OMG! XD

I was actually wondering if that's what really happened.

Last we saw grub he was in Gem's fridge. But looking better than the time before that.

Soufflé !!!!

Huh? What's going on here? I'm really confused as to what's going on, though I'm sure you'll tell us soon enough.

oh this will be interesting in the following pages *curls up and hides from souffle*

EHHHHHHHH? Confusion regins

so is her bros real then where are they

This page hurts my head from thinking...

I'm done thinking for now

gives you some baby aspirin to help you out.

Well I guess that explains why Gem is losing her mind. Someone is using their products in an opposite manner.

He's lying through his teeth. When someone apologizes that much, something is afoot. And I know because I apologize that much.

HUH?!?!?

First, Souffle is at the hearing, now he's a 'doctor' taking care of her?

Has Jack become some sort of 'shape shifter', able to alter his appearance to those around him? Maybe it isn't Souffle after all, but Jack looking like he would if he had aged normally. Maybe even not a shape shifter, but able to make a mental impression on others around him.

So, here's the next question. If it IS Souffle, then why doesn't he tell Paul that Gemma is his sister? Or, as Jack would believe, Souffle's daughter.

Given that this page IS what it appears to be, it would explain that Gemma was having night terrors the night before, and the wispy restraints. If Grub is there, Souffle could have brought it to her. It might also explain Jack's comment on making a small change to the med chart.

I dunno, this is getting weirder and weirder all the time. Draws me in, that's for sure.

Maybe Souffle wants to tell Paul stuff...but...cant.

Sweetheart, it's your story, if you don't know . . .

I'm sorry, Sam, I'm in a really bad headspace right now. Not able to appreciate your comment. I'm sorry.

Oh, and I didn't mean 'sister', I meant niece in my first comment.

hug's you to help you feel better

Thank you!

your welcome

If Jack is real and not a figment of Gem's imagination, then where has he been for the last few decades?

IS Jack real?

If Paul can see him and interact with him, he must be.

But, Paul isn't interacting with and seeing Jack, he's seeing Souffle!

If that's Souffle, hopefully Gem will be fine.

There's so much we don't know, Skippy. We will, eventually, and I kind of get a feeling that when the story is all said and done, we're going to go 'Doh! Why didn't I see that at' . . .whatever point in the story.

I also think we're looking at a master story teller who really knows her craft.

Multiple personality disorder?

How could it be MPD if Nicole dated one, and then married the other? How could they be together in the same room if they were only one person?

Now, remember, we're viewing this through the eyes of Gem, or Gemma and her memories. Maybe Gemma really is, totally, off of her rocker, but she's been working a very stressful job, hasn't had anyone in her life, but Paul has seen her, so he knows she can function properly.

So, no, I don't see Jack/Souffle as MPD, although Gem might have had some totally terrifying experience from Souffle when she was young that she CREATED Jack, in her mind, to be the evil that Souffle is, or was? What I mean is what if Souffle isn't a twin, that he indeed did marry Nicole, and Gemma is his child. However, what if he raped her, or she saw him do something to Nicole, ZeeZee or Rasile that 'fractured' her mind somehow. What if she only thought she saw him do something, when it was something else, and she created Jack to be a monster that indeed does sleep under her bed, when in fact, he is nothing more than a figment of her imagination.
Remember, all we know about Jack and Souffle are from Gemma's dreams as to when she was little. They could easily be biased based on something that she didn't understand.
What if Nicole died somewhere along the way, and Gem had to create Jack to blame for her death?

So many 'what ifs.'

Or one brother died, I dunno.

Well, this casts some doubt on my idea that Jack is a ghost. Maybe it is Souffle but due to a combination of stress and medication Gem sees him as Jack.

But, she was seeing him before Dr. Kitsune gave her the Prazosin. By the way, Prazosin is a blood pressure medicine that also has a tendency to reduce REM sleep, thereby helping to prevent nightmares. It's used to treat dreams and nightmares in PTSD patients. It is a suitable drug for Dr. Kitsune to give her to reduce her dreams. It also, from the beginning, is designed to lower blood pressure, which could help to alleviate any anxiety Gemma might have been having.

