Can we stop making Sarah a werewolf retard?

[Aticston]

Ok, I know it was funny the first couple of times, runs amuk, boffs peter, goes to the doctor, goes stupid, weeks/months later and she's still no better off.

I mean, can we give Sarah some sembelence of credit here and stop treating her like a werewolf retard? I own three dogs, and off the leesh, none of them act like Sarah does.

You clearly stated that the human mind is in control, and in control all the time in a trained werewolf, but why does it "Shut down"

The only way it could "Shut down" is the whole brain would have to be replaced by a new brain, you would have a totally different personality in the body, not two personalities dualing it out.

Yes you went the "Instincts" route, but then you lambasted and blew that apart by having Sarah follow the doctors every order. If she's "Trained" to follow instructions in werewolf mode, why isn't she with other people? The sake of humor? My dog is trained, if somebody OTHER then me tells it to sit, it still sits. Tells it to bark, it still barks. So how come when the doctor tells her to stop, she stops, but when Peter tells her to stop, she runs amok like a chicken with its head cut off.

Can we stop making her a retard and move the pace along? At this point it just seems like you are abusing Sarah more then developing the character. Why not have the changes uncontrolled, and then her trying to escape/function the way she is, and trying to escape/revert. SOMETHING at least to carry the plot forwards other then "WHEE GO CRAZY!" mindset you have for Sarah when she's a werewolf.

Like again, you show Peter sitting at the table with his werewolf persona sitting at the table going "I'll be good" and Sarah's werewolf persona going "DUR CRAZY!", that just does not make sense. You make Sarah when she changes a -COMPLETELY- different person, like what, you have to -TRAIN- to think? I can understand new instincts coming apon you like the URGE to do something like chase a car, or scratch your head, but you don't make them urges, you make them run amoke uncontrolable actions.

And that does not make any sense. People that loose all their memorys due to an accident don't re-learn everything all over again, they already know how to act, how to talk, how to walk and talk, how to function in society. They don't revert to a infant stage going gaga goo goo all over again. But thats what you do to Sarah, she's what, 17? 18? And when you make her a werewolf, suddenly she's a 1 week old puppy thats 12ft tall, like -WHAT?!- come on give the lass some bloody credit.

I love the comic, I love the characters, and THATS why I am writing, because I like Sarah as a character, but all I see is her being abused over and over again, and now (As to the comics own words) Peter is being abused as well emotionally by his family/pack etc.

Stop HURTING your characters and start HEALING them. Develop something into the story, like how Sarah now has uncontrolled shifts BUT keeps her mind, anything to move it forwards other then "OH BOY HERE GOES WACKY CHANGE #2047!"

You showed the guy in the trenchcoat, you showed the werelion, move the story in that direction, but please, PLEASE, stop hurting Sarah, and stop hurting your characters, its depressing.

Like, again, I own dogs, and all of them act their age. They might be excited to see me come home, but when let outside etc, they behave themselves. They come when called, they don't chase cars etc, they do as their told. I don't understand how Sarah with the human intellect of a 18 year old suddenly has the intellect of a 1 week old puppy.

Its like, an athlete who takes steroids. His instincts are altered, he experiences anger and rage easier, BUT, he is STILL ALL THERE. His cognative functions are still complete, he still knows how to eat, how to sleep, how to dress himself. He may ACT differently, but he still THINKS, he doesn't revert to caveman and start ooging and ugging everything because he experiences anger more.

So, please stop abusing your characters Bar-1? Please?

[DesertRat]

Well... that's a very lengthy argument. You're hitting on a lot of things which can't really be faulted, I guess. I lack the sort of diplomatic touch which would compliment your passion in the same breath as 'correct' you. Not to mention that I'm not affiliated with the whole production team, so I'm really in no position.

I'd simply like to point out that a lot of what you're saying has been said in various forms. Most of the difference lies in (and I can only talk about myself, personally here) the interpretation of that. Yeah, we're getting a few chuckles at Sarah's expense but its hardly the sole purpose of her character. At any rate it seems to me that the questions you're asking and the points you're making are mostly very valid. Which is what leads me to believe that Sarah acts in such a way by some manner of choice. I haven't taken the step you have in declaring Sarah's trouble as indication of the comic having jumped the shark.

Moreover, the whole comic is about Sarah suddenly and unwillingly finding herself a part of this secret society... it's supposed to be hard for her. I personally would feel cheated if she woke up one day as a freshman in college (Which is stressful enough when you're not simultaneously dealing with a complete change in your society and arguably your species) suddenly able to say 'Phew, glad I got that whole control thing down. That could have been really embarrassing.'

