[0717] Dropping The Bomb
└ posted on Thursday, 10 September 2015, by Novil
I expect at least 300 comments. Don’t disappoint me.
- Larisa: Hi, Landon. Are you enjoying the hiking trip with your dad?
- Larisa: I’m glad you two are having some fun despite the ugly divorce.
- Larisa: Sooo… did you like the pic I sent you?
- Larisa: You’re cute when you stutter. I can’t wait to give you your real birthday present once you’re back!
- Larisa: Haha, you will! See you soon, sweety!
- Sandra: Didn’t you just forget something?
- Larisa: Like, what?
- Sandra: For example, mentioning the national scandal you caused half an hour ago?
- Larisa: Pfff…
- Larisa: I’ll be blind in ten years and dead in twenty. I don’t give a damn if some puritans have a problem with my naked body.
That’s a really dark outlook.
My, thats a bomb indeed. No wonder her motto is ‘life is now’, facing no tomorrow
Thank you, Edward! Let’s just hope you got sole custody.
I just stumbled last week over this comic (by clicking on an ad! Who is clicking on an ad?!) and read all of it twice (first english, than german) and thought, I would have to wait about one year at least, before my favourite arsonists secret would be revealed.
So I’m kind of excited for the coming reveal, but also sad, that the secret is actually as bad as thought.
Landons father is getting a divorce. At least something positive.
So, what is incurrible, deadly in two decades but blinds you before that (and may be connected to diabetes)?
Wow.
Does Larisa have some sort of Genetic Defect that we don’t know about?
Because that’s a pretty Specific prognosis.
Most teenager angst sufferers just expect to die “Soon”.
Larisa seems to have either a Prognosis or Precognition…
Well that happened.
I’m sad now.
@ Jerry:
Type 1 diabetes.
Sandra’s reaction in panel 8, still not as surprised as in panel 4?
@ Jerry:
Larisa has, at least, diabetes, and more likely other deseases. You can see in the arc about invading the abandoned factory she takes other medicines other than the insulin.
Two bombs were dropped. 1. I didn’t know Landon’s parents were getting divorced. And 2. the obvious bomb, that it sounds like Larissa’s diabetes is worse than I thought. (I mean, she took shots for it so I can’t truly say it came completely out of left field)
@ TV_Junkie:
If she’s being honest, and if we’re going completely off the rails of comedy; it could be something like marfans syndrome or ALS. Although the symptomology don’t entirely match. It could also be an inherited disorder from her mother, given she’s out of the picture. Generic disorders like that do tend to follow gender chromosomes.
@ TV_Junkie:
Actually, diabetes does that. It can be pretty bad.
@ MidoriLuna:
Larisa’s mother is around. We just don’t see her much, since Larisa is almost never home. Remember, as you look through the archives, that Larisa addresses both of her parents by their given names, and never calls them “mom” or “dad”.
@ Jerry:
I haven’t read further yet, so i’m likely not the first to tell you, but she’s insulin-dependent diabetic.
TV_Junkie wrote:
Quoting Wikipedia:
@ Fairportfan:
Huh. How did i get two levels of quote in there?
Well, color me shocked and horrified. But hey, at least she’s… okay with it?
@ West:
I know a Type I diabetic who’s in his 40’s, so I doubt Larissa would be so certain of this grim prognosis unless she had other complications.
Contributing to the requested 300 comments: urgh, what a bomb. I am fearing what comes next.
This isn’t any ordinary bomb dropping. This is a 100 megaton Tsar Bomba dropped over Chernobyl bomb dropping.
@ MidoriLuna:
I audibly cursed. I can’t say for certain, but going on what we know, it’s almost certainly Wolfram Syndrome. The symptomatology matches, entirely.
MidoriLuna wrote:
Well, that’s, horrible.
At first I thought she was joking or referencing some star. Then I scrolled down and realized
Holy shit
@ Sapphire225:
The strip where Larisa takes medication she doesn’t want her friends to know about is Secrets. There’s pills and an inhaler. They know about her insulin, but that’s injected, and she doesn’t use a needle there.
She’s already told Zoey her shocking Big Secret as assurance that she would keep quiet about Zoey’s orientation. (See Larisa’s Big Secret.) Since Woo presented us with the “Sound Interruption” sign, depending on whether that sign was “in character” or not he may or may not have overheard, but he was already the only member of Sandra’s inner circle who knows about Larisa’s other meds.
As for what’s killing Larisa, we don’t have enough information to do go on here… though if someone figured it out, I expect Novil would ask them to hold off on posting the spoiler.
So you drop the 3-years awaited update on Larissas secret health issue AND casually mention Landon’s parents are divorcing in a single update. That’s balls son! I like it!
Jesus Christ, I have a totally new perspective about the past strips now.
And I am sad.
Also because a couple of days ago I’ve said that Larisa would become a very funny woman to be with. And now it looks like that’ll never happen.
Its a little dark outlook true, but she is’t ashamed of herself(like most americans..) and thats what i love about her 🙂
Haha so true OP
So now the question becomes which of the cast, upon hearing of Larissa’s condition, would have the means and drive to potentially cure or at least improve the lifespan of those who have what she has? Money’s on Landon myself.
@ Jerry:
Larisa has illnesses, diabetes at least with the insulin arch, but was seen taking other medication in the abandoned factory arch without explanation
@ MidoriLuna:
Just looked up Wolfram Syndrome and you’re right, it does fit everything we already know exactly Also sucks since Wikipedia says there’s no current cure, best they can do is help manage symptoms.