But, is she taking it regularly, or did she just blow it off?

So, she's seeing Jack in her dreams, the question is, is he really real? In her dreams he is, but is he in her real life? Only one person knows the answer to all of this. The rest of us are just going to have to sit and wait until she reveals it to us.

I had figured that maybe Gem had an adverse reaction to the Prazosin.

I was sitting in the bath yesterday afternoon, just relaxing, and a whole different approach and answer, which explains a whole lot, came to me. Paul's comments about how Souffle was apologizing like it was his fault may be VERY accurate, until something comes along that changes my mind, it IS Souffle's fault. You can read my response on the next page.

But, it may be that the Prazosin caused something else to happen. I can't find any side effects of Prazosin that would seem to be a direct link to Gemma's problems, but Creative License and all of that.

So, we'll see.

well my impresson is that jack is actully a patient at the hosptial, when he said "we end up in the same place here" or something along those line i rthink, and he wasnt wearing a labcoat, he was wearing a white gown nd stuff like that, sooo what if souffle is the doctor, and hes been trying to treat jack and is failing and then he sees gemma and decides he needs to help her too???? i mean that to me seems kinda more likely

Given that both the hospital gowns and lab coats are white it would not take much of a hallucination to make one seem like the other.

Interesting idea. Might be the case. But, what about the smokey tendril stuff? IF Gemma was awake, then she would have seen Souffle, or maybe a nurse, applying the restraints to her bed. I doubt Jack would have done it, so what were the smoky things holding her? Was she half asleep and half awake, was it lucid dreaming, or . . . ? We won't know until Sam tells us, but I've got to wonder if she's sitting back in her chair, reading all these comments going 'Oh yeah, he's on the right path, or Nope, wrong again, or Ooooh, so close, but NO!' LOL

hehe i always read comments on everything but particularly found pages i tend to read the comments closely to see if anyone has gotten close. I would say as we're getting closer to the end a few people have come very close to striking the nail on the head. It always amuses me to see so many theories and ideas.

By the way, I'm sorry about earlier. I did send you a Note on that.

Most writers don't get that opportunity to see how their work is affecting others, until after it's done and completed. On the other hand, you get to see the reactions first hand, as it's happening. That's pretty thrilling, I'd think.

I guess I'd better go get Star out of her Stroller, and into Yuri's home. She's been in the stroller for too long.

It seems no one else noticed the lack of Souffle'/Jack's burnt face in this page.

No, I think we all noticed it. Jack is burned, Souffle isn't. That's how we know this isn't Jack.

Yep yep

Hmm, it's getting scary. I think we need someone to come along and cast a magic spell to make everything okay! That'd be a good ending! ^.^

oooh transform da bad guy into cookies?

ZeeZee, my Majyk Wande only works in chat rooms, it doesn't work over long distances, like from here to the U.K., and it only gives the illusion of Majyk. Otherwise, I might try, sweetie.

Wait is dat your daddy or uncle souffle?

At this point, who can say? I'm sure there are more twists in the tale to come... ^.^

I can't even imagine how this ends now...

my head hurts

gives you some baby aspirin to help you out.

My brain hurts

gives you some baby aspirin to help you out.

I'm no baby

then why the pacifier

five year olds can suck em if we wanna

Ari, baby aspirin, even though it SAYS it's for babies, is good for big girls like you. But, honey, growed ups are funny, sometimes we name things silly like, but there isn't any Five and a half year old aspirins, you know. So, we just call it 'baby aspirins' until big girls like you get to be about ten years old.

Silly growed ups, huh!

that is right baby aspirin is for kids

ok but what about the diaper

i dont have one like I said not a baby

I pat your head ok sweetie

The last couple pages is what always scares me about mental institutions. Once you're in your word becomes questioned so anyone that is able to infiltrate it even just another visitor has the ability to mess with you and your care. :( Hugs teddy close. I hope Pual spends the night in the same room soon, or the Doc finds the information on her family and the pieces start falling together. Otherwise poor Gem might need this place just to recover.
Wonder why Souffle can't/doesn't provide more information.

