SFP

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  • allneonlike

    Oh my god, Molly and Brendan, this went from intense Reylo fanfiction to magical girl shoujo sparkles so fast I almost spat out my drink. You guys, this is really sweet, really quality superhero work. A+++ page.

  • yaser amer

    I feel like this is going to be mind control

    • The Dread Pirate Steve #812

      I feel that way too and it will KILL me! I might stop reading for a few weeks so that if it is revealed this was not real I’ll be disappointed immediately and not have to wait for it…

    • Zac Caslar

      I feel like people who want this to be Indoctrination 2.0 don’t, in both cases, understand what they’re looking at nor understand it’s themes. That kind of yearning is it’s own punishment; shame they have to share.

  • Gotham

    Oh, that’s just neat. How they see themselves versus how they see each other. They are adorable and this is the kind of pages you make iconic posters out of.
    It’s making me smile silly. No snark for a whole week! 😊

    • Franklin J Gomes

      Yeah, basically Allison is Patrick’s knight in shinning armor, while Patrick is sort of a Tuxedo Mask for Allison. As you say, neat.

      • rpenner

        With Gurwara and The Conspiracy, I think this is more like X-Files + shippers than Tuxedo Mask.

        That would make Rat, Cleaver, etc the Lone Gunmen.

      • Weatherheight

        I’m seeing the gold version of Saber from Fate/Stay Night, but the Tuxedo Mask reference is dead on.

        • Mnemnosyne

          A little bit of Moonlight Knight too, he has the moon clasp for his cape.

      • Dan Nicholson

        Are they going to fight evil by moonlight?

        • Johan

          Oh god I want to see Alison take the pose XD

    • Gotham

      Still, I’d like to start wondering about that freaky image of Patrick’s own vision of himself.
      What we would tend to recognize himself as a monster for could be represented as a chess player, a puppet master, someone who disregard humans as a commodity for his schemes. But nope, he in fact loves humans, and his deconstruction is turned inwards, he doesn’t consider himself a person but the utility one evil mastermind typically associated with their pawns’ bodies in one he finds in his own.

      Interesting stuff.

      • Margot

        If I was invulnerable I’d probably never wear shoes

    • Professor Harmless

      Liar. 😉

      • Weatherheight

        Yeah, not holding my breath, either… 😀

        • Gotham

          I hate you all

          • Weatherheight

            You realize that just makes you more dear. 😀

          • Dawn Smashington

            This all just warmed my cold black heart today thank you

          • Cattya

            more dear, dear, dear, dear, dear, dear, dear, dear?

          • Kid Chaos

            Liar, liar, pants on fire. 😜

  • Anondod

    So this feels rather… theatrical? Stylized? Like they’re reading lines. I’m not sure how to interpret that.

    • nat365

      I think what you might be getting at, is that it’s not very naturalistic. It doesn’t seem to fit a natural conversational rhythm. If you gave this dialogue to actors it probably wouldn’t ring very true.

      The last panel is pretty… but until we’ve got a few more pages and know where we’re going, I’m not too keen on this development.

      • Anondod

        Yeah, exactly. I’m not saying I dislike it, I’m just not sure if it’s jus a stylistic choice or if it means something more.

        We’ll probably know soon enough either way.

  • Eternal

    That’s nice and all, but what happened to the “I’m very happily with someone else”? Is she dumping her boyfriend just like that?

    • asa_zernik

      She may or may not. It could also be shipteasing while ending up in a platonic place, or it could end with Alison bringing up that their lives have moved on.

    • Laurelinde

      It doesn’t have to be romantic love she’s feeling now. She could be acknowledging that she cares about Patrick, but still wants to be with Clevin. I kinda hope, anyway, or I feel like Clevin will have got a bit of a raw deal – no one wants to be the booby prize. OTOH he may break up with her when they get back out if he feels like he’s treated her as a trophy thanks to Patrick’s comments; or if Alison knows that her heart is really with Patrick then perhaps it’s kinder to tell Clevin it’s over. I guess we’ll see next week.

    • Kaunisenkeli

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH3ruuml-R4
      Sometimes you can’t be with the one you love. Just because she’s admitted her love doesn’t mean she’s dumping her boyfriend.

    • Syncline

      Allison was raised in a family that is open and loving.
      She deeply loves people she doesn’t appear to sleep with,

      Feral, for example.
      Also we know little about her sexuality. She may be Poly.

