[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.
![[0717] Dropping The Bomb](/comics/2015-09-10-0717-dropping-the-bomb.png "[0717] Dropping The Bomb")
Well. Well shite. Dammit. The signs were there but I really didn’t connect the dots.
I don’t want Larisa to die
Secure in her knowledge of her own life expectancy, it’s kind of easy to see why she isn’t all that cautious with things like lava floors. Also commenting to do my share to get to the 300 mark!
Honestly, I’d be more upset by the perverts than the puritans. But that’s just me.
Their may have been one other clue aside from the various medicines and symptoms as to what the disease was now that we have a diagnosis of Wolfram’s.
Tell me what one predator has received the most mocking from our animal stars, wolves, the singular version of that word wolf. Half of our ailments name right their…
Strips with wolves as the antagonist and/or target of mocking
http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2011/02/03/0242-the-end-of-the-story/
http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2011/06/13/0281-the-valley-of-the-violets/ up to 287
http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2012/05/14/0376-woos-lecture/
http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2013/06/17/0491-nothing-for-wolf-fans/
Admittedly at the bottom of 491 Novil disclaimers hes not anti wolf, so I’m 99.7% sure its coincidence but wBritish forces have to immediately deal with rain storms and hurricanes bizarre coincidences need to be pointed out.
All of these are after the comic where we get our first major hint something is medically wrong with Larissa: http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2010/01/04/0126-secrets/
One has to wonder how much of Woo’s thing against wolves may have been planted by his “discovery” (albeit we don’t know if he learned the name of the ailment) Not to mention that sheer probability dictates most anti wolf comics would be after that as most comics period happen after 126 in a 717 strip comic (as of this posting).
But yeah thats the coincidence or clue I’ve spotted now, so its pretty clear they won’t be backing House Stark anytime soon…
On a tangent off of that it is interesting how Larissa and Landon’s mom are each half of the equation that make up Melisandre (one being the pyromaniac one being the religious zealot).
If it seems like I’m trying to make light of the situation it’s only due to the fact it is pretty dark knowledge to know that Larissa is, barring medical break through or deus ex machina not going to have her sight before a decades past or live to be old enough to run for president (age requirement 35…)
Read the description, comments were at 153 as of this post. Here’s 154. Hi.
So that’s it. I have to say, she’s pretty impressive, facing life like that while knowing what’s coming. Might even be the reason she has a strong attachment to fire. So she can burn away all her problems in her mind.
I wonder if she’s going to tell Landon at some point. I hate to say it, but everything interconnects and it’s easier now to see why Larisa acts the way that she does.
Life is how you live it. And Larisa doesn’t just want to survive, she wants to LIVE. And that’s what she’s doing. Glad she’s happy.
@ TV_Junkie:
As others said previously (which you may have missed):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfram_syndrome
@ TV_Junkie:
I’m guessing it’s a constellation of health issues that may be partly genetic and partly environmental.
The blindness could be caused by diabetic retinopathy or it could be macular degeneration (usually seen in people in their 60s).
As for death, it could be due to cardiovascular disease linked to diabetes or it could be lung disease linked to cystic fibrosis (usually seen in Caucasians). The latter could explain her inhaler (to clear up the thick mucus in the bronchial tubes) and all those pills she takes (digestive enzymes to help mitigate the intestinal malabsorption). She might also have asthma (usually caused or exacerbated by food or respiratory allergies).
With all that going on, it’s a wonder she’s still alive and kicking.
@ ehrgeiz0:
She is expected to live until about 30. She is nowhere near that, so no, it’s not a wonder she’s still alive. Her ability to cope with her condition is more remarkable though.
@ ehrgeiz0:
Novil himself confirmed it is Wolfram’s in an earlier comment.
Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.
Amen sister, amen.
Of course the Bible was saying that is a bad thing because enjoying life is a sin.
Even more reason to tell the uptight to go fuck themserlves.
@ Jerry:
she is diabetic (remember the insulin arc)
Have you heard of self-fulfilling prophecies?
I meant Larisa, not the author.
