Grrl Power Thread #2: The Most Common Super Power

[Traab]

I just had an incredibly cool idea for sydney and her new potential gear. Lets say they need to use a set of binoculars to scan far off and look for a sniper. But obviously if they stick their heads up, it will be blown off. (Sniper in this case is someone capable of maxima level particle beams and thus dangerous even to sydney and her shield) Could sydney hold her binoculars, project her telepresence orb to be out in the open, and look through those binoculars to spot the sniper while being in no real danger? Would she see through both sets of eyes and be horribly confused?

[Eldan]

Let's see. I dont' know all the stuff on that table, even after scouting for a few years. But given that I'm physically similar to her (small, weak, uncoordinated) a lot is straight out anyway. Any knife longer than my hand, the axe, the crowbar, the club, probably the spade. Throwing knives too.

If I had to choose from that table, I'd get the rope, the flare gun, a set of binoculars, the notebook and the smallest knife. Oh, and the medkit, I can use that.

Everything else... probably not for me.

[Traab]

Let's see. I dont' know all the stuff on that table, even after scouting for a few years. But given that I'm physically similar to her (small, weak, uncoordinated) a lot is straight out anyway. Any knife longer than my hand, the axe, the crowbar, the club, probably the spade. Throwing knives too.

If I had to choose from that table, I'd get the rope, the flare gun, a set of binoculars, the notebook and the smallest knife. Oh, and the medkit, I can use that.

Everything else... probably not for me.

I would probably grab the tranqs, I think there is a tazer and pepper spray. Basically, some easy ways to nonlethal take down someone. It would work pretty well. Restrain with the lighthook, shoot em with some sleepy time juice, and call it a day. Oh, and tranquilizer guns are such sci fi garbage. They have to be very carefully measured. You couldnt just wander into the big battle royal and start shooting people in the arm with it. Half would be barely effected, half would slip into comas and die, and a few would be put into a reasonable sleeping state. Thats ignoring powers and how they would interact. Would maxima even be effected by a tranq? Assuming you could get it into her. How about dabbler? Those guys who can punch through engine blocks and presumably be punched through them would probably need a higher dose than say, harem.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

Sidney so far has acted like a spotter, so she should get the gear that will complement that role. Flare gun, binoculars/night vision goggles, flashlight, and since it's compact and light anyway some writing utensils, you never know when you're going to have to remember a license plate or something. That compass or better yet a good modern military grade GPS device would be good to have for the flying parts. A sturdy folding knife (with lock, but openable with one hand) is always handy, and if she has or gets some training in using it the first aid kid could be hugely helpful as well, since her shield is pretty much the only cover on their battlefields.

The best reason for most of them to get a weapon is to expand their non-lethal options, and Sidney has the big blue tentacle that will help her more in that department than any club. Maybe something as a surprise/self defense/last resort weapon, something small that doesn't take a lot of strength for when the tentacle ball is gone or something, pepper spray (or bear mace or something, with her taste in food she's probably immune to it so no chance it will be used against her), a stun gun, something like that.

Me personally, I probably wouldn't be able to resist that horribly unwieldy hatchet/crowbar combo that's below those other pry bars, whatever my powers would be. Although to be fair, I would probably already have had something like that on my belt long before this point in the story. :smalltongue:

[Ibrinar]

She needs a grenade, inside her shield it should be quite deadly. Of course that would kill her to but you never know when you want to take some enemy with you.

[Forum Explorer]

She needs a grenade, inside her shield it should be quite deadly. Of course that would kill her to but you never know when you want to take some enemy with you.

I'm pretty sure 90% of professional soldiers plan on coming out of battles alive. :smalltongue:

Besides, the PPO has more power then any conventional grenade. If that couldn't cut through an opponent, a puny grenade would just splatter them with chunks of Sydny. As a bonus, it won't kill her to use it.

[Ibrinar]

Can she use that inside her shield or was the problem just with the tentacle?

[Forum Explorer]

Can she use that inside her shield or was the problem just with the tentacle?

We don't know yet. The one time we saw her fire the PPO, her shield was down.

[Traab]

We don't know yet. The one time we saw her fire the PPO, her shield was down.

Yeah there is still SO MUCH we dont know about orb interactions. For all we know, she could shield up and act like a land based death star, just Alderaaning obstacles in her path with a mega laser of doom. On the other hand, she may not be able to use her shield at all because the beam originates directly from the orb itself and blowing up your own shield from the inside would probably do bad things.

[Southern Cross]

And remember, she can't fly when using the PPO and the shield orb, so she would have to be on a solid surface before using the PPO in any case (unless she's carried by a teamate or vehicle).

[Kantaki]

New Comic

Sydney thinks this through. And of course she will have to run with her Utility belt later.:smallbiggrin: But better that than swimming with it.:smallamused:

[Avilan the Grey]

But... shark repellent?

[Traab]

Im thinking anvil should be proud of halo for figuring the trap out. I bet the ncos and up were all expecting to put together her belt, meet her at the track, then mock her when it drives her to her knees because she went so nuts with all the shinies that she selected double her weight in gear without realizing it. And yes, shark repellent. Nice callback to adam west batman.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

http://0.media.dorkly.cvcdn.com/59/74/004279e72b6c32ae0d9436a4ec3029d9.jpg
Yes, I think that was pretty much a self-parody to begin with.

[Traab]

Honestly, I didnt much get this comic. Sydney is never rude like that. Is it just that this other girl iss so close to her in size and such? Is she afraid of losing her short slender tomboy slot on the roster or something? Either way, kinda odd. Also, mysterious orbs remain mysterious. I wonder what it will take to unlock some exposition on them? Will we learn that one of the mystery orbs is a help menu or something?

/Sydney holds one mystery orb and her ppo "Welcome to Your Orbs and You. The sphere you are currently holding is the plasma containment and dispersal orb. Its abilities are as such (blah blah blah) its downsides are thus and so forth. Unlockable abilities are as follows and they can be synergized with other orbs in this fashion. This concludes the tutorial on the plasma containment and dispersal orb. Have a nice day."

[lord_khaine]

Omg, why is that glorious scene not making it to the movies, instead of the grimdark stuff we currently get? :smallbiggrin:

Also im kinda repulsed by Sydneys behavior here, its not quirky or cute, its just jerkish.

[BannedInSchool]

Honestly, I didnt much get this comic. Sydney is never rude like that. Is it just that this other girl iss so close to her in size and such? Is she afraid of losing her short slender tomboy slot on the roster or something?
The bonus comic below the page has Sydney asking Max how she'd feel if another gold-plated gladiatrix showed up, and the page's comment is "Thankfully Pixel wasn't wearing a Wonder Woman shirt", so it is Sydney feeling, I guess, competition between them for the same niche.

[Kantaki]

Even if Sydney dislikes her, I like Pixel's style. Wearing no shoes (when possible) is always a good idea.

[Kantaki]

New Comic

... Russland ist ein schönes Land. johohohoho hey.:smallbiggrin:

I like Gwen's? or is it Sydney's? choice of music there.

And I guess Dabbler means something like instinctive, reflexive or innate, but... different.
But as far as I can tell they have absolutly no clue about the Orbs. Maybe they and we will know more if Sydney takes the skill Pixel pointed at.

[Traab]

New Comic

... Russland ist ein schönes Land. johohohoho hey.:smallbiggrin:

I like Gwen's? or is it Sydney's? choice of music there.

And I guess Dabbler means something like instinctive, reflexive or innate, but... different.
But as far as I can tell they have absolutly no clue about the Orbs. Maybe they and we will know more if Sydney takes the skill Pixel pointed at.

Yeah the downside here is that all this is pure theorycrafting, as there is no way to tell how long it will be before they can even begin confirming any of their guesses. They cant even be certain the tech tree is accurately drawn. Also, there is the additional issue of, this tech tree clearly can be used to do some great stuff, and equally clearly is not something that pops up frequently. So do they dare risk wasting an upgrade point just to prove or disprove a theory instead of putting it somewhere that its most likely to help? In some cases there may be overlap.

For example those lines they think might lead to a new tier of upgrades, but even at worst are likely to fully upgrade at least one ability of whatever orb they are connected to, like say, flight orb might get a new rank of speed if you add another orb to the single line. Or it might further increase maneuverability, or who knows what else, but its probably a good thing. Meanwhile slapping it into an orphaned node could do anything from unlock a new awesome ability, like the com orb might let her be able to touch things with her projected copy, or it may do something dumb like allow her to communicate with underwater sentient beings. And of course there are the total mystery options like the stuff in the very middle. Wtf do THEY do? Im not talking the dots that clearly link two orbs together, at least you can speculate on them, but the inner circle is disconnected from everything but itself.

Also, looking back at the actual tech tree, yeah, I never noticed all those wispy lines leading off into nothing. Once again, total mystery. It PROBABLY unlocks some other skills, but is it worth risking say, three points into the shield orb to see where that one sweeping faint line leads to? Once again, we dont know what that particular path is for. Could make the shield even more insanely tough, could make it possible to expand it to the size of a football stadium, could allow her to customize its visual appearance when she calls it up. "Now the shield can appear in red orange green purple blue and yellow! No it doesnt alter how it works, but eh, at least I can make it pretty!"

Further speculation. All the orphaned nodes have a double line leading to them. To me, I think that implies the double line orbs are an ability unlock. Like how the com ball can now see auras. So that means the molestorb could be upgraded twice more in one of its longer lines and unlock a new ability, probably connected to whatever that line increases. So say it increases it extension length, the last double line orb might let you manipulate its shape more. Form an actual claw instead of having to fold the pseudo-pod into a vaguely hand shape, things like that.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

She's got the brightest minds in the business spawning crazy theories about her toys, and she can only think about how little she slept and how much she has been drinking (coffee, but still...).

Conclusion: Sidney is not a real nerd. We always obsess over our toys, even after too little sleep and too much drinking. I am now going to launch into a tirade on fake geek girls, because I've always wanted to try being a **** as well as a nerd.

[Traab]

Its also after hours of back breaking physical training, more hours of boring lectures driving spikes of boredom into her brain, and lord knows what else not being shown. Oh yeah, and I think she is still on her period. I have honestly lost track of days. Is this her second day of training, meaning third day in the story? has it been longer? I can forgive her for being too exhausted to pay attention. Plus im sure a lot of the speculation going on is following similar paths she has gone through herself. She has had the orbs for awhile now. And while the tech tree is new to her, well, she needs some sleep before she can care much.

[BiblioRook]

We always obsess over our toys, even after too little sleep and too much drinking.

There's always a limit. It's hard to pay attention to things even things you are interested in and personally invested in when you are exhausted to the point of uncontrollably nodding off. Really I'm kind of shocked at how irresponsible everyone seems to be letting it get to this point. Like this little meeting to discus Syd's orb skill trees couldn't wait one day?

[Tono]

A person who has been in the military a while probably doesn't see anything wrong with expecting her to be fully alert after only a handful of hours to sleep. Not ideal by any means, but it happens. Now, she has had what I hope is an unusual amount of activity of the past couple of days, but Maxima probably doesn't register tiredness the way Sydney would.

[BiblioRook]

It's actually more Arianna I'm disappointed at more then Max, Yes she's not present at the moment but I have no doubt she has her hands in whatever Sydney is scheduled to be doing for the foreseeable future. But you are right, it would be hard to hold something like this against Max, military training aside even with all the years she's had with her powers I imagine she still sometimes has "I keep forgetting people occasionally need things like food and sleep..." moments...

[AvatarVecna]

There's always a limit. It's hard to pay attention to things even things you are interested in and personally invested in when you are exhausted to the point of uncontrollably nodding off. Really I'm kind of shocked at how irresponsible everyone seems to be letting it get to this point. Like this little meeting to discus Syd's orb skill trees couldn't wait one day?

While I mostly agree with this sentiment (yes, military people might have higher expectations, but it's not just military on-base, and half the point of this sequence is showing how Sydney isn't just automatically up to military standards on Day One), I would like to point out that a small army of supervillains (most of whom Archon intelligence was unaware of) gathered together to face down Archon just hours after they went public; the people in charge probably want everybody ready as quickly as possible, in case another such attack takes place soon. I don't think it's reasonable to expect Sydney to actually be ready for all this today, sure, but I think it's reasonable that they'd want to do it all ASAP, and just didn't think through what that meant Sydney had to deal with.

Not a great counter, but it's worth mentioning; there's bigger concerns than Sydney's sleep cycles here, at least for those people in-comic responsible for dealing with super-crime.

[Traab]

It's actually more Arianna I'm disappointed at more then Max, Yes she's not present at the moment but I have no doubt she has her hands in whatever Sydney is scheduled to be doing for the foreseeable future. But you are right, it would be hard to hold something like this against Max, military training aside even with all the years she's had with her powers I imagine she still sometimes has "I keep forgetting people occasionally need things like food and sleep..." moments...

*cough (http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1768)* Heh, but yeah, in this case its probably more being used to working with trained professionals that can get by on three hours of sleep when needed, combined with everyone being really eager to try and figure out what her orbs are, how they work, where they come from, etc etc etc.

[Traab]

New update and woohoo! More orb testing! I dunno, im not sure how fast sydney was traveling, but an 8 minute flight time at her potential max speed is actually pretty freaking good. She may not be able to go coast to coast with it in a single hop, but come on, swoop down once every 8 minutes for an instant flicker of the shield to replace the air, and then go back to flying. They do need seating though, because an egg shaped container is not comfy to sit or stand in.

I made a comment on the comic board but I will include it here. I wonder if it would be better to do the circle couch thing with an air scrubber built in, or to just dispense rebreathers to the nonfliers sydney might have to move. Either would increase the air supply in the bubble, but if they put it in the couch, thats a bulky bit of gear they will have to keep an eye on which could be a problem during an emergency evac while sydney has a fairly lightweight rebreather on her back. On the other hand, putting it in the couch means she can take civvies on a long range evac without much issue.

On issues not related to her passenger transport, who wants to bet that everyone is going to be happy she brought her utility belt to this dinner? Im not saying they WILL face another super blitz, but I am saying I wouldnt be surprised if they need lockpicks, pry bars,a nd other assorted bits of rubbish she may have chosen after catching on that it was a trap they expected to weigh her down with.

[BiblioRook]

I know it's more likely something highly technical and related to the orb testing, but I like to beleve that's a Gameboy Pixel is playing on.

{insert reference to her name here}

[lord_khaine]

I made a comment on the comic board but I will include it here. I wonder if it would be better to do the circle couch thing with an air scrubber built in, or to just dispense rebreathers to the nonfliers sydney might have to move. Either would increase the air supply in the bubble, but if they put it in the couch, thats a bulky bit of gear they will have to keep an eye on which could be a problem during an emergency evac while sydney has a fairly lightweight rebreather on her back. On the other hand, putting it in the couch means she can take civvies on a long range evac without much issue.

Thats a dam hard question. On one hand, individual scrubbers could be a little troublesome, you really cant know ahead of time who Sydney would need to move around, its a situation that can change at the drop of an hat. On the other hand the couch will indeed end up extremely bulky, something that has to be parked on a given location, and returned to before liftoff.

At the same time though, so what if the couch gets ruined? 8 mins of flight should get the emergency out of the evac, and who cares if they need to buy a new couch? Archon can afford it.
Though also, evac means some emergency is going, so people need to get away fast. But i cant imagine what sort of disaster would let to such a specific situation that stopping every 8 min for a break would mean much, not unless it were beneath the sea or in space.

Again though, Archon is rich, they can afford both options.


On issues not related to her passenger transport, who wants to bet that everyone is going to be happy she brought her utility belt to this dinner? Im not saying they WILL face another super blitz, but I am saying I wouldnt be surprised if they need lockpicks, pry bars,a nd other assorted bits of rubbish she may have chosen after catching on that it was a trap they expected to weigh her down with.

Im having trouble imagening what sort of random rubbish would be useful though. Just to start with both lockpicks and prybars are unececary with Sydneys own set of super powers. Not to mention the diversity the rest of the passengers bring. So im ready to take that bet.
(edit. except if it turns out someone gets bored or hungry, and Sydney has something useful for that :smalltongue:)

[Rakaydos]

Dont need a couch when the three space marines you transport can sit on their backpacks.

[Traab]

Thats a dam hard question. On one hand, individual scrubbers could be a little troublesome, you really cant know ahead of time who Sydney would need to move around, its a situation that can change at the drop of an hat. On the other hand the couch will indeed end up extremely bulky, something that has to be parked on a given location, and returned to before liftoff.

At the same time though, so what if the couch gets ruined? 8 mins of flight should get the emergency out of the evac, and who cares if they need to buy a new couch? Archon can afford it.
Though also, evac means some emergency is going, so people need to get away fast. But i cant imagine what sort of disaster would let to such a specific situation that stopping every 8 min for a break would mean much, not unless it were beneath the sea or in space.

Again though, Archon is rich, they can afford both options.



