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1. • CommentAuthorKosmopolit
   • CommentTimeJun 28th 2009

    (6236.121)
   It's a mix of both. You don't get splatter patterns like that from shit unless there's some really nasty new form of explosive diarrhea in the future or Kait has a bowel disruptor.
2. • CommentAuthordaffyd_morris
   • CommentTimeJun 28th 2009 edited

    (6236.122)
   ... bowel..disruptor...??? :O
3. • CommentAuthorKosmopolit
   • CommentTimeJun 28th 2009

    (6236.123)

   Spider's weapon of choice for most of the series is a handheld "bowel disruptor," which causes instant and painful loss of bowel control, with various settings that allow him to vary the level of pain and discomfort the device will inflict, ranging from simple diarrhea to complete rectal prolapse. At a much harsher level, the victim has a bowel movement so dramatic and agonizing that it induces unconsciousness. While at least three times in the series, it is revealed through dialogue that the gun can be set to 'Fatal Intestinal Maelstrom'. Spider prefers this weapon because, despite being illegal, it is (usually) non-lethal and its effects are untraceable. His assistants, Channon and Yelena, have also been armed with bowel disruptors during The Cure arc.

   
   
   link
   
   If you haven't read Transmet stop whatever you're doing and go buy it.
4. • CommentAuthorQuixotess
   • CommentTimeJun 28th 2009

    (6236.124)
   *shrug* Transmet isn't a lot like Freakangels; just because you like Freakangels doesn't mean you'd like Transmet. I know it's a lot of people's favorite comic, of course. But there's also a big difference between things you'll partake in when they are free, as webcomics are, and things you will partake in when they are expensive, as graphic novels are.
   
   @purplewyrm: I suppose it doesn't make a lot of sense to me when it's just as easy to make plausible speculations. I'm not saying "don't speculate"; I'm saying "don't make up explanations that go against the story." Constructing theories that you know are wrong is not an activity whose purpose I easily grasp. Still, if you enjoy it (I guess many people do, given how popular Lost is) there's nothing wrong with that, you're absolutely right.
5. •  
     CommentAuthormister hex
   • CommentTimeJun 28th 2009

    (6236.125)
   @ Quixotess - I don't think anybody "constructs theories they know to be wrong." I think people speculate without all the facts and as facts are slowly revealed, these speculations are either proved way off, bang on or somewhere in between. It's a testament to Warren and Paul's incredible work that so many people care so deeply what happens and which way the stoy's turning.
   
   As for Transmet, it's obviously quite different that Freakangels but this is Warren's board and maybe some people haven't read it. (They really should. It's fucking awesome.) In fact, other than OCEAN and ORBITER and MINISTRY OF SPACE, which are thematically linked, the vast majority of Warren's work is quite unique, in terms of subject matter. (My favorite is SCARS. But that's just me.)
   
   Freakangels is available in collected editions that are quite affordable, adorable, collectible and invaluable to every good human. Also, there's merch like bags and tees and stuff. Warren, Paul, Ariana and Mr Christensen all have to make money off this, somehow. Sure, Warren loves us but nobody loves anybody that much.
   
   I was thinking about tea in Whitechapel. Obviously, they have it (enough to make wine out of) but ... do they still have any left? I bet most people there haven't had a nice cup of tea in a looong time. This would be important to British people, yeah? Look at how excited they were about the chikkenz!
6. •  
     CommentAuthorjohnjones
   • CommentTimeJun 28th 2009

    (6236.126)
   Re: Sirkka's erasure of the girl's experience.
   
   Wow, we got some judgmental folks on that one, huh?
   
   My take is that Sirkka did not do the right thing in that moment. She simply did the least wrong thing.
   
   But maybe I'm wrong about that. Maybe there was another path for her to take. So let's decision-tree this motherfucker for a bit and check it out, shall we?
   
   Okay, so instead of wiping the girl's mind (and body and spirit) of the rape, they give her only conventional care and she keeps the knowledge of what has occurred.
   
   So the 'angels have a new decision to make. Do they work to keep their secret or let things fall as they will? If they choose to keep the secret that means killing the girl or at least inducing her to keep silent, probably through intimidation of some sort. Scaring (or killing) the rape victim seems kind of wrong to me.
   
   So, let's say the 'angels simply decide to "come out" or just let things go. Suddenly Whitechapel realizes that the odd pale, purple-eyed kids who've been so helpful are actually inhuman freaks with terrifying powers. Assuming that the Freakangels are willing to leave and use their abilities only to defend themselves, that means that Whitechapel is now without its defenders, doctors, engineers, etc. Oh, and recall that Whitechapel has just taken in another hundred people who are sick and injuried. Figure without the 'angels, people will be dying there very very soon. Which also seems wrong.
   
   Of course, that's only if Whitechapel wants them to leave, what if they want them to stay? To stay and rule, actually? At that point the 'angels have overt power in Whitechapel. Some folks might even see them as Angels and pray to them. So, instead of a demi-cooperative community, Whitechapel would become a quasi-feudal theocracy ruled absolutely by "divine right." You think current religious rule is bad. Think it much it'd suck to have the "gods" right there with you. Seems really, really wrong to me.
   
   This isn't an exhaustive list of possibilities by any means, but I think we have a view of the consequences of different decisions.
   
   So there it is, and looking the various paths over, I stand with my statement that Sirkka chose the least wrong path. Sometimes there is no right path, just like in real life.
7. • CommentAuthordaffyd_morris
   • CommentTimeJun 28th 2009

    (6236.127)
   @johnjones
   
   hmmm, makes sense. i too agree that what she did was wrong, but i hadnt considered that it was the least wrong thing.
8. •  
     CommentAuthormister hex
   • CommentTimeJun 28th 2009

    (6236.128)
   What Sirkka did was not wrong but not quite right. Compassionate and yet expedient. Now the Freakangels are in Battle Mode. Judgement Mode.
   
   As for Kait ... she's been described as crazy from the start.
9. • CommentAuthormocha
   • CommentTimeJun 28th 2009

    (6236.129)
   re: sirkka wiping the girl's mind
   
   If she didn't know what was happening to her, as hypothesized by some, then why was there any need to wipe her mind at all? If they're just "being careful", they should have figured out exactly what she knew and didn't know and determined a course of action based upon this information.
   
   If she knew what was happening, as also hypothesized, it's still wrong to take that experience away from someone without their consent. As Quixotess said, it's no cake walk being a rape victim will all the flashbacks, panic attacks, trust issues, nightmares, etc. but taking the memory away from someone without their consent is like raping them all over again--you've ignored what they actually want for your own selfish reasons. It is not compassionate. It is not "nice".
   Most rape victims are incredibly silent about the whole ordeal. I doubt she would've gone screaming through the streets telling everyone what had happened to her and what the 'angels were capable of. At that point after being attacked, you generally seek comfort from those who you know and trust or you hole up and never speak about it to anyone (at least for an extremely long time...years, if at all). It is far more compassionate to let the victim take in what happened and express whether or not they want the memory erased.
   
   After thinking about it more, this is the best course of action I can come to (this would've looked much better as a flow chart):
   1. Assess whether or not the victim was aware of what happened to her. (if no, then you have nothing to worry about other than some possible bumps and bruises)
   2. If she was aware, assess what she does and doesn't know (such as, does she know what the 'angels are capable of?)
   3. Attend to any other medical issues she may have (possible tearing, etc.)
   4. Let her know that none of it was her fault and that her assailant will be brought to justice. Give her the opportunity to knee him and/or castrate him, if you're so inclined.
   5. Ask if she wants to forget what happened. If yes, then go ahead and erase that memory. If no, then don't. Offer her anything else she needs.
   6. If she does know what the 'angels are capable of, there are options, such as letting her know the outcomes of what would happen if she told people, giving her a job where they can keep watch over her, etc.
10. • CommentAuthorapolloin
    • CommentTimeJun 28th 2009 edited

     (6236.130)
    Mocha - people's memories don't work like that. Shock blanks a lot of traumatic things from recall initially - but it has a terrible habit of 'filling in the blanks' later. I personally think that Sirkka performed the ultimate memory triage in this case.
    
    1. She cleaned the girl VERY thoroughly. To me that suggests inside and outside cleansing. And curing of any physical damage. I don't think that pregnancy is going to be an issue - nobody conceives within seconds of the act - let alone whilst the act is in progress.
    
    2. Nobody outside Alice and the Angels knows what's happened. Sirkka returns the girl to her friends saying that she's fallen and hit her head and to look after her. The girl makes a recovery but is always a little hazy about what happened. Provided nobody confronts her with it later - where's the harm?
    
    3. She cleared both the conscious and the subconscious of the event. This doesn't sound like a clumsy conditioning or a memory block where the memories are retained - it sounded like a very thorough removal of all memories of the event. No nightmares. No subconscious cues driving her nuts.
    
