Skin Horse

By Shaenon K. Garrity & Jeffrey C. Wells
By Shaenon K. Garrity & Jeffrey C. Wells
Color by Pancha Diaz
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2014-04-22
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2014-04-22

by shaenon on April 22, 2014 at 12:01 am
Chapter: The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
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Discussion (38) ¬

  1. Burning
    April 22, 2014, 12:19 am | # | Reply

    I’m not convinced that “can kill me with stinging” becomes much better when combined with any known antonyms for “whimsical.”

    • maarvarq
      April 22, 2014, 4:16 am | # | Reply

      It seems to be to be more acceptable joined with “sober”, “cautious” or “restrained”.

    • jdreyfuss
      April 22, 2014, 7:01 am | # | Reply

      The worst possible synonyms for “whimsical” to combine with any phrase that begins with “can kill me with” are “capricious” and “psychotic.”

  2. Manifesta
    April 22, 2014, 1:18 am | # | Reply

    tune: “Get Me to the Church on Time,” My Fair Lady , Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Lowe, 1956

    I’m so allergic to a bee sting
    That I’d convert from “am” to “not”
    No more abiding
    That’s why I’m hiding
    Please save me from a drunk Gavotte

    Why does she sound like she’s a Cockney?
    Where is her usual “spit-spot”?
    When she sounds squiffy
    My life feels iffy
    So save me from a drunk Gavotte

    Mou-sta-chi-o says she’s “whimsical”
    Stingers plus whimsy?
    Don’t like that at all!

    She cannot recognize our door now
    Does that sound normal? It does not!
    Miss prim and straight-laced
    Sounds like she’s shit-faced

    So save me from these bees
    I plead on my knees
    For Pete’s sake, save me from a drunk Gavotte

    • Little Sis
      April 22, 2014, 8:35 am | # | Reply

      That was loverly!

    • Andrew
      April 22, 2014, 12:47 pm | # | Reply

      Quite.

  3. Flah
    April 22, 2014, 2:09 am | # | Reply

    Funny, I always imagined Moustachio to be bronze instead of cast iron. Was it ever established what he’s made from and I just didn’t pay attention?

    • codebracker
      April 22, 2014, 2:26 am | # | Reply

      Naah, Iron man’s not iron either. Gavote’s just drunk.

    • jdreyfuss
      April 22, 2014, 7:02 am | # | Reply

      I think they said he is brass, but they never said he isn’t white brass.

      • Paul
        April 22, 2014, 1:41 pm | # | Reply

        Brass pipes, springs, and fittings at least. Tigerlily was ticked that someone has replaced it with PVC before she came along.

  4. Brian
    April 22, 2014, 3:00 am | # | Reply

    I’m guessing it’s colony collapse disorder. After all, she does seem very disorderly.

  5. AYH
    April 22, 2014, 3:41 am | # | Reply

    It could be that Gavote’s hive has spawned a new queen. I believe I heard that when a colony as a new queen, the new queen will leave along with a good chunk of the swarm, thus leaving Gavote a bit ‘lessened’ until she can build herself back up again.

    • Barking Monkey
      April 22, 2014, 5:47 am | # | Reply

      It’s called ‘swarming’ – I had the same thought. I’ve sometimes wondered if that’s how Gavotte’s daughter came to be, rather than via normal bee reproduction which is a lot more frequent and scattershot. I also always imagined her with a refined ‘Boston Brahmin’ accent rather than english for some reason.

    • okiegoddess
      April 22, 2014, 10:42 pm | # | Reply

      Actually, as someone who helps with beekeeping, it is the old queen leaving when a hive swarms.

  6. Eddurd
    April 22, 2014, 5:42 am | # | Reply

    Well done Manifesta!

  7. Eddurd
    April 22, 2014, 6:06 am | # | Reply

    (TUNE: “Bicycle Race”, Queen)

    Whim-sical! Whim-sical! Whim-sical!
    Gavotte can be so
    Whim-sical! Whim-sical! Whim-sical!

    Gavotte can be so whimsical,
    Gavotte enjoys a jest!
    Gavotte is unpredictable,
    Right now she’s not quite at her best …

     She says “Whee!” I duck down!
     She feels glee, but I frown!
     Now I crawl, while she’s flying!
      On my schedule today,
      There’s no time for dying!

     She is buzzed! I feel sick!
     All because I’m allergic!
     Histamine isn’t keen!
      Casual Moustachio
      Says, “You needn’t fret, you know!
      Our Gavotte can be so …

    Whim-sical! Whim-sical! Whim-sical!
    Gavotte can be so
    Whim-sical! Whim-sical! Whim-sical!

  8. robertnowall
    April 22, 2014, 6:45 am | # | Reply

    Bobby = Policeman?

    • jdreyfuss
      April 22, 2014, 7:08 am | # | Reply

      Cockney slang is rhyming, rather than attributive, so I’m guessing Bobby is the first name with a last name that rhymes with either “door” or “knob.”

      Update: Research indicates “Bobby” is short for “Bobby Moore.” Apparently Cockney slang for police is “ducks,” short for “ducks and geese.”

      • robertnowall
        April 22, 2014, 7:26 am | # | Reply

        Bobbies were named after Sir Robert Peel. “Bobby pin?”

        • matteo
          April 22, 2014, 9:25 am | # | Reply

          Bobby pins are named after Robert Kerby, hence those from the British Isles calling them “kerby grips”.

          • matteo
            April 22, 2014, 9:33 am | #

            … or at least that was the story I was told. A quick search around the internet casts doubt, however. YMMV

          • irdburns
            April 22, 2014, 9:54 am | #

            Google Translate doesn’t sanction ‘brittish’

        • jdreyfuss
          April 22, 2014, 12:48 pm | # | Reply

          Yes, “Bobbies” is slang for the police in the UK. Context and the fact that she said she was having trouble with “the bobby” instead of “the bobbies” when there was no cop in the room indicates that she wasn’t talking about cops. Tip also opened the door for her after she said that.