[K-MacK]

Your points are well taken, but in the PItW universe, the "Werewolf enhnancement" consists of a massively powerful set of instincts; not intellect. She is also largely a "big puppy" when she Shifts, mentally.
Sarah will eventuslly learn to control these instincts, but until then- when she Wuff's out; the instincts are in control and both intellect and intelligence have a back seat to things...a very far back seat.
In a sense, for Sarah, Wuffing out is the same as a panic response to something--people will tell you that you did things that you just don't remember at all.
Eventually she will get control over both the instincts and the Shift; but as for now her memories of being the Wuff are like dim dreams or an Acid trip at best, and any control is about equally thin.
For my own two bits, the Pack is being stupid in the way she is being trained; Wolves are social creatures, and the best way to train her would be for several of the Werewolves to take the task and sort of force her to "follow-the-leader" and learn to deal with her situation the way they do.
Finally, if the characters in the story did things "sensibly" there really wouldn't be much of a story, would there?

[Happygun]

While I agree it's time for the comic to move beyond its "running gag" I don't think you understand Sarah's implied state of consciousness when she's transformed.

Think about dreams. Many times in dreams we're presented with utterly bizarre circumstances and situations yet - except in cases of lucid dreaming - we more or less accept them as a given and often behave and react in a very different fashion than if we were awake. We are STILL the same individual yet this doesn't prevent us from assuming a whole new persona. I imagine this is what being a werewolf is like for Sarah. Her conscious mind takes a metaphorical backseat and becomes a semi-aware observer of her subconscious mind's antics.

In regards to Sarah's wanton behavior, consider this: Sarah was - is - a geek. Peter was her first boyfriend and they really didn't click until the end of high school. And by the looks of it her father did NOT encourage dating or indeed any interaction with opposite sex peers beyond what was strictly necessary. Furthermore, we've learned that Sarah has an "overactive imagination" and transforms at the mere mention at sex. All this leaves me to believe that Sarah has a very healthy sex drive that has not been repressed (until very recently) as much as it has been neglected or sublimated into her hobbies. Now all that walled-up eros is, if you'll pardon the pun, bustin' loose. Considering all this is there any wonder she's acting the way she is? I've seen women on "Girls gone Wild" behave less sensibly than she has. To paraphrase the movie Revenge of the Nerds: "Jocks spend all their time thinking about sports; all nerds ever think about is sex." That said, her behavior is prone to a little comic exaggeration because - surprise surprise - this is a COMIC strip! An adult comic strip at that. Don't whine about the sea being wet or politicians being corrupt.

[Aticston]

But it still doesn't make sense for her to loose ALL control and rationality when she's a werewolf.

Think of it in this vein, of this was the same for all were's, how come Peter acts NO different in werewolf form as he does in human form? By the comics logic, Peter should take on wolfish quirks, no matter HOW much control he has. Its like the arguement I gave with somebody taking steroids, they are still cognative, they just act differently.

When all the other werewolves in the pack act the same as werewolves as they do humans and only Sarah drops 2 billion IQ points, the logic the comic ITSELF is putting down does not make any valid connections.

Right now Sarah isn't acting as something thats being influenced by instincts, its becoming a completely different personality and mindset. Peter when he wolfs out is no different then he is when he is human, neither is any of the other weres, its just Sarah that becomes, again, a retard.

The comics logic of instinct influencing action does not pan out in its own execution. If suddenly I become a werewolf, and had the urge to chase cars, I would act on the urge to chase cars. But at the same time, I could still talk and think, I could still communicate and ration my actions. If turning into a werewolf cranked my sex drive to a billion and one and made me a horny freak, I could STILL manage to communicate my lust and still be able to FUNCTION.

Sarah's behavior as of now does not follow the comics very guidelines its set out to maintain, and as of RIGHT NOW her behavior has nothing to do with the comics definition of instinct govererning actions, her behavior is right now outside the bubble and is given up to comedic license, she's not acting that way because her instincts are controlling her, she's acting that way as of comedic license.

When she wolfs out, she's the exception to the governing rule laid out by all the shown interactions of all the other were's, she acts the way she does out of artistic license, that when she wolfs out, she IS the exception to the comics logic and is just ment to become giant, big and stupid. And like I said, this is abusing the character as is.

Right now when she wolfs out, it does not make any valid sense to the comics logic. Like I said, if say I wolfed out made me extreamly violent, I could still convey my feelings in actions and words like "I AM GOING TO KILL YOU ALL!" instead of losing my personality.

Right now, Sarah is pulling a Hulk, when she turns into a were, her personality is COMPLETELY offset by a second personality. These two personalitys interact with each other on a medium, as both are aware of the other, but thats the limit of their interaction. When Bruce turns into the Hulk, its not Bruce in control, its a completely different personality in control. Thats what is happening to Sarah ATM, when she wolfs out, she's not being goverened by instincts, she's completely changing personalitys, and THIS is what flies in the face of the comics instincts governing behavior.

If it was just instincts governing behavior, when Sarah wolfs out and turned into a playful sex machine, she could still convey herself, like, picking up Peter sexually and going "Peter I can't control myself.....I need you now....help me....", THAT is how instincts govern your reactions. If you took a bunch of extasy, you can still FUNCTION ON SOME LEVEL, you may be acting out on instincts and reactions out of your control, but you are still interacting. I can still ask you your name, how you are feeling, if you feel ok and so on.

Sarah does NOT follow this train of thought thats been laid down in the comic of instincts and control, like I said, when Sarah wolfs out, she's not being controlled by instincts, she's being replaced by a completely NEW personality. If I took extasy, I don't suddenly forget my name, how old I am and how to talk now do I?

So, right now yes, Sarah's wolfing out is that of comedic license, but like I said, its been driven into the ground like a trail spike and then some, about now we should start to see some ACTUAL personalitys being altered by instincts.

Again, instincts do not CONTROL your actions, they GOVERN your actions. If I drank alot of beer, and my instincts to my decency are thrown out the window and I start hitting on every person in the bar, THATS a example of altered instincts changing my reactions.

If sarah when turning into a wolf, has a uncontrolable sex drive, she should act LIKE Sarah WITH a uncontrolable sex drive, pressing herself against peter and telling him she can't control herself, not become a NEW personality.

[Kris@WLP]

She'll get there. In a very significant way, this whole comic is about how she gets there.

In the meantime, though, she's still effectively a very young puppy with zero training- and, as has been pointed out, she really hasn't a good trainer at all.

In fact, the next two or three chapters planned after this will include pivotal moments in her gaining control of herself.

[Happygun]

[Kris@WLP]

[bar1scorpio]

Well, one thing to also take comfort in, is that PitW is a finite work. Essentially planned to run 15 chapters, in 3 5-chapter 'books'.The first book was actually 1 contained within 1 36-hour period. The second "book" has already time-jumped 6-weeks, and will continue with jumps as time stretches on for her.

I'll agree with alot of that, me & Kris want to, and will be moving it forward - it just seems like this is taking forever since I only do one page a week... (yeah, and constant hiatuses due to whatever problems or delays seem to throw them our way.

And i definitely appreciate the candor. As much as all the praise can be nice, I really enjoy the honest critiques. Hopefully this can help keep me from half-@$$ing it all the time, as I'm prone to do.

[Aticston]

Thanks, like I said I love the comic, and I love the characters, why I think abusing them so often is hard because watching characters you like consistently get hurt is hard to absorb.

And its going to end? Aw, thats depressing, I thought this was going to be a continuous comic, but at the same time, I am interested to see how it ends. (If Peter and Sarah settle down togeather etc)

[Kris@WLP]

Yes, there's a definite end, fairly planned out at this point.

I've got very, very vague notions of a sequel, but Peter and Sarah would not be in it, if it happens.

[Happygun]

[bar1scorpio]

[DesertRat]

[Happygun]

[Kris@WLP]

[Happygun]

[K-MacK]

[Kris@WLP]

[rdfox]

[Incaros]

[UberMan5000]

I like a wall of text as much as anyone, but CHRIST!!!

Your accusations of "SARAH IS NOT A PUPPY ARG!!" are a bit off, the way I see it. Peter has, essentially, changed Sarah's species, rather suddenly I might add. A wild animal hasn't been growing up in Sarah's psyche preparing for this event; this entity has been alive for, let's say three months. It's still Sarah's same mind and personalty, but it's been turned into a puppy as far as her wolf-version is concerned! I know when I was a kid, I was more of a creature of hedonism than one of reason. Give me instincts several times more powerful than I thought possible and 500 pounds of raw animal strength, and I'll be anxious to rip trees out of the ground for the fun of it! Until my parents tell me it's not okay, of course...

Every other werewolf in this story was born with it, so their wolf side grew up parallel to their human side. Peter explained that, like Sarah, it was hard for werewolf kids to behave; they needed to have yellow wolfsbane "to keep us from mauling our math teachers".

And she is developing. Remember when she first turned, and all she thought about was getting on Peter? Later on, she resents him for what he's done, and around the time Peter's actually in the mood for that, Sarah's grown out of it.

As for Dr. Kitsune's authority, he explains how it works:



Humans always listen to the doctor, but usually not to their boyfriends, especially not someone as strong-willed as Sarah. If Peter can show some nerve rather than avoid everything they should be talking about, I imagine Sarah's "learned behaviour" would take Peter more seriously. Peter's supportive weakness is definitely a roadblock to Sarah's maturity. It's an interesting hamartia.

And this arc has just started! Sarah's actually having inner monologues, and there's a lot of stuff set up in the background. Let the thing exist before you chew it out! Things are changing, but we didn't grow up overnight. One of the reasons I find this story really pokes out of the werewolf woodwork is because of Sarah's growing pains; what is she going to learn while she has to figure this out, what is everyone else going to learn from that, and what sort of person will Sarah be like when it's all over?

Personally, I'd like to give it the space it deserves rather than "GET ON WITH IT!!!" Whenever Sarah changes I sometimes think "When will Peter's crotch come to save the day??", but I know, each time, it will take more than that, and we'll learn more every time. I don't think Sarah's character is being abused for quick thrills at all; any faster, and we won't know how hard everyone worked to get there.

[Kris@WLP]

[Happygun]

[Kris@WLP]