Im having trouble imagening what sort of random rubbish would be useful though. Just to start with both lockpicks and prybars are unececary with Sydneys own set of super powers. Not to mention the diversity the rest of the passengers bring. So im ready to take that bet.
(edit. except if it turns out someone gets bored or hungry, and Sydney has something useful for that :smalltongue:)

With the individual rebreathers, I figured they could assign one to each nonflier as emergency gear. That way if there is a scenario like, "Quick! The island is about to explode! Grab the guys we other fliers cant sydney!" They wont need to land every 8 minutes. Heck, even if some of them DONT have the rebreathers, it probably would increase the time anyways. As for leaving the couch behind, im not worried about the couch itself, as you said, they arent that pricey, I was wondering how expensive installing an air scrubber in the thing would be. And even expense isnt the biggest problem, its, if there is an emergency they might not be able to take the couch with them, leaving them with the stop start method of air travel whereas, if they have their own rebreather kit, they wont have to worry about it at all. They will have just lost a comfy seat while they travel.

All in all I think the air scrubber in the couch is the best idea. It allows for flexibility in who gets a lift, makes things better for civilian evac, and im sure its something they could knock up a few spares for. It might be more expensive than should be casually discarded, but not so bad that its something to especially worry about in an emergency. Maybe avoid corinthian leather though. :smallbiggrin:

As for why her belt could come in handy, come on, there are tons of reasons! Its a trap designed to counter their powers so say, maxima cant punch down a door without setting off explosives that not everyone can tank, there is an antimagic field up stopping gwen, etc etc etc. Luckily sydney has lockpicks a grappling gun and plenty of lightweight rope, or whatever.


*EDIT* One last thing about the rebreathers. We know she had 8 minutes of flight time before the c02 levels rose to the warning point. I wonder how long she could go for in an emergency with her rebreather on? I mean, yeah everyone else might get woozy and pass out, but she would remain relatively clear headed, so how much longer could she push it in that scenario before she risked causing people harm?

[lord_khaine]

With the individual rebreathers, I figured they could assign one to each nonflier as emergency gear. That way if there is a scenario like, "Quick! The island is about to explode! Grab the guys we other fliers cant sydney!" They wont need to land every 8 minutes. Heck, even if some of them DONT have the rebreathers, it probably would increase the time anyways. As for leaving the couch behind, im not worried about the couch itself, as you said, they arent that pricey, I was wondering how expensive installing an air scrubber in the thing would be. And even expense isnt the biggest problem, its, if there is an emergency they might not be able to take the couch with them, leaving them with the stop start method of air travel whereas, if they have their own rebreather kit, they wont have to worry about it at all. They will have just lost a comfy seat while they travel.

Im just thinking, why would they care about having to land after 8 mins?
What sort of explosion could Sydney not escape in the about 8 mins flighttime she have available? The only place it would seem to be relevant is for long distance traveling that cant be by plane. And for those situations then i guess they might as well sit comfortably.


As for why her belt could come in handy, come on, there are tons of reasons! Its a trap designed to counter their powers so say, maxima cant punch down a door without setting off explosives that not everyone can tank, there is an antimagic field up stopping gwen, etc etc etc. Luckily sydney has lockpicks a grappling gun and plenty of lightweight rope, or whatever.

I just cant imagine any that would not be insanely contrived. I mean, why the heck would you place a keyhole on such a door? And why would Maxima care about setting off an explosion if Sydney can tank it with her shield?
The only way i could imagine it getting relevant is if there is some sort of power nullifier in place, and the author has more or less stated that there isnt such a thing, hence the elaborate setups for the individual super prisons.

[Traab]

Im just thinking, why would they care about having to land after 8 mins?
What sort of explosion could Sydney not escape in the about 8 mins flighttime she have available? The only place it would seem to be relevant is for long distance traveling that cant be by plane. And for those situations then i guess they might as well sit comfortably.



I just cant imagine any that would not be insanely contrived. I mean, why the heck would you place a keyhole on such a door? And why would Maxima care about setting off an explosion if Sydney can tank it with her shield?
The only way i could imagine it getting relevant is if there is some sort of power nullifier in place, and the author has more or less stated that there isnt such a thing, hence the elaborate setups for the individual super prisons.

True, there isnt a mutant power collar as such, that doesnt mean there arent things meant to stop magic, and as you pointed out, arc-ageis has already come up with ways to contain a teleporter and the most powerful bad guy they have ever seen among others they didnt bother to show us. Neither was that elaborate. You can find a pressurized chamber in most hospitals in the real world, setting things up for her wouldnt be that hard, and all they had to do was isolate vehemence and pump pot into the room.

Maybe containing maxima wouldnt be so easy, but halo? Stick a pair of metal gauntlets on her and she is powerless. Figure out a way to attach them so max cant just rip them off without hurting her and that keeps her and gwen locked away from their powers. Rig it to blow if max doesnt play along and that would restrain her big time. Its really not that contrived or elaborate of a setup. Antimagic warding which could easily be a thing shuts down dabbler and gwen (more gwen, but still weakens dabbler) Explodey gauntlets locks down halo utterly and puts maxima in the heroes dilemma where she cant fight properly without endangering the hostage. Two simple steps and now things are harrowing for our heroines. (Say that line out loud, it sounds better.)

Anyway, todays comic, I like it well enough, what im kinda confused about was sydney asking maxima for advice about autographs, wasnt she signing them at her comic store the other day?

[Yuki Akuma]

Anyway, todays comic, I like it well enough, what im kinda confused about was sydney asking maxima for advice about autographs, wasnt she signing them at her comic store the other day?

The scene at the comic shop was written 15 months ago. Dave might have simply forgotten.

[AvatarVecna]

The scene at the comic shop was written 15 months ago. Dave might have simply forgotten.

At first I thought you were exaggerating the time frame for comedic effect, but I checked the archives to be sure. Wow...I knew things go by slowly (hell, it seems most of my comments in this thread are complaints about the pacing), but man is it a slog to read through when you're already caught up...

[Traab]

At first I thought you were exaggerating the time frame for comedic effect, but I checked the archives to be sure. Wow...I knew things go by slowly (hell, it seems most of my comments in this thread are complaints about the pacing), but man is it a slog to read through when you're already caught up...

Yeah it is pretty crazy. Its a great read as an archive binge, but the pacing feels glacial when its update by update. On the plus side, time IS passing. We arent spending 15 months on a single fight, going by halos yelling its been 4 days since the big reveal.

You know, I still wish they would go the hydraulic press route with testing halos shield. Just have maxima stand there and try to compress the shield between her hands. I admit to not being a physics major, but wouldnt the psi from her trying to crush the shield translate to how much kinetic energy it can handle from say, a missile? After that they can start testing the esoteric stuff like energy blocking. How many rads of nuclear energy it can keep out, stuff like that. Im sure they have a lab where they can do stuff like produce enough radiation to equal a dozen hiroshimas along with a dozen other esoteric energy types in a secure environment just to test limits on gear and supers alike.

[5a Violista]

A problem with only testing the "hydraulic press route" is that many materials have different strengths in tension/bending vs straight compression vs impact. For example, glass is a pretty strong material but shatters in impact. And then there's the question of how it fractures: does it send shards of material cutting everything around (in which case Halo needs to wear protective gear during the testing) or does it bend plastically before breaking, does it send some sort of mental feedback when breaking, or does it simply catastrophically vanish (in which case Maxima needs to be careful so she doesn't crush Halo when it gives). Blocking heat wouldn't be esoteric, either, because missiles would give off a lot of heat. Plus, since it appears to be magic, it may not even behave anything like known materials, and so they'll have to test all sorts of special cases just to categorize how it works.

Maxima compressing it will give them some baseline to work with, however, so it is a simple test to start with.

[Traab]

Maxima compressing it gives her absolute control over the pace of the test. Raising the pressure as fast or slowly as she likes, giving sydney plenty of time to give a warning if possible that the shield is going down, or its starting to hurt, or whatever. And also because its her own body and her reaction time is literally faster than a speeding bullet, they dont have to worry about accidentally crushing sydney before they can stop pressing in. The second it gives, she stops pressing in. But yeah, safety gear all the way. And as for possible backlash issues, thats why they test. Far better to learn at the testing lab what happens when her shield goes down than out in the field. As for heat and all that, thats what I meant about going back to the lab for energy tests. They can try it all, see how heat, cold, microwaves, radiation, tachyon particles, dueterium crystals, and unobtanium effects her shield. Maxima tests the physical force the shield can resist, the lab tests the energy levels it can resist.

And by testing energy afterwards, they will better know how the shield will react when it goes down, meaning there will be less worry about exposing her to hulk level gamma rays (which would in reality burn her horribly and give every inch of her cancer) because they have an idea of what happens when the shield goes down, and they can give her protective suits to wear. If the shield breaks catastrophically, they may have her get inside a shielded bunker with her shield projected around it then test it to destruction, if she can feel it starting to collapse they will know to back off the second it starts to happen or the measuring devices she will hold start going off. Once again, better to know in controlled testing than in mid battle. All of a sudden she learns, "Oh no! It turns out my shield cant block anything plaid!" And she takes a razor sharp kilt to the face from the scottish slasher.

[lord_khaine]

Maybe containing maxima wouldnt be so easy, but halo? Stick a pair of metal gauntlets on her and she is powerless. Figure out a way to attach them so max cant just rip them off without hurting her and that keeps her and gwen locked away from their powers. Rig it to blow if max doesnt play along and that would restrain her big time. Its really not that contrived or elaborate of a setup. Antimagic warding which could easily be a thing shuts down dabbler and gwen (more gwen, but still weakens dabbler) Explodey gauntlets locks down halo utterly and puts maxima in the heroes dilemma where she cant fight properly without endangering the hostage. Two simple steps and now things are harrowing for our heroines. (Say that line out loud, it sounds better.)

You dont think thats contrived? you need to lock a pair of gauntles on Halo's hands while under Maximas watch, while at the same time negate two different magic users.
But your not going to search any of them, or confiscate things that could be used to foil your plans, like a com device.
Or lock mittens on Halo instead, despite them being much easier to construct, and simpler to lock on.

[Traab]

You dont think thats contrived? you need to lock a pair of gauntles on Halo's hands while under Maximas watch, while at the same time negate two different magic users.
But your not going to search any of them, or confiscate things that could be used to foil your plans, like a com device.
Or lock mittens on Halo instead, despite them being much easier to construct, and simpler to lock on.

Its really not. Just look at the celebratory dinner they went to before the super battle. I think sydney wandered off at least twice from the main body of heroes. Someone disguised as a waiter could have easily slipped something on halo. I said gauntlets but as you said, mittens would suffice, I just wanted something that could be rigged to explode, taking out sydneys hands if fiddled with. As for the two different magic users, one of the biggest tropes about spellcasters is the warded room. Just for proof they likely exist, lets look at the security of the armory, when harem teleported in she was instantly targeted and ready for destruction, you really think that having magic users, they dont have protection against them built into the place? They wouldnt know magic doesnt work till they try to use some, so its not like it would be silly to set that up ahead of time.

As for searching them, one, its unlikely they could do that without raising suspicion. And two, why would they? I mean, we havent seen any sign of utility belts. Hell, harem had to do a teleport run just to grab gear for the nonsupers in the crowd during the mega brawl. Its exactly the sort of thing that gets overlooked by bad guys who think they have everything under control. In the end its no more contrived than the super brawl was. I mean come on, Vehemence manages to grab and influence a few dozen supers from around the world, more than archon even knew existed, and bring them all together within a few hours of them announcing their presence and showing up at the place they went to for dinner? Virtually any confrontation is "contrived" when you are talking about it from the angle of setting it up to happen.

[tomandtish]

Yeah it is pretty crazy. Its a great read as an archive binge, but the pacing feels glacial when its update by update. On the plus side, time IS passing. We arent spending 15 months on a single fight, going by halos yelling its been 4 days since the big reveal.

You know, I still wish they would go the hydraulic press route with testing halos shield. Just have maxima stand there and try to compress the shield between her hands. I admit to not being a physics major, but wouldnt the psi from her trying to crush the shield translate to how much kinetic energy it can handle from say, a missile? After that they can start testing the esoteric stuff like energy blocking. How many rads of nuclear energy it can keep out, stuff like that. Im sure they have a lab where they can do stuff like produce enough radiation to equal a dozen hiroshimas along with a dozen other esoteric energy types in a secure environment just to test limits on gear and supers alike.

Actually, depending on how you define it, we are still on day 3. At this point I think of the intro as more of a flashforward....

(Not everything is in exact order)

Day 1: Meet Sydney and Joel at story, Bank Robbery, Press Conference, big Super fight. Sydney goes to bed, wakes up in middle to call Dabbler about lasers not passing through shield.

Day 2: Sydney wakes up (and has apparently started her cycle since she punches herself in uterus), goes to store, tells Joel and Olivia, hires Olivia, gets pulled out from store early (she thinks), talks about new comic day with President Obama, meets new recruits, gets gun training, Max meets the photographer, "Mouth Feel", flight testing with Max, Max and Sydney go to the store, debriefing on the fight and speculation on Varia's father, the club and discovery of more aliens, Sydney is sleeping at base but has trouble sleeping

Day 3: Interview and flashback with Deus, Sydney has morning PT (and Batman blasphemy), cleanup at the freeway from the fight, Max and Deus meet (and Sydney is in their science division), flashback to how Max got her powers, Sydney gets training in taking cover, Harem gets the broken wrist fixed (with corresponding Sydney antics), Sydney picks out gear, we meet two more newbies, and Sydney transports a group to dinner (which they appear to be outside of now).

Since Sydney went to lunch fairly soon after we started Day 1, it is probable not even 60 hours have passed since the "effective" start.

[HandofShadows]

Side effects... :smallbiggrin:

[lord_khaine]

Its really not. Just look at the celebratory dinner they went to before the super battle. I think sydney wandered off at least twice from the main body of heroes. Someone disguised as a waiter could have easily slipped something on halo. I said gauntlets but as you said, mittens would suffice, I just wanted something that could be rigged to explode, taking out sydneys hands if fiddled with. As for the two different magic users, one of the biggest tropes about spellcasters is the warded room. Just for proof they likely exist, lets look at the security of the armory, when harem teleported in she was instantly targeted and ready for destruction, you really think that having magic users, they dont have protection against them built into the place? They wouldnt know magic doesnt work till they try to use some, so its not like it would be silly to set that up ahead of time.

Yes it is, its contrived when you have to bend and twist circustances to get to the desires result, or let people chose highly convoluted plans. Like in your example, put Sydney in mittens she might risk escaping from, instead of locking her up, taking her things and drugging her unconcious.


As for searching them, one, its unlikely they could do that without raising suspicion. And two, why would they? I mean, we havent seen any sign of utility belts. Hell, harem had to do a teleport run just to grab gear for the nonsupers in the crowd during the mega brawl. Its exactly the sort of thing that gets overlooked by bad guys who think they have everything under control. In the end its no more contrived than the super brawl was. I mean come on, Vehemence manages to grab and influence a few dozen supers from around the world, more than archon even knew existed, and bring them all together within a few hours of them announcing their presence and showing up at the place they went to for dinner? Virtually any confrontation is "contrived" when you are talking about it from the angle of setting it up to happen.

So locking something on her hands would raise less suspicioin than searching her for lockpicks, phones, weapons or emergency communication devices?

Meanwhile Vehemences little party were not really contrived, we know he had Opal to transport him around the world, so the travel time were insignificant, and he were able to pick up more supers than Archon believed were in north america, because he picked from the entire world. Thats actually very doable when we know how he did it.

[Forum Explorer]

Yes it is, its contrived when you have to bend and twist circustances to get to the desires result, or let people chose highly convoluted plans. Like in your example, put Sydney in mittens she might risk escaping from, instead of locking her up, taking her things and drugging her unconcious.


Here's a non-contrived reason; she hurts herself and uses her first aid kit. Then she uses some of her back up meds cause they were wearing off. :smallbiggrin: :smallwink:

[Eldan]

Obviously, the solution is to fill two oven mitts filled with superglue and leave them next to an oven with delicious warm muffins inside.e

[AvatarVecna]

Obviously, the solution is to fill two oven mitts filled with superglue and leave them next to an oven with delicious warm muffins inside.e

By the Nine, you're a genius! An evil genius!

[Eldan]

Have you seen my avatars? Of course I am!

[AvatarVecna]

You mean that thing your avatar is doing is laughing maniacally?! I thought they were just yawning dramatically! :smallbiggrin:

[Traab]

You mean that thing your avatar is doing is laughing maniacally?! I thought they were just yawning dramatically! :smallbiggrin:

I thought he was getting ready to take a bite from a giant cookie!

[Calemyr]

I thought he was getting ready to take a bite from a giant cookie!

Then again, that is Okabe Rintaro Hooin Kyoma!!! He's more likely to chew on the scenery than a cookie.

[Traab]

Then again, that is Okabe Rintaro Hooin Kyoma!!! He's more likely to chew on the scenery than a cookie.

