[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")
I just read up on Wolfram syndrome, and now I’m sad.
I feel that it is always a big indicator for great works when something that is mainly comedy can buckle down and deal with hard situations without breaking stride.
I had a real good laugh. Keep up the excellent work.
Comment #204
Quick, guys! There're only 205 comments! Post 95 more! Hurry!@ MidoriLuna:
i have EDS, which we thought was Marfans for a good while. Thats not Marfans, what Larisa said… I don’t know what it is….
First lets get this out of the way. It’s no longer necessary to speculate about what disease or diseases Larissa suffers from. By the Word of God (who tends to answer to the name of Novil) she suffers from Wolfram syndrome.
In response to some speculations Novil posted this:
Novil wrote:
The complete post can be found towards the bottom of the second page of comments.
Given what she can expect for her future I feel she’s doing extremely well trying to cram as much experiences into the time she’s got.
Something I do not understand is the accusations of promiscuity that’s been mentioned numerous times in the comments. Larissa has shown an interest in two boys, Cloud and Landon, and she never got intimate with Cloud.
There’s also been speculations that Larissa and Landon has been having sex. I find this highly unlikely (though not because she’s opposed to the idea) given his tendency to BSOD when she gets feisty. I do however think she is about to give him a very interesting birthday present. This will probably take quite a while though as she will have to take it a step at a time and wait for him to reboot in between.
@ Keulan:
It does seem like a depressingly good fit 🙁
@ Lookfar:
I think “grasping at straws” is pessimistic when you look at enzyme replacement therapies like elosulfase alfa. Until last year Morquio Syndrome was considered incurable, life shortening and debilitating, now it’s treatable and it makes a huge difference. Yes you are on the treatment for the rest of your life but then it’s up to you what you make of it. I think there’s a huge difference between treatments that offer the chance of relief from symptoms and those that merely prolong them, and I think people have come to focus too much on the later without recognising the existence of the former.
Incidentally I don’t look on the people in our trials and studies as “lab rats” (especially those with metastatic cancer who know we can’t help them, but have ungone sampling to help us help others). They’re bloody brave, even though we tell them multiple times “no promises this will help you” and explain in detail the possible side effects they choose to participate anyway.
@ Tucci:
I couldn’t comment on happy experiences but school is where the rest of the children are. In Larisa’s case she met Sandra and Landon at school, and perhaps that makes it worthwhile? Friends can make life worth living, even more than experiences.
Man, that’s dark.
I’m kinda sad now.
Okay. Wow. o_o
At first I thought: an ugly divorce? Wow, a lot happened offscreen. Not entirely implausible, though.
Then… this.
I do not particularly like Larisa, but this little “status update” hit me like a punch to the gut. o_o I do not need to like her to accept her as a worthwhile person in her own way.
In some ways, this explains het delinquent acts and lack of limits. She’s trying to stuff as much life into her span as she can, while she can, and be damned to anyone or anything standing in her way…
@ Martin Pollard:
Its a hormone replacement, and they have a similar hormone replacement for Wolframs, which Larisa is on. Unfortunately in Larisa’s case, that’s not going to stop the more serious deterioration of her nervous system, which would take more than hormone replacement to fix.
@ Martin Pollard:
I apologize., “Lab rat” was a bit tactless. By “grasping at straws”, I was not disparaging the treatment, with which I have only superficial familiarity. I just meant, from Larisa’s side, that would not be her motivation.
Honestly, I would’ve been disappointed if her secret turned out not to be a life-shortening disease. “Living while you’re living” was always the most significant trait Larissa had, it just fits so well. Years of set-up. Well-done.
Novil, you have congratulations on taking on such serious subject matter. I feel like this gives the comic more significance, more staying power. It’s not just a gag-a-day, it’s not just a feel-good comic. I really respect that. Don’t make me regret these words.
Extra props to the author for bringing something thought-provoking out of what on the surface was a foolish mistake made by reckless behavior. At the very least, we should all learn it’s not right to judge without looking deeper first. (Though if what you find underneath is still icky, then sure, start judging)
I can not wait for the next update!
so the hints unfurl! what be the cause of this terrible tragedy?
also hi! Giving you another comment! you are one step closer to 300, yay?