      We really have no reason to assume we know much about her inner life.

      Patrick would grasp all of those intricacies instantly. We fumble along.

    • Ian Osmond

      I didn’t get that vibe from her at all. I didn’t get an “I feel romantic love” kind of “love you”.

    • Tom O.

      “I’m very happily with someone else, they have been nothing but supportive of me, and you just tried to kill me. But you’re super-hot, so whatever.”

    • Mechwarrior

      There never was a Clevin. Patrick psychically projected him into Alison’s mind the whole time.

  • Franklin J Gomes

    Allison: “Okay, what are those things behind us”

    Patrick: “Visual representation of our mental image.Like a Jojo’s Stand”

    Allison: “Wait, wait, wait. You didn’t know about Looney Toons, but know about Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures”

    Patrick: “Graveyard is a huge fan”

  • Ellie

    I love the sun and moon symbolism especially since it’s a callback to this page http://strongfemaleprotagonist.com/issue-7/page-30-6/ where Alison describes herself as sticking to the sunlight while Patrick lurks in the shadows.

  • masterofbones

    Dont forget Gurwara

    • Tim F

      ^^ AHEM…I came to say this

      We don’t know what that zappy mind control actually feels like for the person who gets zapped. Apparently it feels very persuasive. The story does not say whether you can break out of it; Menace’s mom didn’t last long enough to find out. However this sounds an AWFUL lot like a manipulative mindf#ck by someone with the tools to know all of Alison’s buttons. I don’t like the idea of the most powerful person on the planet potentially getting recruited as a tool by someone with an ocean of issues who sees humans as sheep.

      • Incendax

        Oh yeah. This is the perfect recipe for a setup. He gets to be a broken bird she can rescue, and solve all his problems with a single “perfect punch” that Alison loves so much. Even after being warned about Perfect punch solutions.

        If the Conspiracy/Gurwara are blackmailing Patrick into doing this on pain of death, it would be beautifully orchestrated.

        • Blub Blub

          he said himself, if you know a person that deep you can get them to do what you want.

      • Syncline

        Honestly, once you know someone with this capability, you never are certain of anything in your own mind. That’s it, you’re done. As if love alone wasn’t dangerous enough.

        If Patrick was going to mindrape Allison, it’s happened already. From inside, how can you tell the difference? The only two truths Allison has are this: 1) she knew she respected and cared deeply about him long before she went spelunking in the sewers of his mind and unleashed his full power again, and 2) Patrick’s self worth is heavily based on the fact that the world’s greatest hero respects him and the miserable choices he has had to make.to survive to the present. We haven’t seen any sign that he’s rewriting memories, but if he can do that the discussion is done, she’s done.

        The unfortunate truth about love is that it is ALWAYS about losing full control over parts of your own life, your own mind and your own happiness because someone else has become an important part of all of those things. This doesn’t require a superpower. Ask anyone who has ever loved badly how much it screws with you.

        • Tylikcat

          The issue here is your priors – other people’s happiness already matter to me. (I’m not disputing your point about loving badly, but putting the focus on handing over control isn’t really right, for me.)

        • martynW

          I’ve seen a lot of examples in SF literature (titles aren’t coming immediately to mind) where the “mind control” person makes a specific point of NOT controlling the mind of the person they’re romantically interested in, because they know it would make a real relationship absolutely pointless.

          In some cases, this turns out to be the weak link that’s used to bring the Bad Guy to justice (not that this is going to happen here).

      • masterofbones

        Yeah, and Alison getting controlled isnt good either.

      • Weatherheight

        You know.. that never occurred to me, but it does fit as a twist, doesn’t it?
        The romantic fool in me hopes you’re wrong.
        The realist and Game Master in me expects you’re right…

    • Gotham

      Hopefully he’s buried in a pile of burning rubble slowly reaching non-existant blackness.
      I’m sure that’s what happened, right? No need to check up on the body or anything. Nope, that plot is truly and fully and abruptly ended. I’m sure nothing will come of it. Right right right. Nothing to worry about. Dead, and, buried. Yep.

  • Giacomo Bandini

    “You are the only one who ever has”.

    That’s it. Hundred, maybe thousands of women have loved the tall dark stranger who told them exacltly what they need to hear. None of them have ever loved the damaged monster. Not even his mother – especially his mother. Alison just did that.

    • Tylikcat

      It’s worth contemplating how few times we’ve seen a male Beauty with a female Beast.

      • Giacomo Bandini

        TBH, i’m not sure i’ve ever encountered a narrative like that.

        • Eli Pomerantz
        • Tylikcat

          But narratives about women loving monsters, women loving damaged men, ambiguous men, complicated men, men who are all of the above – these abound. It’s worth thinking about why. I find it much more affecting that he understands that she both is and is not a monster herself.

          • David B Huber

            The young man climbed laboriously to the mountain’s peak, seeking the wisdom of the hermit who was said to dwell there. Arriving at the summit, he offers the old man a gift of food and wine, then asks “Oh Wise One, how can I make the woman I love return the feeling?”

            “My boy,” the old man chuckled, “to make a woman love you is really very simple! All you must do is prove yourself a better man than she is.”

            Getting ‘The Look’ in response, the wise man elaborates: “I said it was simple. I did not say it was easy!”

      • Zac Caslar

        …although isn’t the 90-ish “homely girl with classes becomes prom queen with makeover” trope basically what you’re descibing? Granted in that situation the man is usually a study in resounding mediocrity the comparison seems fair.

        • Zorae42

          Actually the trope predates the 90s. Those movies were basically all variations (and sometimes direct adaptations) of Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew”. That plot is old as balls.

        • Gotham

          Entirely different.

          What you’re describing is not a narrative, and barely a trope, it’s a plot point at best but one of the few ones I would call entirely turned toward female gaze (and props to that), as the accomplishment of a female wish fulfillment fantasy of becoming beautiful.
          Men are just as obsessed with self-image as women, but culture doesn’t teach them to want to /become/ beautiful, because makeup is for gurls, ewww, and culture wouldn’t dare even imply men aren’t perfect as they are anyway, it would shatter their feeble ego. At the same time that shy, complexed girls got movies about “becoming the princess” through active effort of self-improvement, shy, complexed boys got movies about how society /owes/ them respect validation and a girl and if it didn’t deliver it was through absolutely no fault of their own.

          The problem is that “Beauty and the Beast” is a misleading name. The Disney movie is nothing like what we mean by that narrative. It’s supposed to be about how damage is sexy in men and how women cannot prevent themselves from throwing their panties at men they think they can fix. Both the original fairy tale (which is actually about an actually nice dude who just looks weird) and the Disney movie (which is about a lady who has no desire to fix the dude, she mostly wanna go home) don’t fit that definition much.
          But “Problematic Fave” tends to apply to how a female audience relates to the flawed character in question rather than another character, and despite my attempts and impeccable sense of ryhme, “Brood makes my prude lewd” isn’t catching on

          • Zorae42

            Hey, the “Taming of the Shrew” narrative is literally about a guy taking a socially unacceptable woman and making her beautiful and less of a bitch – “fixing her”. And depending on the variation he may like her snarky wit even before taking up the challenge.

            Damage is definitely sexy in women – it’s just a different type of damage that’s attractive. If a woman has suffered some sort of trauma then oh boy the “I will protect her and make sure she’s never sad again” game is strong. Also, there are a lot of Tsundere lovers out there, and those girls are definitely damaged. And honestly, “tame the hot bitch” is apparently super appealing to some men – which is basically the male equivalent of “fix my problematic fave”.

          • Gotham

            Oh, in this direction, this trope is about one thing and one thing only: to play sexual police. It’s about taking women who don’t fit into the mold—and sometimes, having a grand hold time screwing the mold, actually—and putting them back in their place socially, politically and staggeringly often, sexually. (Remember when James Bond raped Pussy Galore so good she became straight?)
            Brood makes my prude lewd is nothing about policing men.

            And what you call “I will protect her and make sure she’s never sad again”, I would simply call fridging. I don’t even seem to be able to come up with one example where that trauma that initiates the narrative is not entirely about manpain, rather than how it affects the victim or the relationship as a whole. So nah, I don’t think you could say it is “sexy” the same way Kylo Ren is (and of course I’m specifically using Kylo Ren after you told me it riled you up ♥)

          • Zorae42

            Ah true. But it still seems pretty similar. In both cases you’re taking someone who doesn’t fit the societal mold and forcing them to change to be more appropriate.

            What? No. I mean like when you find out the sad backstory of some moe girl and proclaim that she’s never allowed to be sad again (I’m mostly thinking of best girl Rem from Re:Zero).

