30 thoughts on “Chapter 5: Lit, page 64.”

  1. Oh Scipio.

    You have hitched your wagon to the wrong star.

    Not to say that Epiphany will ever be a star, of course, it’s just a saying that–um. You know, I don’t know where I was going with this.

    1. Pippi is more like a black hole… sucking everyone and everything near her into certain destruction, never giving anything good back.

      1. “Pippi is more like a black holeā€¦ sucking everyone and everything near her”

        Pippi would say, with tears, “I was forced to do that! *sniff*”

  2. Well, this is going to end in tragedy.

    As for Pippi, I think she’s just really freakin’ scared. She’s scared because her mom beat the shit out of her and she probably doesn’t understand why Scip’s not doing the same, she’s scared because she thinks she’ll get kicked out, she’s scared because she is seventeen and has absolutely no idea who she is or what she’s doing.

  3. Wow.

    Ray has a serious case of the Saint Peters. She really needs to get her shit together if she is this emotionally involved in other people’s business. Especially Scip’s.

    1. Well, she is pretty sure that this could land him in jail. To her, she’s doing a good thing and trying to help him, like Scipio thinks he’s helping Pippi.
      She’s just very abrasive.
      But oh my god Ray what are you thinking.
      “I’d believe ‘er.”
      Aughghghgh that is heading nowhere good.

  4. Honestly, I’m kind of impressed with both of them on this matter. I’m impressed with how Scipio wants to always believe the best in someone he regards as a friend, and I’m impressed with Ray for unflinchingly letting her friend have it – it seems like more of a protective matter than anything. She wants Scipio to understand the ramifications of what’s going on – something he seems hell bent on ignoring. I really love the dynamic! Thanks for such a well-written piece!

    1. You’re reading it differently than I am. Ray is saying that if she didn’t know Scip, she would believe the crying young girl saying the big black bodybuilder forced himself on her. She’s simply trying to get Scip to understand he needs to defend himself here, rather than just blindly hope Epiphany doesn’t pull something like what Ray is hinting at.

      1. She also knows he literally put his dick in the one character dumber than Flora, works at a job playing nanny over hot public-wetting-themselves bitches despite a total lack of interest in anything he can name about it, is in a wierd vaguely legal cohabitation relationship with a damaged-goods seventeen-year-old. Either he has a thing for dependent relationships with mentally and emotionally stunted girls or the universe has conspired to make it look a hell of a lot like he does. “She’s seventeen” is a pretty bad defense given the context.

        1. I had forgotten about Curio, but that’s a different sort of ick. You do make a strong case though for why it would look mighty suspicous, to those who don’t know Scip is a deeply decent sort.

  5. Scipio really should have thought about this already as well; any large and imposing man (oh sweet Heebiejesus especially a large and imposing Black-In-America man) seriously needs to be aware of how easily a deranged or assholish person could get him beat down by The Law just by filing a false report. He’s a nice guy so it apparently never has occurred to him that such a thing could happen, but the world is full of the kind of asshole who wouldn’t give a second thought to destroying someone’s life with that bullshit, and the kind of asshole who would auto-believe it without bothering to check. Epiphany is a total waste of skin already.

    1. I gotta wonder, though, what would Scip’s mom do to someone spreading lies of her son? Roast them slowly over open fire and serve as appetizers?

  6. Ray has obviously not been served well by the justice system; we know this by her reluctance to let the “baby-snatchers” deal with Eugene and by the printing on her flask (Evidence: State vs. Raegan), so it’s natural that she’s trying to avoid bringing the police in.
    There may be a small amount of selfishness in her action, but I support where she’s going.
    And for the record, she says “I’d believe her” as in “I would believe her if I was in the shoes of whatever constable she’s going to talk to and didn’t know you.” Not that she does believe her.
    I don’t know what’s up Pippi’s grill, but I just can’t bring myself to like her. She’s far too conniving. Scip’s awesome for trying, but there’s a point where you should not make yourself vulnerable past.

    1. Interesting dynamic, isn’t it? In Reagan’s benefit, I think she is concerned about Gene losing Zora which is part of why she tries to justify his family She also has no idea the kind of harm they do (remember Ben only got an idea of what was happening by what he heard through the walls). I think if she had any clue she’d do something, but given that she cares about Gene, it makes it harder… Kind of an interesting and realistic view of how people handle damaged people they care about and abuse situations.

    1. She told Scip that her mom’s ex-bf tried to rape her, but he found out that she got beat up by her mother because she was hooking up with him. That doesn’t mean she made it up necessarily, but it does cast a lot of doubt on her story, and considering Scip (the most trusting human being ever) called her on it chances are she lied about the rape thing.

  7. Wow. Spike was at TCAF this year,and when I was fanboying to her about Scip she kind of smiled and said he was in for some rough times. Hoo boy. Can’t wait to see how much worse this can get…

    1. Likewise. Best solution would be to get someone “take care of” Pippi so she’d never bother anyone ever again, but short of killing her I don’t know what that something could be. Lobotomia, perhaps?

  8. I love Scip and Reagan’s arguments, though any time they’re in the same room could technically count as an argument. They’re two entertaining people whose reasonable, sympathetic. believable opinions happen to be complete opposites.

    And the page rate lately has been just amazing; really makes me want a Cintiq. When I get rich someday.

  9. My god Ray’s words are so tangible. By far, my favorite power-duet of the comic. Both convicted and motivated, but very much unstoppable force vs. immovable object. Or really, two unstoppable forces in conflicting points of view. The second panel, the finger wave… oh you did not just go there..

  10. Considering my cousin almost lost his job and liberty because one of his (notoriously dramatic and truth-impaired) students claimed he grabbed her butt in front of a class of 30-plus students- none of whom backed her up- because he dared to tell her to put her cell phone away….Scipio needs to listen to Ray very, very closely right now.

    1. It’s terrifying people like that exist, because when real sexual assault victims try to get justice/help it makes it all the harder (and it’s already difficult enough as it is).

    2. Louisa, let me guess – your friend lives in the States? (Or possibly Britain, which is another country where students seem to get away with pretty much anything and the teacher is always the underdog.)

      1. Ding ding ding! The US. When the student’s mother came to the school and basically assaulted him (screamed in his face and grabbed at his shirt- and if this shows you what kind of person he is, my 6’4″ athletic cousin just took it because she was a woman), another student whipped out their cell phone and recorded the incident. …And then the principal, a friend of the mother, confiscated the phone and erased the recording.

        Only the fact that the case was eventually dismissed gives me any sort of confidence in the justice system anymore. And yes, Dotcom, I HATE the fact that girls like this make it harder for actual sexual assault victims. If anything, I find that sort of false accusation just as despicable- it’s a devastating way to fuck up somebody’s life. And a high school student is old enough to know that.

Leave a Reply to TexasNinjaBuzzard Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *