egscomics
patreon
Just Not Sure - Susan and Catalina
🕑 Added 2022-02-05 05:56:21 +0000 UTCFirst version Susan is in long pants, second version Susan is (presumably) in shorts.
Story A:
Catalina was in a cat form. This much was obvious to Susan.
What was not obvious to Susan, however, was whether that proved Catalina had cat-themed magic. This was evidence in its favor, certainly, but there were other factors to consider.
For example, the collar Catalina was wearing. Susan believed a collar, if you weren't Rhoda, was an odd thing to wear. Odd things weren't automatically enchanted, but Susan couldn't just dismiss it.
Even if the collar wasn't the cause of the enchantment, it could well be the result of the enchantment. Could a collar be a result of cat-magic? Uncertain.
What about the rest of Catalina's outfit, or the lack thereof? A shoulderless, one-piece swimsuit, she thought? What was cat-like about that? Absolutely nothing.
Susan had gotten off track with her thoughts on Catalina's clothes, as the point wasn't whether Catalina specifically had cat-magic. The point was whether she had magic at all.
Susan had gotten fixated on the question of whether Catalina specifically had cat-magic, however, and it would take her quite some time to get back on track. By then, she'd second-guess every observation she had made in this moment.
Story B:
Susan squinted at Catalina.
Catalina looked different. Susan was sure of it. She was wearing a collar, and what appeared to be a one-piece swimsuit. This change in outfit had happened very suddenly, too. Susan had only looked away from Catalina for a few seconds.
Susan wasn't sure how fast it normally took people to change clothes. When getting dressed for gym class, Susan was very fast, but she was also very focused on the task. She didn't dare devote any mental faculties to timing it. That would only slow her down.
Could she change in less than ten seconds? Maybe she could. She would never know.
Inconclusive, she thought, but then she noticed the tail. Catalina definitely didn't have a tail before. Susan would sometimes imagine her with a tail, as would most people, because Catalina was just that cat-like, and named Catalina, but she definitely didn't have one before.
Susan was pretty sure about that.
This, however, was also inconclusive. Determining whether it was just part of the swimsuit, or actually part of Catalina, would require closer inspection than Susan was capable of doing without getting flustered, making some unintelligible excuse, and hurriedly running away.
She would consider the movement of the tail evidence enough, but she knew fake cat ears that moved were a thing. Maybe fake moving tails existed, too?
Susan wanted to buy fake cat ears like that, but no one could know that.
Beyond Catalina's outfit and the tail, Susan didn't notice any difference whatsoever.
Comments
Smallmoon
Story B continuation in my head. Susan: Catalina, can you keep a secret? Catalina: Sure! Susan: I'm trying to be less closed-off with my friends. I kinda want a pair of ears like you're sporting! Catalina: Oh, Catalina: Can YOU keep a secret? Catalina uses Covertly Cat-ify Other. Susan is now a Pixiebob-patterned catgirl but observers are as unsure if the ears and tail are artificial as Susan was, and knows for sure that Catalina has Cat Magic. Susan and Catalina make plans for Susan to show off her spells for Catalina next Friday.
Richard L Oswalt
Story B is more fun in my opinion, but Story A seems to be more Susan.
Daryl Sawyer
Yeah, she seems deliberately reminiscent of Cheetara.
Some Ed
I prefer story B, but they are both excellent.
Ellen Kuhfeld
You are playing games with change blindness, I see.
wargrunt42
Thunder Catalina?
Terodon
I always love the furry forms, and Catalina looks great.
Matt R
Pretty cute
Brooks Moses
For what it's worth, fake moving tails (with bluetooth connections to one's phone, even!) definitely exist.
Mark Williams
I like to think that Catalinas cat spells come with a memetic effect where people arnt sure they are seeing Catalina in her cat form or if any cat based changes occurred to themselves due to said cat magic.