OF COURSE! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W7c8QghPxk)

[The Glyphstone]

Wouldn't the simplest solution be to knock Sydney out, take her orbs, and put them in a reinforced box of some kind that you lock then put on the floor in the cell next to hers. A suitably sturdy wall and not only is she unable to reach them, she's effectively tethered to the wall by the attractive force between them. Put mittens on her too if you like, but keeping her separated from her orbs in the first place is more important than making her unable to manipulate them.

[Traab]

True enough, she has repeatedly shown her ability to do damage just by her mental control over the orbs themselves. In fact, that might make for an interesting adventure. Her not being able to use the active powers of her orbs for some reason, but needing to use them to get past various obstacles. Since we need an uncontrived excuse, say she lost her hands in an unfortunate smelting accident and dabbler hasnt been able to make her a new set out of gold that can also use the orbs. There, perfectly reasonable. More seriously, she could easily hurt her hands in either a super fight or natural disaster rescue accident. Her hands are in casts, but they need some help, who you gonna call? "THE MIGHTY ORB SMASHY GIRL!!!!" Give her a domino mask and noone will be able to tell its halo. /nod

[lord_khaine]

Wouldn't the simplest solution be to knock Sydney out, take her orbs, and put them in a reinforced box of some kind that you lock then put on the floor in the cell next to hers. A suitably sturdy wall and not only is she unable to reach them, she's effectively tethered to the wall by the attractive force between them. Put mittens on her too if you like, but keeping her separated from her orbs in the first place is more important than making her unable to manipulate them.

Oh yeah dam thats brilliant, a simple locked suitcase, or even just a solid locked door with Sydney on one side, and the orbs on the other. Keeps both of them locked down and helpless.


True enough, she has repeatedly shown her ability to do damage just by her mental control over the orbs themselves. In fact, that might make for an interesting adventure. Her not being able to use the active powers of her orbs for some reason, but needing to use them to get past various obstacles. Since we need an uncontrived excuse, say she lost her hands in an unfortunate smelting accident and dabbler hasnt been able to make her a new set out of gold that can also use the orbs. There, perfectly reasonable. More seriously, she could easily hurt her hands in either a super fight or natural disaster rescue accident. Her hands are in casts, but they need some help, who you gonna call? "THE MIGHTY ORB SMASHY GIRL!!!!" Give her a domino mask and noone will be able to tell its halo. /nod

Uhm.. in that case would a trained soldier with a gun, or a taser, not be more effective than Sydney who can only bonk people with her balls..?

[Traab]

Oh yeah dam thats brilliant, a simple locked suitcase, or even just a solid locked door with Sydney on one side, and the orbs on the other. Keeps both of them locked down and helpless.



Uhm.. in that case would a trained soldier with a gun, or a taser, not be more effective than Sydney who can only bonk people with her balls..?

Pfft, maybe, thats why the point of it will be to explore potential uses of her orbs. As an example, can she use them as stepping stones to scale high cliffs? Can she use them to smash her way through walls? (That one would be super risky of course, we dont know how tough they are) Could she use one as a rope tossed to someone in quicksand? Basically, they grab on, she makes the orb come back and it drags them out? She could use them to knock out up to 7 people at a time in an ambush quietly. Im just saying, it might be an interesting thing to see done.

[lord_khaine]

I think it would be kinda boring, since just about all those uses are covered by the regular purpose of her balls.

Also, i doubt she can knock even 1 person out with them, yet alone 7 at once. Just hitting 1 independently moving target requires concentration, hitting even 2 independently moving targets precisely at once requires dividing your attention, something its designed to. And we have not even seen her show that the balls could hit anyone hard enough to provoke anything but a nasty headache.

[halfeye]

Also, i doubt she can knock even 1 person out with them

You are forgetting this scene:

http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/709

Panels 8 and 9.

[Traab]

I think it would be kinda boring, since just about all those uses are covered by the regular purpose of her balls.

Also, i doubt she can knock even 1 person out with them, yet alone 7 at once. Just hitting 1 independently moving target requires concentration, hitting even 2 independently moving targets precisely at once requires dividing your attention, something its designed to. And we have not even seen her show that the balls could hit anyone hard enough to provoke anything but a nasty headache.

Hey she knocked mister martial artist to the floor with one shot to the jaw! Dude is "just" human but has an extra pip on toughness due to his training and such. I bet a regular mook clocked in the temple would drop like a ton of bricks. Here (http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/716) we see it hit math hard enough to bruise him. So clearly its good enough to do damage. I wouldnt use it in a duel with maxima, but popping a guy in the head? Yeah, it could work.

[lord_khaine]

You are forgetting this scene:

http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/709

Panels 8 and 9.

Im not forgetting anything, but you should try and read what you linked. Its directly called out he is faking it.


Hey she knocked mister martial artist to the floor with one shot to the jaw! Dude is "just" human but has an extra pip on toughness due to his training and such. I bet a regular mook clocked in the temple would drop like a ton of bricks. Here we see it hit math hard enough to bruise him. So clearly its good enough to do damage. I wouldnt use it in a duel with maxima, but popping a guy in the head? Yeah, it could work.

As i pointed out above, it were straight up called out that he were faking it. So all we know is that it hit him hard enough to leave a bruise. But that dont say to much when something very hard hit soft tissue like that.
besides that, if you hit someone hard enough at the temble they might get briefly dazed, they might get a headache, and they might get a concusion. But from what we have seen of the speed and weight of the balls, then i dont think more than a headache is likely.

[Ibrinar]

You know how she can't move away more than a certain distance from her orbs? And how maxima pulling on the orbs at the range limit didn't apply force to her? If she also doesn't apply force to the orbs when at the range limit there might be a way to temporarily use a non flight orb while in the air. Get a small drone that can carry an orb. Let it fly up above your head to tha range limit with one of the orbs of unknown use. Drop the flight orb and switch to blasting. Not mobile of course and the orb and drone would be vulnerable unless she make an really big shield.

[Kantaki]

New Comic

Well, it seems that didn't work as intended.:smallbiggrin: On Gwen's part at least. Dabbler won a bet.

Great prank, but the best part is Sydney's not-reaction to Muppet-Maxima.:smallbiggrin:

[Traab]

If it hits a cheek hard enough to bruise, there is no reason not to think it could deliver a surprise knockout blow to a temple. Im not sure why you are so dedicated to making sure her orbs are utterly useless outside of the powers they grant, but it seems pretty clear they can be used for nontraditional things. Here (http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1290) is unbeatable proof. Sydney explicitly knocks a guy right the heck out using nothing but her orbs.

[AvatarVecna]

If it hits a cheek hard enough to bruise, there is no reason not to think it could deliver a surprise knockout blow to a temple. Im not sure why you are so dedicated to making sure her orbs are utterly useless outside of the powers they grant, but it seems pretty clear they can be used for nontraditional things. Here (http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1290) is unbeatable proof. Sydney explicitly knocks a guy right the heck out using nothing but her orbs.

Indeed, she took that dude out with just orb velocity. And yeah, okay, one was a crotch shot, but the others were a shot to the jaw and the back of the head; a crotch shot is painful, but it's not the kind of thing that takes somebody out for a fight that takes this long to finish...but that blow to the back of the head is clearly the finisher that knocked him out.

Math's training could have just allowed him to avoid most of the blow while pretending that he didn't, but it could also have allowed him to not dodge the blow and just tank it, seeing as he's much more physically tough than your average human, and the blow he took wouldn't exactly incapacitate him even if he was standard human.

[lord_khaine]

You know how she can't move away more than a certain distance from her orbs? And how maxima pulling on the orbs at the range limit didn't apply force to her? If she also doesn't apply force to the orbs when at the range limit there might be a way to temporarily use a non flight orb while in the air. Get a small drone that can carry an orb. Let it fly up above your head to tha range limit with one of the orbs of unknown use. Drop the flight orb and switch to blasting. Not mobile of course and the orb and drone would be vulnerable unless she make an really big shield.

The link between Sydney and her orbs are a little weird. But it seems like Sydney does indeed apply a pull on her orbs when at the range limit. Thats how Max got suspicious, Sydney forgot her box, and the orbs began moving towards her.


If it hits a cheek hard enough to bruise, there is no reason not to think it could deliver a surprise knockout blow to a temple. Im not sure why you are so dedicated to making sure her orbs are utterly useless outside of the powers they grant, but it seems pretty clear they can be used for nontraditional things. Here is unbeatable proof. Sydney explicitly knocks a guy right the heck out using nothing but her orbs.

Actually no, it does not take to much force to bruise a cheek, its soft tissue right above a bone, more or less the easiest place to get a bruise. Also why you get so many of them on your shin when your a kid. But getting knocked out from a blow to the temple is only something that happens in less "realistic" (for a lack of better word) comics. And from comments about collatoral damage and Anvil chocking an opponent out, then it seems this one tries to be more serious than that.

For likewise, i dont understand why you are so insistant on trying to turn the orbs into a secundary set of super powers on their own. And i have newer claimed they are actually useless, im just saying that when i look at it logically then they seems less useful than a normal everyday tools dedicated to that purpose. And then it feels pointless to me.
Else, your proof is not unbeatable, it takes a severe beating from at least 3 of the balls to get the guy down, and required both a nut-shot and tricking him into a false sense of security. Thats far from the initial claim of 1 ball being able to land a single knockout blow.


Indeed, she took that dude out with just orb velocity. And yeah, okay, one was a crotch shot, but the others were a shot to the jaw and the back of the head; a crotch shot is painful, but it's not the kind of thing that takes somebody out for a fight that takes this long to finish...but that blow to the back of the head is clearly the finisher that knocked him out.


Its a little hard to see, but the crotch shot involved 2 balls. More of an.. hammer/anvil thing, something thats a lot more likely to take someone out in first go, than had it only involed 1 orb.

[Ibrinar]

http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/184 Here though they remain upright in the car seat without anything holding them, which does not fit with her applying a force at the range limit hmm. Well could be an incosistency or maybe she ordered them after her in the scene with maxima, hmm.

[HandofShadows]

The Orbs don't apply an attractive force on Sydney just as she does not apply a force on them. They "merely" cannot be more than a certain distance from each other. If something or someone tries they are prevented from moving beyond the limit. "Full Stop". If you think about ti though it could be VERY bad for Sydney. Say she is traveling in a car and someone throws the Orbs out the window. :smalleek:

[Traab]

The Orbs don't apply an attractive force on Sydney just as she does not apply a force on them. They "merely" cannot be more than a certain distance from each other. If something or someone tries they are prevented from moving beyond the limit. "Full Stop". If you think about ti though it could be VERY bad for Sydney. Say she is traveling in a car and someone throws the Orbs out the window. :smalleek:

Yeah but in that case they wouldnt be stopped from following her. Honestly, they are very wonky. When she was held hostage the tube rolled after her. When she left the tube in the car she got stopped dead. When maxima tried to yank her out by pulling the tube, sydney didnt move and maxima ended up falling. Its kinda hard to predict what would happen.

[Vinyadan]

Part of me wants to like this comic for the occasional brilliance, the other part finds the pace slow, infodumps unnecessary and composition of pages a mess :smallbiggrin: But I liked the joke played on the reader of puppet world through chems.

[lord_khaine]

I honestly dont think the orbs are that complicated again in their interactions with Sydney. In general they behave as if they were leashed to Sydney, following along when she moves, yaking on her when they get stuck and she tries to move past the range. The only unusual part is that it seems the orbs dont allow others to move them out of range from Sydney.

[halfeye]

I honestly dont think the orbs are that complicated again in their interactions with Sydney. In general they behave as if they were leashed to Sydney, following along when she moves, yaking on her when they get stuck and she tries to move past the range.
No, that doesn't explain the situation in that page about going for the spicy meal. Sydney was pulled up short by the orbs being back in the car, but the orbs weren't pulled across the car towards her, they just sat quietly in the seat and didn't let her get any further from them, without themselves moving toward her. That's what's weird about the orbs.

[lord_khaine]

No, that doesn't explain the situation in that page about going for the spicy meal. Sydney was pulled up short by the orbs being back in the car, but the orbs weren't pulled across the car towards her, they just sat quietly in the seat and didn't let her get any further from them, without themselves moving toward her. That's what's weird about the orbs.

That is rather easily explain with the holster having gotten stuck against a seat, if that has been the case then all the orb interactions have been consistent.

[Traab]

That is rather easily explain with the holster having gotten stuck against a seat, if that has been the case then all the orb interactions have been consistent.

Then explain why when maxima yanked on the tube, sydney wasnt dragged closer considering she had far less resistance than something being held by bullet catching tank hurler maxima? See thats the problem for me. At first i thought thats how they worked. Whichever side has the most resistance stays put while the other half is halted or pulled towards the other. Like the bank robbery. Sydney was restrained, the tube was not, so it rolled towards her. In the car sydney was not restrained but the tube was, so she was stopped dead. But then maxima grabs the tube, she is clearly INTENDING to drag sydney out from under the car, so she wasnt exactly exerting normal human levels of strength, and yet the tube stops as firmly as if maxima tried to tow the moon, and sydney feels nothing from the look of things.

[AvatarVecna]

Then explain why when maxima yanked on the tube, sydney wasnt dragged closer considering she had far less resistance than something being held by bullet catching tank hurler maxima? See thats the problem for me. At first i thought thats how they worked. Whichever side has the most resistance stays put while the other half is halted or pulled towards the other. Like the bank robbery. Sydney was restrained, the tube was not, so it rolled towards her. In the car sydney was not restrained but the tube was, so she was stopped dead. But then maxima grabs the tube, she is clearly INTENDING to drag sydney out from under the car, so she wasnt exactly exerting normal human levels of strength, and yet the tube stops as firmly as if maxima tried to tow the moon, and sydney feels nothing from the look of things.

How about "whichever end is less restrained is the one kept from moving, unless doing so would put the host at risk"?

[Traab]

How about "whichever end is less restrained is the one kept from moving, unless doing so would put the host at risk"?

Freaking wizards, they did it. Probably had to murder at least 12 catgirls to pull it off too.

[Ibrinar]

That is rather easily explain with the holster having gotten stuck against a seat, if that has been the case then all the orb interactions have been consistent.
Except we can see it and it is just leaning against the seat. http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/184 (The car is pointing in her direction so the seat is too.) The strap doesn't look caught either.

Ah comment section comment from dave "It got caught between the seat and the dash longways, and when she stoop back up it bounced back. At least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. But yeah I should have drawn it on the floor." yeah quite questionable that they would land that neatly but they are supposed to follow her.

[lord_khaine]

Then explain why when maxima yanked on the tube, sydney wasnt dragged closer considering she had far less resistance than something being held by bullet catching tank hurler maxima? See thats the problem for me. At first i thought thats how they worked. Whichever side has the most resistance stays put while the other half is halted or pulled towards the other. Like the bank robbery. Sydney was restrained, the tube was not, so it rolled towards her. In the car sydney was not restrained but the tube was, so she was stopped dead. But then maxima grabs the tube, she is clearly INTENDING to drag sydney out from under the car, so she wasnt exactly exerting normal human levels of strength, and yet the tube stops as firmly as if maxima tried to tow the moon, and sydney feels nothing from the look of things.

I already explained that part of the interaction in my previous comment. The orbs dont allow others to move them out of range from Sydney, when they get to the maximum range of the bond they resist being moved further. Most likely an anti-theft mechanism.


How about "whichever end is less restrained is the one kept from moving, unless doing so would put the host at risk"?

No, that not it i think, Sydney were not restrained under the car, and i dont think the orbs posses any degree of awereness to determine things like risk.


Freaking wizards, they did it. Probably had to murder at least 12 catgirls to pull it off too.

Well yeah, the orbs could easily be magic, or a mixture of magic and technologi. But they are not breaking any more laws of nature than the other super heroes, and their interaction is quite consistant, following a few simple rules.

a) The orb bond will act as an invisible tether when Sydney moves, either dragging the orbs after her or restraining her when she tries to move past the range.
b) The orbs will resist being moved if this would pull them out of the range limit.

[Egneil]

Then explain why when maxima yanked on the tube, sydney wasnt dragged closer considering she had far less resistance than something being held by bullet catching tank hurler maxima? See thats the problem for me. At first i thought thats how they worked. Whichever side has the most resistance stays put while the other half is halted or pulled towards the other. Like the bank robbery. Sydney was restrained, the tube was not, so it rolled towards her. In the car sydney was not restrained but the tube was, so she was stopped dead. But then maxima grabs the tube, she is clearly INTENDING to drag sydney out from under the car, so she wasnt exactly exerting normal human levels of strength, and yet the tube stops as firmly as if maxima tried to tow the moon, and sydney feels nothing from the look of things.

The orbs seem consistent to me as they seem to be obeying rules that look like they were designed to protect the host. Even if the orbs cannot understand anything about the host this doesn't mean that data about the tether can't come from the orbs side of things. So I could expect them to have various rules based on how the tether reacts designed to keep the host as safe as possible.

