Wapsi Held Hostage - Day 14 (was Castela Notice 2015-07-05)

[Hansontoons]

There is a sudden scrabbling noise from the other side of the room, 'Toons sits bolt upright and shudders. "Grrrk, errffff, norff, snorggle" he snorts as he staggers to his feet and plucks a dart from his shoulder. "Whaa, sumwun sez Paal iz heer?? Hooos dat ober hin dah corrner?" he manages to get out before his lower lip starts twitching uncontrollably.

[Gyrrakavian]

Gyrre gently closes his laptop and sets it to one side. “Okay, from what if been able to ascertain, I think it's save to say I started reading Wapsi square around mid May in 2012. It's also a fair bet that I had caught up with the current story by October or November of the same year."

Gyrre walked over to the table to check out the soda selection. His eyes lit up when he saw one of the bottles, which he quickly grabbed. “Sprecher's cream soda is easily the best, but it's so hard to find! Might I ask who brought it and where they manageded to find it?"

[Warrl]

BTW, another good Paranormal/sci-fi webcomic is Monster Pulse, http://www.monster-pulse.com/
Monsters mysteriously made from a random organ of their host.

Yeah, I once introduced that to someone with the statement that one of the second-tier characters is a heart.

His reply was something on the order of

That's silly, I should go see what he's talking HOLY COW HE'S NOT KIDDING

[kingklash]

"Not bad for our first week," kingklash said. The pocket dimension that was the meeting hall had made getting to meet fellow Wapsiites easier than he thought. He wondered if the doors to the outside were keyed to funnel visitors from different parallel Earths without most noticing. It would explain the confused looks of some of the group to his arrival, although his entrance was more a function of his mode of travel than whatever was at the door. Of course, the following appearances of the Magick user with the bike, the bear, and the guy with the square portal was par for him, but at least one of the other guests seemed quite perturbed at each new unorthodox entry. He stood up and stretched. "I'm gonna step out for a minute and get some fresh air." He pushed open the doors, feeling a slight tremor of the dimensional threshold doing whatever it do. The breeze was calming.


Something seemed odd about the view. It looked, well, it looked sketchy. Then it suddenly hit. The outside was the WAPSIVERSE! He slowly backed up and closed the doors.

"I think I need some of that coffee now."

[DinkyInky]

((Nope, I've not met him[the few cons he went to in my area were out of my budget due to health or new patenting woes], Paul was just another cool nerd, much like Barry T. Smith who did quite a few nerdy tech, comic, game , and paintball comics. I'm just glad I read that first strip. He's still a really cool nerd. I wonder if the wayback will have any of those old boards archived...))

[GlytchMeister]

Glytch peered at Kingklash from under his hood. He was several shades too pale after having just peeked outside.
That can't be a good sign... He decided to investigate. Something that could scare a man with access to powered armor (no matter how purple said armor is) is something worth knowing about.
Waiting until everyone's attentions were otherwise occupied, John quietly shouldered his pack and slunk toward the door.
When he opened it, he gasped.
It was Wapsi Square.
He actually saw a sign.
As he continued to stare, he began to notice how the outside seemed to have been drawn... And then he stopped noticing.
Suspension of Disbelief.
Glytch drew his pipe and gently pushed it outside, marveling at how the object changed as it crossed the threshold. GlytchMeister took a a final look before closing the door again. He was not about to guinea-pig himself, as tempting as it may be.
Must be some sort of reality overlap occurring. I wonder if anyone here is from the same universe as I am...
The door opened behind Glytch and he turned to see a very familiar face.
It was his own.
However, the eyes were on fire.

[TazManiac]

Having finished the wholesome goodness provided by the indigo arm from nowhere, Taz rose again from his metal folding chair and said

"Well, now that I'm feeling quite a bit less Maniacal I seem to recall coming to Wapsisqaure when introduced by a fellow board member from another (automotive) reality.

I have a hard time remembering when that might be though, but thats nothing new for me; I'm chronologically challenged. I think I got into this place prior to the Calendar Machine arc really taking off...

It was during the time when the strip was three panels, horizontal and the 'old forums' were in place, but I don't think I had signed up then.

.... 'scuse one moment...

And with that Taz twisted away into somewhere else...