You bring up an interesting point. When the doctor researches Gemma's family, what will he find? Will he find that one of his co-workers is her Uncle, or maybe her father?

What if Souffle isn't a doctor, and doesn't work there, which might explain the 'other things he needs to attend to', and his reason for his quick departure. If Paul mentions to Dr. Nick the 'other doctor that was in early this morning', that might open up something, too.

There are so many 'what ifs' in this story. Such an amazing story by such an amazing person. Thanks Sam.

Yes it is a very good story, a true nail biter. Thanks Sam for the comic, I hope you know I like your story even when it brings things up inside me.

You bring up a very good point about Mental Health facilities. Before I had a cell phone, which was back in the mid 90's or so, I was seeing a therapist at our local community mental health facility. While I was driving on my way there, I passed a man walking without a shirt on, but he was carrying a pistol, a real, very much real, automatic pistol, and he was pointing it at people. I didn't have a cell phone, so I couldn't call the police, but there was one at the place I was going, so as soon as I got there, I called the police. But, because they could see that I was calling from the county mental healthcare facility, they totally blew me off. I live with that to this day, because IF they had believed me, two people might not have died in a shooting at a local grocery store two blocks from where I was calling from. The description matched exactly what I had told the 911 operator.

WoW

Now I'm confused. Is that Souffle and not Jack? I'm hoping it's Souffle. Jack's face was burned, so I don't think it's Jack, but... I'm just not sure. I also hope that if it is Souffle, that he's still as good as he was when Gem was little. He could give Gem a lot of the answers she's been looking for if he is. Either way, I'm a little scared to see how Gem looks after the night that she had...

I forgot he was a scientist.

JACK was the Scientist. I don't think we know what Souffle was or is. Obviously, now, he's a doctor.

IIRC, earlier pages mentioned Jack and Souffle getting into the same field of work.

Thanks to cutelittlebabygirl, we saw that all three of them, Jack, Souffle and Nicole were involved in the sciences. But, where each of their paths took them, I can't say for certain. With Nicole raising at least three babies, that we know of, I doubt she would have been spending too much time in the lab. Did Souffle go on to become a MD? Maybe, or maybe a psychiatrist . . . possibly his brother's keeper, as it were.

Paul's comments in the last panel are really telling. "Like it was his fault that she was here." I wonder who prescient that is. Is our darling Squig trying to tell us something ahead of time. Paul is no dummy, that's for sure, or he wouldn't have been in the Solicitor's Office. The lion has a head on his shoulders, and I think he's beginning to use it to figure stuff out.

knowing Paul he'll want to research into Gem's family's history. Though I'm willing to bet he's gonna find something bad like a messy divorce case between Jack and Nicole or something far worse.

Go read my long reply at the bottom of today's page. This just kind of 'clicked' for me, and unless Sammy does something that really distorts that view, I think it's going to be the one I keep for a while.

So, if Paul does research, he'll find that indeed, something bad HAS happened, but it won't be a messy divorce. It'll be that Gemma was accidentally poisoned by the drug her father, Souffle, was working on, and she was taken away from Souffle and Nicole.

I already read it and it does seem possible that could be where this is going but we probably won't know till the next page

Or further than the next page. I'm pretty sure Sam could do another five or ten pages before anything like this comes to light. Of course, with Grub being there, it IS going to raise some questions in everyone's mind. So, let's say five pages.

Dun...........dun.......duuuuuuuuuuuun!

It's a trap paul, get Gem out before it's to late!!!!!!

It is confirmed?

Are you confirming it because Paul falling asleep and getting involved in that other reality could also be a thing...

Okay, if Paul understand Gem's family and help her to find them this will turn really cute by Paul ^^
Souffle or Jack ?!?!? I really tink thats Souffle but isnt Jack the doctor or he is a inventor ?

Jack, from what we know, is a Scientist. He developed something to combat dementia, if I remember correctly. I don't know that there is anything that tells us what Souffle did in school, or afterwards.