@ Lookfar:
A misquote there, my dear forumite. That phrase appears twice in the Bible, and if you read the entire passages (Isaiah 22 and 1 Corinthians 15), the reprimand is not of the act of enjoying life in and of itself (it’s an actual command in Ecclesiastes), but instead it’s a reprimand of the attitude of the people who care about nothing EXCEPT enjoying life (the “drink” part implies a constant state of drunkenness), and making no provision for the future, and ignoring any warnings that the country or society or the person him/herself is in imminent danger.
@ Eric:
Sorry, I meant to quote Eric, not Looksofar.
@ Eric:
No, the Bible was saying that if this life were all there is, there’s no sense in denying yourself pleasure while you can get it. Mortification only makes sense with the hope of the resurrection. The Bible is not against enjoying life; in fact, Ecclesiastes encourages retirement rather than working for the sake of working. Why waste your life working after you have already saved up enough to live on for the rest of your life?
@ Jerry: She’s diabetic, remember? (It was brought up in a plotline when she was taking insulin and some soccer moms blew it out of proportion)
though the idea of a beloved character in what is still, essentially a comedy comic, dying even in the far distant future is sad. I am really fond of how well this comic has handled deep and troubling issues.
I think that as long as Larisa takes her medicines, she probably won’t wind up completely blind in ten years and dead in twenty.
…
Wow.
I am also sad now.
… Is it three hundred yet?
@ athroughzdude:
Larisa’s statement is actually quite possible given her diabetes. Blindness and death along with amputation of limbs are potential consequences of not properly managing the disease.
@ West:
It sounds like a bad case of diabetes to me.
This would be consistent with the pills she dropped in the “abandoned factory” storyline (The nuclear sub missile launch codes) and the insulin she takes (“drugs storyline”)
Bad cases of diabetes can cause blindness. I think it is because too high blood sugar damages your arteries, and your eyes rely on tiny arteries to supply fuel to the retina. No blood to your eyes, and your retina dies. The rest of your eye is less sensitive to the blood loss I think.
@ Terion:
Heh. The author actually confirmed what it was on the first or second page of comments, and people are still guessing.
@ Jerry:
Yeah, either we’re about to get told about a degenerative condition, or she just has a harshly pessimistic view of what her pyromania will do for her life expectency.
That is quite a bomb to drop. I’m doing my part to reach 300!
@ SeanR:
That’s the problem with this many comments, not many readers want to read through 4 pages of them before posting their personal feelings on this tragic news. But in case someone does,
IT’S
WOLFRAM SYNDROME
PEOPLE!
@ coyoteBR:
Just check that out. Good catch?
@ Rick:
It’s ok. Replaying the same conversations on each page of comments is one way to reach 300. Not the most interesting way perhaps.
If only more teenage girls thought line her and send nudes to everybody, the worl would be a better place
This made me a sad panda 🙁
@ Crestlinger:
No, we can solve the problem of everyone seeing her nude through a blackhole, an overprotective mother with a racoon god, and such, but curing a disease? That’s crazy talk.
@ Thor:
Nah, Reed Richards is Useless is probably in affect here, so I’m genuinely worried.
Must…add…to comment count!
@ CloudLion:
And what, turn her into a raccoon? Actually, that would be interesting. Her life expectency would still be about the same either way, but it would create a lot of possibilities.
Damn…I was afraid it was going to be something like that. No wonder she likes fire so much. Still, it’s nice to hear she’ll be able to enjoy her time with Landon without his mom getting in the way. Damn.
So, Novil, Do comments like this one count toward the total? Or will you sort through them and only count those that are relevant to the story?
Everyone dies. Larisa just has a better idea than most of when and how it’s likely to happen.
Oh, and two things:
1. For something that has been actively kept secret both in character and in a meta sense so long, this method of reveal seems… lackluster. There’s no real reason for it to be revealed here, except to take people’s minds off the deus ex machina to the paparazzi issue.
2. Whether or not Larisa cares, she probably should have given Landon fair warning. He’s now going to have to deal with the paparazzi as soon as he gets back with no idea what’s going on. In fact, we also have to consider Landon’s father. While nowhere near as uptight as his ex-wife, he is shown to be a Christian man, and one who chose to marry Landon’s mom. He might not be very happy about the fact that Larisa is sending his son nudes.
Whoooaaaaa…. just when I least expected it. This is turning out to be the year of great events for S&W! That’s pretty crazy.