MidoriLuna wrote:
By the same token, it can be said that the exercise yard is where the prisoners in a penitentiary “socialize.”
And for the same reason. They’re incarcerated.
People (like members of other sentient species) “socialize,” and kids seek out other human beings with whom to freely interact, to whatever extent they’re allowed. If they’re incarcerated in an environment where the only people they encounter “socially” are other kids pretty much their own ages, those are the members of their species with whom they “socialize.”
The justification of compulsory schooling as a vehicle of “socialization” is purest Progressive ratpuckey.
holy shit. Number 126 was released on 4 January 2010. That day we found out Sandra has a secret. 2076 days ago. Now they are about to tell us/we found out. She has a bad health problem that will screw up her life permanently. I honestly I was thinking we weren’t going to hear about it again. Beautiful.
@ Cpt. Obvious:
Um, there was an old strip where she explicitly states she’d kiss a dozen boys, none of who meant anything to her, and that was five years ago, and since these character age in roughly real time, and she’s like 13 now…
@ Tucci:
Honestly, although you might make the case other people are being incarcerated, Larisa has been repeatedly shown to be given pretty much free reign. Remember when she just started kissing Landon during his report on Germany? No repercussions. With some exceptions which can be usually be accounted to bureaucratic idiocy.
As long as we don’t doubt Lisas word, it doesn’t really matter what’s the disease, it’s enough to know what’s coming for her…
I know this strip is sometimes scarily dark, but this . . . I feel like I’ve been kicked in the stomach!
Hey guys, look at the bright side: Guaranteed comics for at least 9 more years!
Actually, considering that a story arc that takes us several weeks or even months to read can be less than 1 day of the characters’ time, Novil will have to produce this comic for our reading pleasure for several decades before we see Larissa go blind.
Remember that Star Trek Voyager character Kes, whose race had a lifespan of only 9 years? Her short lifespan did nothing to detract from her value as a character, and even if she had stayed with the ship throughout the entire series, we still would not have seen her die. The series ended before that much time had passed.
@ Tucci:
I imagine you didn’t have the best time in school? You’re not really alone in that. Lots of people have emotional baggage from school. I’d agree that the system is not nearly perfect, and that’s been shown in Sandra and Woo. But we’re talking about Larisa in particular, here.
I feel like we need a little perspective. It’s true that Larisa has a terminal illness and will be facing challenges. But she still has a lot of time left. Becoming educated won’t necessarily be a waste for her. Hell, she could earn a doctorate and still have time left to use it in her master plan to become a supervillian with a tragic backstory. She’s certainly going to outlive Woo, one of the titular characters of the comic, and most likely his kits. So I don’t agree that her going to school is a waste.
Wow. Just… Wow. That explains a *lot* about Larisa. I can’t wait until the in-universe reveal in the next couple strips… Poor Sandra, that’s going to be awful for her to hear. (Though, to be pessimistic, Woo will die long before Larisa, being a raccoon… But that was pretty clear from the start; Larisa should rightfully have 60+ years left, not 20.)
Identity withheld wrote:
First guess: he can’t taste a picture.
myth buster wrote:
Maybe you can clear something up for me on this tangent. I remember a Bible story (from back when I was enrolled in a fundamentalist prep school to get me into a religious grammar school so I could get a good job later, and we were taught Christianity as hard fact) about a farmer who, finding he had enough grain and everything else stored up for his entire family to take a year off, decided to let his fields lie fallow (which is good for the soil and the songbird population) for a year. “You fool!” said God. “This very night your life will be demanded of you.” That night, the farmer died.
WTF was that about? Really, what lesson were we supposed to take from that story?
“Don’t ever stop working, necessary or not, because God kills people who take time off.”
“You never know when you’ll die, so don’t bother booking holidays.”
“Retirement is for pussies.”
“God really, really hates clover.”
“If you’ve worked the land enough to have a year’s food stored up, you’re overdue for a heart attack.”
Any other suggestions?
Shanunu wrote:
At various times, in various places, these have also been illegal:
homosexuality
inter-racial marriages
being Jewish
not being a Catholic
being a Catholic
leaving the family home while female without a male chaperone
being in a car with males who are not in your immediate family, if female
walking while Black
having information that could be useful in planning a terrorist attack
possessing items that could be useful in carrying out a terrorist attack
Fuck what the law says. She’s got good enough reasons for me.
