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Starting February 1st ALL new Exiern pages will post ONLY to Exiern.com and Our Patreon. Please read and support us there!
Swords, Sorcery, And Then Some!
Howdy, New Readers! Thanks for reading Exiern!
Written by Scott T. Hicken with art by Antipus, the comic updates Mondays. Please check out the Archive to enjoy the earlier adventures of Typh and Peonie!
Exiern contains mature themes and is best for readers 18+.
I wonder if she have the power to rescale (sorry) herself or has there been a retcon to her size?
Other questions, since nothing has actually happened to Denver (as far as we know) and Typh was just acting in defence against an attacker during their single previous meeting, I wonder what the possible suggested grievance she was suggesting when she came to the castle?
Of course, there’s also the reason Typh has been so wary to tell Alicia about what has happened to Denver as well, which I guess we’ll be finding out soon enough. I guess there’s also the question as to why Alicia hasn’t been drawn in the same direction and to the same place Denver is, she was getting voices from her inner self at one point when she was first changing.
Well, at least up to now despite all that’s happened, the outcome is still potentially better than what happened with these two siblings than in the Dark Reflections alternate universe in very short order.
The grievance is most likely the accidental theft of the locket with both hers and Denver’s picture inside. Such things tend to have enormous sentimental value.
Typh is reluctant to tell Alicia about Denver for two reasons.
1.) Dragons have been corrupted by dark powers and turned against their own kin, even their own children, so Denver might not be safe from his sister.
2.) Denver’s currently at the “Northern wastes,” a magical location that you can’t find unless it WANTS you to find it, and Typh is quite correctly concerned what Alicia will do when she heads up there, finds nothing but ice and snow and then returns.
Fair enough, that makes sense. I guess we’ll see where she’s going, I imagine if and when the Northern Wastes wants her, it’ll let her know perhaps.
I wonder if at the time Alicia attacked Typh’s party, she was having a “feral” episode, like as we saw in her story, her “human” side blacks out and her pure animal dragon side takes over, leading to much killing. I’m imagining she presently has that stabilised now. I also wonder if there’s going to be a reason put forward as to why she killed the guards but did not attack the seemingly defenceless Faden as he was tied to a tree. I imagine we’ll see if that ties into Typh’s concerns or whether Faden just got lucky that time.
Noticed the body changes, the reptilian skin has advanced well up her body to cover much more of it but has retreated somewhat from her shoulders.
Mind you, the king must know about dragon physiology and he seems to be supremely confident someone he’s never met before will be able to control themselves to give them the run of the castle unaccompanied like that.
I wonder what’s going to happen to Typh, the longer this goes on. In universe context, Typh wasn’t intially perturbed (same for the Brotherhood) as it’s a world where usually these things are fixed fairly quickly. Obviously as time’s gone on it’s looks like it’s going to be harder and harder to fix and Typh has been taking it worse and worse understandably.
I guess my question is, if this goes on for long enough is it going to push Typh into a nervous breakdown or worse? To make things even worse as we know, Typh can’t even dress too masculine as themselves will change.
I know I brought this up before but if it goes on for too long and there’s no way to revert Typh’s body in sight, what options are there. Generally with these sort of stories, a lot of them broadly fall into two possible endings. The character finds a way back to their original body or ends up accepting the change. I wonder if we’re ultimately heading in either of these directions or one of the rarer third way endings.
That’s not actually a nickname though, that’s a direct translation of what it sounds in Southern dialect (which Alicia would know), in the same way that Denver was about halfway through translating Typh’s brother’s name when Typh made it clear that in the interest of Denver’s health, he should stop there. So, it may or may not be significant on that basis.
@Shan: “The character finds a way back to their original body or ends up accepting the change. I wonder if we’re ultimately heading in either of these directions or one of the rarer third way endings”
I thought you either changed back or you didn’t, so I must be missing something. Can you give an example of a third ending? If you don’t accept something that is impossible to change, the only way for the end to be satisfying is to find happiness in other things. This happens in life, but not so much in fiction. Do you see other ways to have a satisfying end (to the reader, not to the character)?