            You’re right, that is a different sexy (although I would say that’s automatically true because Kylo Ren isn’t actually sexy but I’ll put that aside for discussion sake hah). Um. I will say that the “Big bad’s evil daughter falls in love with the hero” is a pretty common trope. See, the narrative usually doesn’t let women be “semi-redeemable sad villain girls” without redeeming them. So you can’t really have problematic female favs.

          • Sasha Wian

            “And what you call “I will protect her and make sure she’s never sad again””

            Reminds me of this:
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXM08-GyucQ

          • Tylikcat

            The kind of damage that is alluring in women tends to play on the societal trope that women are particularly vulnerable. (Which IME is kind of laughable – men are just as vulnerable, and don’t get anything like the cultural training in dealing with it, but there you are.) There’s a lot of counter trope stuff where there’s a woman who is fierce or independent, and the one special man who tames her… but none of that works very well if you aren’t interested in being tamed.

          • Zorae42

            True, but not all men that women try to fix want to be fixed either.

            I think it’s fitting that both gender versions of this trope seem really gross. Although in both cases it seems like it’s gross for the woman and not the man.

          • masterofbones

            Saving the damsel in distress is quite appealing to many men, even if the distress is a mental health issue.

          • Tylikcat

            I think was thinking of BatB… hm, does it make sense to say it as a theme? Because there have been a great number of stories that are overt retellings, and even more that have aspects of the story about it (I was thinking in particular of an essay about Robin McKinley’s work, FWIW, but she’s hardly the only author drawn to it). I was thinking of plots that involve women who spend a lot of time getting to know men who are repellent on first meeting (by whatever means), who turn out to be pretty complicated, en route to romance. (This may or may not be the primary plot. Whatevs.)

            The idea of even a fictional man caring (or even believing) that much in a woman’s interiority is apparently pretty far outside of the mainstream.

          • Gotham

            I may be a stinker for that ever so slight nuance but the circumstances and driving force behind this “spending a lot of time getting to know” is important, I think. Belle doesn’t /want/ to know Beast, she’s not interested in him because he’s an ass, she actually starts getting interested in him when he makes an effort and stops being an ass.

            In most of the fiction I think you’re referencing, as written, we’re meant to relate about something intangibly captivating specifically about the ass-ness of the character. Maybe the woman has something to prove (isn’t that awful one popular) or maybe ass-ness comes packed with other “genuine” qualities that are worth the trouble (all characters ever played by Benedict Cumberbatch)…

            I don’t like it one bit, and I hate even more how one-sided it is, because it all contributes to excuse men’s shitty behavior while disgregarding that women are even allowed complexity to begin with, but I can’t deny that it exists, and that it works.
            There’s an aspect of that trope that’s inevitably reflected in the way Alison and Patrick’s story went on, and if I’m not saying Al herself is guilty of it, then it’s our authors who are, willingly using that trope to convince us of the poignancy of this moment. Which isn’t baaaaad per se but it’s important to recognize I think

          • Tylikcat

            Eh, in most of the cases I’m thinking of, the two are thrown together, rather than the woman seeking the man out, but the woman is also intrigued and willing to befriend them. The classic BatB… hell, she’s there as a quasi prisoner to save her father’s life. The Stockholm syndrome-esque sense of it all is already pretty iffy.

          • Gotham
          • Morgan Allen

            “At the same time that shy, complexed girls got movies about “becoming the princess” through active effort of self-improvement, shy, complexed boys got movies about how society /owes/ them respect validation and a girl and if it didn’t deliver it was through absolutely no fault of their own.”

            I am probably going to regret asking this question, but can you name a few of the films that fit this pattern?

          • masterofbones

            Yeah I dont know of many/any stories where the guy gets the girl with zero effort on his part.

        • Tylikcat

          Yeah, no. Woman cares enough to change how she looks for a man (fairy godmother optional) is pretty different than man cares enough what is going on inside a woman to figure it out even if she’s not teh sexxy.

      • NotPatrick

        Random stuff that comes to mind:

        Carrot and Angua – Discworld
        Samurai Jack – Jack and Ashi
        Buffy – Xander and Dark Willow
        Animorphs – Tobias and Rachel
        Adventure Time – Finn and Flame Princess
        ASOIAF – Jamie and Cersei Lanister

      • SaiyanHeretic

        Killing Bites comes to mind (j/k). Anime does this a lot, actually, but the fem/Beast is usually like a centuries-old dragon who takes the form of a prepubescent girl, so it’s problematic to say the least.