[halfeye]

Ah comment section comment from dave "It got caught between the seat and the dash longways, and when she stoop back up it bounced back. At least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. But yeah I should have drawn it on the floor." yeah quite questionable that they would land that neatly but they are supposed to follow her.

So, basically, they should have crumped up against the inside of the car, but it was an artist error.

[Traab]

Heh, poor sydney. Always jumping to conclusions.

[HandofShadows]

Sydney, master of baffling nearly everyone, including herself.

[Traab]

Sydney is just having way too much fun learning that everything is real and awesome right now. Im still waiting to see exactly wtf is going on with this "poker game" Im thinking now it might be sydney's introduction to the wonderful world of classified beings that she needs to realize exist and keep her mouth shut over. Better to get it out of the way here and now than to stumble over a mummy wearing a long coat on main street and blab about it in geeky shock.

[Calemyr]

So, basically, they should have crumped up against the inside of the car, but it was an artist error.

It would be simple enough to say the bond between Sydney and the orbs does not involve a motive force, just an absolute tether. When one is at rest, the one trying to move is prevented from going beyond a certain distance and even Maxima isn't strong enough to overcome this. The one that is at rest is not bothered in the least by this resistance, ergo the pack didn't move when Sydney left them behind and Sydney did not move when Maxima tried to take the obs by force. As a result, you could not use the orbs as a weapon against her by, say, trying to pull them all in different directions.

I gotta say, I do love Sydney's reaction to the monsters. No violence, no profanity. Just "Neat!" and "So fluffy!" Would she have been so suave about it a week ago?

Traab, I definitely agree that this is probably the main objective. The fact that she handled Greenie in a more mature and considered way than anyone would have expected is nice, but she has to know what to keep her cool about and what not to. And a friendly game of poker with the Hammer Horror gang is a far better way to introduce her to the masquerade than a lecture she's sleep through or a Dabbler orchestrated meet-and-greet liable to creep her out. Plus this way Maxima gets to gauge her self control a bit better, because it is much better than people initially assumed.

[halfeye]

It would be simple enough to say the bond between Sydney and the orbs does not involve a motive force, just an absolute tether. When one is at rest, the one trying to move is prevented from going beyond a certain distance and even Maxima isn't strong enough to overcome this. The one that is at rest is not bothered in the least by this resistance, ergo the pack didn't move when Sydney left them behind and Sydney did not move when Maxima tried to take the obs by force.

Nice theory, but word of author is nope:


Ah comment section comment from dave "It got caught between the seat and the dash longways, and when she stoop back up it bounced back. At least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. But yeah I should have drawn it on the floor." yeah quite questionable that they would land that neatly but they are supposed to follow her.

[Calemyr]

Maxima tried to take the obs by force.

When did I start typing like Varia?


Nice theory, but word of author is nope:

Missed that this was literally the author's words. Fair enough.

[Traab]

I gotta say, I do love Sydney's reaction to the monsters. No violence, no profanity. Just "Neat!" and "So fluffy!" Would she have been so suave about it a week ago?

Traab, I definitely agree that this is probably the main objective. The fact that she handled Greenie in a more mature and considered way than anyone would have expected is nice, but she has to know what to keep her cool about and what not to. And a friendly game of poker with the Hammer Horror gang is a far better way to introduce her to the masquerade than a lecture she's sleep through or a Dabbler orchestrated meet-and-greet liable to creep her out. Plus this way Maxima gets to gauge her self control a bit better, because it is much better than people initially assumed.

Honestly, her reaction to the vamp and wolfie makes me wonder if the next step is to show her the bad side of things. She seems to take everything really lightly. Take the super brawl. She was the first and only person to spot vehemence before he joined in on the battle. She had him pegged from the first moment due to her natural 20 on comic lore and tropes. And how does she react? S'up? (http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1422) Basically, she treats everything the same way, with child like wonder and glee. Yeah you can justify it now because max has taken her here therefore its safe and they are friends for at least a given value of the word, but be honest, we both know sydney wasnt thinking like that. She saw a vampire and went "COOOOOL!!!!!" The idea that he could have been dangerous never entered her mind because it NEVER enters her mind.

[Eldan]

The thing is, Max took her there, so presumably the government knows about this, so this can't be too dangerous. THe tone of the comic isn't dark enough for something like "We feed him condemned virgin prisoners".

[Deliverance]

Honestly, her reaction to the vamp and wolfie makes me wonder if the next step is to show her the bad side of things. She seems to take everything really lightly. Take the super brawl. She was the first and only person to spot vehemence before he joined in on the battle. She had him pegged from the first moment due to her natural 20 on comic lore and tropes. And how does she react? S'up? (http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1422) Basically, she treats everything the same way, with child like wonder and glee. Yeah you can justify it now because max has taken her here therefore its safe and they are friends for at least a given value of the word, but be honest, we both know sydney wasnt thinking like that. She saw a vampire and went "COOOOOL!!!!!" The idea that he could have been dangerous never entered her mind because it NEVER enters her mind.
A counterexample to the notion that she treats everything with child like wonder and glee is her initial reaction to Dabbler (http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/626).

It may be that now, after signing up as a bona fide superhero, having her eyes opened to the wider world, having her reaction to surprise reset (http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/720), and having learned just how strong her protections are, she does exactly as you say despite not doing so consistently before she signed up.

Or it may be that she always considered vampires and werewolves cool and demons scary.

[HandofShadows]

Stupidity Aura? :smallbiggrin:

[Calemyr]

A counterexample to the notion that she treats everything with child like wonder and glee is her initial reaction to Dabbler (http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/626).

It may be that now, after signing up as a bona fide superhero, having her eyes opened to the wider world, having her reaction to surprise reset (http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/720), and having learned just how strong her protections are, she does exactly as you say despite not doing so consistently before she signed up.

Or it may be that she always considered vampires and werewolves cool and demons scary.

I have to agree with this. In a matter of days Sydney has gone from "in hiding because she's terrified of getting outed as a non-super Super" to "a headliner in a legal Super organization and friends with the biggest badass on the planet". She's in a very different place in her head, and I don't think she believes Maxima would put her in significant danger without warning.

More than anything, Sydney has consistently done something astonishing over the course of the story thus far. She learns. I don't mean she picks up new skills or tactics or what-not, she honestly, truly learns. Give her a lesson on the nature of armor, and she puts it into practice. Show her the logical flaws in comic book heroism, and she adjusts her tactics accordingly. Explain the rules of gun safety to her and she puts genuine effort into learning how to put her gun together and ever reiterates parts of the lesson when it becomes applicable later. Sydney is learning. Growing. That's something you don't see in most web comics, much less comic books.

So you surprise her with Greenie. She's been lectured plenty on over-reaction and the the presence of unofficial visitors like Dabbler, so she doesn't freak out. She looks around to get a better idea of the situation, pulls an expert aside a private discussion, and that's it. After seeing an alien, vampires and werewolves aren't a big surprise and, since this is explicitly a place Maxima wanted to bring Sydney, the terms of the meeting were clearly friendly.

She's still Sydney. She still is hyperactive, geeky, and prone to action before thought, but you can clearly see how her experiences are affecting those actions.

[Admiral Squish]

Also, keep in mind, she didn't just go walk up to Vehemence, she spoke to him via telepresence, letting him know she was more or less onto him. A behind-the-scenes type mastermind would have probably just left after having been spotted/identified like that.

[lord_khaine]

Yeah, i do think that was actually a smart move from Sydney, she were trying to gather information from Vehemence, perhaps hoping he might reveal something. It was just a shame Vehemence were smart enough to distract her with something shiny.

[tomandtish]

I have to agree with this. In a matter of days Sydney has gone from "in hiding because she's terrified of getting outed as a non-super Super" to "a headliner in a legal Super organization and friends with the biggest badass on the planet". She's in a very different place in her head, and I don't think she believes Maxima would put her in significant danger without warning.

More than anything, Sydney has consistently done something astonishing over the course of the story thus far. She learns. I don't mean she picks up new skills or tactics or what-not, she honestly, truly learns. Give her a lesson on the nature of armor, and she puts it into practice. Show her the logical flaws in comic book heroism, and she adjusts her tactics accordingly. Explain the rules of gun safety to her and she puts genuine effort into learning how to put her gun together and ever reiterates parts of the lesson when it becomes applicable later. Sydney is learning. Growing. That's something you don't see in most web comics, much less comic books.

So you surprise her with Greenie. She's been lectured plenty on over-reaction and the the presence of unofficial visitors like Dabbler, so she doesn't freak out. She looks around to get a better idea of the situation, pulls an expert aside a private discussion, and that's it. After seeing an alien, vampires and werewolves aren't a big surprise and, since this is explicitly a place Maxima wanted to bring Sydney, the terms of the meeting were clearly friendly.

She's still Sydney. She still is hyperactive, geeky, and prone to action before thought, but you can clearly see how her experiences are affecting those actions.


Exactly. And note that while she's assuming she's in a safe place because Max brought her there, she still acts on impulse. Notice there's no thought to the fact that it would be a perfectly reasonable instinctive reaction on most people's part to shove away (with various degrees of violence) a stranger who grabbed (hugged) them without permission.

She's learning, but she's still got a long way to go.

[lord_khaine]

True, Sydney has almost no respect for personal space, or for that matter other people most of the time. She has done things that would often be considered downright rude comming from others, and are rather lucky in avoiding to be called out on it most of the time. Of course only most of the time, i do like how at least Peggy has taken a rather less tolerant tone on her anticts.

[Admiral Squish]

I wonder if superheroes usually develop the 'fantastically photogenic' look to go with their powers suddenly, or if they were always spectacular and just later on happened to develop powers. We know Max was normal, but she's an exception. If they were always like that, it could explain some of the oddness in their reactions and behavior, as they probably wouldn't have had what could be considered a 'normal' adolescence.

[lord_khaine]

We have had some rather solid hints from the author that Max is a super in her own right, and that the "Geode Water" is what makes her stronger than just about any other super seen so far.

[Traab]

Welp, its now official, Everything is REEEAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!! Heh, poor sydney on overload.

[The Glyphstone]

"And over here we have Plumbera, representing the kitchen sink..."

[Traab]

"And over here we have Plumbera, representing the kitchen sink..."

Yeah honestly, I think he oversold it a little. It would have been enough to share half as many names then say, "So basically, if you ever heard of them in folklore, history, fables or science fiction, they most likely exist in some form and are represented here." I also liked the "extra living" title showing that political correctness extends even into the fantasy realms.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

We have had some rather solid hints from the author that Max is a super in her own right, and that the "Geode Water" is what makes her stronger than just about any other super seen so far.

It also kind of connects her to Sydney. Neither were born with their powers, those come from outside forces that started to show up at the same time as "normal" superpowered people. Whatever the reason, the limits of normal supers don't hold up for them. Sydney will be stupidly overpowered when the comic is done with her.

[lord_khaine]

It also kind of connects her to Sydney. Neither were born with their powers, those come from outside forces that started to show up at the same time as "normal" superpowered people. Whatever the reason, the limits of normal supers don't hold up for them. Sydney will be stupidly overpowered when the comic is done with her.

Well.. i honestly dont think most if any of the Supers were born with their powers. As i understod it they tend to show up during their early teenage years. And my comment were more hinting towards the information we have that Max would have been a Super even without the Geode incident.

And honestly, if there are anyone the normal limits of Supers dont apply to, then i would say its more Vehemence or Dabbler.

[Traab]

Well.. i honestly dont think most if any of the Supers were born with their powers. As i understod it they tend to show up during their early teenage years. And my comment were more hinting towards the information we have that Max would have been a Super even without the Geode incident.

And honestly, if there are anyone the normal limits of Supers dont apply to, then i would say its more Vehemence or Dabbler.

What info is that? Her origin story seems to imply the opposite. That the mystery geode water somehow caused her powers to develop. It would be one hell of a coincidence that she drank and bathed in mystery fluid then started turning gold shortly afterwards. As for limits, eh, I think its two different things, maxima very definitely has limits. She isnt superman who is theoretically infinity strong/fast/fire eyed, she has a hard cap to how strong tough or fast she can get. We just havent been told officially what those caps are. At best we have seen vehemence push her to that physical limit, but with no real scale to work with.

Sydney also has limits, the difference with her is, she also has a tech tree that could push back those limits further as time goes on. Her real strength is in her flexibility. Like they said way back during the yay or nay discussion about her, just the truesight orb alone is enough to qualify her to join up and she has like a dozen other abilities to add to it as well. She has super strength with her lighthook (15 tons isnt much in comic book terms, but its still hurling traffic around levels) Super defense with her shield, a super ranged attack with her ppo, super speed/flight, the ability to see through illusions and see auras now as well as telepresence, and thats just what they have come up with so far. I honestly see her being maxima junior eventually. She has the raw stats in enough fields to fill in for maximas normal role in battle. Being the invulnerable eye in the sky calling the plays while taking on any of the big deals that are causing issues. She just needs the training to back it up.

[lord_khaine]

What info is that? Her origin story seems to imply the opposite. That the mystery geode water somehow caused her powers to develop. It would be one hell of a coincidence that she drank and bathed in mystery fluid then started turning gold shortly afterwards. As for limits, eh, I think its two different things, maxima very definitely has limits. She isnt superman who is theoretically infinity strong/fast/fire eyed, she has a hard cap to how strong tough or fast she can get. We just havent been told officially what those caps are. At best we have seen vehemence push her to that physical limit, but with no real scale to work with.

Its author comments from the pages where the backstory with the mystery geode. The water is most likely what turned her golden, but the comments where that she most likely would have been a super anyway.


The first draft of this page stated explicitly what they’re both dancing around, but these two like being circuitous with each other. Essentially, Max is a super in her own right (at least a late bloomer since she hadn’t exhibited any powers by the age of 13.) AND has some sort of symbiote (?) of indeterminate origin adding its powers to hers AND that it was able to determine her superness and made a decision (whether consciously or by some sort of instinct – if it indeed even had any agency at all) to hitch its wagon to her horse. All guesswork by both of them, and probably impossible to determine at this point. Also it would be virtually impossible to tell if it’s boosting her existing powers, or if she would have been a moderately powerful super on her own, and it provides her power pool, or if it’s the source of her armor or what.

From comic 415.


I honestly see her being maxima junior eventually. She has the raw stats in enough fields to fill in for maximas normal role in battle. Being the invulnerable eye in the sky calling the plays while taking on any of the big deals that are causing issues. She just needs the training to back it up.

I cant see her in that role though, maybe as a specialist support, a specialist adviser or a tactician. But i dont think she will ever get Max's leadership ability, and she is to easily distracted. She is also kinda limited by that in major engagements she more or less only has 1 free super power slot. If at any point lowers her shield she is suddenly an extremely juice target for just about anything with range. And if attention is drawn towards her like that, then smart people will focus more on taking her down as soon as that happens.

[BannedInSchool]

So I'd better say this now. I'm wondering if the alien representative here won't recognize Sydney's orbs and tell her what they are, that being some alien super science super soldier gear, and also give us some limitations or drawbacks on the orbs.

[lord_khaine]

I will bet this gigantic pile of Imaginary coins on it not happening though. I suspect its a long time yet before we get anything solid on the orbs. And if they were alien devices easily recogniseable then i suspect Dabbler would have been able to say more.

[Traab]

Its author comments from the pages where the backstory with the mystery geode. The water is most likely what turned her golden, but the comments where that she most likely would have been a super anyway.



From comic 415.



I cant see her in that role though, maybe as a specialist support, a specialist adviser or a tactician. But i dont think she will ever get Max's leadership ability, and she is to easily distracted. She is also kinda limited by that in major engagements she more or less only has 1 free super power slot. If at any point lowers her shield she is suddenly an extremely juice target for just about anything with range. And if attention is drawn towards her like that, then smart people will focus more on taking her down as soon as that happens.

And on day one she managed to lead not just the superheroes but the bad guys as well in an assault on the big boss, kicking his ass when up till then everyone got curb stomped including maxima. She was a day 1 recruit who hadnt even SEEN basic training yet, and yet everyone listened to her. She has the leadership potential, she has proven her ability to plan and make said plans work, she just needs training to bring it out and make it reliable. You dont need to be a general to lead. You just need to be known as the person who comes up with plans that work. Im not saying it will happen any time soon, heck, it may not have even happened by the time this flashback is finished and we are caught back up to corporal sydney three months from now, im just saying she has what it takes.

As for her super powers, yeah, thats going to be an issue, but to be the eye in the sky she just needs to hold her shield and flight orb and float there, talking into the communication device they all have. If she has to take part in a fight, she can land and switch out for her ppo or light hook or whatever. Assuming she doesnt just ram people at high speeds. And this is just with what she currently has. We still have the two mystery orbs, plus an extensive tech tree to try and decipher that can make her capable of lord knows what, and increasing her stats lord knows how much.