Well, the way Quantum Leap did it was a fade to black, white lettering on black, that filled in the modified story and ended with, “Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home.”
“Third way” endings are just what I lump everything else under that doesn’t perfectly fit the other two.
One was a “Heaven Can Wait” scenario where the character had their mind wiped at the end so they didn’t remember everything up to that point and ended up just thinking they were now the person they replaced.
There’s a couple of films I know of where people are kidnapped, mad surgeons are involved and … I really don’t want to go any further.
Then there’s a few webcomics out there which do things much worse than anything I’ve ever seen here (and ever will thank goodness). Seemingly innocuous settings where people are unwillingly changed by magic and then have their brains rewritten +/- their memories wiped. I generally don’t like those ones at all.
I guess you could argue that Dark Reflections Tiffany falls into that description I just gave but they seem to be going somewhere with that while the other ones I’ve seen I really don’t like where they’re coming from or where they’re going with a superficially same idea.
I also stumbled across one webcomic where due to a “comical” mishap, a couple of flatmates stumble into a circumstance where a sorceress turns them both into women (one of them even hadn’t done anything at all, just happened to be in the wrong place in the wrong time).
Lots of comic hijinx ensue but then there’s one page which reveals that these magicians have been doing this a lot for trivia if not no reason at all and the person telling the story said even though most either adjusted, got by or found a way to get changed back, she all but says that one victim committed suicide over it.
Well, that got dark really fast. Realistic but … yeah … hmmm ….
Remember that Alicia started out as an ordinary woman much like Denver was an ordinary fellow. She started transforming… and she killed a number of people . And it doesn’t matter whether or not they deserved it; what matters is that SHE did it. HER hands were the ones doing the killing. That’s not an easy thing to deal with. Most cultures actually have specific rituals to help soldiers come to terms with what they’ve done. (Except for the ones that, like Typh-ah-nee’s culture, attempt to squash the humanity in order to turn the warrior into a thing, a tool to be used). Not to mention… again, think of who she identifies as, what she identifies as.
Try looking at this comic again and imagine that it’s a prim, proper woman in a tasteful yet conservative dress speaking with a blonde man. Because… that’s the point Alicia is making. “I’m not a horrible dragon monster, and you’re not a blonde sexpot. It wouldn’t kill you to show a little empathy.” And given that Typh just lashed out at the Queen for doing THE EXACT SAME THING…
A lot of these characters are victims of circumstance and things beyond their control I suppose. For example, in this universe, regardless of whose fault it is, Typh managed to set off a chain reaction that led to his father killing his mother, his brother killing his father, the expulsion of both him and his brother from the tribe and finally as his father was no longer leader, the installation of a new leadership that killed all the other foreigners.
Dark Reflections Tiffany has possibly had an even more harrowing experience. She might have had the same past as listed above (though there’s enough things to suggest maybe not in her history) but then went on to have her memories all deleted and her brain rewritten. She then got turned into an evil killing machine for Faden who here reminded us pretty quickly he’s a very bad man (what we saw of him after being captured in this universe almost made him likable, this brought us down to earth very quickly).
I guess that raises another question, this kind of involuntary mind/body transformation is quite a terrible thing to do to someone. Unlike Typh in the main story universe though, it’s quite possible that the previous person she was was for all intents and purposes destroyed and a whole new person created.
As it is, when she hears about her past, it may just like hearing about a completely different person. She might also have no interest in changing back. Or in stopping being evil either. As it currently stands, it may be that she’s only seeking out information on her past just through simple curiosity and has no interest in pursuing it past that point. I guess we’ll find out in due course.
The point is, if things (especially those outside people’s control) played out differently, people also could turn out quite different as well. Denver and Alicia for starters are definitely heading in quite a different direction in the Dark Universe to here, that’s for sure.