      • masterofbones

        A good looking psychopath that a woman falls in love with? Thats… really common. Thats like 50% of romance novels at least.

        • Tylikcat

          How much romance do you read? This is not my experience (though my forays in the genre are limited and highly curated.)

    • Gotham

      To say of Alison that it’s his damage that drew her to Patrick is completely disingenuous.

      • Giacomo Bandini

        Great, since i’ve not said that.

        • Gotham

          Uh, yes you did

    • Rosensweig

      Did she, though? We know Alison has had a bit of a soft spot for him, among a whole lot of mixed feelings, but this seems like a remarkably sudden shift. Meanwhile, Patrick knows exactly what to say to manipulate her feelings. And, we also just found out that he could alter people’s minds. Does that seem like a suspicious combination to anyone else?

      • Gotham

        Either we assume that Patrick told the truth about never wanting to use it again and never having done so, or everything we see at any point anywhere past present and future could be a lie, at which point it’s futile to mount evidence to build this kind of theory.

        So nope it’s most likely true

  • Zac Caslar

    This is kinda Usagi and Mamoru-esque. It’s cute. 😀

  • Skudplastr

    So that’s where that wreckingball came from.

  • JohnTomato

    “No capes.” – Edna Mode

    • Ganurath

      The girl is literally indestructible, and the guy is a villain. Considering where Syndrome most likely got his costume design, I suspect Edna Mode quietly approves of capes on villains.

  • Olivier Faure

    I… feel like Allison is kinda glossing over the part where he murdered an old woman and gloated about it to her because it made him feel powerful. We’re gonna address that, right?

    • Grason Cheydleur

      Are you talking about Patrick killing his mom?

      • Hamhamham

        No, he’s talking about Patrick admitting to having the old woman receptionist from the hospital killed.
        And as far as glossing over crimes go, he’s be the cause of a lot of deaths. She’s aware, and more forgiving him than she is glossing over it.

        • Zorae42

          Ah, the old woman that knowingly helped a terrorist bomb a hospital. Yeah, of his “crimes” that’s not one of his more egregious ones.

          • Tsapki

            And do we know for sure he did actually have her killed? Because I was under the impression most of what he was saying was what whatever he thought would horrifying her the most.

      • Olivier Faure

        No; their earlier discussions where he made his “humans are snowflakes” speech in his corporate tower. Ones of the things he did was talk about how he had all the participants of the attack against Feral’s hospital killed.

  • Thomas S

    Would anyone like to join me in overthinking this and destroy the natural simplicity of two confused passengers on this spinning planet finding each other. We can bring in other characters, our own unrelated experiences, amateur Pscycology, characters with Plot Armour or even Chekov Gun symbolism. With luck, we can even dampen all enjoyment of this page ….

    • martynW

      Aw, you’re no fun. I’m working up a psychological/psychosocial treatise on this page, and hope to edit it down to a point where it doesn’t completely crash the Disqus system.

    • Adam Wunker

      I would like to subscribe to your publication.

  • Pol Subanajouy

    *looks at Patrick*
    Sometimes we are Tuxedo Mask?

    Joking aside, the self-reflections of how they view themselves is rather well done and it is so honest. This entire page doesn’t have a word that isn’t honest. “I love you, I haven’t always been kind to you.” All of it. Sometimes I guess honestly is all that is needed for a great comic page. In particular, Patrick’s dissected compartmentalized mannequin self-image seems so appropriate and pretty well earned at this point. Before this chapter I don’t know if I could have digested that symbolism for him and maybe even would have found it shocking and now it is much more of “well yeah, that makes sense now” sort of image.

    That said if this “I love you” is a sign that Al is going to move on to Patrick, I do feel bad for poor Clevin. He was so clearly unprepared for trying to have a life with Al and being (totally understandably!) out of his depth. Can’t blame the guy but still sucks. :/

  • Fluffy Dragon

    4th panel: How they see themselves.
    5th panel: How they see eachother.

  • i’m scream

  • Walter

    D’awww. I’m rooting for these two maniacs.

    • ampg

      Me, too, even against my better judgment.

  • Gotham

    So it’s totally not cheating if they do it, right? The Rules of Conduct clearly tell us that “it doesn’t count if it happens in a dream”

    (This isn’t snark this is a legit question I want to see some action dammit)

    • Helen

      Thank goodness, it’s not just me.

    • David B Huber

      Now, Gotham, you know better! This isn’t a dream. Shared conciousness is the most intimate possible commingling of selves. Far worse than sharing fantasies in a chat room so far as cheating goes. Strictly speaking she has already shared more with Patrick than Clevin could ever know…

      That said, I view this as falling under the heading of “All’s Fair in Love and War”. Even if she and Clevin were engaged, it never hurts a girl to have choices!

      • Gotham

        Let a girl have her excuses too
        I mean, I dare you to convince me that a dream isn’t the intermingling of your own consciousness with itself to start with.

        • David B Huber

          Of course you’re right – “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” 😉

          Dreams can even sometimes be echoes of other lives / other choices from alternate universes.

          But dreams get a pass because no Other is involved.

          • Gotham

            But is one involved here? Remember, we’re in Patrick’s brain, and this isn’t Alison. This is a fantasy of Alison which, granted, is alimented by the real thing being mind-read one cushion over above ground. But she’s also not doing the broadcasting back to her own mind, so Clevin couldn’t blame Alison for that, neither for Patrick’s own feelings or actions.

            If anything is condemnable it’s how Alison is into it, but really, couldn’t the argument be made that Patrick is tricking Alison Prime into thinking the actions of this Alison are hers while he in facts veers her toward sexiness while managing to make her believe she still has agency?

            You’d be surprised how far I’m willing to advance the fields of metaphysics just to be granted plausible deniability

          • David B Huber

            Again you are undeniably correct that Patrick can take as much control as he wants. But I submit that Alison is his Ideal, the One he puts on a pedestal.

            Patrick has probably “persuaded” other women to love him and quickly grown bored. He would rather have her honest friendship than coerce more.

          • Gotham

            No, no, you don’t get me.
            This is totally not the case.
            But it could be the case.

            The infinite wealth of possibilities offered by that slight nuance window, let me tell you. Enough to convince a dozen Clevin, at least

          • David B Huber

            If we assume Patrick could even imagine inflicting his brutish male lusts upon Alison (highly unlikely!) then I acknowledge this entire sequence could be viewed as wish fulfillment on Patrick’s part. And whatever transpires leaves Alison as blameless as helpless.

            But keep in mind a projective telepath’s power is limited only by his creativity. He could make you perceive things which aren’t there – or not perceive things which are! He could make Alison think he was Clevin, or lurk in Clevin’s mind when they are cuddling (or Alison for that matter). That Patrick hasn’t done these things speaks well of his sincerity here.

            Besides, I want this sweet scene to be real. For if the eyes are the windows to the soul, then surely the Beloved’s eyes are the mirrors of our selves?

  • DaktariD

    Poor Klevin

  • Audrey Ryer

    booooooooo
    clevin for life

  • JP

    Poor Clevin. :/

  • Ladon

    No snarky comments or stupid dialogue from me here. I love this. And I think that all the people who think she’s gonna break up with Clevin now are silly. Love can be pure and powerful without being romantic. This actually reminds me a bit of me and my best friend. Except I’ve never killed anybody and neither has she. But you know, comics are often reflections of life, as all art is, just very much more dramatic.

  • Prodigal

    This is an absolutely beautiful moment. And I hope they leave it totally platonic.

  • Kiran O’Farrell

    I feel really bad for Clevin right about now.

    • Lex of Excel

      Let’s just wait for clarification before we jump to conclusions.

  • sagelynaive

    Maybe it’s just me, but I didnt read this as romantic. I thought this was a platonic I love you, but not by any means an unimportant one. Specifically to add closure not only for the previous page, but for the whole adventure we’ve juat had. Patrick knows that one person on this little planet cares about his continued well being and happiness, even if it’s not in the way he’d like. Idk if thats maling any sense, but based on him, a mind reader, agreeing that she’s happy with Clevin sets the tone for this to be more than just a romantic declaration (read:not one at all)

    Regardless I’m sure we’ll find out in the next couple pages.

  • FlashNeko

    This… is feeling very Avengers # 200.

    And creepy. Really really creepy.

    • Skudplastr

      Dammit, now I have to look that up!

      • Lex of Excel

        Atop the Fourth Wall did an episode on it.

