Alone At The Comic Book Shop 2016-07-28

[Dave]

I guess Timothy choose to ogle...?

http://wapsisquare.com/comic/alone-at-t ... book-shop/

And since Castela is out of full glamour, the question somebody had a few days ago seems to have an answer. It must be a paras-only comic shop (or at least para-friendly, with some sort of generalized illusion field?)

[JSStryker]

I guess Timothy choose to ogle...?

http://wapsisquare.com/comic/alone-at-t ... book-shop/

And since Castela is out of full glamour, the question somebody had a few days ago seems to have an answer. It must be a paras-only comic shop (or at least para-friendly, with some sort of generalized illusion field?)

Or maybe she doesn't care if someone see's her?

[jwhouk]

...She's crying.

[oldmanmickey]

My guess is poor Timmy aint for sure what he did wrong but he knows he did something given the hole in the wall. I believe he did a strategic withdrawal to homebase for a consultation with CINC house or more probably with DCINC Dad.

The poor tumbleweed probably dont care who sees her and sorta hopes someone will start something to give her an outlet for her feelings. Sometimes one punch just aint enough.

[FreeFlier]

I wonder if Katherine found Timmy still brainwarped . . .

--FreeFlier

[lake_wrangler]

I wonder if Katherine found Timmy still brainwarped . . .

--FreeFlier

The way the page was set up, I got the feeling that Castela was only a few feet away from Timothy, at the most, when she punched the wall. If that is so, then the fact that Katherine saw the wall, without stumbling on Timothy (or, at least, seeing Timothy first), would indicate that he did, indeed, leave the premises. (Which would have been the smart thing to do for him, by then...)

[DilyV]

Castela's crying.

Life is hard Pickle... it is full of things that will make you want to pull your hai... er... roots out.

Comics are safe for the time being...

[Gyrrakavian]

Poor kid.

Here's hoping that the character designs in comics are less pandering to teenage males in the Wapsiverse.


Oh geez. Just had a thought. What if webcomics in our world were comic books in the Wapsiverse? If Pickle is reading through Between Failures and came across Thomas being all romantic with Carol.....
(there's only so much time in the day for an archive dive. So that's the best example I could come up with and still have time for enough sleep)

[TheOtherOne]

Timmy doesn't care that much about how Castella feels right now. He isn't even aware of how mad she is. Unless the wall remake woke him up. Remember, She is after him. He is not after her. She's just an FCF (Flat Chested Friend). She is doing her female thing and manipulating him to be with her. She's just mad because she was out-manipulated by someone who was not even trying to manipulate anyone. Insult to injury. Maybe now, however, she has a slight understanding of how her comic book store ploy made the other girl feel. At least the other girl was his species. Of course, no one (that we know of) is Castella's species so she doesn't have much choice in the matter.

[Alkarii]

I have the feeling Kath is going to give a rather strongly worded lecture to both of them. Castela, for the wall and wandering off alone (granted, she can literally punch above her weight, but how far can that take her?), and Atsali, for letting her wander off alone.

Although, she and Timmy did walk to her house without an adult (or at least someone in their upper teens), so maybe going to the comic book store is okay?

[Dave]

I have the feeling Kath is going to give a rather strongly worded lecture to both of them. Castela, for the wall and wandering off alone (granted, she can literally punch above her weight, but how far can that take her?), and Atsali, for letting her wander off alone.

Although, she and Timmy did walk to her house without an adult (or at least someone in their upper teens), so maybe going to the comic book store is okay?

What's her current age? 10 or 11 or so?

In the days of my youth (roughly 1965 for that age), this was certainly old enough to for a pre-teen to have "un-attended walking-around" privileges covering a fair bit of distance around home... school, library, the Y, the Boys'/Girls' club, various stores, and so forth.

Maybe not so today, what with helicopter parenting, violence in schools, and increasing levels of fear (especially in the more fraught urban areas), but I wouldn't rule it out. It doesn't read as if Castela had to have Atsali's permission (or presence) to go the Poseidon resort.

[jwhouk]

Considering, of course, Castela's background, it probably wasn't thought to be a problem for Kath.

[Catawampus]

Although, she and Timmy did walk to her house without an adult (or at least someone in their upper teens), so maybe going to the comic book store is okay?

They might also be able to travel from place to place without physically having to cover most of the actual distance in between. It's probably hard to accost somebody between two sides of a portal.

[Alkarii]

Well, there is that.

Also, in light of the next page, I didn't expect Kath to have this reaction when she spoke to Atsali, but that is for another thread!

[FreeFlier]

Katherine is well aware of how oblivious Atsali is . . . "Oh, Sweetie, you're even more oblivious than I was at your age."

--FreeFlier

[Warrl]

Castela, for the wall and wandering off alone (granted, she can literally punch above her weight, but how far can that take her?)

Castela knows how to be deadly. She's been shown as something akin to a sapient blackberry thicket - and to those who are familiar with how blackberry thickets can grow in the Pacific Northwest, that's frightening enough - with the thorns of a blackthorn, which are even worse than blackberry thorns.

And anyone unaware of her nature who decides to attack her is going to be equipped to attack a human. A cudgel would be mildly annoying, a gun would be pretty much useless, and any sort of blade shorter than a machete not much better. I doubt that a seal over her mouth would impair her respiration, choking her would just get spikes in the hand, blindfolding her means she sprouts eyes somewhere else...

Seriously, this kid need not fear muggers or kidnappers or killers unless THEY know what SHE is.

(In the fanficverse, a couple of thugs tried to collect a bounty on her. The result was described as "they look like they went body-surfing on barbed wire". She left one unconscious.)

[GlytchMeister]

The "Castela At 21" picture kinda reminded me of the most evil tree I have ever clapped eyes on: the Honey Locust.

I had an old one in my backyard at one house, and those thorns proved capable of:

Being used as nails for carpendry and roofing
Poking holes in lawnmower tires
Poking holes in heavy duty boots
Puncturing through (ALL THE WAY THROUGH) a human foot
Instantly dulling a lawnmower blade
Fish spear
Impaling a dove mid-flight on a windy day (doves are kinda stupid, it flew too close)

They were also called or imbued with a substance with a pH other than 7 - meaning they not only hurt you by poking holes in your weak, inferior meatbag body, but also by giving you (very slight) chemical burns at the sight of the puncture.

Said substance was also an effective anticoagulant and/or blood thinner at the site, which dramatically slowed the healing process.

I named it the demon tree. I helped cut it down, and I kept a particularly large bundle of those thorns as a trophy. Another name was the Lacerating Locust, distant cousin of the Whomping Willow.

[Alkarii]

It could be worse. It could be one of these.

[lake_wrangler]

It could be worse. It could be one of these.

[AnotherFairportfan]

It could be worse. It could be one of these.

I'm impressed, too.