father Charon. Monica only thought she was outside on the steps. Nudge was probably there, as no one can nudge like Nudge (yes I know, pun jar-clink clink) But not even Monica can hurt a Librarian inside the Library. If memory serves she can't actually kill anyone that does not deserve it--or was that Shelly? IDK, getting confused trying to keep track of the threads. . .

[Dave]

It looks as if Nudge was drawn the way she was as she was plunging into the lava to signify that was the scenario which was in Monica's mind and not the actual fact. Same as Paul did with Shelly a couple of times. Is there an actual black mark on the sidewalk or is that imagined too? But Monica did poit her somewhere, or thinks she did. Did someone else re-poit her mid poit? Unless, of course Nudge was an illusion courtesy of the shadow sculptor and was never there in the first place.

I'm honestly not sure. The lava pool dunking does look rather real to me, but we don't actually see Nudge hit the lava. Something went splorch, but we see only a splash (and one which looks smaller than Nudge's body size), there's no sign of Nudge's body or limbs in the splash, and there's that odd black line descending into the splash. It could be Nudge that has fallen in... or something else. Gotta wait through the weekend to learn what really happened to our favorite trickster demigod

So, how did Monica know Nudge's worst fear?

A very good question. Possibly some sort of empathic or telepathic sensitivity has developed as a result of a cerebral infusion of Phoenix blood?

[Nemesis]

I cannot believe I was dense enough not to realize that Nudge was Poited over Lava and not Water. I can see it now, so evidently I need to slow backdown and read at human speed.

[sonicthunder]

So, how did Monica know Nudge's worst fear?

A very good question. Possibly some sort of empathic or telepathic sensitivity has developed as a result of a cerebral infusion of Phoenix blood?

I'm still trying to determine what exactly was Nudge's fear. Volcanoes? Burning alive? Death? Simply being out-tricked for once (being killed by another would probably constitute them out-tricking you)? I wonder where the link is. Wager we'll get some explanation in the updates to come, or someone here more intelligent or observant than I will enlighten me.

Idea: Recall Nudge is unable to POIT (a somewhat rarity among Wapsi's supernatural members). Perhaps that is due to a fear of POITing (for Star Trek TNG fans: akin to Barkley's fear of transportation). Monica made that fear relevant, the volcano itself was just an instrument.

[kingklash]

Nudge isn't gone. If she is, then Moni has a looong road ahead just to get past killing another sentient being. Then another road, just to get a handle on her upgrades (finally). If Trickster was Poit'd from the Bibliothiki, then the usual safeguard should apply. If the trip was too sudden, then at least the damage may have been reduced. I hope.

[Yamara]

So, how did Monica know Nudge's worst fear?

A very good question. Possibly some sort of empathic or telepathic sensitivity has developed as a result of a cerebral infusion of Phoenix blood?

I'm still trying to determine what exactly was Nudge's fear. Volcanoes? Burning alive? Death? Simply being out-tricked for once (being killed by another would probably constitute them out-tricking you)? I wonder where the link is. Wager we'll get some explanation in the updates to come, or someone here more intelligent or observant than I will enlighten me.

Idea: Recall Nudge is unable to POIT (a somewhat rarity among Wapsi's supernatural members). Perhaps that is due to a fear of POITing (for Star Trek TNG fans: akin to Barkley's fear of transportation). Monica made that fear relevant, the volcano itself was just an instrument.

How: Telepathy between Jin and Monica was established (rather suddenly) awhile back, and Jin was shown "reading" Bud's and possibly Tina's thoughts at one point. Some part of Monica must be similarly equipped.

What: I would imagine the terror of being unable to die, trapped with no hope of rescue in a situation where every second your body tries to heal itself brings it back to an unbearable pain, would be something a demigod might dread. And since those situations are told of all over human myth and fantasy, the evil-making monkeys are the ones most likely to do it to you.


