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Awwww. We want more action. It's can't end so quietly now. Nudge has to have the last word somehow.

zachariah wrote:Awwww. We want more action. It's can't end so quietly now. Nudge has to have the last word somehow.

Looks to me like Nudge is having several "last words". She seems to be chattering along, though I'm not sure Phix appreciates it.

She accomplished what she set out to do. So I think that after yesterday's dare, Nudge has "blinked" for her own safety.

Is this 'immediately' after? I get the feeling of a little time passing. Nudge looks like she's having an everyday ramble, but Phix is still unbloused and de-spectacled.

This seems very right to me, somehow... after all the trauma, drama, angst, blood, adrenaline, anger, and shouting... it feels like a moment of clarity. Maybe it's a true moment of calmness; maybe it's just the eye of the hurricane, and all hell will break loose again. For the moment at least, the winds have died and there's a gentle breeze blowing.

And, it's really a beautiful portrayal of these two characters.

Is it my imagination, or does Phix look as if she has come to some sort of decision... and Nudge looks as if she approves?

Lovely! Steam, let off. Spleen, vented. Wrath, felt. Now to walk off the adrenaline jitters and focus on better things.

And it this is the Wednesday comic -- Friday should be a doozy!

Dawww.

Besties again, even if neither will admit it.

Y'know, I'll bet Nudge's hooves, with those metal shoes, make a Hell of a racket on those tile floors, even when she is trying to be quiet. Seems to me they would be slippery, too.

davids4250 wrote:Y'know, I'll bet Nudge's hooves, with those metal shoes, make a Hell of a racket on those tile floors, even when she is trying to be quiet. Seems to me they would be slippery, too.

The goat shoes have cleats added to them. The same thing is done for horse to improve theri traction and footing. they will runi wood or tile floors very badly thorugh. At least they don't have to hang a bell around nudges neck. The shoes clanking would be enoguh.

It's possible the shoes aren't metal. They could be made of a dense rubber, like tires.

I don't think such a thing exists in the "real world", but it's a thought.

Thing I've been wondering: Paul draws great wings when the sphinxes are flying, but I've never seen them fully folded when they're not spread. The "hand/wrist" part is, but the "elbow" part seems to be always mostly/fully extended. Why don't they ever tuck their wings into their backs/sides? I see that a lot in anime/manga, the wings that only seem to have two bending points ("shoulder" and "wrist"), but often those are drawn very weirdly/stylistically/unrealistically, whereas Paul seems to put a lot of thought into making sure the feathers layer right and so on, so the lack of fully-folded wings seems weird to me. (For example, if you've ever seen the book covers or illustrations for the Catwings series of kids' books by Ursula K. Le Guin, that's what I'm thinking of.)

davids4250 wrote:Y'know, I'll bet Nudge's hooves, with those metal shoes, make a Hell of a racket on those tile floors, even when she is trying to be quiet. Seems to me they would be slippery, too.

Surely a civilized hooved being like Nudge would be wearing her Brikenstock padded hoof sandals while indoors.

What I want to know is did Nudge get a swelled body to go with her swelled head? The ratio of sizes in this picture are very different than they are here. Also, Phix's palms must be a mass of calluses, walking around on all fours so much. Not attractive. Well, maybe to another sphinx.

Bathorys Daughter wrote:

davids4250 wrote:Y'know, I'll bet Nudge's hooves, with those metal shoes, make a Hell of a racket on those tile floors, even when she is trying to be quiet. Seems to me they would be slippery, too.

Surely a civilized hooved being like Nudge would be wearing her Brikenstock padded hoof sandals while indoors.

What I want to know is did Nudge get a swelled body to go with her swelled head? The ratio of sizes in this picture are very different than they are here. Also, Phix's palms must be a mass of calluses, walking around on all fours so much. Not attractive. Well, maybe to another sphinx.

That strip references how she isn't good at shape-changing. Maybe that include shape-staying...

pinglederry wrote:Thing I've been wondering: Paul draws great wings when the sphinxes are flying, but I've never seen them fully folded when they're not spread. The "hand/wrist" part is, but the "elbow" part seems to be always mostly/fully extended. Why don't they ever tuck their wings into their backs/sides? I see that a lot in anime/manga, the wings that only seem to have two bending points ("shoulder" and "wrist"), but often those are drawn very weirdly/stylistically/unrealistically, whereas Paul seems to put a lot of thought into making sure the feathers layer right and so on, so the lack of fully-folded wings seems weird to me. (For example, if you've ever seen the book covers or illustrations for the Catwings series of kids' books by Ursula K. Le Guin, that's what I'm thinking of.)

She may have them folded as much as they will go right now. The only other way they might fold from there would be to wrap around her body like a cocoon. That would not work for walking, especially on all fours. At the least, I think she could cover herself with them if she was laying on her stomach. Especially if curled up like a cat.

Yup, best frienemies.

pinglederry wrote:Thing I've been wondering: Paul draws great wings when the sphinxes are flying, but I've never seen them fully folded when they're not spread. The "hand/wrist" part is, but the "elbow" part seems to be always mostly/fully extended. Why don't they ever tuck their wings into their backs/sides? I see that a lot in anime/manga, the wings that only seem to have two bending points ("shoulder" and "wrist"), but often those are drawn very weirdly/stylistically/unrealistically, whereas Paul seems to put a lot of thought into making sure the feathers layer right and so on, so the lack of fully-folded wings seems weird to me. (For example, if you've ever seen the book covers or illustrations for the Catwings series of kids' books by Ursula K. Le Guin, that's what I'm thinking of.)

There's a series of strips shortly after Monica meets Phix where Phix has chosen to delete her wings all together. She's an accomplished shape shifter. She has been shown to alter aspects of herself and her size to suit the situation. The last week or so of strips may be the "real" Phix, unaltered and unfiltered. She dosen't seem to be bothering to resume her former appearance. The differences are subtle, but they are there.

My impression of the strip is that now that Nudge has backed off after proving her point and has allowed Phix to assert her dominance, the two of them are discussing what to do next. Nudge looks happily helpful and Phix seems focused to me. Her posture and expression say to me "I've screwed up. I acknowldge that. Now how do make it right?"

There's a deeper meaning here. This splash-page shows that Nudge made Phix' life a bit better by her chatting and banter. Phix is grumpy "for the sake of it" but, like "the odd couple" áctually enjoys having Nudge around, although she does her utter best nót to show it, if only to prevent Nudge from gloating..

Look at the title. It's a dead-giveaway imho.

In an earlier strip Phix bemoaned her silent existence when The Library suddenly spoke. Meaning that Phix did not really like the silence. Alone is alone. Silence can be deafening, and the happy banter of other people can alleviate a lot of lonelyness.

Resume another plot...

Who's the girl with the tape on her nipples? I'm thinking succubus, but that's been done to death.

Phix's proportions are bugging me. Have her hands always been that big? And have her cat legs always been that size? Seems off to me. I like the picture overall, though. Implies more of a friendship than we've seen between those two thus far.

Fairportfan wrote:Dawww.

Besties again, even if neither will admit it.

Agree, noteing wry smile on Phix.
Cue "The Odd Couple" Theme.