Jphyper wrote:
Somewhat reduced, according to Woo:
http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2015/05/21/0685-nostalgia/
That’s got to be affecting *his* view of all this.
@ Sableagle:
That’s average. Most wild raccoons don’t live as long as those in “captivity”.
@ MidoriLuna:
I don’t know about his school years, but he purports to be a medical doctor.
I think it’s more a stance against anything state sponsored than anything else.
He can be a tad abrasive, but he seems knowledgeable about his field.
Well, holy shit. You two earned this comment…
Someone get Cloud’s sister on the line. We need a cure STAT!
There we go, that’s the Larisa I was hoping to see! F-ck the police, live and let live, only the good die young!
@ Sableagle:
Life is fleeting. Focus on God and don’t concern yourself with unnecessary possessions. Never enjoying the fruits of your labors and squandering them on frivolity are both curses, and it is a terrible thing to reach the end of your life and find that you wasted it on greed.
So, does Sandra know about Larissa’s illness? I mean, clearly Sandra knows SOMETHING about it, considering she knows about the insulin. But does she know how bad it is, or has Larissa kept this from her? I can see why. Larissa’s they type to hate the idea of anyone thinking any less of her, treating her any differently. She’d want people to be her friends because they like her, not because they pity her.
Mostly commenting because we’re not yet at 300, but I’m not going to read through 237 (as of the time I loaded this page) just to see if somebody has said this yet. Larissa is expecting, or planning, to die young. Due the math on their approximate ages if you want. My math is:
14 (approximate) + 20 = 34
@ Dave:
Holy crap the guy who does Selkie Comics AWESOME Sorry hi big fan okay I’ll just…. go back to my life now….
(seriously big fan hi)
@ Sableagle:
Bam.
Oh my. Why are they getting a divorce? Perhaps because of her father doing something? I hope it’s not because of Larisa! And Larisa is pretty sure about these things…OH MY, I know she has Diabetes and Asthma at LEAST but what else???
@ TiamatScalybond:
Read the first two pages of comments. Search for “Novil”, (the author’s handle.)
I think we might know a lot more about the origin of Larissa’s devil-may-care over-the-top attitude.
What can anyone do to her that life has not already trumped in advance?
@ myth buster:
Wow, you gave a better answer than what I had in mind. 😀 😀 😀
They say the star that burns brightest, burns briefest. But in this case, the cause and effect are reversed.
@ Sableagle:
There is Now, a 17 year old boy who is being charged, As An Adult, with Possession of Child Pornography because he had photos of HIMSELF on his cell phone.
Some Nosy Parker was checking his phone for something Else when they found the pictures.
So, we will now be treated to the spectacle of a DA arguing that this boy is an Adult for purposes of Punishment but a Child in his Photos of Himself.
.
You can’t make this stuff Up.
It’s terrible that I’m getting all hyped about the revelation of some terrible disease
Bloody hell..just..wow..how do you even ‘react’ to something like that? Great, the previous strip made me feel like there was nothing really happening in this story arc, and then I get punched in the goddamn soul?! Holy fucking hell..Larisa is one of my favorite characters, and..dear fucking god. I know, lot of curse words here, but..figured I’d have to say ‘something’ more than just “ouch” for a bomb like that dropping! Well, I certainly hope what little life she has is a fun ride.
@ TiamatScalybond:
Maybe they got divorced because Landon’s mother is half insane and 100% idiot? Chance is it’s her encounter with Larissa made Landon’s dad realize this though.
Well, I just discovered this comic the other day due to a ad on XKCD’s website (it had two girls kissing, I couldn’t not investigate as a yuri fan (really it’s like it was directly targeted at me)) and now I’ve caught up. Looks like I’ve caught up at an opportune time as well.
Larisa is one of my favorite characters, and I saw this coming ever since Secrets, though I guess long time fans have been waiting years, not a few days. Wish I knew about Sandra and Woo years ago, and I’m looking forward to reading the journey ahead. Thanks to everyone involved in this comic.
Now then, to keep the spirit of the drama alive. OH MY GOD! WHAT? EVERYTHING IS CRAZY FOREVER!!! Seriously, I foresee tears and hugs in Larisa’s future. And tears in my future.