Wapsi Square Forum

http://wapsisquare.com/comic/well-then/

Wow... I wonder what Phix has up her sleeve?

I like how clearly Castela has defined and described her intent. No ulterior motive to be seen (that we know of, but the stated motives make sense), and a genuine desire to help Atsali. Her anger only stems from being placated in the past. Phix seems to get it.

I hope the truth will not damage our little vine too much...

OK, Castel's publically stated intent is benign, her secret intent (if there is one) remains a secret. Phix is convinced Castel is being honest. Should we?

"Sure kid, have all the ice cream you want . . ."

This is not going to end well for Castel . . . she's going to get information she doesn't want.

Unless Phix takes her into the psych section so she learns about separation anxieties in general, instead of Atsali's specific trauma.

--FreeFlier

The stammer is back. I'm not sure what that is a tell for at this point. Nerves? Falsehood? or perhaps that her emotions are running high?
I'm thinking there are some deep emotions there, her expression seems more angry/determined.

Though in that event I don't have a good bead on Phix. Working with the Library, I imagine throwing down the gauntlet of knowledge and seeing if people rise to the challenge is something she has done many times. If that is what she is doing, that would say to me that she has great hopes for pickle to survive this trial and/or respect for her ability.

Panel Two speaks volumes.

I'm not sure in what language.

Phix should treat this like a court of law. Answer only whats is asked. Show her that Atsali was put in a safe room when someone attacked their house and she was told to stay there till mama came back to get her. Mother was killed in the ensuing battle so no one knew she was in the safe room. She wound up staying in the room for several hours at lest till she was found. No need to go into underlying matters that don't pertain to the situation. Like who what when where and how. Any futher question are met with thats MIB classified and its not an age thing its simply that MIB says you dont need to know unless you work for them.

FreeFlier wrote:Unless Phix takes her into the psych section so she learns about separation anxieties in general, instead of Atsali's specific trauma.

Oooh, good point there. Phix might just be honing in on her stated intent to do just that. Either with the goal of deflecting her, or forcing her to admit she has more reason to look.

Expect to find a very narrowly construed and constructed answer speaking only to the specific parts of the question asked. And, avoid run-on sentences.

Armorlord wrote:The stammer is back. I'm not sure what that is a tell for at this point. Nerves? Falsehood? or perhaps that her emotions are running high?
I'm thinking there are some deep emotions there, her expression seems more angry/determined.

I'm guessing emotions running high, frustration at what she may have seen as a maneuver to try to stop her from finding out what she's after, and in general at the way people have been treating her (grow up! / you're too young!).

Actually, I could see Phix pulling a 'be careful what you wish for' moment here, and giving the little stinkweed exactly what she wants...

Then dealing with the horror of what her big sis went through, Phix lays down the tactical morality nuke of 'okay, now you know... now what? What are you going to do with this information?'.

There's still the landmine of personal guilt. Could be the catalyst for the issues Castel will have in the future (as hinted to by Paul).

One has to ask the question...

How much does Atsali remember about her parent's death?

And, additionally,

Has Atsali selectively repressed those memories? (Either willfully, or psychosomatically)

In other words, Did Atsali willfully not remember what happened, or did the stress of that day shut down part of Atsali's memory concerning what happened. She may remember that her parents are dead, but not HOW they died.

DilyV wrote:One has to ask the question...

How much does Atsali remember about her parent's death?

And, additionally,

Has Atsali selectively repressed those memories? (Either willfully, or psychosomatically)

In other words, Did Atsali willfully not remember what happened, or did the stress of that day shut down part of Atsali's memory concerning what happened. She may remember that her parents are dead, but not HOW they died.

How much do you remember from when you were two or three?

DilyV wrote:Wow... I wonder what Phix has up her sleeve?

Looks to be her shoulder, mainly. . .

Opus the Poet wrote:Phix is convinced Castel is being honest. Should we?

Is Castela being honest to herself?

Armorlord wrote:The stammer is back. I'm not sure what that is a tell for at this point. Nerves? Falsehood? or perhaps that her emotions are running high?

I'd say that giving vent to lots of repressed frustration would be high on the list.

oldmanmickey wrote:Phix should treat this like a court of law. Answer only whats is asked. Show her that Atsali was put in a safe room when someone attacked their house and she was told to stay there till mama came back to get her. Mother was killed in the ensuing battle so no one knew she was in the safe room. She wound up staying in the room for several hours at lest till she was found. No need to go into underlying matters that don't pertain to the situation. Like who what when where and how. Any futher question are met with thats MIB classified and its not an age thing its simply that MIB says you dont need to know unless you work for them.

I'm not sure that that would be a great idea. Castela is sharp enough that she might notice, and even if she doesn't she might figure it out later. That might damage her trust in Phix, and encourage her to go about things her own way instead.

Besides, Phix is a sphinx. They seem to have a tougher, more all-or-nothing approach to things.

DilyV wrote:In other words, Did Atsali willfully not remember what happened, or did the stress of that day shut down part of Atsali's memory concerning what happened. She may remember that her parents are dead, but not HOW they died.

From what little we've seen, she might not have actually known anything specific to be remembered. In the unlikely event that her parents talked openly around her about the blackthorn project, Atsali was likely too young to make much sense about it. Her father may have been elsewhere when he was killed, so she might only know what was told to her about that. And we don't know how much she saw regarding the death of her mother; if it was Special Agent Cassi who opened the door to the safe-room that Atsali was hiding in, I doubt that she would have shown off the carnage to the kid. All in all, Atsali might only know as much as adults would tell a toddler.

I think Atsali had left the saferoom on her own before officers arrived. She was seriously traumatized and they might have had a hard time locating/reaching her otherwise.
Also, I suspect she found her right outside the door, having blocked bullets that would have gone right through and hit Atsali, those bullet holes got awful close to her.

AnotherFairportfan wrote:

DilyV wrote:In other words, Did Atsali willfully not remember what happened, or did the stress of that day shut down part of Atsali's memory concerning what happened. She may remember that her parents are dead, but not HOW they died.

How much do you remember from when you were two or three?

In my own case, I can only think of one incident from that whole period in my life that I can remember (quite non-traumatic, fortunately). I mentioned it to my father some years ago, prior to his death, and he confirmed that my recollection was consistent with what the family was doing at the time. He seemed surprised that I had any memories at all from so young an age.

Childhood amnesia is a complex subject... there are multiple proposed explanations as to why adults have so little ability to recall events from their early childhood, but the exact details of what's happening in the brain aren't yet fully understood.

And, of course, things might be very different for Sirens, as their biology is surely different from human in many ways.

Opus the Poet wrote:OK, Castel's publically stated intent is benign, her secret intent (if there is one) remains a secret. Phix is convinced Castel is being honest. Should we?

I think so. Castela has seen that Atsali's reaction to a separation, even a temporary and benign one, is extreme. She wants to understand why. All this is perfectly reasonable. If she were after information on anything else, like her own origins, there is no reason to think she knows she could find the answer to those questions by investigating Atsali's past. And with Phix right there, it's not as if she's going to be able to dig into much else. So she is, unwittingly and innocently, heading towards a date with destiny.

I'm a bit worried about what her reaction is going to be when she finds the truth. She has some anger issues. This might set them off. I keep remembering the fury in that one image of Calesta as a grown-up...

Armorlord wrote:I think Atsali had left the saferoom on her own before officers arrived. She was seriously traumatized and they might have had a hard time locating/reaching her otherwise.

I suspect that if Mom had that much MiB power on speed dial, they knew about/had helped create the safe room.

AnotherFairportfan wrote:

Armorlord wrote:I think Atsali had left the saferoom on her own before officers arrived. She was seriously traumatized and they might have had a hard time locating/reaching her otherwise.

I suspect that if Mom had that much MiB power on speed dial, they knew about/had helped create the safe room.

That depends on how paranoid mom was . . .

--FreeFlier