[GlytchMeister]

Glytch backed away quickly from John. "This is a bad universe for you to be visiting, man!"
John smirked and cocked his head to one side. "And why would that be?" His voice was calm and deeper than how Glytch normally spoke.
"I... I write a story you are in. I don't know what kind of reality intermingling or timeline warping might result from us interacting! Please, find a parallel universe where I don't write you!" Glytch bumped against a table, rattling the cups and bottles. Everyone nearby began to watch the spectacle. Some, however, simply shrugged and returned to their conversation, as though they'd seen this sort of thing several times before.
They might have. John realized before regaining focus.
John scratched his chin, nodding. "Alright. I'll see what-"
Glytch cut him off. "Stop! Stop talking. The less I know about you, the less you interfere with the flow of my writing!"
John nodded silently, turned away, and left the meeting hall.
Glytch stood stock still, panting, at the closed door as the other wapsiholics gradually returned to their conversations.

[GlytchMeister]

Phew. I got myself into a bit of a pickle when I had John join the meeting. I think I fixed it, though.

[jwhouk]

Oh, come on. Next thing, you're going to tell me that I actually use an old abandoned town hall as a portal to the Library or something.

[GlytchMeister]

The problem was I had no idea what to do with the character once I brought him in. Total writer's block. Everything I thought of that wasn't backpedaling seemed awful when I tried to write it.

[Sgt. Howard]

Greg cast a jaded eye at the conversation between Glytch and John... he glanced over his shoulder at a group of people who had congregated in the shadows behind him-
"You all catching this?" he asked.
"Yup- caught it all," said a rangy, unshaven forty year old in the uniform of a Confederate First Sargent of Cavalry, "'Tain't much a wonder, feller that young,"
"Indeed, I would have to agree- confronting one's characters... rather like confronting one's demons, what?" added a crisp looking fellow in three piece and monocle.
""Aber... warum macht Er der aderen Kerl vergehen? Ich verstehe nicht," stated a twenty-something in the uniform of a WWII Kriegsberichter des Heers Stabsgefrieter.
"Aus English, 'Klaus- es gibt es hier viele Leuteren wer Deustch nicht verstehen kann," corrected Greg.
"Also- he sent der udder fellow away, ja? Why?"
"He is writing,,, schrieben... about that fellow. It makes things ... funny... nicht comishe, aber nicht richtig... when that happens,"
A rawboned youth in jeans and muted Hawaiian shirt stepped forward, "So... that would rattle him, would it?"
"Seems so, Neil... seems so... dude, I gotta ask- when I describe you cuddled up with a sphinx, do I do it justice?" Greg asked.
"You forget- I've been the past six months with a teenager... and she's been pregnant most of that time... but I am looking forward to her delivering so I can go back to my 3/4 ton security blanket... nothing like it. She can flop out in the snow, wrap me up in her-she barely notices the weather unless it's too hot- anyway, you need to talk about your addiction so you can start your recovery,"
"...?...who said I want to recover?"

[Sgt. Howard]

Oh, come on. Next thing, you're going to tell me that I actually use an old abandoned town hall as a portal to the Library or something.

NOBODY would use a devise so lame... ranks right up there with using the 'Elixir of Life' as a plot device...

[jwhouk]

Yeah, or claiming there was a portal to hell in the middle of Chicago.

Or a mastiff dog that can talk.

[Sgt. Howard]

Yeah, or claiming there was a portal to hell in the middle of Chicago.

Or a mastiff dog that can talk.

... I don't know about the dog, but I've been told about Chicago from several different sources...

[kingklash]

Stepping up behind Glytch, kingklash watched as the Other stepped through the door, first turning into a Wapsi rendition of himself, then in a flurry of pencil lines, shift away to wherever he went to.

