Update, 3-24-2010

[Kris@WLP]

March Glandness goes on, by the way- and the main characters have now joined the competition!

[tHEfOOL]

I noticed that on the previous page you got rid of where it said Peter down near the bottom

[UberMan5000]

Y'know, Butch, I hate to piss on your bonfire, but of all the sudden times to have a sudden, tragic personal epiphany, this one is probably in the bottom three.

I do appreciate it, though. This is more emotional gravitas than I usually expect from furry porn, and it really stands it out remarkably well.

[RBrim08]

Figured she wouldn't have been able to do it. I'm gonna say it's because she genuinely does care about Peter, but can't express it right, and she can't bring herself to rape him because of her feelings.

[Happygun]

The only question now is what Sarah will do.

We already know how she's going to react, but what is she going to end up doing? In Butch's current frame of mind she may not resist a murderous Sarah, and with Peter gagged up only Jean has a chance of calming her down.

[RBrigham]

To Kris and Bar-1, Excellent so far. I really didn't expect for this to go in this direction. I kinda feel sorry for Becca, and I have a new feeling of loathing for Gus in the way he is messing with her mind. To echo Happygun, "What will Sarah/Wulf do???"

[CK01]

Hmm... I think gentle shove/violently throw her through the wall and take advantage of Peter's present position.

[MitchellTF]

Well, Butch has now JUST barely avoided becoming irredeemable. Barely. Almost. I gotta say, this is interesting.

Peter is the wolf, is definitely a story that not only could survive WITHOUT the pornographic component, but where the pornographic component leads to how the story is going!

*sighs* Feel bad about not immediately buying it.

[vdrake]

Well, this probably made the difference between Sarah beating the crap out of her and Sarah pulling her lungs out.

Honestly, I figure this is going to be a damned ugly scene. I'm not even sure if Jean will defend her in this case, because let's face it... this isn't something she should have done.

Question in, how will Sarah react? We know she's not all there when she's in wolf form. This could be a reason to attack Butch, it could end up being blamed on Peter, or her wolf form could just say 'Ooh, fun!' and more or less invite Butch to stay and watch/participate. Or any of the other dozen ways this could pan out.

Personally, unless Butch throws herself at Sarah's mercy (which might be kinder to her than whatever the pack might do about her little escapade), I think Peter is the only one who can really defuse this situation. And having him stick up for her in a sort of 'nothing actually happened' sense would probably snap Butch's mind entirely. I'm getting the feeling nobody's ever had the decency to stick up for her in a major situation.

Be crazier still if Sarah stood up for her before the pack. I mean, there is sooooo much that could happen because of Butch's actions here.

Man, I love this freaking comic.

[Ultruwat]

Firsy post I just had to say:Might be a spoiler:That everyone is getting ahead of themselfs.
How do we even know that Sarah is in the right building?She is new to this kind of thing.And that knock on the door could just be a curios janiter.
All im saying is there are alot of other outcomes to this then Sarah killing Bucth.

[Xian]

This story arc has been so cool. Butch is turning out to be a really interesting character. As we have seen more of her, she's a character who has grown on me, and I am really impressed with her behavior in this installment.

[Usdom]

See, I told you she was redeemable! I knew that deep down inside she had at least a little good in her. She sews clothing. That makes her an artist at heart and no artist is completely bad.

[tHEfOOL]

[Happygun]

[stormydragon]

[UberMan5000]

[vdrake]

True enough. I think a lot of that can be placed right at Gus's feet, though. If not the pack in general. She's definitely been raised in a very might-makes-right fashion, with a side order of sexual humiliation. The fact that the pack never put a stop to it is almost the same as suggesting it's approved. Now, of course Butch would pick up that the sexual assault and attempted rape are bad things, but as Gus would put it, that could be chalked up to 'human contamination'.

The pack is a relatively small community, and they all seem to know what Gus is about. Checking up to make sure the lunatic isn't abusing his daughter doesn't seem to have occurred to any of them, including the pack leaders. Even Peter refers to her as 'the crazy', and if Peter notices, the other pack members surely have and either haven't confronted Gus about his raising of Butch or haven't put any teeth to their confrontations.