        It’s as bad as you’ve heard. Very reminiscent of “The Child” in Star Trek TNG.

        • Weatherheight

          Considering the comic came out in 1981, other way around, but yeah, I had the exact same reaction when watching that episode.

          • Lex of Excel

            I have yet to see any work of fiction that uses the premise in a tasteful way. I’m not even certain it’s possible.

            Then again, it’s TNG season 2. Hard to be good at that point in the show.

      • Weatherheight
    • Weatherheight

      Carol Danvers – poster child for unsubtle punishment of feminists in comics.
      Damn, that character has bee treated shabbily.

  • Viirin

    Brennan, you’re great. You write like this, and like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFKQ7GflRkk

    You impress me.

  • Weatherheight

    I really like the sentiment being expressed here.
    And I feel the need for 3 doses of injected insulin now that I’ve read it.
    The very definition of ambivalence…

  • Ellie

    This might be nitpicking but why is the ‘monster’ Alison sees herself as more muscular than her real self? Girl’s supposed to be the strongest person alive with hair that takes a flame thrower to shave, yet she’s so clean-shaven and lean?

    • sagelynaive

      Because 1. Its supposed to be a distorted mental image thats not accurate to how she actually is, and she isnt as abstract a person as Patrick is, and 2. her power (at least the most concerning and destructive aspect) is super strength and its illustrating that she’s worried about her powers making her less human. If she was exactly the same aside from the pink 2nd gear Luffy esque skin and blood, that would be a lot less obvious.

    • nat365

      There was a point in the comic where they explained that her ‘strength’ is actually telekinetic ability, which stretches in a field around herself, which was why a natural extension of it was flight (she could move other things she was in physical contact with, and protect herself with the telekinetic ‘shield’ – the next step was moving herself around).
      Like Patrick, I think there are aspects of it she can’t control (such as it extending to her hair even when she doesn’t want/need it to). But it is not physical strength, it’s a mental power *presenting* as physical strength – hence why Alison is so ‘lean’… no idea how she’s handling shaving anything though – you’re right on the money with that one!

  • Darkoneko Hellsing

    oh my

  • BGB

    “Okay, now that we’ve sorted this thing out, what do you know about Guwara?”

    • Sterling Ericsson

      Seriously though. That plot thread keeps dangling. It has multiple neon signs and arrows pointing at it at this point.

  • san

    This feels eerily similar to how Patrick went back his parents’ house in order to stop hearing their thoughts and then mind controlled his mom into loving him 🤔

    • nonasuch

      But Patrick’s problem was that his parents were thinking about him negatively all the time, and he couldn’t stop hearing them. With Alison, it seems like he could live with her thinking ill of him– it’s that she wasn’t thinking of him at all that he couldn’t cope with.

      • nat365

        Which does not actually make it any better or less likely that he would want that changed. Her not thinking of him caused a mental breakdown. If he returned knowing he was going to *make* her keep thinking of him, wouldn’t he choose love over hate? Even if initially he was able to cope with hate, when it’s his choice I doubt that would be the option he’d go for.

  • hmmmmm

  • Pyro

    AL THE BUFF BABE

  • Hiram

    I’d like to see more of madam angry chain and raspberry jello mold man’s adventures.

  • Orudein

    Clev, buddy, I’ve got some bad news about your girlfriend; more specifically your lack of one.

  • Arklyte

    /cough/ Psst, Al, polygamy is a thing. /cough/

  • a person

    Sucks to be Clevin.

    • Arklyte

      Relax, it won’t be for long. Characters with power level as high as what was just revealed to be Patrick’s(projecting telepathy instead of simply passive or even semi-active one) don’t survive for long, they’re a burden to the story and authors. Same as why some people expect Max aka “power booster supreme” to be already dead by now offscreen.

      • a person

        Yeah but even if Patrick dies Alison basically just admitted to herself that she’s willing to dump Clevin for Patrick, so either 1. She’s going to dump him anyway or 2. He’s going to be going out with someone who knows she doesn’t love him and would rather be with a dead man. No matter what happens at this point he’s in a shitty position.

        • Arklyte

          Why? Had she reached some sort of hardcap or legal limitation?:

  • ColeB

    Lovely bottom art, just saying

  • Tam Song

    This page is awesome!

  • yeshallbeasgods

    I love the sun and moon symbolism here.

  • Olivier Faure

    Allison *really* liked that wrecking ball.