124 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 112

[Aquillion]

The Wanda/Jillian sub/dom relationship talk has to end... There is NOT one. When was the last time anyone read Pinocio(sp.)? This is more that style of relationship, we now have valid facts that Wanda/Jillian are from FAQ which means they are Family.

What the hell? I can't tell if you're joking or not.

There were some people who denied it before (a long time ago, when it was made less obvious), but this question was settled a very long time ago. Yes, Wanda/Jillian were in a D/s relationship. The strip has said it over, and over, and over again in both subtle and blatant ways, and nearly every single strip you linked to affirms this. You linked to a strip of them erotically kissing on the lips, for crying out loud.

1) http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0036.html in the last part of 36 this is almost like a "reunion" style of conversation of separated family members not of a "relationship"

What exactly do you think "Tonight you'll be rewarded properly" means? Yes, they're relaxing talking to each other instead of immediately leaping into sex. That is something that couples do sometimes, especially when they haven't seen each other for a while.

You also kind of skimmed over their first reunion. Yeah, those lips in eight kind of kill the 'family' theory dead.

2) http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0039.html the beginning part of Wanda explaining to Jillian she is a royal has no indication of that style of relationship.

Likewise, now, after sex, they're relaxed and talking to each other again. Why is this so hard to understand?

3) Again in 39 Mung declares that Wanda is EVIL not sure if this is a slip up by the Rob / Jami in the Holy/Unholy debate but clearly there is a definition of it. Many see Ghepeto as being EVIL for controlling Pinocio.

You misunderstood that page. He calls her evil after she mind-controls him into hearing nothing but the screams; before then he (who was established as lascivious earlier for just this scene) was about to ask her about the cries of pleasure. That is why she threw the mind-control dust at him.

4) http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0043.html where Wanda declares that Ansom loves Jillian, merely mentioning she controls her mind (note no body mentioned)

She has been concealing her relationship with Jillian from others, because it would be awkward in all sorts of ways for them to know she has a sexual relationship with an enemy. Here she tells them the bare minimum of what is necessary.

5) http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0045.html the control is subtle is stressed meaning she just liked being told what to do.

Second panel, Jillian in bliss in the arms of her mistress. Fourth panel, an erotic kiss on the lips. This reality is deliberately contrasted with Wanda's words, which downplay her relationship with Jillian again, since she'd rather not have it known. (This strip, incidentally, was the one where the argument went decisively from being 'one theory verses another' to 'very obvious sexual relationship, with some epileptic tree theories otherwise', and where the old 'family' theory became incestuous.)

Notice Wanda's genuine smile in the second panel. This is just about the only genuinely happy smile we have seen from her in the entire strip so far.

6) http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0054.html there is outward signs of sex here with the "removal" of clothes and the telling Stanley to relax.

Nobody said they had a monogamous relationship. Obviously, Wanda uses sex to control Stanley, despite her extremely evident contempt for him personally; she outright explains to Parson her ways to manipulate him, and says (with a decidedly nasty expression on her face) that what she's going up there to do is to use him like, well, a tool.

People sometimes have sex with people they don't like, for reasons just like that. I think the authors made it pretty clear what was going on there...

7) http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0057.html Jillian's backlash to the Archons was merely an indication of her Merc lifestyle and that the sudden fact and the fact of the subtle mind control, coupled with the NOT killing of Webinar make it all the more convincing.

I don't see what this strip has to do with anything.

8) http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0060.html and http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0061.html where shows 'the Tool' in a good mood after the relaxing session.

Again, not monogamous. Obviously Wanda has no objections to using sex as a tool (that strip makes it quite clear.) But you can't seriously argue that we've been shown she cares for the Tool (she's been as openly contemptuous of him as she can, given her situation); she uses sex to control him. This makes it more likely that she would use sex to control Jillian, too; not less.

9) http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0074.html validation of Jillian's real love
10) http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0079.html fanservice.

Jillian is conflicted between Wanda and Ansom. This has been made very clear, over and over again. She finally made a decision (at least for then.)

11) http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0091.html showing Wanda in FAQ to confirm they know each other before this conflict began in http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0092.html

And embarrassed, because she's mentioning her other lover to Stanley. She gets embarrassed when he mentions her being rescued, too, for the same reason; she's remembering what actually happened then.

12) http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0093.html Maggie explaining the backlash

Don't see what this has to do with anything.

13) http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0104.html the control issue being told what to do much like a puppet master and it's puppet.

"I -- *hem* -- don't like being controlled." They've been in a D/s relationship for a while, so of course that claim would be somewhat embarrassing for Jillian; there isn't really any other explanation for that *hem*.

14) http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0105.html the "that's crap" statement by Jillian shows that Wanda clearly has a 'free will' to follow Stanley. Same goes for Jillian in sticking with Ansom after the spell broke.

I've gone into extended detail on this elsewhere, but to summarize:

First, Wanda holds Stanley in contempt, which she expresses as clearly as it's possible to do in her situation. We've seen this all over the place; her facial expressions here, here and in the following page -- basically any time she's in the room with him, she looks irritated and contemptuous (remember, she is literally risking her life by looking this way. But even as good at manipulating people as she is, she can't completely hide what she thinks of him.). Compare this to her genuine happiness when she's alone with Jillian.

Second, she's manipulating Stanley. She does it quite openly, and gives Parson tips on it. She holds a measure of power in Gobwin Knob by doing this. She views seducing him as a plainly-distasteful task that she is willing to force herself to do in order to attain her goals, nothing more.

Third, we don't know whether her loyalty check to Stanley succeeded or not (if it failed, she could betray him -- I went into this in more detail elsewhere). But either way it wouldn't matter. If she's subject to natural thinkamancy, she has no choice but to defend Stanley; if she isn't, then she has to defend him because she only remains free as long as he is alive. She looks decidedly unhappy about it either way; but she makes do with what she has, because if he dies, she gets croaked or worse. Likewise, the one thing she absolutely will never do is join Jillian's faction or risk Jillian's faction capturing her, because that would put Jillian in a position of power over her, which she cannot stand.

Now, you're entitled to your epileptic tree theories, of course; sure, it could all be an elaborate author ruse to make us think they're in one kind of relationship when it's actually another, or that Wanda actually cares for the Tool despite all the evidence to the contrary. But trying to argue that it doesn't obviously look like they're in a sexual relationship, or to argue that Wanda sees Stanley as anything beyond a useful (if repugnant) idiot for her plans, is just being silly. (And I don't feel that the authors would go to that extent to 'trick' us; they don't seem to be too heavy into the whole Shocking Swerve thing.)

You can't seriously deny that most of the strips you linked to, if read in a straightforward manner and without looking for elaborate author tricks, lead to the impression that they're in a sexual relationship (their lips about to kissing, repeated references to Jillian 'liking it', the whole dungeon thing, beloved, all of that.) You can come up with far-field theories otherwise, sure, but to say 'THIS TALK HAS TO END' is absurd. The strip has been quite straightforward about what it's been showing so far, and you haven't really come up with any reasons why your elaborate explanations otherwise (seriously, "they're from the same country, so they kiss on the lips and call each other beloved?") should be taken above what the strip has out-and-out told us (Jillian is Wanda's beloved, and she likes being dominated.)