Magick Chicks 10-05-13 One of your friends

[TJgalon]

Ha!!

I predicted correctly!

Wow, this is pretty creepy. Cerise is going all "Species" or maybe "Resident Evil"... And the expressions on Skye's face have changed from the original strips. Especially the latter, panel 5 in the new strip. She looks mean now.

I don't think though two panels were the same. That one was when she was trying on clothes, this one seem more like her from sweet to evilish, how we saw her at the party.

[Gotoh]

I already said that.

[TJgalon]

I figure someone did, but when i was reading all the post before, i must have missed it, sorry .

[Gotoh]

You've got nothing to apologize for. I've done it a few times myself.

[BlairFan]

This is getting, very, very freaky...
All right!

[Kiggy]

So she's a xenomorph

[Stonefoot]

I hate predestination paradoxes.

Sometimes I think I believe in free will, because I was predestined to.
Other times I believe in predestination, because I chose to believe by my own free will.

Sometimes I believe that neither 'free will' nor 'predestination' actually makes sense.

In the words of Ashleigh Brilliant:

It's all very simple,
or it's all very complicated,
or neither,
or both.

Also>>>

This is getting, very, very freaky...
All right!

Seconded!

(and I don't want to consider the possibility of a 15-year old being "unredeemable").

It's the nature of 15-year olds to be "unredeemable", but it's also in their nature to become 16, 17, and so forth. At which time they may cease to be "unredeemable".

In other words, a 15-year old can't be redeemed while they are 15, but as they mature almost all of them can be, and most will be, redeemed.
Right now Cerise's odds don't look very good, but we have some very powerful forces (largely concealed from us at this point) working from both sides. (Maybe from more than two sides.) So I'm not making any predictions yet.... just remaining cautiously optimistic. I find it believable that she could turn out all right eventually. (exit The Procrastinator, played by Amanda Bynes)

[CFT]

I realised that the last few pages of the comic remind me of a couple scenes from one of the best (story-wise and artistically, gameplay had issues) adventure game ever, Dreamfall: the Longest Journey (sequel to the best The Longest Journey). There are some parallels between them (and a lot of important differences as well, it's not the same situation by any means) so I'll just go ahead and point them just for fun.

Obvious, SPOILER WARNING for those who haven't played Dreamfall (you should though! go now and buy it!!! and The Longest Journey too! ;) )

First Video: From the ending of the game, the main protagonist, Zoe (who has the unique inherent ability of dreaming herself physically in other worlds, is in a coma and dying, but her mind is awake, she experiences an out-of-body experience which she interprets as finally dying and then suddenly she finds herself at the Storytime, a place outside of space and time, where "death" no longer has meaning. There she meets a strange figure, the Vagabond, who tells her that they must act because the Undreaming is unchained.
The bolded parts are the similarities with MC (dying, place outside time, errrm ... replace "Corruptor" with "Undreaming" ... if my speculations have any truth, lol) but there are also a lot of differences, she didn't "cause" her death, she's "in peace", nothing is visually, slowly covering her, she meets an "old guy" with information for her, etc.

Second Video: From the beggining of the game (and a long time before the the events of the other video in-game), a traveller named Brian Westhouse is in a monastery in Tibet where he agrees (though it is revealed that he was manipulated into it in order to unleash the Undreaming) to take part in a ritual, which makes him float with light shooting from his body and sends him to the same Storytime that Zoe will end up. Only, when he arrives, a black, featurless, tentacly thing - the Undreaming - attacks him [that sequence ends in 6:45]. (Not in this the video) During the game it is heavily hinted (but not explicitly stated, maybe it will be clarified in the sequel, Dreamfall: Chapters, coming out in November 2014) that the Undreaming has somehow corrupted Westhouse and a number of deaths/disappearances of prominent characters can be associated with him (he travelled to X place, a death/disappearance happened there, then he went to Y, the same, etc.)
Similarities include the visual parts of the story and (if my speculations are correct, AND our speculations about the game's story are correct, lol) also the corruption that takes him over and makes him the (unwilling?) "agent" of the Undreaming. I presume I don't need to point the differences again.

Bonus Video: The credits end with the ominous phrase "The Undreaming is Unchained" and in the brief after-credits scene (which takes place even before the events of the second linked video) Brian Westhouse is rescued by Chavez (a very important, immortal and almost certainly "benevolent", though mysterious, mentor figure) who tells him "Time is a circle. It will not end here. You are needed." and thus the "good" Chavez seems to be part of the plan to unleash the "evil" Undreaming. We still don't know what's really going on here either.
This is relevant/similar due to every part of Chavez's phrase: "time is a circle" is similar to MC's "closed time loop universe", "it will not end here" for Cerise either, "you are needed" = Skye seems to have a similar role to Westhouse's, she is needed and she will become "corrupted" but for a good reason, to save Cerise's life.

NOTE: I'm not making the SLIGHTEST statement regarding the "debate" with everything above (though my known opinion on the matter is obvious in my writing) as there's nothing to add and I'm waiting for more information to be revealed so please don't reply trying to shoot down my "points", I made no points, I was just amusedly reminded of one of my favorite games and thought to share that. Oh, and also allow me to say ...

THE CORRUPTOR IS UNCHAINED ;) (I always wanted to say that! )

[jaimehlers]

By summoning power from the school, she absorbed enough power to cause the wand to emerge from her body - which was quickly snatched and hidden by Faith, and later by Tiffany (Melissa had no idea the wand existed until after she heard that Faith was asking Jacqui and Cerise about it. At that point, she was determined to learn about it herself and get her hands on it - thinking it was something that would overthrow Faith).

The wand only started to have some real affect on her when it was finally in her physical possession (this being compelled to do good deeds/helping others; something that Mel has shown to hate doing under any circumstances).

I fail to see the relevance of this to the idea of a "good corruptor". And, incidentally, you can't rule out the effect it had on her during the pool party - not to mention the fact that it did not have that effect later on when she showed up at the school during Hecate's attack.

Why not? Something good would react negatively to something evil that means it harm/destruction. Why wouldn't something evil react negatively to something good that intends to do the same?

But as you just said, it doesn't mean her harm (or destruction). It's compelling her to do good deeds and help others - and more importantly, hasn't compelled her, to, say, attack other cryptids (such as Cerise or Brooke). That makes a fairly strong case against the wand being harmful or destructive.

I'm assuming it to be her cursed blood. She's a witch, after all, and the writers have made it a fact to point out the cursed blood within them. Maybe she was never exposed to something that could potentially put her darker side at risk by being exposed to it (hence Hekate's warning against obtaining it when she did learn about its existence. You'd think if Melissa was always in possession of it before it physically manifested in the real world, Hekate would have detected it long ago).

I think you're forgetting something, namely that she had no such reaction to the wand the second time she approached it (specifically, when she ran into Tiff at the school in pixie form). If it was her cursed blood that caused that reaction, then I would think it would react the same way if she approached it again. And that assumes that her cursed blood is enough to cause her to speak in tongues and all that to begin with. So, for this to fly, we need an actual entity which would have sent the message, rather than just a physical reaction from her cursed blood.

[TBeholder]

I like the idea that maybe it was Melissa's cursed blood reacting to the goodness that the wand represents to her

Something good would react negatively to something evil that means it harm/destruction. Why wouldn't something evil react negatively to something good that intends to do the same?

Goodness? Oh my goodness.
Let's see. Back on the page one Melissa had a glimpse of being treated as something between a servant and a living doll. She was herded into the wand contract by Faith using a mind-to-mind equivalent of data rape drug, in her usual "Isn't love's a good thing! I don't care whether you want. Your struggling is doomed!" style on her. Remember? Faith apparently being the previous champion/contractor of the same force makes it all look indistinguishable from old good protection racket. The wand have the same great style. Then was forced through a lot of pain and changes to her body that she resents via possession/puppeteering (see also: Blair). Melissa even was saddled with that cat via a childish trick, and stuck with him mostly because she could not abandon a cat on the street just like this. And let's not even start on Dakota.
If this runaway bulldozer swarm counts as "good"... I'd have to badly misquote "The Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries" to give it a proper compliment.

and was reacting as it got closer, attempting to warn Melissa herself (and Jacqui and Cerise as a default). Hekate did say that the wand has corrupted Melissa now that she's in possession of it, hadn't she?

"That accursed thing's corruption".
So... returning to the previous point for a moment? Hekate did gave Cerise a short, but exact briefing on what's going on and wanted her to do the job with open eyes - after letting her feel more significant than before, shaking sense of "it's serious now" into her, and encouraging her follower's little withered confidence by giving a few trivial tasks and appreciating the results. Which would most likely do wonders for Cerise's confidence and character, if she didn't chose to throw a fit in the face of her goddess in the dumbest way imaginable. After which Hekate - presumably knowing what exactly happens to Cerise, including that she's being dragged off the "mortal plane" - starts "just musing aloud" about possible ways out of this.
I... ah... somehow fail to get horrified quite all the way under the bed. ;)

(and I don't want to consider the possibility of a 15-year old being "unredeemable").

It's the nature of 15-year olds to be "unredeemable", but it's also in their nature to become 16, 17, and so forth. At which time they may cease to be "unredeemable".

It the fanon meaning of "redeemable" ("willing to snog with a former deservedly resented personal enemy") still the same? I'm confused now.

And, incidentally, you can't rule out the effect it had on her during the pool party - not to mention the fact that it did not have that effect later on when she showed up at the school during Hecate's attack.

I see three differences possibly changing the proximity effect. At the pool party arc the wand was in someone's hands; it was freshly tampered with; in the minions attack arc, Melissa was polymorphed until she got the wand. Or it happened only the first time the wand approached conscious Melissa, and that's it.

But as you just said, it doesn't mean her harm (or destruction). It's compelling her to do good deeds and help others - and more importantly, hasn't compelled her, to, say, attack other cryptids (such as Cerise or Brooke). That makes a fairly strong case against the wand being harmful or destructive.

It's not destructive, it's disruptive. Also, it did propose the sword at first, though didn't insist. And what "good deeds"? We don't know it. The only thing that could clearly qualify was saving Ash - but this being Ash... it could rather be out of courtesy to his own patron, or because he is(?) Faith's boyfriend, or just for lulz of creating more of a mess, etc.
"Attack others" or even "cryptids" are ideas of humans - and not always sincere at that. So far we have seen witches simply scared into hiding and coopted rather than burned alive. But why the other forces would care? The cat-loving girl who may or may not be Artemis seems to treat everyone as her own dolls, while Hekate seems to want sliding through an endless evening party all over the world, while mooching on her admirers.
And what else could one expect from Greek gods?

[Collarnorcrown]

Well, this isn't going to end well at all.

[TBeholder]

Who knows? Skye will get through her power-ditzy phase sooner or later. Hopefully, even alive.

P.S.: Melissa was seen in Australia! As well as Dakota and Anastasia. So... family holiday arc?

[theodoric476]

Never less it a very cool strip, one of your best.

[Gotoh]

Why not? Something good would react negatively to something evil that means it harm/destruction. Why wouldn't something evil react negatively to something good that intends to do the same?

But as you just said, it doesn't mean her harm (or destruction). It's compelling her to do good deeds and help others - and more importantly, hasn't compelled her, to, say, attack other cryptids (such as Cerise or Brooke). That makes a fairly strong case against the wand being harmful or destructive.

You misread that part of Fluffy's post. She said something good might react negatively to something evil that means it destruction. She wasn't saying that the wand means Melissa destruction.

The point she was making was that malignant and benevolent forces can sometimes react strongly to one another. If something that's inherently evil is in the presence of something holy, it may cause them to react in any number of ways; from revealing the evil one's true form (if they were using an illusion to hide their identity, for example), or it may cause them to shrink away from the holy person/object's presence, in fear.

The inverse, of course, would be someone pure reacting negatively to something evil. Again, the effect can be a relatively simple one, or an extreme reaction (fainting, anxiety, etc.), depending on the work and the in-universe guidelines of how the two forces play off of one another.

What we know is this: we've been told Mel has cursed blood, and she's b*tch, even by teen standards. We also saw that the wand and 'fade out girl'* was giving her nightmares before she came into contact with either one. Just as we saw the effect it had on her at the pool party. That would seem to fit with what Fluffy's suggesting (i.e. something dark reacting negatively to something good).

But, as you pointed out, it didn't have that effect on her, at the school.

It's possible that the effects of Hecate's power was canceling it, since she shrank Melissa for defying her. And we learned from Hecate, herself, that the vial was meant to counteract the wand's influence on Melissa. Just as coming directly into contact with the wand counteracted the effects of Hecate's magic, by returning Mel to her proper size. It seems to be a balancing act between two forces vying for control of Melissa.

The question is, why?



*note: I'm not saying 'fade-out girl' is necessarily good, since we still don't know what her intentions are, toward Melissa.

[Ophidiophile]

Ha!!

I predicted correctly!

Wow, this is pretty creepy. Cerise is going all "Species" or maybe "Resident Evil"... And the expressions on Skye's face have changed from the original strips. Especially the latter, panel 5 in the new strip. She looks mean now.

The first image of Skye in panel 5 is the last image of Skye in the oh_callie strip. I assume those are Cerise's thoughts; I'm not sure what they indicate she is thinking!