Skin Horse

By Shaenon K. Garrity & Jeffrey C. Wells
By Shaenon K. Garrity & Jeffrey C. Wells
Color by Pancha Diaz
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2018-11-09
‹‹ First ‹ Prev Buy! Comments(40) Next › Last ››

2018-11-09

by shaenon on November 9, 2018 at 12:01 am
Chapter: Figgs and Phantoms
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Discussion (40) ¬

  1. Robert Nowall
    November 9, 2018, 12:02 am | # | Reply

    Are the others okay with that?

  2. Anthony Bloker
    November 9, 2018, 12:28 am | # | Reply

    This has nothing to do with anything going on above, but I wanted to gush about just receiving my Narbonic Perfect Collection backer pack… and it is everything I could have hoped for and more <3 <3 <3

    I don't tend to fanboy very hard about anything but I've been SQUEEEEEEEEEE all evening XD XD

    I'm a VERY happy Abomination of Science :3

    • Not Fenimore
      November 9, 2018, 2:53 am | # | Reply

      Ditto! Got a cute picture of Generalissima Mel too!

    • Shaenon
      November 9, 2018, 4:11 am | # | Reply

      Thank you! I’m glad you like the books!

  3. wearsshoes
    November 9, 2018, 12:35 am | # | Reply

    Ginny just got told to mind her own beeswax.

  4. Owlmirror
    November 9, 2018, 12:42 am | # | Reply

    Looks like my interpretation of Delphi’s foretelling was correct. No bus did come for Virginia. And Virginia will not be with them forever, because they are all leaving.

    But! It may not be as bad as it looks. A freed and reintegrated Gavotte may be able to un-extirpate Dr. Lee.

    • wearsshoes
      November 9, 2018, 1:08 am | # | Reply

      What if Virginia joins the hivemind? What if she becomes… Virginia Bee?

      • Stevo
        November 9, 2018, 3:05 am | # | Reply

        It’d be like Christmas come early! Like Santa is real, one might say.

      • Exasperation
        November 9, 2018, 12:40 pm | # | Reply

        I have to admit, that’s the outcome I was secretly hoping for since it became apparent we were dealing with Gavotte.

      • Owlmirror
        November 9, 2018, 3:03 pm | # | Reply

        I don’t think this is going to happen, but I do think it could be cool scenario.
        Something like this:

        1) After everyone is on the bus, Mayor Queen leans out and says “Virginia! Now that I’m feeling more myself, I seem to have enough bees to split off a new daughter swarm. This swarm could be imprinted with your mind, if you wanted to be bees.” Virginia says “It would be an awfully big adventure! I’m in!”

        2) I’m not sure what happens after that. Is bee!Virginia a copy of human!Virginia, or is she the mind and soul of the only Virginia?

        3a) If she is all of Virginia, there could be scenes of Dr. Ao searching through Walnut Slave Camp for her, and not finding her, then panicking, leaving the VR, turning to where Virginia’s body is connected to the system, and trying to rouse her, and finding out that all that’s there is now Virginia’s body with a glassy blank stare. Nobody home.

        3b) But being a copy would make more sense, and the copy of Virginia in bees could help rescue her human self, then fly off to have adventures of her own.

        4) In either case, bee-Virginia can rescue Nick [with human-Virginia, in that scenario]. “Caramel Cinnamon Toast [or whatever breakfast treat it is]), all previous compulsions are lifted, let’s go!” She could also possibly pursue a relationship with Nick. “Well, I am no longer employed at Anasigma. On the one hand, I am now a bunch of bees. On the other, you are still a helicopter. This might be an irreconcilable difference for most people, but there is always VR. You could be playing games in your room, and I could knock on your door, and then we could see what happens.”

        • Chameon
          November 9, 2018, 5:00 pm | # | Reply

          Swarm of Bees / Helicopter romance.

          …Y’know what? I’d ship it. And not just in the punny way. It’d have a degree of adorableness and truly irreconcilably mad science. I don’t think Virginia could live without hands though. It’s much harder to SCIENCE! without hands.

          • awgiedawgie
            November 9, 2018, 6:57 pm | #

            She could always pilot a humanoid drone… or several, if each bee were capable of piloting its own. She could conceivably run every facet of her own lab simultaneously, and still spend time with Nick. Not quite the same tactile sensation when schlorping out brains, but she’d still get to enjoy the sound effects.

  5. awgiedawgie
    November 9, 2018, 1:03 am | # | Reply

    If nothing else, Virginia has learned that she can manipulate the VR through unconventional means.

    • Rimwolf
      November 9, 2018, 1:20 pm | # | Reply

      She’ll just have to wing it now.

  6. haluesen10
    November 9, 2018, 1:11 am | # | Reply

    Ugh Virginia. That pun was just unbeelievable.

    • Efogoto
      November 9, 2018, 1:27 am | # | Reply

      Yeah, it really stings.

    • awgiedawgie
      November 9, 2018, 1:31 am | # | Reply

      Yup, it was a real honey.

      • Theitzal
        November 9, 2018, 6:59 am | # | Reply

        I’ll hive what she’s hiving

        • Owlmirror
          November 9, 2018, 3:05 pm | # | Reply

          But she isn’t bee-hiving properly. That’s the whole problem.

          • Toby Fernsler
            November 9, 2018, 6:53 pm | #

            We took an exit poll and eight pundits waxed poetic.

          • awgiedawgie
            November 9, 2018, 7:05 pm | #

            Hallmark cards and candles (beeswax, of course) are available in the gift shop on your way out.

          • haluesen10
            November 10, 2018, 3:08 am | #

            All of you are wonderful. Thank you for all of whatever that was.

  7. woozy
    November 9, 2018, 2:35 am | # | Reply

    So… what was that bit about only taking skee-ball tickets.

    • awgiedawgie
      November 9, 2018, 10:03 am | # | Reply

      Virginia doesn’t have any, and Melanie has enough for everyone else.

      • woozy
        November 9, 2018, 12:19 pm | # | Reply

        I didn’t think Melanie had enough.

        And… why exactly does the bus take skeeball tickets? What are the skeeball tickets? (other than a delightful absurdity at the beginning of the story arc before we knew what was going on.. now that we … almost… know what is going on how do they work?)

        • awgiedawgie
          November 9, 2018, 12:29 pm | # | Reply

          Melanie undoubtedly had no idea how many she would need, so she always assumed she needed more. And frankly, she would be fine without any, I’m sure. In fact, she may have simply assumed all along that she needed them at all. Hence my belief that, no matter how few or many she has, she has enough.

        • Owlmirror
          November 9, 2018, 3:08 pm | # | Reply

          As I wrote before, I am pretty sure that the “skee-ball tickets for the bus” thing was just a distraction and a diversion, by Mayor Queen, to give Melanie something to do.

        • Frank
          November 9, 2018, 7:33 pm | # | Reply

          Sounds like pollen

  8. Bruce A Munro
    November 9, 2018, 4:28 am | # | Reply

    Perhaps riding the bus is a metaphor for reintegration? In which case if she got on board, Lee might end up with bees in her belfry.

  9. Bruce A Munro
    November 9, 2018, 4:29 am | # | Reply

    “We’re bugging out!”

  10. Guesticus
    November 9, 2018, 8:29 am | # | Reply

    “Also, I just never liked you anyway”

  11. Dr. Steve
    November 9, 2018, 9:05 am | # | Reply

    What a terrible swarm of puns!

  12. Storm Saxon's Gall Bladder
    November 9, 2018, 9:19 am | # | Reply

    Hive five!

  13. Robert Nowall
    November 9, 2018, 10:29 am | # | Reply

    The bus must be on the Bee Line.

    • Shadowmehr
      November 9, 2018, 8:04 pm | # | Reply

      Okay, I’m afraid of what’s been started in this forum. I’d say you should bee afraid as well, but that would just lengthen the sting of the puns. Let us agree to let this wane after beeswaxing for too long.

  14. Robert Nowall
    November 9, 2018, 2:08 pm | # | Reply

    Actually, if they’re blowing this joint, that might explain quite a lot of what they’ve been seeing.

  15. Owlmirror
    November 9, 2018, 3:54 pm | # | Reply

    What I actually think more likely (than the Virginia Bee scenario above) is that after the bus leaves, Pavane will appear. Someone has been letting Virginia (and Beatrix) leave/enter the boardwalk VR, and while I thought before that it was an AI from “Fun for Some”, I think Pavane is more probable now that we know she has hacker skillz.

    I’m not sure why Pavane didn’t want to (or wasn’t able to?) intervene directly to help her mom, but I think she did want to help, and figured that Virginia could do it for her.

    There may be quid pro quo involved such that Pavane will help Virginia and Nick escape.

    Speaking of Pavane, I was thinking about where Mr. Green says that he “dealt with” Gavotte. If he sees bees through the Second Gate, does he necessarily know that those bees are from a particular swarm? Maybe sometimes he was seeing Pavane, and not knowing it because all bee-swarm hiveminds look alike?

    • awgiedawgie
      November 9, 2018, 4:14 pm | # | Reply

      We’ve known ever since we first heard about Pavane that there was some bad blood (or whatever you call what bees have) between her and her mom. So it’s not really surprising that she wasn’t too eager to help out.

  16. casimir
    November 9, 2018, 8:35 pm | # | Reply

    The Eight Bee Attitudes:

    1. Blessed are the dancers, for they shall direct with unerring accuracy.

    2. Blessed are the gatherers, for they shall reap the sweet nectar.

    3. Blessed are the comb builders, for they shall wax strong.

    4. Blessed are the honey makers, for they shall keep us aliva with their saliva.

    5. Blessed are the nourishers, for they shall bring forth the new queen.

    6. Blessed are the the guardians who sting, for their lives shall not be lost in vain.

    7. Blessed are the drones who sacrifice, for they shall plant the seeds of generations.

    8. Blessed is the Queen from whose divine person all blessings flow, for she shall reign over all.

  17. Knuckles
    February 8, 2022, 1:20 pm | # | Reply

    Well, they say a good deed is its own reward.

    But gosh darnit a real reward would be nice too.

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