Tsillah makes it difficult to determine what has or has not actually occurred. But since the point is that Monica is confessing the truth of what she is, how she gets there is less important than pinning down every detail.

Well, okay, it might be more important to Nudge. I wonder. If M killed her, would she be compelled to eat her too?

[bmonk]

Scary SCARY power!!!! She scared the heebies outta me.

And when, pray tell, did you ever meet such a one?

Things that we are scared of need not be truly present--meeting the idea of such a person (as in this comic), when presented so vividly, can open our minds to the possibility of such a person.

What are the fines for damaging/destroying a librarian?
TlalocW

Well, the Bibliothiki keeps its books from damage and destruction, so there prolly isn't a fine for that. But let me ask it this way:
Would you want to get Phix upset at you for damaging her Co-head librarian?

[sheik]

I'm hoping the same rule applies to the librarians as applies to the books, so that Nudge will be preserved.
The deeper problem is Monica's response to her being goaded by Nudge.
Monica never struck me as being the murderous type, so why did she almost mindlessly try to do in Nudge?
I thought of two possible reasons.
One, she actually was somehow possessed by an as yet unrevealed agent.
The other is that her previous rather overwhelming experiences and Nudge did too good a job and stressed Monica past the point of her keeping her sanity, much as happens in battle fatigue/shell shock, cabin fever, or brainwashing.
In that condition a person will seize on any means to relieve the stress that comes to hand, rational or irrational, be it jumping up in a firefight, walking out into a blizzard naked, or taking the interrogator's word as the truth.
If the second point is the case, Monica's friends have a job ahead of them keeping her on an even keel until she re-orients properly.

[bmonk]

I'd think it also possible that Monica is clinging to her denial--possibly because she's been very stressed recently.

Nudge thinks she needs to face up to this now--and is probably right, given M's power.

What happens when an immovable denial meets an irresistible force of enlightenment?
An indescribable collision--in this case, blazing anger.

Drops a lava-cast tiki god for the pun jar.

[sonicthunder]

If the second point is the case, Monica's friends have a job ahead of them keeping her on an even keel until she re-orients properly.

Which could present backstory on how Bud and Brandi came to terms with what they did as chimeras and golems. Monica's reassuring words certainly helped once Tepoz's drunken stupor was lifted, but based on all the things both seem to have done between their chimera days and Monica's birth (temple guardians, founding the MiB, etc), they had to come to terms with it to some degree earlier (before Tepoz helped them forget).

Especially considering it seems M will be spending a LONG time with Bud and Brandi now.

[Dave]

I'm hoping the same rule applies to the librarians as applies to the books, so that Nudge will be preserved.
The deeper problem is Monica's response to her being goaded by Nudge.
Monica never struck me as being the murderous type, so why did she almost mindlessly try to do in Nudge?

If what she said today was true, then even in her raging anger she was not trying to kill Nudge.

She was trying to hurt her.

She was trying to make Nudge feel awful... just as bad as Nudge's words had made Monica feel.

And, she was so angry and enraged that she didn't slow down to consider the true implications of what she was doing... that tossing Nudge into a volcano might possibly kill Nudge (demigod that she is) rather than just causing pain and fear.

This would be consistent with the heavy denial that Monica has been sitting in. She has been consistently refusing to acknowledge the magnitude of what has happened to her, and just how much power she has personally. Her self-image hasn't been that of a person with the power to "kill with a thought"... she sees herself as a vulnerable mortal "poking lions with a stick".

It's only now, after the fact, that she realizes that her action was *way* overboard.

I thought of two possible reasons.
One, she actually was somehow possessed by an as yet unrevealed agent.
The other is that her previous rather overwhelming experiences and Nudge did too good a job and stressed Monica past the point of her keeping her sanity, much as happens in battle fatigue/shell shock, cabin fever, or brainwashing.
In that condition a person will seize on any means to relieve the stress that comes to hand, rational or irrational, be it jumping up in a firefight, walking out into a blizzard naked, or taking the interrogator's word as the truth.
If the second point is the case, Monica's friends have a job ahead of them keeping her on an even keel until she re-orients properly.