    Just going ahead and making the problem 'go away' does have its moral pitfalls, though. They have removed the choice from the victim, for a start. They have placed themselves above her and acted in a paternalistic way. They have also hidden the crime for not entirely altruistic reasons - now they are free to act against Luke behind closed doors. Whatever choice they make is now up to the Freak Angels to decide upon - essentially they are setting themselves up as Lords with a separate code of Laws and trial only by their Peers - the other Angels.
    
    On the other hand, why sugar coat this? If it had been Miki or KK or the Engineer girl (whose name escapes me, sorry!) who had acted in this way - would they be as disposable as parasitic Luke with his head full of useless, selfish knowledge that he refuses to use in the common good? If he was as intellectual as they say he is then he should be neck deep in Grand Strategy for expanding the Whitechapel enclave, in diplomacy with the surrounding groups or just in acting as a schoolmaster for the Whitechapel children - to preserve vital knowledge.
    
    The locals can't enforce law upon the Angels. The Angels could handily butcher them all in a pitched fight. They also can't develop the enclave without the help of the Angels. The Angels are going to be coordinating development, research and planning together for as long as they live. Without them, Whitechapel will fall apart quickly. The Angels are going to wind up as a ruling class - even if they refuse to appropriate all the traditional trappings of one. Can they place themselves under the authority of those more short-sighted and unable to enforce that authority over them?
11. •  
      CommentAuthorcity creed
    • CommentTimeJun 28th 2009

     (6236.131)
    well, if there was a missing 'to' in the dialogue on p5 it's been fixed now, fast work. Whitechapel=crowd-sourced proofreading :P
    
    Another great ep, didn't get to read it til now as weekend has been somewhat hectic. p6 is visually just epic, and of course, win. My first thought on seeing it was that it was simply Kait's stage, painstakingly dressed to encourage compliance and a certain nervous eagerness to please. Something about the graffiti I think, I'm not sure why, like it's more like what Kait might write there than what some luckless, mutilated and half-dead wretch might scratch into the wall with the shards of his shattered femur. In some ways, I'd rather not ever know for sure one way or the other...
    
    Maybe it's just that I've always had a bit of a soft spot for psycho-toughnut Kait and though I do think she's probably at least a little crazy, I don't believe she's actually outright evil. Still, me and Kait are kind of on a break just now (don't tell her, she's just so angry all the time) as I think I'm maybe starting to feel a deeper, you know, bond, with Sirkka...
    This picture of Sirkka on the third panel of this page, from the last episode is all-out superb. Looking at that, I see so many conflicting tensions on Sirkka's face - outrage, pity, horror, fury, and most of all the utterly implacable certainty of Luke's comeupance. All this and she is not losing her temper overtly, she is contained, composed even, as her and Caz shovel the freakpressure thick on Luke, forcing him first to his knees and then crushing him flat onto the buckling tarmac. and this from the freaky sex 'kangel! Sirkka delivers.
    
    As to the heal/remove, I don't see the issue really. She did what she had to do to protect the group without hesitating. She removed the girl's choice but she can't really take the risk that the girl's choice isn't going to be to undo everything the 'kangels have worked so hard for. It seems obvious to me that she does care about the girl and wants to help her recover as completely as possible but there is no question for her as to whether or not she should do the memory wipe in the first place. Expedient and immoral? maybe. Necessary for the continued existence of the Whitechapel project? most likely. Least worst is a good way to look at it I guess.
    
    I love Professor Imagine's idea of the cop who shoots first and still asks the questions later. Crazy Kait, killing people, to find out what they know.
    Nah, she's not that bad, just a weapons geek with a stick up her ass and an unhealthy fixation on being THE LAW.
    
    And it's not a pool is it, I reckon that guess about it being a part of the city's plumbing system is a good one.
    
    And no, I ain't buying a Jack/Sirkka incest subplot at any price. Ick.
12. •  
      CommentAuthorMelanieB
    • CommentTimeJun 28th 2009

     (6236.132)
    Awesome episode. Awesome. I loved Arkady on page five, hehe.
    
    I think people already touched upon the ideas running around my head at the time. I think Sirrka did the best on-the-spot-don't-have-time-to-ponder-too-long move. If she's going to clense the girl mentally and physically, then it's like a complete reversal of time for her body. I do agree with Alice, that it's not the BEST solution, but Whitechapel isn't being presented to us as the perfect place where everything happens perfectly, either.
    
