Nice Story 2012-10-12

[Aleister Crow]

I repeat what I said yesterday.

"There's an easy way to learn things, and a hard way. Monica just chose the "so hard it's lucky I can't die or this would probably kill me" way."

And if she survives this, she'll have to deal with the "they tried to kill me" issues again.

[jwhouk]

. . . that's not nice . . .

Heartless, in fact.

(jeez, I can't believe nobody got there with that one before me. Anyhow... drops a jewel-encrusted Heart Sutra pendant into the Pun Jar)

Didn't get a chance to get on here and post it, that's why.

[CraigR]

As long as Monday's, Tuesday's, Wednesday's and Thursday's strips are not single panel deals with Bud and Shelly standing over Monica's body looking more and more apprehensive and finally next Friday with Bud saying, "I really thought that would work..."

[Haylo]

What I get from this page is that M's denial of her true nature constitutes a real, serious danger to her (and Bud knows that). So Bud isn't so much justified in what she's doing, as she is required to do it by her position as bodyguard.

The drastic method Bud has selected to bring Monica back from her Egyptian river-side retreat suggests a lack of time for a milder lesson to sink in. Are there ways for M to get in serious trouble by refusing to believe in her own power? Wandering too far from the world of the living, maybe, thinking that because it's a dream it can't hurt her? Or is something coming very soon for which she needs to practice her powers (which implies admitting those powers exist)?

P.S. More evidence that the arm is Bud's (or at least not Shelly's) is that the arm is relatively thin. Shelly's strength includes heavy muscle development, which just happens to be supernaturally enhanced to give her unnatural strength; Bud's strength is nearly all supernatural, working through a slender, lightly-muscled body.

[analyst]

Aorta be upset, but in this case I feel it is deserved. I just hope Bud's action wasn't in vein.
Drops blood money into pun-jar.

Guess the hatters will be hatting Bud now.

She would look good in a fedora.
Sorry about that, I couldn't resist.
Drops penance into insufferable prig jar.

[Jürgen A. Erhard]

I repeat what I said yesterday.

"There's an easy way to learn things, and a hard way. Monica just chose the "so hard it's lucky I can't die or this would probably kill me" way."

And if she survives this, she'll have to deal with the "they tried to kill me" issues again.

But she will (she certainly has to) realize they didn't. Because they knew they couldn't kill her that way. 'cause there's not "if" here.

[Jürgen A. Erhard]

Several people have mentioned that many of the Paranormal cast must have Phoenix blood because they heal so fast. I tend to think there's more than one basis for Rapid Parnormal Healing - just none that have been detailed, other than just being supernatural.....

We've been given to understand that Justin heals so quickly because he's a Titan.

(I originally typed "told", but i'm not sure we were told in so many words... wasn't it Phix? And she's demonstrated that she can be Quite Misleading without actually lying.)

Is it because he's a Titan? I'm not sure, because I can't recall Pablo saying so outright (personally or through some character)

As to healing: Phoenices(?) are not healing themselves, they're regenerating. That means, any minor wound would still stay... anything that's not life-threatening would. So we may surmise that M's almost-melting did threaten her life, and that's why she went up in flames earlier. Apparently, unlike legend (at least those I know), she doesn't have to burn up to a pile of ash first.

This is also why a scratch wouldn't have proven anything, M would just have gotten angry at Bud for hurting her. It needs this drastic a measure.

[jwhouk]

This also brings a whole slew of issues with M's past history.

If she cannot die, then WTF happened with the bus?

If that was registered as a "sacrifice", then how the heck did she get back to the land of the living? And where did the "phoenix blood" come from?

[Boxilar]

This also brings a whole slew of issues with M's past history.

If she cannot die, then WTF happened with the bus?

If that was registered as a "sacrifice", then how the heck did she get back to the land of the living? And where did the "phoenix blood" come from?

I think it's more along the lines of her heritage was activated by the events surrounding the Calendar Machine. Shelly's Sphinx heritage didn't manifest until she got dumped into the Time Forrest for 80,000 years. Monica likely wasn't immortal, or at least self ressurecting, untill she had the key shoved into her head. What is frustrating about M's denial is that standing right in front of her is an example of how mythic monsters can breed into the human population.

[ziggy78eog]

She is definitely going to be feeling that.

[zachariah]

This also brings a whole slew of issues with M's past history.

If she cannot die, then WTF happened with the bus?

If that was registered as a "sacrifice", then how the heck did she get back to the land of the living? And where did the "phoenix blood" come from?

Not really. Shelly indicated the knife blade, that isn't really embedded in M's head, is the key that activated the Phenoix side of M. Once Shel broke off the blade M has not had a major injury injury. The point of Buds action is that it IS a fatal wound that Monica would die from. Now the rebirth from fire will prove their point, chest in time too. Anything that happened before the blade was in and locked is another set of circumstances entirely. If you worry about M's death as a child she was revived before full death occurred thus any need for rebirth was not needed. While she may have been clinically dead she wasn't really and truely dead. (Had to use that line. M as a kind must have been a real munchkin.)

Drop a yellow brick in the jar.

[eee]

Dear... God. I hope Bud and Shelly are ABSOLUTELY and TOTALLY correct about Monica's unkillability and quick healing. Otherwise...

I agree, they should have let her keep talking so we could find out what she thinks is going on. It would have been interesting. Maybe even funny.