The bigger question, I also wonder given that Peonie’s been revealed to be very perceptive to reality shifts if Mingalows are something she originally did make up but then reality shifted to make them real. It just seemed like there was something more going on than just her overhearing about them and thinking she made them up, especially given the nature of how they’d slip in references to them on occasion. Could be leading up to revealing she has some big superpower of her own one day, perhaps.
The best thing about this is that Alicia abstracts Typh’s problem away from the emotionally and socially charged question of sexual identity. How about human identity, hmmmm?
From what we’ve seen, neither Alicia nor her brother will be able to transition back into normal human beings. Instead, they will permanently acquire new forms, with new challenges and new powers.
The question becomes one of retaining your core identity, that part of you that makes moral choices, despite the physical changes; while adapting to and even exploiting the features and powers that come with your new form.
Alicia is becoming a dragon. Typh is becoming a woman.
Neither gets to return to her former state. Neither has much control over her current form. (Although, if anything, Typh has more control over her change than Alicia does. )
But both are capable of control who they are, and what actions they will take.
And both, I believe, will end up happiest if they accept who they are now, rather than constantly pining for what they can no longer be.
Yes, “part of the waking dream itself” strongly suggests Typh is stitched, embroidered, into the fabric of her reality. Her femininity is not an illusion, not a seeming, not a temporary patch.
And her change “shook the ether”. It had far reaching consequences, not only for Typh’s part in the dream, but for those around her as well.
Alicia, on the other hand, is just doing what comes naturally to her kind.
I wonder we’re ultimately going to end up with our lead character. Typh did once express the wish to have kids but that seemed like a boilerplate stock answer to the question so what the real thoughts on the subject are may still be pending. As for reverting back to before being transformed, generally these kinds of stories tend to usually end in one of two ways, making it back or ultimately not.
I guess since the story has moved into a more serious framing of the issues, I’ve been wondering if on the way to the end, is whether Typh learns to ultimately manage (even if possibly never completely adjusting) living with the new body (with or without serious upheaval on the way) or ends up having an irretrievable nervous breakdown. Then there’s any potential future relationships and with whom. The writers have hinted on something on the horizon if I remember correctly.
@50srefugee – Osir managed the transformation back to human.
@shan Typh wanting to have kids might have meant fathering them, not mothering them.
That said, if Typh were to have sex with a male who loves her (and I’m thinking in particular of Denver) then that might make her all the more confused, as all she’s known are the attempted homosexual rapes when she was a younger male.
Anyway, this tale is all about the journey: once Typh reaches a resolution, the story will most likely be over.
It talks about a “dragon friendly to humans” it does specifically state that Osir was the dragoon in question.
This also part of the reason the way the story has been evolving has made me a little upset. I said this a few months ago that I did not like the reveal that Typhan-Knee was gay. I thought it was trite and cliche and it seemed like a cop out for all the years this comic has been going. I than said that even though I did not care for the decision, I will still respect it as the author (the dreamer perhaps) should tell the story he wishes to tell. At the very least, though the set-up seemed contrived the way the conflict has developed is really interesting and I have been reading great though provoking commentary the last two months. To go from sexy cheesecake to thought provoking psychological discussions is superb.
On the otherhand, I may have missed something but I feel like we were going through plot-holes. May have it covered by saying, the dreamer affects the ether, though there it certain individuals to notice the shifts, better than say even actual dragons (Peonie – way to call it Shan). But this is my point. I re-read the entire arcs from The Desert Ice to The Wheels Keep Turning (April 2nd, 2013 to July 3rd, 2014).
Typh flat introduces herself to Melody Tanner, “My name is Tiffany. I’m your granddaughter”. So she comes to some closure and acceptance, but after talking to her grandparents, she goes back to being a wreck again. It just seems off. It isn’t necessarily bad as it means the story continues. Also these last few weeks of deep discussion would not exist if Typh’s struggle did not persist – not to mention that psychological issues, be it real or fantasy world, don’t resolve themselves overnight.