    I don't think Kait tortured as much as she tried to resurrect. Remember the bird she tried to bring back to life? She wanted to know who/what killed it, so it is quite possible she did the same to the Ripper victims as well (once Miki was done doing proper paperwork or whatnot). The words on the wall could be explained if the victim didn't see who the murderer was (which I believe is what happened to the Kait/Miki episode) and had been left alive a bit before dying/becoming lifeless once more.
    _____
    I had a wonderful weekend. Went four hours out of the city and hiking up into the mountains. Lovely natural hotspring to dip in as well.
13. • CommentAuthorQuixotess
    • CommentTimeJun 28th 2009

     (6236.133)
    Remember that it's not just Sirkka whose actions are questionable here. Caz is also complicit in brushing off Alice. Together they really do make the situation bullshit.
14. •  
      CommentAuthordiello
    • CommentTimeJun 28th 2009 edited

     (6236.134)
    I still want to know why the girl didn't question going for a nice little walk with a guy wearing no pants.
    
    Also, Kait would have a bowel disruptor. I'm going to go back and double check her wall of weapons.
    
    Edit:
    
    Is that it next to the cuffs??? ;)
15. •  
      CommentAuthorTanuki
    • CommentTimeJun 29th 2009

     (6236.135)
    I cannot remember the exact quote, but someone said 'If you lead, you will eventually have blood on your hands, it's just a question of how much.'
    
    The FA clan are pretty much the only authority in Whitechapel that we've been introduced to and they're obviously making it up as they go along. Part of my enjoyment for this series is watching their learning curve.
    
    I don't think anyone has questioned Kait before this, partly expediency, partly ignorance. Now they know it's going to be interesting to see if they can let her continue on as before. Remember, for those same reasons they've been ignoring Luke. As Caz said 'he broke the big rule' and the rules they've established are almost certainly for their own self preservation more than concern for mere mortals.
    
    It'll be interesting to find out how far Kait goes. Does the fun-room exsist just for a 'talking to' place or is it also for punishment? Does she mindwipe catch and release or does she disappear people? Kait may be mental but seems sincere, she's a Quincy fan, that's got to have formed her sense of justice.
16. •  
      CommentAuthorPurple Wyrm
    • CommentTimeJun 29th 2009

     (6236.136)
    @diello - I still want to know why the girl didn't question going for a nice little walk with a guy wearing no pants.
    
    I imagine she was still fairly dazed and disoriented after Luke and Sirkka's brain tampering. In ten minutes time she probably wouldn't even remember seeing him, let alone his pantlessness.
    
    As for that gun - I like to think someone was mad enough to wander into Whitechapel armed with a pepper-box.
17. • CommentAuthorKosmopolit
    • CommentTimeJun 29th 2009 edited

     (6236.137)

    "The FA clan are pretty much the only authority in Whitechapel that we've been introduced to and they're obviously making it up as they go along. Part of my enjoyment for this series is watching their learning curve.
    
    I don't think anyone has questioned Kait before this, partly expediency, partly ignorance. Now they know it's going to be interesting to see if they can let her continue on as before."

    
    
    Exactly.
    
    But if Kait doesn't continue as before are they going to reinvent prisons? Who guards the prisoners? Who pays the guards?
    
    what other sanctions do they have? Exile" Flogging? Mind wipes?
18. •  
      CommentAuthorPaul Duffield
    • CommentTimeJun 29th 2009

     (6236.138)
    @diello
    That's a hand-cranked taser. Maybe you could get someone to shit themselves with it?
    
    @mybrainhurts
    There is indeed :) A free sketch to anyone who figures out what it says XD
    
    @All
    The smears about the place are indeed both blood and shit. But just because the shit is smeared doesn't mean it started off that way. If people are writhing about in pain, and if there's standing water, I doubt any neat little curls would remain. Speculation is fine, but the balance is to be found in logic! The least bizarre explanation is normally the correct one!
19. •  
      CommentAuthorProfessor Imagine
    • CommentTimeJun 29th 2009

     (6236.139)
    I was returning after re-reading the arc and lingering, again, on page 6 to say that, Paul, I imagine you having the most fun with this page... all the details point to how much thought went into it. I'm seeing something new each time. that is my favorite art, which reveals new secrets over time.
20. •  
      CommentAuthorProfessor Imagine
    • CommentTimeJun 29th 2009

     (6236.140)
    now Paul's got me scouring the panel for his hidden message.
    
    I've found the message, which I'd never noticed before, but deciphering what it says is impossible. if anyone gets it, they deserve the free sketch. like you said before, Paul, it'll be in print before we can read it, yeah?
    
    thanks for driving us mad, though.