Holy shit! I knew she had medical problems, but I had no idea it was THAT serious.
I wonder what will happen if/when we reach the 300 comment count?
Ever since my first months in clinical training, I’ve been wondering why the hell grown-ups are so obsessed about imposing school on kids with manifestly terminal diseases.
Schooling – especially as it’s administered by government employees – is a waste of kids’ time and energy. Except as it confers credentialing which enables access to further education, training, and gainful employment, it serves the kid badly. Most of it is arbitrary crap, and the matriculating youngster knows that it’s worthless, boring, and largely brain-dead crap. “Regurgitate and graduate.” Suck it up or the powers-that-be will make it impossible for you to live.
Okay, picture Larisa, who’s not going to live long enough to achieve any of the (much) deferred benefits allegedly to be gotten by sitting through years and years and years in the government schools’ “Meatgrinder Classroom.”
Why the hell are such children put through such rituals of subordination and indoctrination when the other end of the bargain is nothing but death?
“But don’t you want them to live a normal life, as much like their age-mates, and make friends, and have happy experiences?”
Ooh, “happy experiences.” In school. “Sit down, Larisa” and “Shut up, Larisa” and “Where’s your homework assignment, Larisa?” and “You didn’t study for this exam, Larisa? How do you expect to get good grades and grow up to find a meaningful, rewarding career?”
Oops.
@ Tucci:
More bluntly, even though she’s likely to live into her thirties, she’ll be thoroughly disabled by 25: blind, deaf or nearly so, and unable to walk more than very short distances.
Fuck. I didn’t expect this.
Everything was lighthearted in this comic, and serious parts were rare and quickly left behind. I know this had metric shit-tonnes of foreshadowing on it, but still I expected – and wanted – more development on the Michelle/Zoey plotline way before we were explicitly told by a main character that Larissa has a terminal illness.
The chances that this reaches you is small, but if the authors are reading, please don’t cop out from this. I like these characters a lot, and care quite a bit for them. They deserve to have their stories told. Even if they’re sad. Even if they’re painful. Perhaps specially if they are sad or painful.
Please tell it how it’s meant to be. Don’t bother checking if an idea or twist is popular or not, just go ahead and give us the story you want. An artist can see his work from a place that other people can’t, so I’m sure that this will always be for the best.
Thank you for your hard work.
@ Tucci:
School is where children socialize. Beyond the academic, it’s a place of normalcy in a situation that’s anything but. I understand your argument, but what should she do in lieu of class?
I’ve been reading a lot about this disease recently, and it seems that most of the time those who have it tend to have a positive and upbeat attitude about it. I wondered if that was just show, but then I realized that they’re generally diagnosed with this at a young age. To them, they’ve always had a set time of death; they’ve accepted it as inevitable, and simply want to live as normal a life as possible while they can. For Larisa, that means going to school, and raising havoc in the process. She wants to live until she stops.
WHAT THE WHAT!, WHAT Online comic am I reading? did somebody hack my RSS reader? Did I miss a whole story arc? did I skip something somewhere anywhere?
divorce?
OH no one of my favorite characters.
although it does explain a lot with the art, fire and sex…
could this blackhole and physics have anything to do With it?
and what about { insert strip #(s) here} with Larissa’s unusually non natural? gift(s).
and who and who does not know!
oh and the comment like system 🙁
I also came from a xkcd.com ad, I started at 1 and worked my way through and then immediately subscribe.
@Keiya and @ Martin Pollard lol.
@Kieroni i git it.
@preadatordetector that’s why you need lots of fire!…
@SeanR OLLLLLLLLLOLLL GTS….
@Rick It so totally worth going through all the comments, except for the repeats even though it does add to the numbers.
BTW vvvv
(197th comment)
@ Tucci:
While I don’t agree that school is as utterly devoid of merit as you claim (though there is clearly room for improvement), I agree in principle that our cultural attitude toward terminally ill people is one of denial and avoidance, and this is especially true with children. Rather than try to impose what we conceive as a normal life, perhaps we might try to listen to their experiences with an open heart, and understand what their psychological and spiritual needs really are. It should not be too hard to empathize. After all, we are terminally ill ourselves. We just haven’t been given our prognosis yet.
@MidoriLuna
Well put
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