[lord_khaine]

And on day one she managed to lead not just the superheroes but the bad guys as well in an assault on the big boss, kicking his ass when up till then everyone got curb stomped including maxima. She was a day 1 recruit who hadnt even SEEN basic training yet, and yet everyone listened to her. She has the leadership potential, she has proven her ability to plan and make said plans work, she just needs training to bring it out and make it reliable. You dont need to be a general to lead. You just need to be known as the person who comes up with plans that work. Im not saying it will happen any time soon, heck, it may not have even happened by the time this flashback is finished and we are caught back up to corporal sydney three months from now, im just saying she has what it takes.

Yes, hence why i said she could make a great advisor or thinker, just not a leader. At the situation with Vehemence she did have the advantage of being the only one free to think though the situation, because she were perfectly safe to observe in her shield bubble, and the only one not affected by the agro aura. And she did also have the advantage of everything else having failed, so people were very likely to listen to her. Im not denying her ability to think or to plan, just saying that a leader needs more than that. To be dependable for once, Sydneys antics may be amusing, but they should not gather trust in people among her. And her excentricity is a still a hue liability that could drop at any time. Thats why i think its prefereble for her crazy ideas to when possible be filtered though a net of common sense.


As for her super powers, yeah, thats going to be an issue, but to be the eye in the sky she just needs to hold her shield and flight orb and float there, talking into the communication device they all have. If she has to take part in a fight, she can land and switch out for her ppo or light hook or whatever. Assuming she doesnt just ram people at high speeds. And this is just with what she currently has. We still have the two mystery orbs, plus an extensive tech tree to try and decipher that can make her capable of lord knows what, and increasing her stats lord knows how much.

Eye in the sky can for that matter be done even safer with her telepresence orb if need be, she would be a great scout if she can focus her attention. But considering how light she are, and how large an area her shield would deflect a given impact upon, then i dont think ramming is doing to be a viable tactic against many opponents. But no, i actually dont know what she might be able to do with those mystery orbs either :smalltongue:
But all the same, none of us knows, though i doubt the main limitation, of only being able to use 2 orbs at once, will ever change.

[Traab]

Actually, theoretically that could change, depending on what the inner circle of talents does. There are a lot of talents linking various orbs together, and there is no way to be sure what that could mean. For example, it could mean that if she links the shield and flight orb, she can use the abilities of both while only holding one. But thats pure theorycrafting and we are likely years away from seeing it come to pass, seeing as how the next 2-3 orb upgrades are already reserved for experimenting on other things.

As for leadership yeah, she needs training. Im not suggesting she be put as maximas second in command this week, im just saying she has the natural traits needed as a starting point. And thats in addition to her suite of powers which gives her the ability to basically ignore being under attack and focus on directing traffic like how maxima was able to handle things. We dont know what her durability limit is with that shield, but its pretty clear that its really really high. Also, her dependability. I think she showed that she is pretty damn dependable in a tight spot. Yes she had some drifty moments, but be fair, half the team did the same. She was able to use her invulnerability to analyze, plan, and carry out effective strategies and the entire team now knows to take her seriously when she says she has an idea. She did it twice in the big battle alone, figuring out both the periwinkle butt sniffer and vehemence and how best to counter them with relative ease. Should another super fight break out, you had best believe the higher ups will listen if she gets on the com and says, "Hey guys I figured it out, I need you to trust me!" And earning that kind of trust is both incredibly hard, and incredibly important for any leader.

So give her training in squad tactics, teach her how to lead outside of battle as well as in it, give her responsibility and see if you can get her to settle down. I could see her being put in charge of a team of newbies later on. With the justification being, "We give the new squad the easier jobs, and with sydney there to be the experienced heavy hitter she gets command experience and is able to watch their backs just in case." And assuming she does well with that, she gets promotions. So we have The Mighty Halo, Spiders Man, Black Hulk, Varia, and Jiggawatt going on assorted adventures, with perhaps a bit of crossover when big fights break out and they need to call in the heavy hitters back to the A squad.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

I don't know where the comic is gonna go, but at this point I would personally not put Sidney in charge of anything. A leader is a people person first and foremost, when you've got that part down you can start thinking about tactics and stuff. Second in command on the other hand is a great place for a "technical expert", someone who knows a lot (or can guesstimate things based on how they work in comic books) and can solve problems coming from other angles than the team not functioning for people reasons. It's the classic Leonardo-Donatello structure (as seen in the Ninja Turtles, in case those names didn't ring enough of a bell). If you'd switch those two around both functions would be filled by someone less effective at them. Given only the following two options I'd rather make Sidney Maxima's lieutenant and right hand than putting her in command of even a single newbie squad. Handling and leading people are things she'll have to pick up over time.

Yes, people listened to her, but that's more of a "she has a point" thing than the "I don't know what we're doing but if she says so it's our best bet" a leader has to inspire.

The big risk in a structure like that is of course that at any point the leader could fall away leaving the expert in command. But since this is Maxima we're talking I guess we're pretty safe.

[Traab]

Now to cover todays comic, Im hoping this whole meeting is setup to discuss the ramifications of archon making supers public knowledge. How will this effect the various groups on the council? Are they in greater danger of exposure? Less danger because now they can claim to be supers instead of aliens/mutants/extraliving/misc? Can they use this as a way to slowly bring themselves out of folklore and into public knowledge? This is a huge event for the paranormal peoples of all types and will have ramifications that shall echo through history!

[Yuki Akuma]

We know where the comic's going to go - Sydney's going to be promoted to Corporal. Which, assuming ARCHON uses the same rank structure as the army, would put Sydney at OR-4. Which is "in charge of a squad" command level.

Of course, there aren't many people in ARCHON, so Sydney might not end up with a squad all to herself... especially considering there's a whole lotta Corporals in ARCHON.

Technically this means she's going to get promoted four times, although a few might be skipped. Recruits in ARCHON might graduate at Corporal level for all we know.

ARCHON's command structure is honestly really weird, but they're a specialist branch without many members so it can be excused. :smallwink:

[Lvl 2 Expert]

Military organizations usually have different training tracks for soldiers, non-coms and officers. Becoming a corporal is more often a matter of being accepted in the non-com line than or getting promoted through soldier.

[lord_khaine]

I kinda have a feeling Archon's rank structure is designed to more easily fit into the regular army structure.
Judged on their numbers Max should not really be much more than a sergent, despite her importance.
Instead she is given a higher rank, that no doubt gathers more respect and coorperation with other branches and the military when she has to deal with those.

[Traab]

I kinda have a feeling Archon's rank structure is designed to more easily fit into the regular army structure.
Judged on their numbers Max should not really be much more than a sergent, despite her importance.
Instead she is given a higher rank, that no doubt gathers more respect and coorperation with other branches and the military when she has to deal with those.

She got that rank in the regular military I think. As for sydney, when I joined the air force, I had in my contract that upon finishing basic I would be promoted up to an e-3 or e-4 ranking. (Its been like 16 years, I forget which) Basically a step below sergeant levels. When you are taking on a military job of some relative importance they often bump you up a few grades right away as a part of the recruitment process. I would imagine supers getting incentivized to join up with archon get all sorts of little bonuses and benefits in their contract. Heck, we know sydney got a few goodies in hers already, like her deal with new comic day for example.

[Traab]

Heh, new comic, and the weres get even better. Im not sure if there is enough medicine in the world to deal with how hyper sydney is going to be as she processes everything she has seen and learned tonight.

[halfeye]

Heh, new comic, and the weres get even better. Im not sure if there is enough medicine in the world to deal with how hyper sydney is going to be as she processes everything she has seen and learned tonight.
The night is yet young. :smallbiggrin:

[Yuki Akuma]

"KA-BUN" is my favourite unsound effect, and makes me consider just how many webcomic artists were influenced by The Wotch.

[Traab]

"KA-BUN" is my favourite unsound effect, and makes me consider just how many webcomic artists were influenced by The Wotch.

I am still fond of KA-PANTS! (http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1543) Oooh my!

[Eldan]

A few pages later (http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1579) we get BOING followed by UN-BOING.

[Traab]

A few pages later (http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1579) we get BOING followed by UN-BOING.

Huh? There was writing in that comic? Hold on, I have to look again.... it may be awhile.

[Asmodean_]

"KA-BUN"
Lost it at Grlblblblgblbl...

[Lvl 2 Expert]

"KA-BUN" is my favourite unsound effect, and makes me consider just how many webcomic artists were influenced by The Wotch.

I'm partial to sicknasty! (http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/15p6/) myself, but ka-bun definitely gets close.

[Ibrinar]

A non predatory were animal side? That is rare. I couldn't name another instance in fiction at the moment. (I probably have encountered some instances but that doesn't mean I remember them without a reminder.)

[The Glyphstone]

They mentioned Garey Busey as a were-horse a few panels back.

[AvatarVecna]

A non predatory were animal side? That is rare. I couldn't name another instance in fiction at the moment. (I probably have encountered some instances but that doesn't mean I remember them without a reminder.)

Eh, seen it. (http://www.gstatic.com/tv/thumb/movieposters/36347/p36347_p_v8_aa.jpg)

[Discus-Spinner]

I recall folk tales of witches turning into hares. Now, you can say that's "spellcaster with a shape-change spell" rather than "natural were-beast", but folklore doesn't actually distinguish the two half as much as modern horror movie/D&D-flavoured fantasy. Likewise, you get kelpies turning into seals, which are carnivores but not the kind of predators that threaten humans. It's all Them Wacky Supernatural Folks That Turn Inta Beasts.

[Eldan]

Witches and sorcerers turn into all manner of things. Cats, birds, hyenas, snakes, horses (well, that was Loki, a god, but still.)

[Lvl 2 Expert]

And don't forget the famous swan lake, where women turn into ballet dancers.

I may have missed the idea of that one a little bit.

[Avilan the Grey]

Witches and sorcerers turn into all manner of things. Cats, birds, hyenas, snakes, horses (well, that was Loki, a god, but still.)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_VpkXd1TKA

[BannedInSchool]

"I'm a were-gorilla? Oh, hell no."
"You could have been a were-neanderthal, or were-human."
"Did you hear about the were-octopus in Japan?"

[Traab]

FEAR MY WERE-CARP (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPyDKGrlJTE)form!

[Lvl 2 Expert]

Are vampires technically mammals?

Because a were-vampire would be really trololololo.

[Kantaki]

Are vampires technically mammals?

Because a were-vampire would be really trololololo.

Well, Vampire bats are mammals. Vampires are just arrogant zombies. I don't think that (Count) Counts.

[AvatarVecna]

Well, Vampire bats are mammals. Vampires are just arrogant zombies. I don't think that (Count) Counts.

One! One pretentious hipster corpse! Ah ah ah!

[BiblioRook]

Correct me f I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure blood banks don't go around storing blood in large open-air vats... that's really just asking for it to get tainted.

[The Glyphstone]

Correct me f I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure blood banks don't go around storing blood in large open-air vats... that's really just asking for it to get tainted.

Commentary below the comic:


(by the way I’m well aware blood banks don’t keep open swirling vats of blood around, panel 3 is just what Sydney is imagining happened.)

[John Campbell]

A non predatory were animal side? That is rare. I couldn't name another instance in fiction at the moment. (I probably have encountered some instances but that doesn't mean I remember them without a reminder.)

Jack Chalker's Dancing Gods series had weres in it. Not were-anythings, just weres. They turned into whatever other creature was closest when they changed.

[Discus-Spinner]

Jack Chalker's Dancing Gods series had weres in it. Not were-anythings, just weres. They turned into whatever other creature was closest when they changed.
So, perpetually doomed to the status of were-gut-bacteria?

(And even if they stick to vertebrates, they're going to spend an awful lot of time as mice or rats if they like the urban lifestyle.)

[Traab]

So, perpetually doomed to the status of were-gut-bacteria?

(And even if they stick to vertebrates, they're going to spend an awful lot of time as mice or rats if they like the urban lifestyle.)

Or cats and dogs are possible. Strays everywhere plus any pets you may have.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

Still, birds would be kind of cool. And mice do have their uses

It's better if you can store animal shapes for later use (either have one saved up that you can use as often as you like or several that are all single use), but any shapeshifting beats no shapeshifting.

[Avilan the Grey]

Correct me f I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure blood banks don't go around storing blood in large open-air vats... that's really just asking for it to get tainted bathed in.

Fixed it for you :smallbiggrin:

[Southern Cross]

I want to be a were-elephant...

[lord_khaine]

I would rather be a Were-bat. Only kind that would be able to fly.
Also, then i would be Bat-Man :smalltongue:

[Kantaki]

New comic.

Now this is a useful magic item. Those are way to rare.
And thanks to Dabbler we even know it is safe.

And it turns out meetings between succubi are kinda like a family get together.
Just dirtier. But the general balance of being at each others throats while still getting along is the same.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

That is useful, oh my.

And horning in on her territory? Those guys are all officially of limits for Dabbler to... uhmmm... horn. Basically it's the only safe place to date if you absolutely don't want to get in Dabblers way.:smallwink:

[Kantaki]

That is useful, oh my.

And horning in on her territory? Those guys are all officially of limits for Dabbler to... uhmmm... horn. Basically it's the only safe place to date if you absolutely don't want to get in Dabblers way.:smallwink:

Well, maybe Archon counts as Xuriel’s territory by succubus laws (rules? traditions? whatever you call it) even if she currently isn't allowed to touch her teammates by Archon rules.
I mean you don't drink wine from someone else’s cellar without asking, even if they don't touch it.
Same principle. Besides, she might be unsure if she can take Dabbler in a fight. It might not be worth the trouble.
Not to mention that the humans (and the other supernaturals) might be somewhat unhappy about when someone starts a fight in their turf.
Especially with one of Archon’s allies.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

I get what she's saying. It's like knowing someone for several years and then suddenly you start dating their sister. I doubt "taking her in a fight" is going to enter the matter. The meeting seems to be slightly friendlier than that.

On a completely different note: if this is what they're guarding, I really wonder what those chess players outside actually are. Semi-immortal knights of an ancient order infused with draconic powers wielding the sort of gadgets Dabbler would be jealous of? :smalleek::smallamused:

(Or maybe just people, possibly ones who carry a panic button or a phone or, better yet, who can shout.)

[Traab]

I think its a bit of the animalistic nature there. They are predators deep down, and you wont see two prides of lions in the same stretch of territory for long. Even if there are plenty of gazelles to eat for both groups, it doesnt matter, thats HER territory.

[Kantaki]

New comic

More exposition. This time on mosquitos. And I don't believe for a moment that Ingol wasn't going for a theme with his "children". Maybe not in the sense that their names invoke blood, but until we see other children he (might have) sired I'm going to asume they are all redheads. Or have names matching their haircolour.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

New comic

More exposition. This time on mosquitos. And I don't believe for a moment that Ingol wasn't going for a theme with his "children". Maybe not in the sense that their names invoke blood, but until we see other children he (might have) sired I'm going to asume they are all redheads. Or have names matching their haircolour.

Like Blondie, Violet, Pinkie, The Brain...

That last one was a bit of a messy conversion.

[Kantaki]

New comic.

The Terminator, Bender and the jellyfish from Matrix are not part of the council.
That's good news I guess. Still, it could have been amusing to have Sydney meet a robot. I kinda expect that to end the way it usually did for Kirk, just by accident.

And we something learned very important: No history lessons during lunchtime.
I'm not sure how to feel about this situation.
Being used as a snack by leeches is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.
On the other hand...

[Traab]

New comic.

The Terminator, Bender and the jellyfish from Matrix are not part of the council.
That's good news I guess. Still, it could have been amusing to have Sydney meet a robot. I kinda expect that to end the way it usually did for Kirk, just by accident.

And we something learned very important: No history lessons during lunchtime.
I'm not sure how to feel about this situation.
Being used as a snack by leeches is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.
On the other hand...

Something tells me this is a running theme for them. Like he is always around them spouting off his awesome nerdy knowledge and they get annoyed and shut him up by feeding on him. Kind of an anime style reaction since in reality they would have probably just killed him by biting him like that. And even if they didnt chances are they cant do this more than say, once a month without murdering him from blood loss.

[halfeye]

Something tells me this is a running theme for them. Like he is always around them spouting off his awesome nerdy knowledge and they get annoyed and shut him up by feeding on him. Kind of an anime style reaction since in reality they would have probably just killed him by biting him like that. And even if they didnt chances are they cant do this more than say, once a month without murdering him from blood loss.

That depends on who and what he is. They react as if they know him, so he probably knows them, and maybe this reaction was expected. I'm expecting him to walk away from this no harm done.

[Kantaki]

That depends on who and what he is. They react as if they know him, so he probably knows them, and maybe this reaction was expected. I'm expecting him to walk away from this no harm done.

I guess that's the case, especially since author’s comment seems to indicate something in this direction.
He either has some regeneration/toughness-power or knows some kind of recovery-magic. Or something in that direction*. Or they only do this once a month or so and used it to shut him up.:smallamused: Either way, he can most likely take this, making it far less bad than it might be otherwise.
(Hence the „On the other hand...”) But even if he dies, there are worse fates.

*Some kind of limited cartoon-physics maybe?

[lord_khaine]

Well, this must at least partly be consentual, since Max is present. Knowing her she would come down like a burning building if people were casually being assulted and hurt.

The main question that remainds is then how Tom avoids getting hurt in some way. The most likely answer is that the author is borrowing partly from the vampire rpg he confessed knowledge off. There vampires only need a limited amount of blood each day, about enough that they could feed on the same human next week or so.

And their saliva had limited healing propeties, enough to close up and cover the rather unusual wounds their fang leave.

[Frozen_Feet]

Being used as a snack by leeches is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.

Ah, but they're very attractive for bloodsuckers, and I think the man in question is a sucker himself in a slightly different sense.

[Kantaki]

Ah, but they're very attractive for bloodsuckers, and I think the man in question is a sucker himself in a slightly different sense.

I know. That's why I added the „On the other hand...”:smallbiggrin:

[Yuki Akuma]

I believe the joke was "I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy - they might enjoy it!".

[Admiral Squish]

Anyone else catch the 'sunstone' reference in the margin text?

[The Glyphstone]

Anyone else catch the 'sunstone' reference in the margin text?

Pretty obscure reference if it's intentional, but considering the context I suspect it is.

[Kantaki]

I believe the joke was "I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy - they might enjoy it!".

More or less. Being eaten by vampires is usually one of those fates that no one, even an enemy, deserves. Especially because they might come back more powerful.
But there are definitely worse fates than having two beautiful ladies throwing themself at you. Even if they want your blood- even if it wasn't clear they aren't going to kill the guy.
So yeah, being eaten by vampires in general is too terrible even for an enemy.
Being eaten by vampires that look like that (and seem to be the kind that barely leaves a mark) is too good for an enemy.

[lord_khaine]

Pretty obscure reference if it's intentional, but considering the context I suspect it is.

And considdering the subject of the comics author comment it is very much deliberate.

[Kantaki]

New comic

Interesting power, but otherwise... to much information.

But being able to refill liquids is cool. Good for magic tricks
Depending on the details* it could even save money because you don't have to buy many things anymore, you just refill the container.
A very useful „minor” power.

*How much is created with each use, how fast is it created, is there a limit on how often it can be used in a row...

[Traab]

Eh, I was sorta half right. They do probably shut him up that way a lot because he can take it and survive due to his power. When they dont just beat him for being annoying 30 seconds later. Also, someone mentioned it in the comments, dude could make a lot of money providing a cup full of various scorpion/snake/spider venoms to various labs where they produce antivenom. But I wouldnt be surprised to learn that he is a kept man at this point. In addition to "fighting over him for suckling rights" Im sure they also make certain he has a nice place to live and whatever he needs to be happy. Think White Court vamps from Dresden without the mind slaving.

[halfeye]

New comic

Interesting power, but otherwise... to much information.

But being able to refill liquids is cool. Good for magic tricks

As he can't make enough for oil to pay, the big money for him would be in pharmaceutical products. Some of that stuff is worth billions per gram. The price would go down because of his activities, but it would save lives and it would still be profitable for the companies. This would be a huge deal, if not particularly combat effective (though I could even be wrong about that).

[Traab]

As he can't make enough for oil to pay, the big money for him would be in pharmaceutical products. Some of that stuff is worth billions per gram. The price would go down because of his activities, but it would save lives and it would still be profitable for the companies. This would be a huge deal, if not particularly combat effective (though I could even be wrong about that).

/touches enemy's face
/fills it with poison/sedative/liquid nitrogen

After all, we saw he made wine fill a cup and not spill a drop. He could theoretically touch your body and make some sort of knockout drugs appear in your system. Or the liquid nitrogen. :smallbiggrin:

[halfeye]

/touches enemy's face
/fills it with poison/sedative/liquid nitrogen

After all, we saw he made wine fill a cup and not spill a drop. He could theoretically touch your body and make some sort of knockout drugs appear in your system. Or the liquid nitrogen. :smallbiggrin:

Assuming he needs a sample to work from, and he has to refill the original container, I think the liquid nitrogen is out, and maybe the rest, but I suspect there is something he could do.

The pharmaceutical side would pay off bigger for society as a whole than having him in combat I think, unless someone comes up with something spectacular.

[Yuki Akuma]

Judging from the genie panel, I'd wager his ability is "refill drinks", specifically.

His blood is a drink, in this case, so regeneration ho.

[halfeye]

Judging from the genie panel, I'd wager his ability is "refill drinks", specifically.

His blood is a drink, in this case, so regeneration ho.

Even so, you can theoretically drink any liquid. All pharmaceutical products go through a liquid stage, even if they are delivered as pills.

I presume the author didn't think about phamaceuticals, "refill small amounts of liquid" is world breaking in pharmaceutical terns.

[Kantaki]

Judging from the genie panel, I'd wager his ability is "refill drinks", specifically.

His blood is a drink, in this case, so regeneration ho.

Well, going by what he says he can refill any liquid and the reason he doesn't work in the oil-industry is that he can't (re)create enough for that, so I guess it isn't limited to drinkable liquids.
Or the genie- assuming that's what happened and not Sydney’s imagination -decided that „every liquid can be drunk at least once” would be a appropriate twist.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

/touches enemy's face
/fills it with poison/sedative/liquid nitrogen

After all, we saw he made wine fill a cup and not spill a drop. He could theoretically touch your body and make some sort of knockout drugs appear in your system. Or the liquid nitrogen. :smallbiggrin:

He can only refill liquids. It's kind of a situationally useful power.

I guess you could fill a cup with poison, toss it, put in beer and at the last possible moment before someone drinks it refill it with poison, but why would you do that if you're just in it for the endless booze and attention from sexy vampires?

Production of pharmaceuticals would work, but see my previous point.

I love the mini comics on these last two by the way.

[halfeye]

He can only refill liquids.

...

Production of pharmaceuticals would work, but see my previous point.

An eggcup of stuff refilled would be an extra eggcup of stuff. Even if he can't refill stuff that he's refilled, that's still double quantities.

Can he refill stuff that he's previously refilled if it's poured out then back in after the refill has emptied?

It's worldbreaking, as magic always is.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

It's worldbreaking, as magic always is.

"My previous point" was "booze and titties, tralalalala!"

A man who asks a genie for unlimited refills is not a man who's looking to be a rules lawyer about it.

He might have to become one, depending on where the story is going to put him, but for now let's let him enjoy his drinking, both ways.

[halfeye]

"My previous point" was "booze and titties, tralalalala!"

A man who asks a genie for unlimited refills is not a man who's looking to be a rules lawyer about it.

He might have to become one, depending on where the story is going to put him, but for now let's let him enjoy his drinking, both ways.

Oh yeah, I'm not saying I think the author has thought this through. If I'm saying anything, I'm saying this needs retconning stat, or completely ignoring.

[The Glyphstone]

Oh yeah, I'm not saying I think the author has thought this through. If I'm saying anything, I'm saying this needs retconning stat, or completely ignoring.

Or just, you know, being kept under wraps. This whole council is explicitly in existence for the purpose of hiding the supernatural from mortal eyes. Genies, alone, are worth keeping secret for obvious reasons, so a man who was granted a wish by a genie, even if it has world-breaking potential and he uses it for stupid/inane things instead, would fall under their jurisdiction. He's lucky his particular stupid wish made him valuable to vampires and worth keeping around, instead of getting mysteriously killed by vampires or werewolves or aliens or wizards or who knows what.

[Traab]

Or just, you know, being kept under wraps. This whole council is explicitly in existence for the purpose of hiding the supernatural from mortal eyes. Genies, alone, are worth keeping secret for obvious reasons, so a man who was granted a wish by a genie, even if it has world-breaking potential and he uses it for stupid/inane things instead, would fall under their jurisdiction. He's lucky his particular stupid wish made him valuable to vampires and worth keeping around, instead of getting mysteriously killed by vampires or werewolves or aliens or wizards or who knows what.

It wouldnt be the first world breaking big secret they kept. Just ask mister geokinetic who has withdrawn enough gold from the earth core or wherever to utterly obliterate the worlds economy. All of a sudden gold is worth less than toilet paper because there is more OF it than toilet paper. :p I wonder, how could he maximize his profit from all that gold? He cant just bring an exxon oil tanker full of gold bars to the nearest exchange place (thats at a harbor). I honestly dont know what would happen if he tried. God, im just imagining the chaos.

Where do you even GO to sell gold at higher than "moms old jewelry" amounts? How do you prove you are the legal owner of it and you havent looted fort knox down to the bedrock and it just hasnt been noticed yet? Would they even consider exchanging it for current market value (roughly 1300 bucks an ounce) if you brought in a metric ton of the stuff? Or would they cut the price on it right on the spot and say, "sorry, we are only paying you 300 an ounce" ? Or would they shoot you in the face and try to claim your gold for themselves, triggering an orgy of ultraviolence that turns vehemence into a (highly stoned) god all the way in his isolated bunker?

[Yuki Akuma]

The thing with gold is that at least it's still useful even if there's a lot of it (it's a great electrical conductor and doesn't corrode like, say, silver does). Plus it's pretty. People will still pay for pretty gold jewelry.

Gold's price isn't entirely linked to its rarity, although dumping a ****-ton into the market would probably still crash the gold market for a bit. It also wouldn't have a huge impact on the world economy because nobody is stupid enough to back their currency with gold anymore.

Edit: Doing the math, at the current price of gold it only accounts for about 9% of the total world economy.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

Oh yeah, I'm not saying I think the author has thought this through. If I'm saying anything, I'm saying this needs retconning stat, or completely ignoring.

Apparently it's a Patreon reward, and the author already dialed it back. I'm pretty sure as it is it's not going to destroy the world any harder than the other powers we've seen. There has got to be some earth shattering medical application we can get out of studying werewolfs for example, And Maxima could probably destroy the world economy just by walking onto Wall Street and asking nicely. They'll be fine with mr "refills small amounts of fluids".

[lord_khaine]

Or just, you know, being kept under wraps. This whole council is explicitly in existence for the purpose of hiding the supernatural from mortal eyes. Genies, alone, are worth keeping secret for obvious reasons, so a man who was granted a wish by a genie, even if it has world-breaking potential and he uses it for stupid/inane things instead, would fall under their jurisdiction. He's lucky his particular stupid wish made him valuable to vampires and worth keeping around, instead of getting mysteriously killed by vampires or werewolves or aliens or wizards or who knows what.

Why should they bother putting so much work into it though? he is indestinguishable indistinguishable from a normal super, and dont have any hard evidence to support his drunken claims of magic.

But what kinda annoyes me though, is how bad he has squandered his gift. His power most likely holds the potential to have a bigger positive impact on the world than any archon members. By making some of the most exotic and complex medical components dirt cheap. Yet instead he is playing around being a vampire chew toy.

[Kantaki]

Why should they bother putting so much work into it though? he is indestinguishable indistinguishable from a normal super, and dont have any hard evidence to support his drunken claims of magic.

But what kinda annoyes me though, is how bad he has squandered his gift. His power most likely holds the potential to have a bigger positive impact on the world than any archon members. By making some of the most exotic and complex medical components dirt cheap. Yet instead he is playing around being a vampire chew toy.

Let me ask you a question. Assuming he was the kind of person who wouldn't squander his power like that would he have used his wish on it* instead of something more useful?

*Assuming that panel with the genie is what happened.

[Traab]

And honestly, I dont like the whole "he has a power with some interesting potential, so its wrong he isnt using it for that" mindset. Its like griping about rich people for not donating most of their money to various charities. You are under no obligation to be a philanthropist no matter what your potential value might be, and its awfully rude to scowl at someone for not being as selfless as you would like them to be.

[Kantaki]

And honestly, I dont like the whole "he has a power with some interesting potential, so its wrong he isnt using it for that" mindset. Its like griping about rich people for not donating most of their money to various charities. You are under no obligation to be a philanthropist no matter what your potential value might be, and its awfully rude to scowl at someone for not being as selfless as you would like them to be.

Not to mention that he might not be aware that he could use his power like that.
I mean people not using their powers to their full potential/ not realizing said potential (or the limitations/ exact mechanics for that matter) is kinda a cliche at this point isn't it?
These complaints always remind me of someone complaining about someone making mistakes during a sportsgame or a quizshow - while they sit comfortably in front of their TV.

[Forum Explorer]

Let me ask you a question. Assuming he was the kind of person who wouldn't squander his power like that would he have used his wish on it* instead of something more useful?

*Assuming that panel with the genie is what happened.

Pretty much exactly this. When offered a wish, he decided he'd like unlimited refills. That is the extent of his imagination and ambition.

[lord_khaine]

Let me ask you a question. Assuming he was the kind of person who wouldn't squander his power like that would he have used his wish on it* instead of something more useful?

*Assuming that panel with the genie is what happened.

Im not talking about the wish, for all we know that gift was the extend of the genie's power. Im talking about his ability to replicate any liquid, no matter how rare or complex.


And honestly, I dont like the whole "he has a power with some interesting potential, so its wrong he isnt using it for that" mindset. Its like griping about rich people for not donating most of their money to various charities. You are under no obligation to be a philanthropist no matter what your potential value might be, and its awfully rude to scowl at someone for not being as selfless as you would like them to be.

There is a difference between merely being rich, and having the chance to change the world for the better. And no, its perfectly alright to scowl at being who are being selfish.


Not to mention that he might not be aware that he could use his power like that.
I mean people not using their powers to their full potential/ not realizing said potential (or the limitations/ exact mechanics for that matter) is kinda a cliche at this point isn't it?
These complaints always remind me of someone complaining about someone making mistakes during a sportsgame or a quizshow - while they sit comfortably in front of their TV.

Nahh.. Sydney straight up comment about it, with her "but still, there got to be some incredible scare and valuable liqud" comment. He brushed it off by saying that then sexy vampire ladies would not be fighting over him.

And its not the same as complaining about mistakes during a game. There people got limited time and a single chance. In these situations on the other hand those people complained about got more or less unlimited time, and as many attemps as they case to make.

[Kantaki]

Im not talking about the wish, for all we know that gift was the extend of the genie's power. Im talking about his ability to replicate any liquid, no matter how rare or complex.

He wished for unlimited refills because his beerglass was empty.
Why should a guy like that waste time creating some obscure substances for money when he can have unlimited booze instead?
Not to mention the beautiful ladies that are very interested in him because of said power.
Sure, he would get rich, but it would mean less time with the booze and the ladies. For someone who wastes a wish on more beer - even if it turned out to be so much more - that's a big downside.
If we removed the vampirettes from the equation things might look different, but as long as they (presumably) take good care of their infinite Capri Sun (that's a terrible simile) he has no reason to think of ways to profit from his refills.

[Yuki Akuma]

If we removed the vampirettes from the equation things might look different, but as long as they (presumably) take good care of their infinite Capri Sun (that's a terrible simile) he has no reason to think of ways to profit from his refills.

So terrible it's actually a metaphor. :smallwink:

[Kantaki]

So terrible it's actually a metaphor. :smallwink:

:smallconfused:Is it a metaphor?:smallconfused:
The last time I needed to know this stuff was 08 and even then only in german, so its entirely possible I'm mixing things up.

[AvatarVecna]

:smallconfused:Is it a metaphor?:smallconfused:
The last time I needed to know this stuff was 08 and even then only in german, so its entirely possible I'm mixing things up.

My recollection is that a similar is when you compare something using the word "like" or "as", and tends to be used to draw an obvious connection while acknowledging that it's not a perfect one to one comparison in all aspects. Compare these sentences:

"My boss is mean like Hitler"

"My boss is Hitler"

Acting under the assumption that neither of these sentences is meant literally, one is clearly a broader brush being painted on your boss, with a lot more implications than just meanness. A simile is best when you find one particular quality of a thing to be useful for your comparison, but other qualities less useful; to use the earlier example, the simile is only comparing "my boss" to "Hitler" in regards to their pleasantness, whereas the metaphor is comparing "my boss" to "Hitler" in many aspects, such as his ability to give stirring speeches, or his ability to paint (or lack thereof, as it were).

[Eldan]

Pretty much exactly this. When offered a wish, he decided he'd like unlimited refills. That is the extent of his imagination and ambition.

From looking at the panel with the genie, I'm not sure he made his wish consciously. He's not looking at the lamp, he just seems to be sitting there enjoying his beer with the genie appearing behind him as he says "I wish that". Might have been accidental.

[Traab]

Im not talking about the wish, for all we know that gift was the extend of the genie's power. Im talking about his ability to replicate any liquid, no matter how rare or complex.



There is a difference between merely being rich, and having the chance to change the world for the better. And no, its perfectly alright to scowl at being who are being selfish.



Nahh.. Sydney straight up comment about it, with her "but still, there got to be some incredible scare and valuable liqud" comment. He brushed it off by saying that then sexy vampire ladies would not be fighting over him.