"That was a bit of a close call, eh?" he said as he quickly palmed a flat hexagonal crystal device, slipping it into his pocket. "In all my travels to parallel worlds, I have never found myself in a situation as unique as this." Glytch glared from under the hood and fixed an intense eye on king. "Just what do you do that this might concern you?" Adjusting his eyeglasses, kingklash said, "Back on the old X-Entertainment forums, and maybe once or twice on Wapsi's old comment section, I have said I save the world when no-one is looking. But mainly, I observe and catalog where alternate Earths cross and connect. Where others have the job of keeping things separate, I track where crossovers are actually supposed to happen for my employers. It's an overlooked part of how things go in the Universe." "So what do you make of this?" Glytch pointed at the door, where Wapsi Square was just a few feet away, the contrast between outside and in was as jarring as the difference between Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Cool World. "I have been to a lot of places where there are versions of fictional characters we all know, and cartoon-like realities, but this, this is something else. A entire realm rendered as actual art. I'm not even sure how that's accomplished." "Every one else haven't noticed the outside yet, but it's just a matter of time. Any ideas?" Looking over to the couple of discussion groups still going, and several napping characters, kingklash said, "I won't panic anyone yet. But we might commiserate with the ones that are probably not from mundane origins." Glytch shook his head. "At this point, I'd peg that as everyone in the room."

[jwhouk]

Wapsi Square is about a two-three hour drive from me, depending on how much traffic there is on 29.

Oh, by the way - I've been speculating that that one recipe for goat stew I had up over in the TC&TS thread would taste great over fry bread.

[Gyrrakavian]

Gyrre set his soda aside and walked over to Glytch. “If I had to guess, I'd wager that the only reason we can tell the outside world looks different is because we're observing it from a separate reality." Gyrre raised a hand as if to say something, but stopped and looked up to the corners of his eyes for a moment. “You know, I can't really think of a decent analogy."
Gyrre crossed his arms and stroked his beard with one hand. “Maybe it's sort of like being immersed in a foreign land and language that you don't understand. At first it's very different, but after awhile you learn the language and traditions. And, you eventually stop noticing that nobody is speaking your native language or that anything is really different at all." He uncrossed his arms and raised both hands in front of him, “But then again, I don't exactly have all that terribly much experience with observing alternate or parallel realities. And definitely not without something already in that reality. So I could very well just be blowing smoke."

[Gyrrakavian]

BTW, another good Paranormal/sci-fi webcomic is Monster Pulse, http://www.monster-pulse.com/
Monsters mysteriously made from a random organ of their host.

Yeah, I once introduced that to someone with the statement that one of the second-tier characters is a heart.

His reply was something on the order of

That's silly, I should go see what he's talking HOLY COW HE'S NOT KIDDING

Heh. Yeah, it's a pretty good series. Lots of drama though. Good thing Suzy is there to help lighten things up.

I don't suppose you've ever heard of Black Brick Road of Oz? It's a retelling of The Wizard of Oz with some interactive pages and a few twists. Also, it's nice to see an artist finally realize that Nick's head wouldn't be made of tin.

[GlytchMeister]

Glytch frowned and nodded as Gyrre spoke. "It may be that... But what if the way we are seeing it is affected by how it is represented in out universe? Does anyone know someone who's only read the novelization of Katherine Gilchrist and the Lost Dolls of the Anasazi? I'd be willing to bet they'd see the Wapsiverse exactly as it appeared in their imagination while they were reading the book...
I think a good analogy we all might have some experience with is when I read a book then go see the movie. I can't help but notice how the movie depicts things differently from how I saw it while reading... Huh. I wonder if it's not only stories that can be windows to parallel universes, but their different depictions and how people envision them." Glytch gradually went from talking to the others to speaking mostly to himself as he thought out loud. When he finished, he shook himself and returned his focus to the present.
Glytch made a mental note; his introversion was beginning to assert itself.
"I'm not a big fan of quantum mechanics, but there might also be something similar to that going on," Glytch massaged his temples as he tried to remember what little he knew about the workings of quantum mechanics. "Just as observing quantum events can affect their outcome, so too can observation affect the presentation of an alternate universe... Or something. I'm not really sure how it works, it's friggin quantum mechanics. But that's my other idea."
Kingklash nodded, an understanding look on his face. "I think I know what you're trying to explain. Don't worry, nobody understands quantum mechanics. Not even Feynman."
Glytch glanced down at Kingklash's pocket and had to stop himself from resting his hand on the pommel of his dagger. Thinks he's slick, eh? He could learn a thing or two from a pickpocket. Didn't even employ any tactile distractions.
"You know, I was going to ask you about your tech, but I'm having second thoughts. You're from outside my universe. I've no idea if the laws of physics in our universes are similar enough to permit me making something like your gear... To say nothing of how my knoedge of its workings might screw up the timeline." Glytch sighed. "And I was really looking forward to getting a foot in the door on the powered armor market."