You could also look at it like this: Sarah becomes a monster due to an uncontrollable wolf state. Accidental, more or less. Butch, on the other hand, has been raised in a fashion that would seem to imply that being a monster is a perfectly legitimate way of getting what you want, and probably normal for a werewolf family.

As such, I doubt that her inability to complete her rape of Peter is so much redeeming as her hatred of that concept. Does she want to get Peter through Gus's methods, more or less? It's all she knows, and... she doesn't like it, apparently. If she manages to break that cycle, that's great. But she's not strong enough to take on Gus, and nobody from the pack has been willing yet. Exiling Gus from the pack for his past treatment would be fine and dandy, but chances are he'd take Butch with him, and then it's just going to get worse for her.

Now, to be fair, I'm reasonably sure the pack doesn't know how bad it is for Butch. On the other hand, this is the same pack that had a vote to kill Thrall-Sarah and Peter... so one has to wonder, for the pack to decide that Gus has raised Butch to the point of being irredeemable in their eyes, would that mean Gus and Butch would both be put down? Because you know, I have no trouble seeing Gus standing up and saying he's ashamed of her and that he'd never let her do such a thing and throwing her to the wolves. Letting Butch take full responsibility for her actions and very probably a hell of a punishment. Seeing as incarceration is probably out of the question, seems that'd mean death.

I somehow think his raising of Butch is going to bite him in the ass, I just hope it's a huge chunk. And if Butch hasn't had much raising outside of Gus, then damn, the girl needs some positive role models. Hell, the girl could use some friends, someone with her interests at heart for a change.

Bah, long post is long. Darn you people for making me think!

[stormydragon]

[Usdom]

[rictor]

Butch may well be eliciting more sympathy than her actions have warranted to date, but I think the reaction is spurred by the complexity of this storyline.

I enjoy Peter is the Wolf very much. It is a good read with an interesting narrative and developing characters that excels when compared to a lot of other smutty series. However it doesn't compare to the emotional resonance of Maus, Blankets or Fun Home. Butch's story has become a lot more complicated than I ever anticipated encountering in this series.

When the series began, I really didn't care about her, or give her much thought. She was the antagonist of the piece, and she was going to be a recurring threat/plot device as the series moved forward. As the series has progressed, and we have seen more of her, she has really grown on me. Her home life elicits empathy and provides a logical explanation for her behavior. Her artistic side, as evidenced through her clothing design, shows an aspect of her life where she actually has a measure of control and can find satisfaction.

I am not offering her absolution just because she didn't totally rape Peter. I'm not saying that her actions are justified just because Gus is a horribly abusive father. I am saying that these aspects make her a more complex, interesting character. I agree with a great deal of what vdrake said above. Provided Butch survives this (not killed by Sarah, and not executed by the pack) it will be very interesting to see where her character goes from here. Can she turn her life around if she is removed from Gus and placed in a more nurturing environment, or has she taken too much abuse/is she too unstable to become a properly functioning member of society.

[Happygun]

Might I point out that Kris has described PitW as being inspired in part by harem anime/manga, the main difference being the protagonist (Peter) doesn't have some hidden, ultra-powerful potential. This suggests Butch may end up shaking up with Peter and Sarah.

[rictor]

Happygun, I can definitely see something like that happening. I could see Peter defending Butch to the pack (considering how strict the punishments can be) and then having to take an active role in Butch's life.

[RBrigham]

Butch and Sarah both have the sewing thing in common, that might be the "thread" that "binds" them togeather (Yes..., puns intended...)

If Becca does move in with Peter and Sarah, she might be the one to teach Sarah how to control her changing and her emotions, along with Jeans help. Who knows???

[Happygun]

BFWFF!

(Best female werewolf friends forever!)

[Happygun]

BTW, why hasn't Jean shifted into her hybrid form to keep up with Sarah?