      • Andy4Hire
        April 22, 2014, 7:12 pm | # | Reply

        I don’t know if “bobby” is a standard Cockney slang term for anything, but “knob” would make sense in this context, given the difficulty a gestalt entity comprised of insects is likely to have operating a standard primate-oriented doorknob. Good call, jdreyfuss!

  9. chicgeek
    April 22, 2014, 8:09 am | # | Reply

    Yep! Which is why coppers are bobbies or peelers. love the cockney rhyming slang. Twist-twist and twirl-girl.
    Hmm…wonder if Gavotte’s been at the mead again?

  10. Guesticus
    April 22, 2014, 8:47 am | # | Reply

    Still say that this sawrm at the door is not Gavotte, but her english relative

    If Gavotte is some form of police-officer, this is the first mention of it, so it’s more likely they are referring to a ‘bobby pin’ and attempting to use that to pick the lock to open the door

  11. Guesticus
    April 22, 2014, 8:51 am | # | Reply

    Gavotte’s drunk relative (and guess who’s room they will be bunking in during their un-announced stay? go on, guess, your guess is as good as anyone elses :P)

    • irdburns
      April 22, 2014, 9:55 am | # | Reply

      Thus beginning a series called ‘problems Tip can’t seduce his way out of’

      • Paul
        April 22, 2014, 1:45 pm | # | Reply

        Well, super-gerbil and werewolves weren’t enough for that. I’m sure given time he’d have managed with the intelligent swamp. This just requires a smidge more creativity than usual.

  12. freddiefreelance
    April 22, 2014, 9:03 am | # | Reply

    You’re not going to get much compassion complaining about “can kill me with stinging” to someone wearing a “We Belong Dead” shirt.

  13. Blue Wonder
    April 22, 2014, 9:36 am | # | Reply

    I never really thought about it before, but I suppose Gavotte always did sound sort of British. After all, it’s hard to tell in a comic strip.

  14. Treesong
    April 22, 2014, 10:15 am | # | Reply

    http://www.freelang.net/dictionary/docs/html_cockney_english.php says rhyming slang for ‘door’ can be George (Bernard Shaw), Henry (Moore), Roger (Moore), or Rory (O’Moore), but not Bobby. That can be Bobby & Dick (sick) or Bobby Moore (sure or score), none of which seem to fit the situation.

  15. Treesong
    April 22, 2014, 10:22 am | # | Reply

    Ah, but http://www.cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk/slang/bobby-moore says Bobby Moore = door. It is a kinda improv slang.
    Given the ‘Wheeee’ when the door was opened, I’m inclined to think Gavotte is drunk on mead and reverting to her pre-Higgins state. Who her Henry Higgins was, I have no idea.

  16. Steve Jackson
    April 22, 2014, 12:45 pm | # | Reply

    Having kept bees: It is the old queen that leaves. The new queen is now in charge at the old location. We would appear to be dealing with a young daughter of Gavotte, new-come to power.

  17. Andrew
    April 22, 2014, 1:30 pm | # | Reply

    Speaking of Whimsical…(and I’ve had this playing in my head all morning)

    Sung to the Doraemon, theme song:

    Here comes Gavotte!
    Buzzing around the office,
    not recognizing anything since 1978
    zoomy zoomy zoo-my
    Moustachio’s worried
    his brass cover looking very tin
    She POKES at the door,
    trying to get to work…
    (Oi! How do you open this bloody thing?)
    Buzz, buzz, buzz,
    our director
    Gavotte!

    So we meet Gavotte!
    Having resolved some zombies
    with an handsome Emperor (and Vicky)
    Cookie, cookie, coo-kie
    Unity resolves herself with brains
    But do we trust ourselves with Skin Horsey?
    Try to tell a Bee that’s a door…
    (Oi…none of your lip then!)
    Buzz, buzz, buzz,
    our director
    Gavotte!

    Here flies Gavotte!
    Usually she’s smarty
    Not kind to par-ty on the patio
    Colma, Colma, Colma
    now what we do afterward?
    Maybe Nick’s romantic love sim will help!
    Now G calls Tip a Minister!
    (Oi…Mornington Crescent!)
    Buzz, buzz, buzz,
    our director
    Gavotte!
    Buzz, buzz, buzz,
    our director
    Gavotte!

  18. Pygar
    April 22, 2014, 3:28 pm | # | Reply

    I’m guessing iron armor over brass guts… I would not be surprised if he knew *exactly* where Boilerplate the Robot is today; they are clearly relatives. Remember the spaceship graveyard in (I think) the first Men in Black movie? Love to see that done in robots… Futura (the Metropolis robotrix), Rhoda, Robby, B-9, Boilerplate. But *not* Tweeki. Given the choice, I think I’d go with Rhoda “Miss 709” though…

  19. Shadowmehr
    April 22, 2014, 6:53 pm | # | Reply

    Subtlety is not something Mustacio was programmed for, was he?

    The only way that could be more suspicious if he popped up a steam whistle to play a tune while his optics were scanning the sky.

  20. Andy4Hire
    April 22, 2014, 7:19 pm | # | Reply

    I don’t know if Gavotte’s apparent Britishness is natural or affected, but I usually hear her in the voice of either Penelope Wilton or Judi Dench, or occasionally Penelope Keith, all depending on her mood. Maybe I just haven’t figured out the right British actress to voice her consistently.

    Moustachio, meanwhile, I usually hear as Jim Carter.

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