“Sometimes, at the height of our revelries, when our joy is at its zenith, when all is most right with the world, the most unthinkable disasters descend upon us.” –Adult Ralphie Parker, A Christmas Story
All that when she though she could let go, suddenly collapses back in on itself with a crushing recoil,
Wow… That hurt. Poor Sera. I was afraid of this. Good of Maddy to finally come clean and to not go through with the plan, but still.. so harsh. Sure she had a good reason, trying to help someone she cares about, but still hurting someone else to do it is not the way to go. Explains the whole “almost human” comment earlier in the evening. She tried so hard to see Sera as an “other” but it could hold up against actually getting to know her.
Really that’s a metaphor for all forms of prejudice. The way to destroy prejudice and hatred of those who are different from us is to get to know some of them. It becomes increasingly difficult to hold on to prejudices when you get to know people from the groups you hate and see they are just people like you.
the expressions on the faces of her “dreamies”, oh Sera
I hope she can reach the largeness – largess that we know her heart has and forgive Maddy and not shut down on herself
Uh oh.. the sexual desires are getting crazy demented. Wonder who hired her to take the pictures… I’m guessing either the mayor or some crazy witch stalker
That’s a very good question that I hadn’t thought of. Rivet Head’s company maybe, or that magazine Maddy mentioned when she told Sera to call her. Though, wouldn’t it be like stealing the Mona Lesa: it’s so rare and unique, I’d think you’d have a hard time actually finding someone willing to take it. I mean, Sera could very, very likely 1) sue the $*%# out of Maddy for taking photos without consent (last I heard, you had to get permission) and 2) sue the $*%# out of whoever published them for printing photos they didn’t have consent papers for?
I’m getting the impression that, unless the laws are very different in this world, Maddy was desperate and may not have thought this through.
I doubt there are laws covering the photographing of ectoplasm. It isn’t like intellectual property and the cave doesn’t belong to her. I doubt the law would be that predisposed toward Sera anyway. Given the way the tabloid industry works, I doubt Sera would have much of a case even with photos of her.
Maddy went with a former teacher to Califia, was this Maxine? And do I remember something about Vicious Whispers visiting Califia? Was Maddy there for a vacation, or to work?
This a rather interesting turn. Thouh nothing really could have happened between them beyond this night (as Maddy IS going back to chicago, and expecting a long term relationship to work based off of ONE date would be rather high hopes…) I certainly was not expecting Maddy to try and blackmail Sera. But would it really be blackmail, in the traditional sense? It’s not like Sera has anything to offer in exchange for the photos ( though i guess Vicious would) and the photos wouldn’t really be of anything incriminating… just that Sera has a cave full of spellcast dreams. Maybe she planned to give them to the hiker and his wife so they could prove the thing that bit off his arm came from Sera, so they could sue her? What really is interesting isn’t Maddy’s change of heart, but that she arrived at this conclusion in the first place… She is upset about what the terrorists did to her, but because of whatthey did, she almost fully adopted their point of view, that being that Sera was EVIL simply because of what she was. Once she actually spoke with her and spent time with her she realized that Sera is just another person filled with doubt just as she is, the fact that she is a witch is purely coincidental.
Ah hell… stupid touch screen….wasn’t finished with my thought yet. ANYHOW…. This is really an interestin comment overall on how quick people can be to warp their own beliefs due to anger, to casually lump an individual (or group in the case of terrorists) into the catagory of EVIL BEINGS simply based on where they live, or in Sera’s case, what she is. Maddy unfortunately found kut the hard way that pain can lead to unjustified hatred ( which has been an overwhelming theme of this comic. I.e. Vicious’ diatribe in the first chapter) and that that hatred can lead you into becoming that which you hold hatred for. “Hate ideas, not things” -i’m paraphrasing, but I really hope Sera can keep this message in mind, because of everythiing that has happened to her, it will become very hard to keep this in mind, and given her history of “exploding” when she has become emotionally crushed, let’s just hope that she doesn’t actually explode. Remeber, the clock is ticking again in town, and I think we can all agree it has something to do with Sera directly. Let’s just hope that she isn’t just the catalyst for something terrible….
okay, talk about “Working Through The Negativity”…this just drives home the ultimate point of points:
“Dear Diaries are stupid…”
(¬.¬;)
lots of awesome comments and incites! i’m really taken by the fact that, when Maddy first showed up, everyone (including me) was like: “Uh-Oh! Look out, Sera! It’s a trap! That Maddy, she be craaaaaa-zeeee!” and now that Maddy has confessed that it was, indeed a trap, everyone (ncluding me!) feels sympathy for the she-devil, pity da fool, and empathy for the ecto-girls.
if that doesn’t highlight *awesome* character development on your part, AA-san, I don’t know what does.
