Keys

[frameacloud]

Comic for the week of August 10, 2006.

[Edit on following day] After I posted this comic, Aaarhus informed me that there's another comic that made a very similar joke to this one. The comic is by Thornwolf and was made in 2003, so it predates mine pretty well: http://us-p.vclart.net/vcl/Artists/Thornwolf/Sketches/pshift.jpg I honestly wasn't aware that anyone else had made that particular joke before, much less made it into a comic. Nice comic, Thornwolf! Sorry about the similarity of joke, it seriously was coincidental. "Great minds think alike," I guess. *blush* Thanks for kindly letting me know about that, Aaarhus.

[Edit 2017-04-03: Updated link.]

Comments

[jolantru.livejournal.com]

*LOL*

*keeps typing on the shift key*

[kinkyturtle.livejournal.com]

I tried that too! All I get is a bunch of StickyKeys! (Eww!)

[lupagreenwolf.livejournal.com]

*giggles*

[inuki42.livejournal.com]

There's something faintly tragic about this one, I think... I hear echoes of desperation in the statement, especially the way it's composed on the page, and stated so plainly.

It makes me sad, because though we all laugh at the obvious humor, the thread of desperate hope is there too, and I think we've all felt that as well.

Very powerful.

[ladyfox7oaks.livejournal.com]

Aren't the best and most powerful statements USUALLY "Simple" in their presentation?

Still- I'm glad I wasn't drinking anything when I saw it... :D

[frameacloud]

Actually, I'd meant for the layout to convey something playful and tongue-in-cheek, but no matter what I did it kept coming out rather dark-looking instead. I experimented with different fonts and filters for the photograph, and I eventually just decided to go with this one. I'm glad that the changed presentation still works, although it changes the context of the message. I hadn't thought of today's comic the way that you describe it, but now that you've said it, I can see it.

[laurenthemself]

Awww. Sad.

...makes me wish the Delete key was good for more than just text.

[frameacloud]

While a lot of other people would probably prize the power of, say, a Control key or Escape key that works in real life, it's the real-life equivalent of an Undo button that I miss most.

[laurenthemself]

Oooh, yes. Good idea.

By the way, did you get that gryphon-on-gifts picture I emailed you quite some time back? I ask only because the original got ruined, and I can't for the life of me find my copy on the computer.

[frameacloud]

My gosh! Let me check for it. Sorry to hear about how the original got damaged.

...There! Found it! I still have the picture in the email you sent it in. I'm emailing it back to you now. :)

[laurenthemself]

Oh, thank you so much!

Yeah, I had an accident, knocked over a glass of juice, and it went all over the stack of paper under my desk.

[frameacloud]

Ooh, it's awful when that kind of thing happens. That's where it's a relief to have one's artwork backed up on disk.

[kalanco.livejournal.com]

...The left shift key gets no love.

Ah well, I did enjoy this one.

[frameacloud]

To the contrary, I use the left shift key almost exclusively when I'm typing. I decided that the right shift key was more photogenic, though!

[pretender-katt.livejournal.com]

I love this one it's funny.

[assyrianwolfess.livejournal.com]

*tries both shift keys at once, just hoping...?*

[tornir]

*presses <SHIFT> key*

Hey, Windows just turned into Mac OS X Leopard...

Cool :)

*removes key*

[frameacloud]

And thus began the saga of the One Shift Key, sought by all the creatures in the land, chasing it over mountain and through forest, each hoping to attain the supernatural power of the Key.

[forestdweller.livejournal.com]

...

Me too.

[delcan.livejournal.com]

Slightly melancholy, but good...

...and now I'm wondering about the metaphorical implications of the fact that the Shift key always has arrows going up. :)

[frameacloud]

I never even realized there was an up arrow on the Shift key until I photographed it for this. I guess it's one of the things you miss out on noticing if you've been touch-typing since forever.

I figure that it just means "shift to uppercase," but in context with this comic, it looks as if it could mean something else.

"Dragon Up," maybe? *snicker*

hmm

[nakourou.livejournal.com]

It could mean many things... but some sould not be told on a public space lol jk no it mean that the leter your going to type is going to be biger eE!!!

or maybe its just that they did not know what to put so they say : what sould we put here ..... i know !! look up to see the result of typing with this.

[cheerfuldragon.livejournal.com]

Dragon up!?

I'll settle for "Wings of the dragon". Flying is fun.

Oh, am I the only one that thinks "The lesson, of course, is never trust anyone" is hardly a fair lesson? After all, they had that same excersize at a camp while spud and trixie were dealing with trolls

[nambroth.livejournal.com]

Hah, we used to joke about this sometimes! XD

[thornwolf.livejournal.com]

Wooo so this is what happens when I google my name. Hee hee sorry for dredging up an old topic but I just wanted to say thank you for the shout out and no problem whatsoever. I didn't think I would be the only one to make that joke really and you did it in your own unique way.

I love your comic btw. Even though I'm not a therian I have many friends who are. Awesome! :D

[frameacloud]

Thanks!

I thought I sent an email to you about this to let you know back when it happened, but I guess since you didn't receive the email, I must've sent it to an address that you weren't using anymore. I'm glad it's okay with you, anyhow.

[thornwolf.livejournal.com]

yeah I never got an email but the email address on my VCL gallery is dead if its the AOL one. But thank you!

[wyrdryn.livejournal.com]

I didn't really understand this. I kind of laughed half-heartedly reading the comments because others indicated it was supposed to be a joke, but I didn't get the joke. I sensed something sad... but I don't understand the reference.

Explaining the joke

[frameacloud]

"P-shift" is a phrase used in the therianthrope communities. It's short for "physical shapeshift," a dramatic bodily transformation (into another species, generally). Commonly, therianthropes long for physical transformation, despite how it's generally agreed that physical shapeshifting is impossible. No person can spontaneously change their body into that of some other species; that's a thing of science fiction and fantasy, not real life. Nevertheless, people still want/need things that they can't have.

That the buttons "p" and "shift" are both on a keyboard-- matching the phrase "p-shift"-- was the joke. As if the solution was something so simple and silly: that you could press some button somewhere, and then bing! you become yourself on the outside as well as the inside. It's also humorous because the speaker in the comic may presumably be someone gullible enough to think that physical shapeshifting could happen so easily, or at all. Alternately, the speaker in the comic is an experienced therianthrope who is well aware that physical shapeshifting is impossible, having spent a lot of time doing book research and soul-searching on that subject. No matter how many times a person meditates and tries to visualize shapeshifting, it never happens physically.

The sadness present in the comic was unintentional, but not inappropriate. The original sketch for the comic seemed to represent a playful, self-aware remark said with a light-hearted laugh in the voice. The speaker in that version knows that they're just making a joke, and that's all there is to it. However, the finished version of the comic, with its deep shadows, harsh photo, and stark font evokes a mood of sadness and frustration... which is fairly true to the way therianthropes sometimes feel about the unattainability of physical shapeshifting.

[ryshili.livejournal.com]

If only that could happen. It'd be an awesome day. XD