I did go back and look through the previous pages, and when Gem met Jack for the first time, in her dreams, he was going to read her a story. On that page, he had the same misty kind of things that he had in the page before this one, as well as both eyes glowing. Plus, we've seen him as some sort of insect monster, like a scorpion. Sammy is doing some serious mind messing here, and I'm not into horror thrillers, but this is turning into one, and I'm hooked!
So, again, my question is, 'Is Jack real, or is Gem right, and that's he's a figment of her imagination?'

well on page 291 jack says he his bother and Nicole were brought together by there passion to excel in their chosen field and in page 317 he comes in and wants both Souffle and Nicole to come to the lab and see that the drug they made works in reversing dementia so I think Souffle become a Scientist/doctor like jack and Nicole.

You get a cookie

thank you I love cookies

Well, I remember him coming to see Nicole to come to the lab, and Souffle was there. It was Gem's first birthday. I also remember how he went from being extremely happy about his discovery to pure hatred towards Gem in a moment's time. This is why I've often wondered if Jack isn't suffering some kind of side effect from the dementia drug.
But, remember, everything Gem knows about her family, as far as Jack and Souffle are concerned, comes from Jack 'telling her a story.' Any other dreams she's had where ZeeZee, Rasile and Nicole are involved ONLY show Souffle, the beach outing, etc. Jack is never there in those cases. Then again, other times, ZeeZee and Rasile have tried to protect her from 'Daddy', so maybe Jack does exist.

If there was only one person, Souffle, then it makes sense that he and Nicole were scientist or doctors together.

But, right now, I don't know if I'm over analyzing this or not, but I'm not sure Jack actually exists, outside of Gemma's mind. All I know is I'm rightly confused.

he does exists he said in page 294 and in 295 he had to work a lot more because of there kids and when Jack found out that Souffle and Nicole did the Hokey Pokey he was pissed and worked more at the lab not just to help his kids but to get away from Gam who he thinks she was made from the Hokey Pokey Souffle and Nicole did and that's what its all about

Who knows how much of the truth Jack was telling in her dream. I know what he told her, but I'm not sure if I even believe Jack exists anymore, outside of Gemma's mind.

but the same could be said about her mom and brothers just being something Gemma's mind made up.

I re-read that page earlier today, and I didn't even notice that on Page 291. All I got out of that was 'the same woman!' LOL

So, yes, you must be right. You wouldn't have gotten a cookie if you weren't, anyway. LOL

breaks half the cookie and give the half to you

Aww, thank you sweetie. That's so kind of you. But, sweetie, you got it right, not me, so the cookie is all yours, you deserve it!

Lel at least now it's more clear to me ^^
Tankies for the answer

but sharing is caring

Accepts the half of the cookie. Thank you, sweetheart. I'll be baking some chocolate chip oatmeal cookies this afternoon. I'll share some. You'll get first pick. I'll even let Runt have some if she doesn't tell Kammy I did!

ok I can't wait

Hands you a medium plate of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Save some for Runt, too, and you might as well give Gem and Star a couple, while you're at it!

I give some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies to Runt Gem and Star

You are such a good girl! Thank you!

I blush

i think we may need the exposition fairy to come along and splain stuff.... cuz I am so confused right now!

*waves and hugs?*

Aside from all the comments people have made regarding the story, I have to say...Paul has really cute ears <3

Make sure you see him in thigh high boots, a whip and a pink poofy diaper!

I saw that picture and swooned :P

Don't leave Gem alone, Paul!

Wait a second.... that doctor looks like creepy burnt faced dude :v

That would be because he is the creepy, burnt faced dude's twin brother!

DUN DUN DUUUUN

Confuzzled is I.....CONFUZZLED IS IIII

That doctor is a SPY!!!!!!!

that guy is a dick.

The last page his hair was much shorter than it is here and in a different style. Plus he used evil red voodoo magic to restrain her. We can't trust EVERYTHING Gem see's and hears. I am not 100% convinced what we see in page 339-340 is how it really went. It could easily have been just that, a night terror and while Souffle was trying to sooth her she imagined what we saw.

Someone remind me who's the bad twin here again. I forget.

Ok, so after carefully re-reading all the lines I believe the conversation between "Jack" and Gem was actually between Souffle and Gem and WAS real. Key words here; "I also wanted you dead". Why would Jack say "I also"? It must be Souffle. Then his conversation with Paul further proves it to me. He seems really aloof and detached at the fact that she has a partner. As far as I can tell Souffle also blames poor Gem for whatever happened to the family and wants Gem gone now too. One last memory destroyed so he can live in peace.

OR.

She imagined the way their conversation went or was dreaming when Souffle came into the room. She started to flail from the night terror, Souffle spoke to her in her dream, confessing maybe some dark thoughts he had about her and changed a few things chart to help her. He seems pretty haggard. For someone trying to exact revenge he seems pretty hollowed out. But, seeing someone from the past after so long would take the wind out of anyone's sails right? Especially after one as tragic as this family's history seems to be....

Man, even I can't tell what's real.

I think that speaks for ALL of us! LOL

Paul is a lawyer, right? He should have looked at his body-language and seen the signs that this guy wasn't "right" somehow. Maybe Paul should follow him? I would.

Well, if you read what Paul was thinking, I rather suspect that He is a bit curious about that doctor. I can only hope that he'll mention it to Dr. Nick.

Oh, here's a scary thought. What if Souffle is like a Jeckyl and Hyde? What if he and Jack are the same? Jack said something about making a small chance to the chart. What if Jack/ Souffle ordered the same kind of drug that made him what he is now?

for a moment i thought it was her dad...good thing i red the description after the page XD. Poor Uncle Souffle seeing little gem as a big girl and in such poor shape. *wants to give them both a comforting hug*

...I sense an "Among the Sleep" moment where Souffle and the real dad are actually the same person, but the evil version is when he's drunk or he's bipolar.

Hey! You stay out of this! You're either bipolar, or Jeckyl and Hyde, or, or, or . . .

Hugs da Souffle!

Whoa, you're real? Still, that's the conclusion I came to from what I've seen so far, it's just a theory until the rest of the comic is written.

But why does the comic character look nothing like you?

I can't wait to see what happens next!

wait whaaatttt @-@

*falls over dizzy from thinking to hard*

so its not a dream oh god this is not goood

That her father or her uncle?

"Brothers" ??? Like, why is that in quotes, either they are, or they aren't. Which is it? What do you know that we don't?

Makes sense to me. Let's hope that when all is said and done, that hasn't occurred.

I'm pretty sure everything is in her head at this point.

So it wasn't entirely a dream. He was there,but perhaps the meds made him look worse than he is. Those were indeed night terrors.

It must be Jack. Nobody can hold a grudge that long and when you realized what you've done, it just brings you sown. Gem only knew of the monstrous side of her daddy in the dreams.

I imagine we will either never see him again or Gem will meet him with Paul and they will make amends. I frankly hope it's the latter, cause I cam imagine Jack not wishing to see Gem or expect forgiveness from her.

Wait, I think I got it wrong. It was Soufe, wasn't it?

Maybe it was Souffle but the drugs and dreams made him look like Jack, OR he's the true monster in the end. Who knows. It's confusing.

It probably ia him but perhaps He was never a bad father or not as bad And Gem's experience with him was when she was a baby which made her sensitive. He probably had a completely different talk then what Gem was imagining. With a side does of guilt Gem has.

Wow... this story really has taken a few very raw and dark turns. It's gone from an Alice In Wonderland topsy turvy journey into our protagonists innocent years to... well, my personal worst nightmare: a total meltdown to a solipsistic state where she can no longer distinguish between real and unreal. I can't imagine a worse kind of hell, not knowing what's real, not knowing if one is awake or not. It would almost be easier if she simply had oddly late onset schizophrenia, at least then it would be easier to distinguish what was real and what wasn't. In a case like this, everyone thinks she's having a mental breakdown, and yet there's Souffle, very clearly real. What is happening...

It's like Jacob's Ladder

Now I wonder if perhaps Jack and Souffle aren't both at the facility, but one is impersonating the other. If one were her doctor, perhaps he doesn't even recognize her all these years later, but Jack does and he's taking advantage of his likeness to Souffle. He may be a patient, or a doctor, or a janitor, like a staff member that Souffle wouldn't interact with on a regular basis.