What I don’t understand is this: why did Maddy even need Sera? She knew where the cave was, couldn’t she just take the pictures on her own and be out of there? Or was this just a revenge scheme, pure and simple?
Good question! I noticed that Maddy must have “checked out” the cave before bringing Sera there, eh? She hasn’t been there in ages and the rest of the ecto-critters got sealed up somewhere else. Or is this the same place? Looks different to me…
Anyhow: Maddy explained that she never went in because the creatures scared the crap out of her. And the Ecto-Maddy was a mass killer outside the caves, so I think that was a wise decision!
So the question is: Was the main target of the photos the ecto-creatures? Sera? Or Sera XXX naked? Or all three!
Clearly maddy is one of the bros.
Think about it, manipulating a young naive woman into thinking she loves her, only to turn around and take photos (and probably video) of private matters, and then share them with the world. I bet she would have bragged about it too while havin’ a couple of brewskis with the boys from Pi Kappa Alpha.
Sometimes when you stick your neck out, even when you need to do it like Sera did to apologize to Maddy, it can bite you in the ass.
Let’s hope the starving, rabid dog of her subconscious doesn’t bite them both… from the look of the girls in the background, it just might.
If I were Maddy, I would clear the fuck out of there.
“Sometimes, at the height of our revelries, when our joy is at its zenith, when all is most right with the world, the most unthinkable disasters descend upon us.” –Adult Ralphie Parker, A Christmas Story
All that when she though she could let go, suddenly collapses back in on itself with a crushing recoil,
I hope that, in the midst of the crushing blow she’s just been dealt, and the hurt she’s clearly feeling, she actually hears what Maddy’s saying.
Because it makes a difference. Despite her intentions, Maddy’s doing the right thing.
I have a daughter named Madeleine, and we spell it Maddie… hard to break that habit!
Sera’s sobbing, isn’t she. Don’t know why I didn’t see that at first.
Damn.
WOAH!
On the one hand Maddy is making a “clean confession” of her EVIL doings!
On the other hand? Sera has EVERY right to HATE her right now…
Poor Sera! I want to hug her so bad!
(Panels 6-7-8 explain it ALL! Nicely done AA!)
O! Oo! Ooo! Oooh Nooooo!
Ow, man. Ow. The book lives up to its name.
The changes in the background really manage to make this page intimidating. Not sure if Sera is gonna cry or explode in anger. Very nice!
so sad
Ooh, are we getting full pages twice a week now?
Wow… That hurt. Poor Sera. I was afraid of this. Good of Maddy to finally come clean and to not go through with the plan, but still.. so harsh. Sure she had a good reason, trying to help someone she cares about, but still hurting someone else to do it is not the way to go. Explains the whole “almost human” comment earlier in the evening. She tried so hard to see Sera as an “other” but it could hold up against actually getting to know her.
Really that’s a metaphor for all forms of prejudice. The way to destroy prejudice and hatred of those who are different from us is to get to know some of them. It becomes increasingly difficult to hold on to prejudices when you get to know people from the groups you hate and see they are just people like you.
the expressions on the faces of her “dreamies”, oh Sera
I hope she can reach the largeness – largess that we know her heart has and forgive Maddy and not shut down on herself
Uh oh.. the sexual desires are getting crazy demented. Wonder who hired her to take the pictures… I’m guessing either the mayor or some crazy witch stalker
That’s a very good question that I hadn’t thought of. Rivet Head’s company maybe, or that magazine Maddy mentioned when she told Sera to call her. Though, wouldn’t it be like stealing the Mona Lesa: it’s so rare and unique, I’d think you’d have a hard time actually finding someone willing to take it. I mean, Sera could very, very likely 1) sue the $*%# out of Maddy for taking photos without consent (last I heard, you had to get permission) and 2) sue the $*%# out of whoever published them for printing photos they didn’t have consent papers for?
I’m getting the impression that, unless the laws are very different in this world, Maddy was desperate and may not have thought this through.
