A Brief Explanation, Part II of V

[Doktor Howl]

So, yeah, I was sitting at the Meetrack with Nigel, drinking cheap whiskey and smoking too much.

But something was wrong.  Nigel is back in Portland, and why the hell am I wearing 1991 vintage DCUs and all the load bearing equipment that goes with it?  Why do I have an M16?  I don't feel like I'm dreaming.

Nigel was surrounded by sycophantic perverts, who leapt up every time  she said "Daddy, I need a fucking pony", and fought over who got to buy her a drink.  She seemed a little amused by this, with perhaps more than a touch of disdain.

I ask her where Mr Language is, and she replies, "That's really not the issue, Dok.  The issue is where you think YOU are."

"I'm at the Meetrack, obviously.  I'm wondering why you're here, come to think of it."

"I'm here because when I was a girl, They issued me a Barbie™ doll and a Barbie™ face, and told me what my role was, just like they gave you legos and GI Joe and told you what your role was.  But I don't like that Barbie™ face they stapled to my skull, and I kind of think I'm going to do something about it."

Then she pulled her face off.

That was too much, even for the perverts.  Some started to scream, others started puking.  Nigel just unfolded her other four arms from behind her back, each holding a dagger or a knotted rope or a blowtorch, and her breath was as hot as Dresden, back in the bad old days.  People began trying to get around her, to the door.  I, on the other hand, had a world-class panic attack and fell on the floor.

"What's the matter, kiddies?", she asked, with her gory skull hanging out, "Don't you want to buy me a drink, anymore?"

The bar started to smell like chlorine gas and blood , and Nigel sprouted fangs in her mouth, and razor wire around her arms (there's no reason certain mythic entities wouldn't modernize, is there?), and a lot of really bad things happened to people in the general vicinity.

Then she walked over to where I was laying on the floor, and I could see her heels crack the concrete, and her white sun dress all soaked in pervert.  I remember thinking there was an (Asian) Indian myth like this, and then she was next to me.

"It's not the drugs, Dok", she said, "Don't ever let them tell you it's the drugs.  They lied to me and they lied to you, and they'll lie to our kids just like they lied to our parents, and their parents.  It's not the drugs".

I think I passed out at that point, and the next thing I knew, I was staggering down the road in my regular clothes, with the sour aftertaste of cheap whiskey in my mouth, and no idea where my car was.

Just another night in Side Effect City.

To be continued.

[Freeky]

 

[LMNO]

Oh, holy fuck.

I felt that.  Right here.  [points to chest]

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Oh, wow!

My nipples went hard.

[Jenne]

You got your mojo back, Rog.  I likey. 

Ahhh, I need to tap into the weird that is eating me from outside-in, too.  Maybe this weekend.

Meanwhile, damn, this is packing a punch, as LMNO said above.

[Doktor Howl]

Thanks.  The compliments are very nice, and I'm glad that I can actually SAY shit again, but I worry that I'm not getting my point across.  On the other hand, Nigel as Kali kind of struck a chord, and I have 3 more installments to communicate what it is that I'm trying to say.

I'm feeling a little disconnected, right now.

[Adios]

That would crush mere mortals.

[Jenne]

You got your point across...this is the same feeling that came over you (well, ok, similar?) when you wrote about spiders and the work that became your comic.

Disconnection is probably the tip of the iceberg--you're disconnected in a way that allows you to see and relate to horrors beyond horrific.  ...or maybe that's just what I see and feel when I read your stuff.

[LMNO]

"It's not the drugs, Dok", she said, "Don't ever let them tell you it's the drugs.  They lied to me and they lied to you, and they'll lie to our kids just like they lied to our parents, and their parents.  It's not the drugs".

I feel this is the pivotal moment.

[Doktor Howl]

You got your point across...this is the same feeling that came over you (well, ok, similar?) when you wrote about spiders and the work that became your comic.

Disconnection is probably the tip of the iceberg--you're disconnected in a way that allows you to see and relate to horrors beyond horrific.  ...or maybe that's just what I see and feel when I read your stuff.

Not sure I have, because this has nothing to do with spiders, and I feel very different, actually.

But I'm not trying to convey a feeling, so much as...Well, it's hard to communicate it in simple terms.  I'll try again in episode 3.  I don't think I could get it across in just one rant.

And I'm reasonably certain that most of the horrible shit is actually just in my own head.  The world can't possibly be the way I perceive it, or you would have all laid down by now and waited to die.

[Doktor Howl]

"It's not the drugs, Dok", she said, "Don't ever let them tell you it's the drugs.  They lied to me and they lied to you, and they'll lie to our kids just like they lied to our parents, and their parents.  It's not the drugs".

I feel this is the pivotal moment.

Yes, that was the whole point of the exercise, though as I've said, I had a lot of creepy fun with the idea of Nigel as Kali.  It's not much of a stretch, really, if you take the entire myth into account.  Not just the chopping people up bits.

[LMNO]

It's also a brilliant piece of writing.  

[Jenne]

My quote function's borked, but I know it's not about spiders, Rog, what I meant was this is how you seemed to be feeling, or so I thought, when you wrote about them.

Sorry, if I was able to hit "quote" and it worked, I'd explain myself better.

Your exercise of making Nigel into Kali was awesome.  And I totally agree with LMNO's choice of pivotal moment.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I don't know, Dok. One of the reasons I love you is that you see the Horrible Truth. I think most people survive by not seeing it, but the reality is staggeringly fucking awful. You see it. I see it. Mr. Language sees it. Most people think you're crazy, if you try to tell them.

Yeah, seeing it isn't so great for day to day function. It makes you crazy. But if nobody ever saw it, who would warn the others?

[Jenne]

Quoting manually:

It's also a brilliant piece of writing.  

169% agreed.

Same with what Nigel said above this, too.  I think it IS the way you see it...the rose colored glasses are GONE BABY GONE.