I don't recall anyone ever saying what Souffle's profession was, but maybe I missed it.

Then why was Souffle at the court hearing where Gemma had her breakdown. Why did he turn when she called him?

Why was she having that dream, and then the exact thing happened in real life!?!?!?!

Furthermore, Jack's face is pretty badly mauled, and Souffle's isn't. It would be hard to confuse them. Also, I'm pretty sure that if Jack was at the hospital and Souffle was a doctor there, someone, at some point, would have mentioned it to Souffle. "Hey, you know, you look just like that patient we have down in the Criminally Insane section! Except for half his face being messed up."

Maybe he just couldn't face her after letting her go. Maybe he heard his name but can't bring himself to talk to her. Painful memories make such things difficult. As for why he was there, I've no idea. As far as I know public court hearings can be attended by anyone for any reason, I think?

As for having the dream, our subconscious can detect things we don't understand or can't process in our waking state. Plus Gem's clearly shown she's good at foreshadowing, so maybe Gem picked up bits and pieces in her court research but hasn't put it together yet.

While it would be hard to confuse them, you're assuming someone sees them head on. You're also assuming that Jack is either a patient or a full time anything there, which is not a prerequisite. He could be sneaking in using Jack's keycard or some copy of it, and no one would really necessarily see if he went in the back. He did say they were in the same facility, that's true, but he didn't indicate his status there. Also, we can't tell what we see is real versus Gem's perception of reality so it's entirely possible that any of what she's seeing may be filtered through some sort of subconscious lens.

All valid points. But, right now, anything I say is pure speculation. I have no clue where this story is going, and every time I think I've got a handle on it, the Squig throws a curveball.

I will say one thing to you, Ms. Rivers. I believe that I have some new stories to be reading here shortly, having to do with Craft and Technology. Looks like some exciting times ahead!

Well, I can always use more readers myself. :)

So, why does Jack's hair, two pages ago, go from being tinged with grey, to the last page, where there's no grey at all, but he has the malevolent red eye and and the spooky tendril things. Jacks' ponytail is a lot shorter than Souffles, also, and Souffle has the grey in his hair, as I would expect. I don't think that's an oversight on our artists part, ya know?

Here's a thought, what if Souffle and Jack is one person with a split personality?

*blinks* i....i....wait.....

Wild Mass Guess: Jack actually died a long time ago, at which point he wound up in UG London and become a Player in its Reaper's Game and won. Rather than be brought back to life, he chose to become a Reaper instead. Now he's plotting to have Gem taken out and subsequently dragged into the Game herself.

Well the question is. Who of the two is that? I mean from the behaviour AS WE KNOW IT. It cant be Jack. BUT from where do we know that? From Gems mind witch to be fair isnt really stable and is recollecting at best how she saw things in her really really early childhood in witch your perception isnt really the best. Yes he could had some grudges against gem in her childhood but well reformation ia apparently a thing and well perhaps it wasnt quite the extreme Gem believes. I mean we all thought someone was creppy or evil in our early childhood despite him not being that.

So probaly Gems "Enemy" isnt Jack but just her own mind.

I think I get it now. It must be Souffle here.

Gem's night terror made her think it was Jack, (the two look SO MUCH alike), and it's not like it was that obvious who it was at the court...and just because one is alive doesn't mean the other is dead or so on.

Who knows, even when the facts have been presented, our minds love to play tricks on our subconscious being. No matter what, emotions always overcome intelligence.

This explains much. So Gem's uncle Souffle is real and a doctor. I wonder what his reaction was to seeing his long lost niece in the mental ward. Though from this bit of info Gem must have been asleep and thought it was Jack.

Wasn't expecting that

To baddies and goodies do not stay up too late.
Have you seen his eyes as if he was too tired to do anything else

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

Due to that they are BOTH TWINS I can't put my paw who went out the door...I don't know if it's Jack or Souffle....
My mind goes brrrrrr right now