@TajZ Typh introduced himself to his Grandmother as Tiffany because he thought it would be less confusing that way then to tell her the truth, NOT because she identified with being a woman. Once her grandmother said to find out who she really is. Typh realized that he identifies as a man, a gay man, but a man none the less. Being with Theresa again brougt up old wounds. Specifically the whole lack of sympathy from the one person most qualified to give it thing.
@Ben – I understand that, especially as Typh than visualizes himself as a man once finished with the hug with grandma. My point is the whole flip flopping of identification. Yes clearly wants to revert back, practically whole run, on the other hand, gives mixes messages especially last 2 comics. Please know that I am in no way putting down Gender Dysphoria or Depression in anyway, but I feel this path only started this year, which is why I am not the biggest fan.
But on the other hand, as stated above, I do appreciate that @ScottHicken is trying to discuss a complex and sometimes difficult issue on his terms. The commentary has gotten much richer these past few months.
Be a Producer!Your name/title with an optional SFW hyperlink will be posted prominently HERE following the close of the month! You’ll also receive monthly mailings from Exiern’s author, Scott T. Hicken!
Another excellent page with a nice potential bonding moment.
Looking at Alicia’s first appearance here:
http://www.exiern.com/2008/01/24/scream/
I wonder if she have the power to rescale (sorry) herself or has there been a retcon to her size?
Other questions, since nothing has actually happened to Denver (as far as we know) and Typh was just acting in defence against an attacker during their single previous meeting, I wonder what the possible suggested grievance she was suggesting when she came to the castle?
Of course, there’s also the reason Typh has been so wary to tell Alicia about what has happened to Denver as well, which I guess we’ll be finding out soon enough. I guess there’s also the question as to why Alicia hasn’t been drawn in the same direction and to the same place Denver is, she was getting voices from her inner self at one point when she was first changing.
Well, at least up to now despite all that’s happened, the outcome is still potentially better than what happened with these two siblings than in the Dark Reflections alternate universe in very short order.
The grievance is most likely the accidental theft of the locket with both hers and Denver’s picture inside. Such things tend to have enormous sentimental value.
Typh is reluctant to tell Alicia about Denver for two reasons.
1.) Dragons have been corrupted by dark powers and turned against their own kin, even their own children, so Denver might not be safe from his sister.
2.) Denver’s currently at the “Northern wastes,” a magical location that you can’t find unless it WANTS you to find it, and Typh is quite correctly concerned what Alicia will do when she heads up there, finds nothing but ice and snow and then returns.
Fair enough, that makes sense. I guess we’ll see where she’s going, I imagine if and when the Northern Wastes wants her, it’ll let her know perhaps.
I wonder if at the time Alicia attacked Typh’s party, she was having a “feral” episode, like as we saw in her story, her “human” side blacks out and her pure animal dragon side takes over, leading to much killing. I’m imagining she presently has that stabilised now. I also wonder if there’s going to be a reason put forward as to why she killed the guards but did not attack the seemingly defenceless Faden as he was tied to a tree. I imagine we’ll see if that ties into Typh’s concerns or whether Faden just got lucky that time.
Noticed the body changes, the reptilian skin has advanced well up her body to cover much more of it but has retreated somewhat from her shoulders.
Mind you, the king must know about dragon physiology and he seems to be supremely confident someone he’s never met before will be able to control themselves to give them the run of the castle unaccompanied like that.
Nerves of steel that man.
Nice to see that someone understands what Typh is going through, and not just the physical outward changes
I wonder what’s going to happen to Typh, the longer this goes on. In universe context, Typh wasn’t intially perturbed (same for the Brotherhood) as it’s a world where usually these things are fixed fairly quickly. Obviously as time’s gone on it’s looks like it’s going to be harder and harder to fix and Typh has been taking it worse and worse understandably.