And while astral fire and projection may not leave burns or marks, I bet all that blood is going to take a while to clean up.

[Kaibyo]

Mmmmpphhhh!Such heartburn!......anyone for a mylanta milkshake?

[Yamara]

Monica. Am I in massive denial? You'd tell me if I was in denial, right?

Shelly. Did Bud just rip out your--

Monica. No.

Shelly. Ah... I'm gonna go wing down to Mexico City... then roll over to Heliopolis. Wanna come?

(Monica ponders while her blood drips slowly down Bud's blackened arm.)

Monica. Nah. Busy.


(Ref: http://wapsisquare.com/comic/trudyshellymonica/ )

[Aleister Crow]

As long as Monday's, Tuesday's, Wednesday's and Thursday's strips are not single panel deals with Bud and Shelly standing over Monica's body looking more and more apprehensive and finally next Friday with Bud saying, "I really thought that would work..."

That would be hilarious.

P.S. More evidence that the arm is Bud's (or at least not Shelly's) is that the arm is relatively thin. Shelly's strength includes heavy muscle development, which just happens to be supernaturally enhanced to give her unnatural strength; Bud's strength is nearly all supernatural, working through a slender, lightly-muscled body.

It's the angle that's confusing me; it's punching upward. Considering the height difference, Bud would be punching down.

[Haylo]

From another thread...

And the irony of the situation just hit me. Monica doesn't believe in ghosts. And now she is one.

HOLY SMOKES, you're right!! Well, looks like she believes now - unless she's prepared to deny her own existance.

In some magic/supernatural schemes, a spirit without (or maybe separated from?) a body has to believe in its own existance to continue to exist. What if the immediate danger Monica faces is spending substantial time as a "ghost" while denying it, with the possibility of just going out like a snuffed candle from lack of belief in her own existance?

[Julie]

Okay...my thoughts on why M hasn't healed super quickly from the cuts and scrapes and whatnot...because they weren't death. Correct me if I'm wrong, but phoenixes can age and what have you...they just die and are reborn from their ashes. So perhaps she doesn't "heal" until she's died and gets to regenerate herself completely? Just a thought.

Well, if that damaged Monicas expensive bra, someone is in real trouble ...

Agreed!!!

I repeat what I said yesterday.

"There's an easy way to learn things, and a hard way. Monica just chose the "so hard it's lucky I can't die or this would probably kill me" way."

And if she survives this, she'll have to deal with the "they tried to kill me" issues again.

You know, you made me think back to that whole incident with the Calendar Machine when M was tricked by her friends and then stabbed in the head...Is it possible that that is what awakened her phoenix capabilities fully? I mean...remember what the rogue demon queen said...

Monica's complete loss of all that she holds dear has left her totally void. She is more than we could have ever hoped! She is our perfect revolving door, and now you couldn't even kill her if you wanted to!

Bud's interpretation at that moment was "At this time we can't kill Monica," but what if the Demon Queen was saying that M was the pefect doorway because her phoenix-blood had been awakened? That she wouldn't ever die now, so they had a permanent revolving door? I would also like to point out that if this theory is true, then Paul has had this in the works for at least three years. Three years ago today is when Brandi gave Bud her book...which shortly thereafter directed Bud to tear out pages (not to be shared with Brandi) that said M would need to be stabbed in the head. While both Bud and Shelly were convinced by the reasoning that Brandi presented (via the book pages) for the stabbing, neither of them ever fully expressed what they read that made them okay with the idea of doing something like that to their friend. And now we see those two standing with Monica not alarmed by what happened to her when she woke up (and then tearing M's heart out through her back ).

Then again Bud initially freaked out about M being "dead"...and she did go ape-shit on Euryale for over-freezing M at the beach...so I guess she didn't fully trust it all or understand that the "can't be killed" was more than a one-time thing. I wonder if this is something Shelly learned to embrace and comprehend as a result of her time in the Time Forest...or as part of her training with Phix...

...or maybe I'm 100% off base on this theory.

[Chrisherself]

She seems to have an invisible touch, yeah
She reaches in, and grabs right hold of your heart

[Yamara]

What I get from this page is that M's denial of her true nature constitutes a real, serious danger to her (and Bud knows that). So Bud isn't so much justified in what she's doing, as she is required to do it by her position as bodyguard.

The drastic method Bud has selected to bring Monica back from her Egyptian river-side retreat suggests a lack of time for a milder lesson to sink in. Are there ways for M to get in serious trouble by refusing to believe in her own power? Wandering too far from the world of the living, maybe, thinking that because it's a dream it can't hurt her? Or is something coming very soon for which she needs to practice her powers (which implies admitting those powers exist)?

Excellent observations. I can only add that scooping out her heart must be "safe" enough that M's demons won't be able to take control. Or that the necessity massively outweighs the risk.

It's easy to forget how much Bud has been shepherding Monica's life. If it was merely a matter of powerful opponents, Bud and Shelly could handle it. So yeah, M is dangerous to herself. And considering how much younger her mind is than her supernat friends', it strongly implies that they can't wait for her mind to mature. That they are, quite specifically, running out of time.

Something is going to Happen.

[Sphinx-Napped]

well looks like she had a heart attack in the most bad way,it just leaps out at you when you have someone you love takes your heart rips it out of your chest and crushes it... bud you not supposed to do that to Monica the bf are...