Partial bit from Wikipedia under prognosis:
@MidoriLuna
looked up wolfram syndrom and – wow, as you said, symptoms seems to match – and that’s effectively quite a sad bomb… – no wonder Larisa went to live her life to her fullest 🙂
now, only woo & zoey are supposed to know larisa’s condition – so i wonder how sandra would react
So the big question now – Is Larisa just being “Larisa” and exaggerating a little or she actually know this for certain? It’s a nice little escape route in case author decides to save the character. Unfortunately most of the good authors choose not to use those escape routes… At he beginning Sakai planned to save Inazuma… Look what happen to her… (still sad after, what? ten years)
I hate when people I like die in fiction. I have enough of this in real life. Than again it makes really good drama and I can’t help but appreciate it at the same time. Human brain – go figure…
Sorry to double post, but in the script window you have Larissa listed as Woo in panel 6.
@ Mighty Bob:
that’s the unfortunate life for almost all people suffering rare genetic diseases 🙁 (i have someone with a mild case of a rare genetic disease in my family – though it’s not a deadly one like wolfram / nor require medication – but the science research aren’t generally searching for specific cures to rare genetic illnesses (there might be more research on less rare ones, but they are more researching a global system to help them devellop a more ‘generic’ cure from which it would be easier to tailor specific cures) – but i don’t see it happening soon)
nowadays, they try to diagnose for genetic diseases while in utero – and then offer counsel to the future parents based on the prognosis… still quite dark though.
Ha suck it puritans
And damn 🙁 it’s a good thing the characters age really slowly
Hmmm can she ask the raccoon God for help?
That prognosis is so specific you can tell Novril has researched various diabetic conditions and decided that Wolfram’s Syndrome is Larisa’s tragic secret. I, too, hate it when fictional characters I like die. I’m not to fond of having real life people I like die, either, and I’ve had too damned many of those in the last year. It’s what happens when you get old. Anyway, Larisa has always been my favorite character in this strip and now she’s not only lovable (in a scary sort of way) but noble, too. Well played, Novril.
Damn right Larissa!
Wait…what? Larissa, what is going on with you??? D:
you mentioned goldman sachs was involved, yet to see a mention
Well, that’s rather bleak… poor Larisa. :'(
Dum vivimus vivamus, kid. What can Mrs. Grundy do to you that you can’t overcome with pyrotechnics and fuel-air explosives?
Wow. In one strip we get a continuation of the naked pic storyline, find out that Landon’s folks have split and get a huge hint into Larissa’s long-hidden ailment.
A real dark outlook for Larissa’s future, but she’s going to fight it in her own way so that’s pretty awesome. And looks like Landon’s got some interesting times in his near-future as well.
A super, out-of-the-blue strip that does a lot for the readers. My thanks to everyone behind the scenes for this snapshot of the future yet to come!
Wolfram Syndrome Type 1 affects about 1 in 500,000 people worldwide. It causes uncontrolled apoptosis (cell death) caused by the inability of cells to regulate calcium levels. This manifests first in the pancreas, causing Type 1 diabetes. The optic nerves go next. As other cells die, more symptoms manifest, such as ataxia, apnea, seizures, depression, psychosis, loss of hearing and smell, muscle spasms, and loss of feeling in the extremities. Source: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/wolfram-syndrome
The only good news is that since the condition is so rare and recessive, Larisa’s children would be carriers, but unlikely to have the disease themselves or pass it on to their children. Besides the prognosis of dying before they’re fully grown, there’s no reason for Larisa not to have children, though she might want Landon to get tested to see if he’s a carrier before marrying him. If 1 in 500,000 people has the disease, .28% of the population are carriers, a small but non-negligible risk. The risk of a child of one parent with Wolfram Syndrome having Wolfram Syndrome is 0 if the other parent is not a carrier and 50% if the other parent is a carrier. Carriers are liable to have some minor symptoms of Wolfram Syndrome, such as diabetes, hearing loss or psychiatric illness, but the risk is low.
As for Landon making curing Wolfram Syndrome his life’s work, Larisa is probably too far gone for him to save. Stopping the progress of a disease and reversing the damage are two very different things. For example, it’s been 25 years since the discovery of Lorenzo’s Oil, a dietary supplement that together with avoiding long-chain saturated fats halts the progression of Adrenoleukodystrophy, but to this day, there is no means to regrow damaged myelin, regardless of whether the damage was caused by ALD, MS, or another condition. By the time Dr. Augusto Odone discovered and tested Lorenzo’s Oil, his son Lorenzo was already bedridden and mute. Lorenzo’s Oil bought Lorenzo 18 years, but he was never able to leave his bed. So yes, I can see Landon making it his life’s work to find a cure or an effective treatment for Wolfram Syndrome, but I don’t think he’ll be able to find a cure in time to save Larisa.
Felis wrote:
This is what I thought when I first read it, too. My family has a history of heart disease, cancer, and Alsheimer’s Diesease, so I always brought them up as comedic effect, usually when people told me “go to hell” or other similar things. On the other hand, she does like to live in the moment, which means this could be a truthful drop. Living with that thought in my mind always makes me think about everything differently and experience more of what life has to offer, and I’ve always figured that Larissa was written with something similar in mind as a character trait. I guess the only real way to find out is to wait for the next strip.
…does Sandra already know… or is this news to her? ( I know that this has been hinted at for a while )
Despite some irl getting that pic, the good news is that we never have to hear about that terrorist who claims to be Landon’s mom ever again
Well that was sudden. Was definitely expecting short life, but damn, blindness to boot. That would explain the love for art if the parents weren’t already factored in.
@ myth buster:
While I understand why it was taken out ( or at least that there were reasons for it ) I wish the Like system was still in place for comments. You deserve handful or three
Larissa will live her life like a fire. Great allusion you have there.
Somehow I imagine Sandra’s mom was a person like Larissa.