I doubt there are laws covering the photographing of ectoplasm. It isn’t like intellectual property and the cave doesn’t belong to her. I doubt the law would be that predisposed toward Sera anyway. Given the way the tabloid industry works, I doubt Sera would have much of a case even with photos of her.
pretty sure it was this Maxine person Maddy was talking about.
Maddy went with a former teacher to Califia, was this Maxine? And do I remember something about Vicious Whispers visiting Califia? Was Maddy there for a vacation, or to work?
I was afraid of this…
I like how the girls in the back are all “NOOOOOOO OUR OTP HAS BEEN RUINED!!!!! WHHHHHHYYYY!!!!”
This a rather interesting turn. Thouh nothing really could have happened between them beyond this night (as Maddy IS going back to chicago, and expecting a long term relationship to work based off of ONE date would be rather high hopes…) I certainly was not expecting Maddy to try and blackmail Sera. But would it really be blackmail, in the traditional sense? It’s not like Sera has anything to offer in exchange for the photos ( though i guess Vicious would) and the photos wouldn’t really be of anything incriminating… just that Sera has a cave full of spellcast dreams. Maybe she planned to give them to the hiker and his wife so they could prove the thing that bit off his arm came from Sera, so they could sue her? What really is interesting isn’t Maddy’s change of heart, but that she arrived at this conclusion in the first place… She is upset about what the terrorists did to her, but because of whatthey did, she almost fully adopted their point of view, that being that Sera was EVIL simply because of what she was. Once she actually spoke with her and spent time with her she realized that Sera is just another person filled with doubt just as she is, the fact that she is a witch is purely coincidental.
Ah hell… stupid touch screen….wasn’t finished with my thought yet. ANYHOW…. This is really an interestin comment overall on how quick people can be to warp their own beliefs due to anger, to casually lump an individual (or group in the case of terrorists) into the catagory of EVIL BEINGS simply based on where they live, or in Sera’s case, what she is. Maddy unfortunately found kut the hard way that pain can lead to unjustified hatred ( which has been an overwhelming theme of this comic. I.e. Vicious’ diatribe in the first chapter) and that that hatred can lead you into becoming that which you hold hatred for. “Hate ideas, not things” -i’m paraphrasing, but I really hope Sera can keep this message in mind, because of everythiing that has happened to her, it will become very hard to keep this in mind, and given her history of “exploding” when she has become emotionally crushed, let’s just hope that she doesn’t actually explode. Remeber, the clock is ticking again in town, and I think we can all agree it has something to do with Sera directly. Let’s just hope that she isn’t just the catalyst for something terrible….
I guess we will just have to wait and see…
okay, talk about “Working Through The Negativity”…this just drives home the ultimate point of points:
“Dear Diaries are stupid…”
(¬.¬;)
lots of awesome comments and incites! i’m really taken by the fact that, when Maddy first showed up, everyone (including me) was like: “Uh-Oh! Look out, Sera! It’s a trap! That Maddy, she be craaaaaa-zeeee!” and now that Maddy has confessed that it was, indeed a trap, everyone (ncluding me!) feels sympathy for the she-devil, pity da fool, and empathy for the ecto-girls.
if that doesn’t highlight *awesome* character development on your part, AA-san, I don’t know what does.
kudos and lauds. (^.^)
What I don’t understand is this: why did Maddy even need Sera? She knew where the cave was, couldn’t she just take the pictures on her own and be out of there? Or was this just a revenge scheme, pure and simple?
Good question! I noticed that Maddy must have “checked out” the cave before bringing Sera there, eh? She hasn’t been there in ages and the rest of the ecto-critters got sealed up somewhere else. Or is this the same place? Looks different to me…
Anyhow: Maddy explained that she never went in because the creatures scared the crap out of her. And the Ecto-Maddy was a mass killer outside the caves, so I think that was a wise decision!
So the question is: Was the main target of the photos the ecto-creatures? Sera? Or Sera XXX naked? Or all three!
Is it Thursday yet 🙂 ?
Clearly maddy is one of the bros.
Think about it, manipulating a young naive woman into thinking she loves her, only to turn around and take photos (and probably video) of private matters, and then share them with the world. I bet she would have bragged about it too while havin’ a couple of brewskis with the boys from Pi Kappa Alpha.
“Ooh-la-la, look at all the sexy little chico-OOOOOOOOOOOH MY GOD!”