I think it's more the second, with perhaps a bit of the first.

I don't think it's possession by another entity (unless perhaps by her own fear, and the resulting anger). Although, the Phoenix blood itself might be having some direct effects on her emotional control.

I think it's mostly that she's been through a hell of a lot of scary stuff (including what she sees as a serious betrayal by her closest friends and associates). She's had her own "self" violated repeatedly throughout her life... her childhood visions, the parents and friends who didn't believe her and condemned her as "crazy", her near-death in the bus accident, the arising of the paranormal in her day-to-day life when she would have very much preferred scientific rationality, the Calendar Machine incident where she felt helpless and betrayed, her learning that she is surrounded by incredibly powerful beings who could (she believes) squash her like a bug, and now the news that she's been involuntarily converted into something no longer entirely human. She hasn't been willing to accept her own power and dangerousness, because (I think) this would mean finally giving up on one of the last reliable constants in her life... that she's human.

It's a hell of a stressful soul-shaking she's gone through - as you say, it's enough stress to force a person out of rationality.

As button-pushers go, Nudge clearly qualifies as an expert marksman... her aim could not have been more perfect. I think she knew exactly what to say, to trigger the most extreme reaction from Monica. "None of that stuff you've been through, really means anything, Monica. You don't matter. You were just a passive pin-cushion, you're a gutless life support mechanism for a pair of boobs." An unexpected and very painful *SLAP* from someone Monica had come to trust as a friend... another betrayal.

... and so Monica just grabbed up the nearest available bridge girder, and slapped back HARD.

What she just went through, might almost qualify as a dissociative episode or a short psychotic break. She's snapped out of it now, and must now deal with the consequences... both of what she has just done, and what it means that she is.

My guess is that her only way back, is to find some way to acknowledge that she can be powerful (and not entirely human) without being a monster. She has to learn to distinguish the two, in order to live with herself.

[Mark N]

As a complete aside, after a little trawling of the archives, I came upon something interesting:



Does M's visage in that middle panel remind you of anything?

This is a fine example of Paul's habit of foreshadowing his work.

[Bathorys Daughter]

It looks as if Nudge was drawn the way she was as she was plunging into the lava to signify that was the scenario which was in Monica's mind and not the actual fact. Same as Paul did with Shelly a couple of times. Is there an actual black mark on the sidewalk or is that imagined too? But Monica did poit her somewhere, or thinks she did. Did someone else re-poit her mid poit? Unless, of course Nudge was an illusion courtesy of the shadow sculptor and was never there in the first place.

I'm honestly not sure. The lava pool dunking does look rather real to me, but we don't actually see Nudge hit the lava. Something went splorch, but we see only a splash (and one which looks smaller than Nudge's body size), there's no sign of Nudge's body or limbs in the splash, and there's that odd black line descending into the splash. It could be Nudge that has fallen in... or something else. Gotta wait through the weekend to learn what really happened to our favorite trickster demigod

If you look closely at the surface of the splorch, I believe you can see the Nudge caricature's googly eyes peering out just above the surface.

Also, in the next comic, you'll notice there are no scorch marks on the sidewalk. It may be the whole thing took place in Monica's mind and nothing actually happened at all. She may have poited Nudge, assuming she was actually there, but not with the ferocity she thinks she did, and not to the place she thinks she did. Tsillah's question as to what happened is either a prelude to what she said next about the "facing her fear" thing, or she was simply curious as to why Monica was standing there like that.

[Jabberwonky]

Just sommat I noticed looking for reference to sommat else...

Big Guns.png (108.29 KiB) Viewed 11797 times

The Aztec god who has domain over high-maintainence British cars backing up our, yet to be realized, Jaguar girl waaay back in '09...
(the whole strip has relevence to recent events)