I guess my question is, if this goes on for long enough is it going to push Typh into a nervous breakdown or worse? To make things even worse as we know, Typh can’t even dress too masculine as themselves will change.
I know I brought this up before but if it goes on for too long and there’s no way to revert Typh’s body in sight, what options are there. Generally with these sort of stories, a lot of them broadly fall into two possible endings. The character finds a way back to their original body or ends up accepting the change. I wonder if we’re ultimately heading in either of these directions or one of the rarer third way endings.
That should read “Typh can’t even dress too masculine as *the clothes* themselves will change.”
@Shan Well she DID know Faden’s “nickname” for Tiff. That hints that something is off to me.
That’s not actually a nickname though, that’s a direct translation of what it sounds in Southern dialect (which Alicia would know), in the same way that Denver was about halfway through translating Typh’s brother’s name when Typh made it clear that in the interest of Denver’s health, he should stop there. So, it may or may not be significant on that basis.
@Shan: “The character finds a way back to their original body or ends up accepting the change. I wonder if we’re ultimately heading in either of these directions or one of the rarer third way endings”
I thought you either changed back or you didn’t, so I must be missing something. Can you give an example of a third ending? If you don’t accept something that is impossible to change, the only way for the end to be satisfying is to find happiness in other things. This happens in life, but not so much in fiction. Do you see other ways to have a satisfying end (to the reader, not to the character)?
Well, the way Quantum Leap did it was a fade to black, white lettering on black, that filled in the modified story and ended with, “Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home.”
Satisfying? No. An unexpected ending? Yes.
@ Nef
“Third way” endings are just what I lump everything else under that doesn’t perfectly fit the other two.
One was a “Heaven Can Wait” scenario where the character had their mind wiped at the end so they didn’t remember everything up to that point and ended up just thinking they were now the person they replaced.
There’s a couple of films I know of where people are kidnapped, mad surgeons are involved and … I really don’t want to go any further.
Then there’s a few webcomics out there which do things much worse than anything I’ve ever seen here (and ever will thank goodness). Seemingly innocuous settings where people are unwillingly changed by magic and then have their brains rewritten +/- their memories wiped. I generally don’t like those ones at all.
I guess you could argue that Dark Reflections Tiffany falls into that description I just gave but they seem to be going somewhere with that while the other ones I’ve seen I really don’t like where they’re coming from or where they’re going with a superficially same idea.
Ah. Dragon-lady knows what sarcasm is…
@ Nef PS
I also stumbled across one webcomic where due to a “comical” mishap, a couple of flatmates stumble into a circumstance where a sorceress turns them both into women (one of them even hadn’t done anything at all, just happened to be in the wrong place in the wrong time).
Lots of comic hijinx ensue but then there’s one page which reveals that these magicians have been doing this a lot for trivia if not no reason at all and the person telling the story said even though most either adjusted, got by or found a way to get changed back, she all but says that one victim committed suicide over it.
Well, that got dark really fast. Realistic but … yeah … hmmm ….
Remember that Alicia started out as an ordinary woman much like Denver was an ordinary fellow. She started transforming… and she killed a number of people . And it doesn’t matter whether or not they deserved it; what matters is that SHE did it. HER hands were the ones doing the killing. That’s not an easy thing to deal with. Most cultures actually have specific rituals to help soldiers come to terms with what they’ve done. (Except for the ones that, like Typh-ah-nee’s culture, attempt to squash the humanity in order to turn the warrior into a thing, a tool to be used). Not to mention… again, think of who she identifies as, what she identifies as.
Try looking at this comic again and imagine that it’s a prim, proper woman in a tasteful yet conservative dress speaking with a blonde man. Because… that’s the point Alicia is making. “I’m not a horrible dragon monster, and you’re not a blonde sexpot. It wouldn’t kill you to show a little empathy.” And given that Typh just lashed out at the Queen for doing THE EXACT SAME THING…
Huh, i didn’t realize how much Typhan-Knee and Alicia had in common until it was pointed out here.
A lot of these characters are victims of circumstance and things beyond their control I suppose. For example, in this universe, regardless of whose fault it is, Typh managed to set off a chain reaction that led to his father killing his mother, his brother killing his father, the expulsion of both him and his brother from the tribe and finally as his father was no longer leader, the installation of a new leadership that killed all the other foreigners.
Dark Reflections Tiffany has possibly had an even more harrowing experience. She might have had the same past as listed above (though there’s enough things to suggest maybe not in her history) but then went on to have her memories all deleted and her brain rewritten. She then got turned into an evil killing machine for Faden who here reminded us pretty quickly he’s a very bad man (what we saw of him after being captured in this universe almost made him likable, this brought us down to earth very quickly).
I guess that raises another question, this kind of involuntary mind/body transformation is quite a terrible thing to do to someone. Unlike Typh in the main story universe though, it’s quite possible that the previous person she was was for all intents and purposes destroyed and a whole new person created.
As it is, when she hears about her past, it may just like hearing about a completely different person. She might also have no interest in changing back. Or in stopping being evil either. As it currently stands, it may be that she’s only seeking out information on her past just through simple curiosity and has no interest in pursuing it past that point. I guess we’ll find out in due course.
The point is, if things (especially those outside people’s control) played out differently, people also could turn out quite different as well. Denver and Alicia for starters are definitely heading in quite a different direction in the Dark Universe to here, that’s for sure.
Well now. Advantage: Alicia.
I have GOT to read this story again from the start.
One small question and one bigger one about some things I was thinking about lately.
I wonder if the sister the maid referred to in the last panel of this page is going to turn out to be an actual witch?
http://www.exiern.com/2011/03/24/begin-infodump-now/
The bigger question, I also wonder given that Peonie’s been revealed to be very perceptive to reality shifts if Mingalows are something she originally did make up but then reality shifted to make them real. It just seemed like there was something more going on than just her overhearing about them and thinking she made them up, especially given the nature of how they’d slip in references to them on occasion. Could be leading up to revealing she has some big superpower of her own one day, perhaps.
@ Gallstone
“Well now. Advantage: Alicia.”
In this world (for now) maybe but as for elsewhere …
http://extra.exiern.com/comic/dark-reflections-34-2/
Game, set and match it seems …
Please, you’re not a monster, you’re just going through puberty.
A second time.
Burn.
The best thing about this is that Alicia abstracts Typh’s problem away from the emotionally and socially charged question of sexual identity. How about human identity, hmmmm?
From what we’ve seen, neither Alicia nor her brother will be able to transition back into normal human beings. Instead, they will permanently acquire new forms, with new challenges and new powers.
The question becomes one of retaining your core identity, that part of you that makes moral choices, despite the physical changes; while adapting to and even exploiting the features and powers that come with your new form.
Alicia is becoming a dragon. Typh is becoming a woman.
Neither gets to return to her former state. Neither has much control over her current form. (Although, if anything, Typh has more control over her change than Alicia does. )
But both are capable of control who they are, and what actions they will take.
And both, I believe, will end up happiest if they accept who they are now, rather than constantly pining for what they can no longer be.
These two pages I think go some way towards supporting the suggestion that things are never going back to how they were, I think.
http://www.exiern.com/2014/01/09/its-deep-yo/
and especially this one
http://www.exiern.com/2014/01/14/stitched/
Yes, “part of the waking dream itself” strongly suggests Typh is stitched, embroidered, into the fabric of her reality. Her femininity is not an illusion, not a seeming, not a temporary patch.
And her change “shook the ether”. It had far reaching consequences, not only for Typh’s part in the dream, but for those around her as well.
Alicia, on the other hand, is just doing what comes naturally to her kind.
I wonder we’re ultimately going to end up with our lead character. Typh did once express the wish to have kids but that seemed like a boilerplate stock answer to the question so what the real thoughts on the subject are may still be pending. As for reverting back to before being transformed, generally these kinds of stories tend to usually end in one of two ways, making it back or ultimately not.
I guess since the story has moved into a more serious framing of the issues, I’ve been wondering if on the way to the end, is whether Typh learns to ultimately manage (even if possibly never completely adjusting) living with the new body (with or without serious upheaval on the way) or ends up having an irretrievable nervous breakdown. Then there’s any potential future relationships and with whom. The writers have hinted on something on the horizon if I remember correctly.
@50srefugee – Osir managed the transformation back to human.
@shan Typh wanting to have kids might have meant fathering them, not mothering them.
That said, if Typh were to have sex with a male who loves her (and I’m thinking in particular of Denver) then that might make her all the more confused, as all she’s known are the attempted homosexual rapes when she was a younger male.
Anyway, this tale is all about the journey: once Typh reaches a resolution, the story will most likely be over.
No, I get that. Typh clearly still considers himself a guy and has previously expressed absolutely no wish to get pregnant.
http://www.exiern.com/2011/04/13/it-doesnt-work/
@Quentin – Where did it ever mention that Osir transformed? In this comic
http://www.exiern.com/2013/07/25/spoilers-sweetie/
It talks about a “dragon friendly to humans” it does specifically state that Osir was the dragoon in question.
This also part of the reason the way the story has been evolving has made me a little upset. I said this a few months ago that I did not like the reveal that Typhan-Knee was gay. I thought it was trite and cliche and it seemed like a cop out for all the years this comic has been going. I than said that even though I did not care for the decision, I will still respect it as the author (the dreamer perhaps) should tell the story he wishes to tell. At the very least, though the set-up seemed contrived the way the conflict has developed is really interesting and I have been reading great though provoking commentary the last two months. To go from sexy cheesecake to thought provoking psychological discussions is superb.
On the otherhand, I may have missed something but I feel like we were going through plot-holes. May have it covered by saying, the dreamer affects the ether, though there it certain individuals to notice the shifts, better than say even actual dragons (Peonie – way to call it Shan). But this is my point. I re-read the entire arcs from The Desert Ice to The Wheels Keep Turning (April 2nd, 2013 to July 3rd, 2014).
Typh flat introduces herself to Melody Tanner, “My name is Tiffany. I’m your granddaughter”. So she comes to some closure and acceptance, but after talking to her grandparents, she goes back to being a wreck again. It just seems off. It isn’t necessarily bad as it means the story continues. Also these last few weeks of deep discussion would not exist if Typh’s struggle did not persist – not to mention that psychological issues, be it real or fantasy world, don’t resolve themselves overnight.
http://www.exiern.com/2014/06/24/introduction/
@TajZ Typh introduced himself to his Grandmother as Tiffany because he thought it would be less confusing that way then to tell her the truth, NOT because she identified with being a woman. Once her grandmother said to find out who she really is. Typh realized that he identifies as a man, a gay man, but a man none the less. Being with Theresa again brougt up old wounds. Specifically the whole lack of sympathy from the one person most qualified to give it thing.
@Ben – I understand that, especially as Typh than visualizes himself as a man once finished with the hug with grandma. My point is the whole flip flopping of identification. Yes clearly wants to revert back, practically whole run, on the other hand, gives mixes messages especially last 2 comics. Please know that I am in no way putting down Gender Dysphoria or Depression in anyway, but I feel this path only started this year, which is why I am not the biggest fan.
But on the other hand, as stated above, I do appreciate that @ScottHicken is trying to discuss a complex and sometimes difficult issue on his terms. The commentary has gotten much richer these past few months.
If shes a reptile and a dragon,
Why does she have boobs?
And even has them just because, why aren’t there t!!s?