And its not the same as complaining about mistakes during a game. There people got limited time and a single chance. In these situations on the other hand those people complained about got more or less unlimited time, and as many attemps as they case to make.

The first one is an assumption. So far we know he can make things as complex as blood and wine. We dont know what the limits are on his gifts aside from sheer volume meaning industrial amounts of something are a no go.

And what on earth makes you think being rich doesnt mean you can change the world with your money? Of course you can. Money is the only reason half the cures for various diseases exist. Most of todays valued causes can only work due to vast amounts of money donated to them. And no, its still incredibly rude to scowl at people for not being as altruistic as you want them to be. And hey, with his unlimited blood, that means that much less blood is needed by vamps in general, so there, he is doing his part to help the world by protecting its blood supply as much as he is able to. He just gets to enjoy himself by having sexy women rub all over him while they feed. Win/Win.

[Spojaz]

While we are discussing ways to abuse that patron guy's powers, forget chemo drugs or deuterium. There is something else (http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/2072) that could use refilling...

[AvatarVecna]

While we are discussing ways to abuse that patron guy's powers, forget chemo drugs or deuterium. There is something else (http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/2072) that could use refilling...

Oh dear...I'm not sure if I'd want the comic to go in that direction or not...

[Traab]

I have to admit though, I find it amusing just how laid back and chill everyone seems to be about this. I mean, yeah sydney wouldnt be here if she wasnt cleared to know about them, but they are all surprisingly informative about their histories and general rules for how they work and whatnot. Im sure that would change if she pulled out a notepad and started to go, "So uh, silver, that stuff kill you guys any more than other metals?" but even so, for an organization dedicated to secrecy they are very open about themselves and their people.

[HandofShadows]

I think if Sydney hadn't been brought by Max the situation would be VERY different.

[Douglas]

The secret they're guarding isn't knowledge about them, it's the knowledge that they exist. Sydney is clearly approved to know the secret of their existence, so having overcome that obstacle they don't care about keeping all the extra details from her.

[Traab]

The secret they're guarding isn't knowledge about them, it's the knowledge that they exist. Sydney is clearly approved to know the secret of their existence, so having overcome that obstacle they don't care about keeping all the extra details from her.

Yeah i can get that to an extent, but still, for secretive groups in a secretive council, they are downright gregarious with someone they dont know. Maybe they are just more social than I am, but I dont think I would be giving specifics about how my people operate and /seinfeld "whats the deal with them anyways?!" type stuff 30 seconds after running into someone.

Im kinda curious to see if she WILL bump into a crotchety curmudgeonly old person who doesnt have any patience or desire to mingle with sydney, or maybe even flat out hates her for being human. That angle would be super easy to justify considering living your life in what amounts to hiding from the "normal" world could easily breed resentment over it.

[5a Violista]

On the other hand, I would totally tell her everything: she's someone who is interested in something that I know everything about, and she knows nothing about it. Plus, circumstantial evidence suggests that she's trustworthy and friendly.

Whenever someone I meet genuinely wants to know about something I'm interested in (such as my research, my hobbies, things I do, how stuff works, what I learned in class, etc) I'll explain it to them even if I only just met them. Then, if they're still interested, I'll go more into detail. Sydney is clearly interested in what they have to say, so of course they're going to keep on talking.

[Forum Explorer]

On the other hand, I would totally tell her everything: she's someone who is interested in something that I know everything about, and she knows nothing about it. Plus, circumstantial evidence suggests that she's trustworthy and friendly.

Whenever someone I meet genuinely wants to know about something I'm interested in (such as my research, my hobbies, things I do, how stuff works, what I learned in class, etc) I'll explain it to them even if I only just met them. Then, if they're still interested, I'll go more into detail. Sydney is clearly interested in what they have to say, so of course they're going to keep on talking.

Ditto this. Particularly when the person in question is someone of some importance. Sydney, by virtue of her powers, will likely be the 'cop' they go to if they need help with something that's not handled by ARC-light. Being friendly to her now will likely pay dividends in the future.

Also these are people who have to keep this stuff secret. It's always nice to tell secrets to someone new when you get the opportunity to.

[The Glyphstone]

Yeah i can get that to an extent, but still, for secretive groups in a secretive council, they are downright gregarious with someone they dont know. Maybe they are just more social than I am, but I dont think I would be giving specifics about how my people operate and /seinfeld "whats the deal with them anyways?!" type stuff 30 seconds after running into someone.

Im kinda curious to see if she WILL bump into a crotchety curmudgeonly old person who doesnt have any patience or desire to mingle with sydney, or maybe even flat out hates her for being human. That angle would be super easy to justify considering living your life in what amounts to hiding from the "normal" world could easily breed resentment over it.

I doubt anyone too curmudgeonly would make it onto the council in the first place. They're both representatives of and ambassadors from their respective groups, to each other and to the tiny segment of the mortal world that knows about them. You've got to have some degree of tact and diplomatic ability just to function in that sort of role.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

While we are discussing ways to abuse that patron guy's powers, forget chemo drugs or deuterium. There is something else (http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/2072) that could use refilling...

Okay, that's a world breaking use of his power.

(Assuming it works years after a container was emptied on complex magical fluids that quite possibly contain some sort of consciousness, being able to choose who to meld with, and might even be a universally unique one of a kind thing.)

[DataNinja]

New Comic.

Do my eyes deceive me, or is that the Konami Code in the third panel?

[Lvl 2 Expert]

Good catch.

I bet that could pierce the veil.

[Traab]

Heh yeah the code has been seen in a few comics now. I think its his favorite background banner.

[DataNinja]

Feh. First time I've seen it. Now I'll have to do (another) Archive Binge. The Horror.

[Traab]

Here, let me save you from the TERRIBLE concept of having ot read these comics more than once. :smalltongue: You can see it in the previous comic as well, also this one (http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/2192) and this one (http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/2190)

[DataNinja]

Oh. I thought you'd meant it appeared elsewhere in the comic, too, beyond this locale. :smalltongue:

[Traab]

Nah, its just one of the many MANY banners he has in this super council of everything hidden. Although it WOULD be amusing if he had hidden the konami code in a large number of other comics. "In this comic sydney is climbing up the wall, then up it further next panel, then dropping down etc etc etc"

[multilis]

There is a difference between merely being rich, and having the chance to change the world for the better. And no, its perfectly alright to scowl at being who are being selfish
Almost all of us in rich countries make enough money in a week to feed a person in poor country for a year.

Almost all of us could live in housing that costs half as much, vehicle that costs half as much, etc.

We buy a bottle of water that can be had for free from a tap, when that money could feed a poor person for a day. (Or instead coca cola, etc that is even worse health wise than tap water) We could instead buy a big bag of whole wheat flour for 1 hour minimum wage, and use it to quickly make a loaf of bread every day for weeks. (eg mix with water, flatten and cook in microwave or toaster oven)



Easy to be critical of other (richer) people, much harder to be different ourselves. Just as average person in our society "needs" a 40 inch TV, $20,000+ car/SUV, more than 400 ft2 house, order pizza, etc, average rich person thinks he needs even more. 'I've only got 10 million dollars, barely can afford my big house, summer cottage on the lake, boat, fancy car, vacation to tropical island, private school for kids, etc, if I had a billions of dollars like Bill Gates then I would have a few million to spare'

A very rich person from 500 years ago would think a $2000, 50cc motorcycle was amazing: 2x as fast as riding a horse and much less trouble.

Every one of us can change world for better in our own way if we really wanted to.

[Yuki Akuma]

Pedantic nitpick: tap water isn't free*. It's just ludicrously cheap compared to bottled water.

*Unless it comes from your very own private well or something, in which case it might be. But it's usually piped in by a utility company.

[lord_khaine]

Almost all of us in rich countries make enough money in a week to feed a person in poor country for a year.

Almost all of us could live in housing that costs half as much, vehicle that costs half as much, etc.

We buy a bottle of water that can be had for free from a tap, when that money could feed a poor person for a day. (Or instead coca cola, etc that is even worse health wise than tap water) We could instead buy a big bag of whole wheat flour for 1 hour minimum wage, and use it to quickly make a loaf of bread every day for weeks. (eg mix with water, flatten and cook in microwave or toaster oven)

It seems like your trying to make some sort of point here, but its really not getting across very clearly. Or making much sense. For once i certainly dont know anyone that chose to live in a housing thats twice as expensive as it needs be, or drives something that expensive. And i personally newer buy bottled water since the pricing makes it feel like a scam.


Easy to be critical of other (richer) people, much harder to be different ourselves. Just as average person in our society "needs" a 40 inch TV, $20,000+ car/SUV, more than 400 ft2 house, order pizza, etc, average rich person thinks he needs even more. 'I've only got 10 million dollars, barely can afford my big house, summer cottage on the lake, boat, fancy car, vacation to tropical island, private school for kids, etc, if I had a billions of dollars like Bill Gates then I would have a few million to spare'

A very rich person from 500 years ago would think a $2000, 50cc motorcycle was amazing: 2x as fast as riding a horse and much less trouble.

Every one of us can change world for better in our own way if we really wanted to.

It also seems like your being very selective in what your replying to here. I think i made it pretty clear that there is a difference between actually being able to make a real difference in the world, and just being rich compared to the rest of the people in your country. Im talking about orders of magnitude in the difference of how many people you manage to make a difference for. Like the difference between how much said rich person in your example and Bill Gates could accomplish.

And no, its really not that hard, either being critical of richer people or trying to create a difference yourself. All it takes is empathy for those in a worse position than yourself. And the idea that its alright to expect more from those who can do more. And the person i were talking about could have done something that might have been felt in the entire world, while at the same time getting filthy rich. But chose not to do anything worth of note.

[Traab]

Every pint of blood he gives up to sexy lady vamps is that many fewer pints being drained either out of innocents, or the nearest bloodbank. Sure he could do more than that, but why should he? How much is enough for your judgement? Virtually everyone on earth COULD do more but chooses not to. How much does a person have to give before you are willing to stop looking down on them? Are you the type of person that would have superman on a treadmill since his current method of saving the world isnt efficient enough for you?

[SlyGuyMcFly]

Are you the type of person that would have superman on a treadmill since his current method of saving the world isnt efficient enough for you?

What, no link the comic (http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2305)? :smallbiggrin:

[lord_khaine]

Every pint of blood he gives up to sexy lady vamps is that many fewer pints being drained either out of innocents, or the nearest bloodbank. Sure he could do more than that, but why should he? How much is enough for your judgement? Virtually everyone on earth COULD do more but chooses not to. How much does a person have to give before you are willing to stop looking down on them? Are you the type of person that would have superman on a treadmill since his current method of saving the world isnt efficient enough for you?

Wow.. putting Superman on a treadmil..? been working on those strawman building skills recently ?

Because if you missed it, then i dont considder being a plaything for sexy vampire ladies worth mentioning.

And so to answer your question, for a normal human anything is enough for me, its the though that counts.

A superhuman meanwhile, someone who litterally has the option to change the world in a visible way, i hold to a higher standard. For them a honest attempt is enough. If they then decides to dress up like a bat, assasinate despotit warlords or build a high tech company i care less about. And i dont even mind if they find a way to get rich on the side, like the person being discussed could have been. But with great power comes great responsibility.

[Sean Mirrsen]

Wow.. putting Superman on a treadmil..? been working on those strawman building skills recently ?

Because if you missed it, then i dont considder being a plaything for sexy vampire ladies worth mentioning.

And so to answer your question, for a normal human anything is enough for me, its the though that counts.

A superhuman meanwhile, someone who litterally has the option to change the world in a visible way, i hold to a higher standard. For them a honest attempt is enough. If they then decides to dress up like a bat, assasinate despotit warlords or build a high tech company i care less about. And i dont even mind if they find a way to get rich on the side, like the person being discussed could have been. But with great power comes great responsibility.

There are regular people who are heroes, and strive to do good, selflessly or not. There are regular people who are villains, and think nothing of doing harm to those around them, for profit or fun. And then there are regular regular people, just living normal lives, staying within the laws and only swaying into doing good or bad acts as their mood takes them.

There is no reason whatsoever why the same can not apply to superhumans. ARCHON itself makes it part of their statement - if you have superpowers, you do not have to register yourself. You do not have to be a hero, and you do not have to be a villain, because there will be consequences for choosing either path, and you can stay with your relatively normal life if you so desire, as long as you abide by the same laws as everyone else.

[Yuki Akuma]

As long as it doesn't hurt anyone, people should be allowed to do whatever they want with their talents. And, no, failing to help people isn't hurting them - we are not ****ing Asimovian robots.

Expecting people to always think of others before themselves just because they have talents you don't is incredibly selfish. They don't have an obligation to help people, just an obligation not to hurt them. And I don't see how being a snack for sexy vampire ladies is hurting anyone.

[halfeye]

And I don't see how being a snack for sexy vampire ladies is hurting anyone.

That one I can answer, it's feeding vampires who might otherwise have been caught or starved, which means there's a bigger vampire population, which will hurt people when he ceases to be available (eg when he dies).

[Traab]

Wow.. putting Superman on a treadmil..? been working on those strawman building skills recently ?

Because if you missed it, then i dont considder being a plaything for sexy vampire ladies worth mentioning.

And so to answer your question, for a normal human anything is enough for me, its the though that counts.

A superhuman meanwhile, someone who litterally has the option to change the world in a visible way, i hold to a higher standard. For them a honest attempt is enough. If they then decides to dress up like a bat, assasinate despotit warlords or build a high tech company i care less about. And i dont even mind if they find a way to get rich on the side, like the person being discussed could have been. But with great power comes great responsibility.

You cant just dismiss an argument you dont want to answer by calling it a strawman. The comparison is very apt. If you read the comic, superman starts out by using his powers to stop crimes, but people figure out that he can do even more good by being a super fast transport. Then they figure out he can be even better helping the world by running on this power generator treadmill. In other words, it wasnt enough for him to run around catching criminals, because he was capable of doing even more, it wasnt good enough for the people around him. In this case you have a man whose powers arent even very clearly established beyond "refilling drinks" and you are looking down on him for not doing something awesome and important "enough" with them.

You made up a list of things that you think he might be able to do by declaring he must be capable of creating any liquid he wants then stated he is an ass for not going out and doing that instead of what he decided to do with them. He doesnt HAVE great power, he has the ability to refill drinks. And when you quote someone, maybe pick a guy whose character isnt designed around how frigging miserable his life is while living up to that quote if you want to convince them. Again, he doesnt have great power, and he doesnt have a great responsibility to use it for the greater good. You give normal humans a pass despite the fact that 99% of them do nothing to help the world around them, and even those who DO try to help could probably do more. Just because they have some unique ability doesnt give them the duty of going out and using it to help the world anymore than any normal person does.

[Kantaki]

That one I can answer, it's feeding vampires who might otherwise have been caught or starved, which means there's a bigger vampire population, which will hurt people when he ceases to be available (eg when he dies).

Well, on the plus side it safes a few vampire hunters from unemployment.:smallamused:

But honestly? All this complaining that the Refiller doesn't do enough „good” with this power is a bit silly. I mean in that case we could blame most of Team Archon for the same thing. I'm pretty sure most of them have more useful applications for their powers than playing Avengers.
And does the standard only apply to those with actual powers or to everyone who is more talented than „normal” humans?
Lets say instead of wasting his refill power as a infinite refreshment dispenser for the undead he is a genius who „wastes” his intelligence by working in a supermarket instead of some university.
Would the same standard apply?

[halfeye]

Well, on the plus side it safes a few vampire hunters from unemployment.:smallamused:

I'm not sure whether there are any vampire hunters at this point. They may be needed when he dies.


But honestly? All this complaining that the Refiller doesn't do enough „good” with this power is a bit silly. I mean in that case we could blame most of Team Archon for the same thing. I'm pretty sure most of them have more useful applications for their powers than playing Avengers.

Sure, could be Sapphire and Steel instead:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-Steel-Complete-Repackaged-DVD/dp/B001BHTN6S/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1473274799&sr=1-1&keywords=sapphire+and+steel

https://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Avengers-Complete-Episodes-1-26/dp/B00006HCM4/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1473274881&sr=1-2&keywords=new+avengers

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Avengers-Complete-Collection-DVD/dp/B00JF0V88E/ref=pd_cp_74_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=EENG1WN7YDR19J17M49D


And does the standard only apply to those with actual powers or to everyone who is more talented than „normal” humans?
Lets say instead of wasting his refill power as a infinite refreshment dispenser for the undead he is a genius who „wastes” his intelligence by working in a supermarket instead of some university.
Would the same standard apply?

If the university won't have him, then that doesn't apply at all, and we've all heard of graduates working in McDonnalds because they needed cash and couldn't get a better job. If it would but he quit, I dunno, that's more relevant, but people don't often do that, because university work tends to be more interesting.

The point about refiller is he could be financially loaded with apparently very little risk, which would get him all the female company he wanted. A corporation would rip him off for sure, but 10% of what he's worth is still huge money. I, personally, don't have a problem with him making that choice, but I do think it's a very strange choice for a person to make.

[Kantaki]

I'm not sure whether there are any vampire hunters at this point. They may be needed when he dies.

Then he isn't just preserving workplaces, he creates them. Even better.:smalltongue:


If the university won't have him, then that doesn't apply at all, and we've all heard of graduates working in McDonnalds because they needed cash and couldn't get a better job. If it would but he quit, I dunno, that's more relevant, but people don't often do that, because university work tends to be more interesting.

I meant someone who chooses to work in a supermarket (or whereever else) instead of applying his higher than normal intelligence at a university out of their own choice. For whatever reasons they might have.

[Traab]

Once again though, thats assuming his powers work on anything that doesnt count as a "drink" For all we know his powers dont extend past a mid level starbucks blend for what he can create. I suppose he could always run a bar and make a ton of money by not having to actually buy any booze. Then he could open a charity with the profits.

[Kantaki]

Once again though, thats assuming his powers work on anything that doesnt count as a "drink" For all we know his powers dont extend past a mid level starbucks blend for what he can create. I suppose he could always run a bar and make a ton of money by not having to actually buy any booze. Then he could open a charity with the profits.

I think most (who think he could refill obscure medical substances) assume that he can create more than just drinks because his objection to Sydney’s question why he doesn't work in the oil industry was that he can't create liquids at that scale, not that he can only refill „drinks”. And because he claimed he can refill any liquid.

[Kantaki]

New comic

Good to see they are still monsters after all.
All this... civility begins to go on my nerves.
I wonder how many kinds of monsters the Council had to... troubleshoot to extinction. It seems doubtful that all of them were willing to play along.
There’s always someone who thinks „They will never catch me” or „Eh, I can take them”. Wouldn't surprise me if there wasn't a entire species or three that tried to ignore the Twilight-fanclub.

Oh, and I don't believe for a minute that they don't use the Veil to hunt. The ones they go after are only those that lack the moderation required tokeep them hidden.

[Traab]

New comic

Good to see they are still monsters after all.
All this... civility begins to go on my nerves.
I wonder how many kinds of monsters the Council had to... troubleshoot to extinction. It seems doubtful that all of them were willing to play along.
There’s always someone who thinks „They will never catch me” or „Eh, I can take them”. Wouldn't surprise me if there wasn't a entire species or three that tried to ignore the Twilight-fanclub.

Oh, and I don't believe for a minute that they don't use the Veil to hunt. The ones they go after are only those that lack the moderation required tokeep them hidden.

Exactly. And too be honest they would have a reasonable argument. Namely, "We have the right to exist too, and we need to eat people to live." Well, reasonable to their fellow council members who would probably say, "Yeah ok, just be careful not to draw attention." Honestly, trying to debate THAT stance would be an ugly ugly thing. On both sides.

[Kantaki]

Exactly. And too be honest they would have a reasonable argument. Namely, "We have the right to exist too, and we need to eat people to live." Well, reasonable to their fellow council members who would probably say, "Yeah ok, just be careful not to draw attention." Honestly, trying to debate THAT stance would be an ugly ugly thing. On both sides.

Eh, I'm kinda inclined to agree. I mean its not as if the monsters having to keep their cover isn't advantageous for mankind.
Less people get eaten for example. And that's without getting into the things that would go wrong when some military tries to weaponize the supernatural. Or those that die because of an attempt to fight back.
No, the masquerade/veil/whatever is for the best for everyone involved.

But I wonder how this works in praxis. Preysharing? I mean a single human should contain enough blood to feed a group of vampires and since they have no use for the meat they can leave that for other monsters, like ghouls or something like that. Assuming souls exist and some beings feed on them that makes the group that can feed on a single human even bigger. And then there are succubi or similar who eat without actually hurting the victim (longterm) - and hey if the succubus eats firsts it makes things easier for the others.

[halfeye]

Eh, I'm kinda inclined to agree. I mean its not as if the monsters having to keep their cover isn't advantageous for mankind.
Less people get eaten for example. And that's without getting into the things that would go wrong when some military tries to weaponize the supernatural. Or those that die because of an attempt to fight back.
No, the masquerade/veil/whatever is for the best for everyone involved.

But I wonder how this works in praxis. Preysharing? I mean a single human should contain enough blood to feed a group of vampires and since they have no use for the meat they can leave that for other monsters, like ghouls or something like that. Assuming souls exist and some beings feed on them that makes the group that can feed on a single human even bigger. And then there are succubi or similar who eat without actually hurting the victim (longterm) - and hey if the succubus eats firsts it makes things easier for the others.

I don't agree. There is no universal standard of good, so it all comes down to particular societies's standards, and human societies have pretty much always said killing and eating friendly humans is bad. This is speciesist, but there is nothing else.

[Forum Explorer]

Well unless they have a mystical reason to do so, most do not need to feed off humans in a harmful way. Vampires can get some level of blood from donations, or not kill the person they bite. Succubi can go for single willing people. And stuff like Werewolves never needed to feed off humans at all.

[Traab]

Very true, but finding people willing to donate blood kinda defeats the purpose of the veil. So does leaving them alive after drinking a pint. So its a kind of strong "no witnesses" policy that ensure humans have to die. Too bad they arent white court vamps from dresden. They are empathic vampires. They feed off life force and emotional energy. The most powerful group are basically succubi. They seduce you, take your life force, and you love every second of it. They can kill you, or enslave you, or just leave you thinking you had the best night of your life.

[Forum Explorer]

Very true, but finding people willing to donate blood kinda defeats the purpose of the veil. So does leaving them alive after drinking a pint. So its a kind of strong "no witnesses" policy that ensure humans have to die. Too bad they arent white court vamps from dresden. They are empathic vampires. They feed off life force and emotional energy. The most powerful group are basically succubi. They seduce you, take your life force, and you love every second of it. They can kill you, or enslave you, or just leave you thinking you had the best night of your life.

What? You don't think Vampire run red cross (http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/10p18/)? :smallbiggrin:

Good point on leaving them alive though.

Why? I mean, there already are succubi in the comic, the only difference between them and the White Court is that the White Court aren't as cuddly about it.

[tomandtish]

I feel a little bad for saying this because I like Grrl Power. I really do.

But is it just me or is Dave getting a little bogged down in showing us his world building?

Case in point: He's spent 18 comics (so far) basically telling us that yes, all critters that go bump in the night are real, and they are covered by a globe-spanning spell that suppresses knowledge of their existence. (Assuming you start at 440 with the introduction of Ingsol).

By comparison the same number of comics took us from the start of the bank robbery all the way through Max thumping Achilles on the nose to show he was awake in the ambulance.

We only spent 16 comics on Sydney's origin story and her demo to Arc of her powers (86-109, minus 5 that focused on other members and three that were filler/non-continuity).

Is it just me?

[Traab]

Well you also need to consider the super battle. That thing took may 27 2014- feb 20-15 if you count the wind down. That was nearly a full YEAR worth of updates for what amounts to a single hour of combat. Bottom line, the comic tends to bog down from time to time. Hell, dont forget that all of this comic to date? Its just the freaking FLASHBACK. Yeah it moves slow, but honestly? Its usually moving slow while covering stuff thats pretty interesting. Its HARD to world build in a comic format with any rate of speed. Imagine if tolkien released the hobbit a half page at a time, twice a week?

[Leewei]

I feel a little bad for saying this because I like Grrl Power. I really do.

But is it just me or is Dave getting a little bogged down in showing us his world building?

...

Is it just me?

No, it certainly isn't just you. I've also commented about the pacing issues this webcomic has. It's otherwise very well-executed and enjoyable.

[Yuki Akuma]

I think Grrl Power suffers from Written For The Trade Syndrome. Or, Written For The Book, in this case.

[Forum Explorer]

Well you also need to consider the super battle. That thing took may 27 2014- feb 20-15 if you count the wind down. That was nearly a full YEAR worth of updates for what amounts to a single hour of combat. Bottom line, the comic tends to bog down from time to time. Hell, dont forget that all of this comic to date? Its just the freaking FLASHBACK. Yeah it moves slow, but honestly? Its usually moving slow while covering stuff thats pretty interesting. Its HARD to world build in a comic format with any rate of speed. Imagine if tolkien released the hobbit a half page at a time, twice a week?

It occurs to me that the story might actually end out of the flashback. The story is Sydny's adventures in getting started and becoming a Corporal. Right now she's a recruit. So she might actually end up fighting all of those different villains and stuff before finally the story ends with them facing off against a new threat.

Maybe there will be a new story but it could end at that point.

[Traab]

It occurs to me that the story might actually end out of the flashback. The story is Sydny's adventures in getting started and becoming a Corporal. Right now she's a recruit. So she might actually end up fighting all of those different villains and stuff before finally the story ends with them facing off against a new threat.

Maybe there will be a new story but it could end at that point.

I dunno, I think it might end with her graduating from boot and getting the corporal rank. But that should just be the flashback, I mean, I cant see this guy actually ending the story when it could conceivably gone on as long as any marvel comic. :p

[Forum Explorer]

I dunno, I think it might end with her graduating from boot and getting the corporal rank. But that should just be the flashback, I mean, I cant see this guy actually ending the story when it could conceivably gone on as long as any marvel comic. :p

Story, arc, breakpoint, whatever. I think we might get all the beginning adventures against the squinty eye foes in that one comic, and then it comes out of it as Archon gets an emergency message about a new threat. Comic ends, and we get a quasi time-skip and we get a start of a new story in the same universe, likely still following Sydney.

[Traab]

Story, arc, breakpoint, whatever. I think we might get all the beginning adventures against the squinty eye foes in that one comic, and then it comes out of it as Archon gets an emergency message about a new threat. Comic ends, and we get a quasi time-skip and we get a start of a new story in the same universe, likely still following Sydney.

Im actually kinda hoping for a time skip soon. Really, it all depends on how much world building he wants to do right now. We have her joining the archon crew, we have her showing off her ability which explains the rank, we have her at least starting her training. Those are the high points really. Everything else is establishing characters and the rules of how this world works. Theoretically, once ingsol is done talking, we could star wipe to graduation day, then have sydney go into narration mode and say, "And thats how I ended up a government superhero." THEN move on to "current" events.

After all, it would probably feel fairly shoe horned if there are too many adventures sydney gets to take part in while she is a recruit. You can only have so many super encounters "just happen" to take place while she is around before it starts feeling forced. Once she is officially a corporal and a member of the active duty team, they can send her out wherever to do whatever. Adventures can happen for any reason at that point. And really, how much more time do we need to spend on her exercising? At most I would expect some orb training and testing montages.

They skipped straight to the upgrade tree and havent really nailed down what the orbs can CURRENTLY do. Yes we tested her lift limit with the hentorb, and her top speed and altitude with the flight orb. But we havent seen her shield orb tested to the breaking point, we havent seen what other limits her truesight orb has. They havent even poked her mystery orbs with a stick yet! And thats just testing the basic applications. Take her shield orb for example. What is the actual size limit of it? Does the size effect the strength? Like, if she shields a house, can maxima punch through it while when its just sydney sized she cant? Also, can she shape the shield at all? There are going to be times when a sphere isnt ideal. Can she cheat and use her shield to destroy things by say, standing next to a building, activating her shield, and it forms THROUGH the wall, cutting a human sized hole in it?

This is all stuff off the top of my head, but you get the idea. Its really the only thing I would be interested to see be done before the flashback ends at this point. And even that doesnt have to happen then. After all, I think dave has said he wants to keep some secrets of the orbs for now.

[BiblioRook]

Say what you will but I've always found having markers and scissors always on hand to be remarkably convenient.

[HandofShadows]

It is and shows the (way) out of the box thinking a certain person has. :smallcool:

[AvatarVecna]

In today's comic, Dave stretches what is, in his own words, a half-second gag at best into a full page comic that he admits he wouldn't have included at all if he could've found a way to focus on continuing his ongoing exposition dump. In other news, whiners bitching and moaning about the comic's pace are still totally wrong because it's being written for the book, and that will totally be paced appropriate, so nobody has a right to complain.

[Dragonus45]

Wow.. putting Superman on a treadmil..? been working on those strawman building skills recently ?

Because if you missed it, then i dont considder being a plaything for sexy vampire ladies worth mentioning.

And so to answer your question, for a normal human anything is enough for me, its the though that counts.

A superhuman meanwhile, someone who litterally has the option to change the world in a visible way, i hold to a higher standard. For them a honest attempt is enough. If they then decides to dress up like a bat, assasinate despotit warlords or build a high tech company i care less about. And i dont even mind if they find a way to get rich on the side, like the person being discussed could have been. But with great power comes great responsibility.

Why though, does that person not have the right to consent to what they or their powers of their personal wealth is used for? The idea that simply being capable of doing a thing suddenly makes you responsible if you chose to do something else literally robs that person of the right to make their own choices.

[Southern Cross]

Which is why I hate that cartoon with a passion - they literally enslave the world's greatest hero and toss him aside when they find a new power source.

[Yuki Akuma]

Which is why I hate that cartoon with a passion - they literally enslave the world's greatest hero and toss him aside when they find a new power source.

I think the idea was that it was awful, dude.

[HandofShadows]

I think just being around Sydney enables Max to enjoy life a little more. :smallbiggrin:

[tomandtish]

I think Grrl Power suffers from Written For The Trade Syndrome. Or, Written For The Book, in this case.


In today's comic, Dave stretches what is, in his own words, a half-second gag at best into a full page comic that he admits he wouldn't have included at all if he could've found a way to focus on continuing his ongoing exposition dump. In other news, whiners bitching and moaning about the comic's pace are still totally wrong because it's being written for the book, and that will totally be paced appropriate, so nobody has a right to complain.

Except even if we decide to call it writing for the book, it is still dragging (In my humble opinion). We've spent 20 comics (so far) on something that feels like it needs maybe 5 IF it is going to be immediately relevant.

I went back and re-read everything, and even reading it all at once this section just drags.

Anyway, just my two copper.

(Sorry for the delay. I was in Florida for 8 days and minimizing computer time).

[Avilan the Grey]

SPeaking of pacing... am I the only one that read adventure comics in the papers as a kid? Things like The Phantom or Flash Gordon, one strip (2-5 squares) a day.
Todays kids are hopeless. Get off my lawn Internet.



:biggrin:

[Traab]

SPeaking of pacing... am I the only one that read adventure comics in the papers as a kid? Things like The Phantom or Flash Gordon, one strip (2-5 squares) a day.
Todays kids are hopeless. Get off my lawn Internet.



:biggrin:

Prince Valiant perhaps? And honestly, as far as the comic goes, I dont mind this exposition, its all interesting stuff, but my main problem is the justification for it. Maxima could have literally handed sydney a folder full of print outs on all of this and told her to read it. She didnt have to bring her here. But even if she wanted to, the council is taking up an awful lot of time explaining things to this person of no particular importance. All she needed to be told was the basics. "Yes, the supernatural and aliens exists, dont talk about it to anyone but myself dabbler or zephan. If you see something illegal going on that involves them, contact me in private and I will instruct you on what to do."

Now, I know that this is a case of reality versus entertainment media, but the length of time being spent this way is just making it more and more apparent that it doesnt make much sense for these characters to act this way.

[Kantaki]

Prince Valiant perhaps? And honestly, as far as the comic goes, I dont mind this exposition, its all interesting stuff, but my main problem is the justification for it. Maxima could have literally handed sydney a folder full of print outs on all of this and told her to read it. She didnt have to bring her here. But even if she wanted to, the council is taking up an awful lot of time explaining things to this person of no particular importance. All she needed to be told was the basics. "Yes, the supernatural and aliens exists, dont talk about it to anyone but myself dabbler or zephan. If you see something illegal going on that involves them, contact me in private and I will instruct you on what to do."

Now, I know that this is a case of reality versus entertainment media, but the length of time being spent this way is just making it more and more apparent that it doesnt make much sense for these characters to act this way.

To me this scene makes sense. Archon would have sent someone to this meeting anyway- Maxima or some else -and Sydney has to be informed about this, so she can just as well tag along.
As for why everyone is so willing to explain stuff to Syd, well... they aren't exactly telling her secrets and she is a likeable person and genuinely interested- and someone they can tell about this -not to mention that they are going to work with her (indirectly at least).*
Then there is the fact that the Twilight Council (seems to) take awfully long to get started** and this is a entertaining way to pass the time.

*Plus it is a chance to annoy Xuriel- in the case of that Succubus at least.:smalltongue:
**In my head canon they always need an eternity to start. Some of them are always late, others just can't stop gossiping and so on.

[lord_khaine]

Am i the only one that almost found it sweet how glad Dabbler seemingly were on Max's behalf, because her hand gesture were recognized? :smalltongue:

[Kantaki]

Am i the only one that almost found it sweet how glad Dabbler seemingly were on Max's behalf, because her hand gesture were recognized? :smalltongue:

They are like a family.:smallamused:
Just with less fighting.:smallbiggrin: