Grrl Power VII: Let Me Explain For The Next Thirty Comics!

[Vahnavoi]

Deus may have super intelligence but does he have super emotional intelligence? Does he really know how to get along with people, and how to lead, at the same level as he can do math in his head?

Based on his own words, not just emotional intelligence, but also moral intelligence.

Your opinion may vary on whether we should buy this and whether the author is any good at portraying it.

[lord_khaine]

Without going into US politics, the assumption that everyone has a price is demonstrably false.

The false assumption is that he needs everyone, when he just need enough.

Your opinion may vary on whether we should buy this and whether the author is any good at portraying it.

Well it should be mentioned, that by lifting an entire country out of poverty he has likely helped more people than anyone else in the entire series,
possibly barring Dabbler who has what 200+ years of space adventure.

For the rest, we can only point out that things keep working out for him.
But its also clear he is a massive troll. So its hard to say whats serious and whats him messing around for the lulz.
I can only assume he gets massively bored.

[Traab]

The false assumption is that he needs everyone, when he just need enough.



Well it should be mentioned, that by lifting an entire country out of poverty he has likely helped more people than anyone else in the entire series,
possibly barring Dabbler who has what 200+ years of space adventure.

For the rest, we can only point out that things keep working out for him.
But its also clear he is a massive troll. So its hard to say whats serious and whats him messing around for the lulz.
I can only assume he gets massively bored.

Yeah i think a large part of it is the last two things. He is incredibly bored and tends to act like a massive troll for his own amusement. You cant be a good troll without having a lot of knowledge of the best ways to mess with people. Didnt he make vale CRY giving her a lecture on civilian casualties or some such thing? She is some sort of eldritch abomination and he managed to get her on a deep enough level to make it happen. At least, I vaguely remember some sort of chat between his minions who were out on a mission recharging that knife by killing people with it.

[Dragonus45]

Yeah i think a large part of it is the last two things. He is incredibly bored and tends to act like a massive troll for his own amusement. You cant be a good troll without having a lot of knowledge of the best ways to mess with people. Didnt he make vale CRY giving her a lecture on civilian casualties or some such thing? She is some sort of eldritch abomination and he managed to get her on a deep enough level to make it happen. At least, I vaguely remember some sort of chat between his minions who were out on a mission recharging that knife by killing people with it.

Yea he specifically made a feature length documentary, might have been longer, about the life of an innocent person she killed that got her so deep in the feels it made a cthulu cry. Now, a real issue could be he knows what levers to pull and buttons to push but might be lacking in the ability to actually relate with them.

[lord_khaine]

might be lacking in the ability to actually relate with them

This is unsupported though.
And well really might apply to basically anyone besides Sydney, whom we have actually gotten thoughs from.
Everyone else could be pretending.

[Forum Explorer]

Why would be need help with that?
If he wanted something badly, he can always buy a few additional senators.

Accepting money from Deus could be really bad optics though. 'My opponent has been funded by a man who literally summons demons and is waging wars in Africa' and all of that.

[tomandtish]

Without going into US politics, the assumption that everyone has a price is demonstrably false.

The counter argument is that while everyone has a price, it may not be possible to figure out what that price is, or be able to meet it.

[Traab]

The counter argument is that while everyone has a price, it may not be possible to figure out what that price is, or be able to meet it.

Every time I hear the everyone has a price thing it reminds me of this one anecdote I read about some version of lex luthor, how for his own entertainment he would approach a married couple and offer the wife a large sum of money to sleep with him. Then when she agreed he would just leave, so her and her husband would have to live with the knowledge that she WOULD have slept with him and now they dont even have the money as cold comfort.

[lord_khaine]

Accepting money from Deus could be really bad optics though. 'My opponent has been funded by a man who literally summons demons and is waging wars in Africa' and all of that.

Ehh.. a) You really think something that clumsy will stick on the person with the bigger PR team, when it also means a risk of getting sued by Deus for slander?
b) you really think Deus cant deliver cash or favors through a network of shelf companies.

Every time I hear the everyone has a price thing it reminds me of this one anecdote I read about some version of lex luthor

Some people reeeaaaaly cant figure out writing Lex Luthor.

[Traab]

Ehh.. a) You really think something that clumsy will stick on the person with the bigger PR team, when it also means a risk of getting sued by Deus for slander?
b) you really think Deus cant deliver cash or favors through a network of shelf companies.



Some people reeeaaaaly cant figure out writing Lex Luthor.

Meh, there are a ton of variations on every character in comics, some greater some lesser. Lex has been written as a LOT of things from a monster to a misguided hero.

[lord_khaine]

Yeah. But thats a level of petty thats just pathetic.

[Traab]

Yeah. But thats a level of petty thats just pathetic.

I mean, he got bored of kicking puppies at the animal shelters wearing kitten skin boots so he had to do something to show how cruel he is! lol

[Rater202]

I'm not going to lie, Lex Luthor, especially in the comics, is exactly the kind of petty, narcissistic ****wit who would do something like that.

Lest you forget that his silver-age reasoning for hating Superman is that he blames him for going prematurely bald. All the crap about "the alien" being a crutch delaying human development is a rationalization.

[The Glyphstone]

Yeah. But thats a level of petty thats just pathetic.

What do you expect from a man who stole forty cakes? That's as many as four tens. And that's terrible.

[Forum Explorer]

Ehh.. a) You really think something that clumsy will stick on the person with the bigger PR team, when it also means a risk of getting sued by Deus for slander?
b) you really think Deus cant deliver cash or favors through a network of shelf companies.



Some people reeeaaaaly cant figure out writing Lex Luthor.

a) It's not slander if it's true, Deus wouldn't have even the slightest grounds to work on. Also the other Senator doesn't necessarily have a smaller PR team.

b) Well it depends how hostile people are towards Deus. I mean, realistically speaking, there should be people flat out calling for his head at this point. But the author is very gentle towards his characters in regards to people getting upset.

[Rater202]

I resetly reread the entire series, a whole ****load of Deus's actions should have gotten people rattling sabers in his direction.

Like, he's mostly running on loophole abuses that IRL nobody would take seriously and and people just letting him do what he wants.

Realistically, launching an unprovoked war of aggression while openly talking about conquering the world would have at least gotten him sanctioned by one international body or another.

Basically, he's running on plot armor.

Which is more or less how we know he's the villain: Politically or business-minded villains only succeed because plot armor means that government bodies don't act realistically to people doing all sorts of illegal ****. See for example, like, 60% of X-Men villains. Or how Lexcorp's assets would have been frozen the first time a blad man in Lexcorp brand powered-armor picked a fight with Superman for no apparent reason.

[TeChameleon]

Eeeeehhh... hard to answer that without getting too far into real-world territory, but suffice to say that history contains a remarkable number of examples of utterly psychotic behaviour being excused and covered up because the psychopath in question had money and connections, even starting (or at least facilitating) wars- e.g. William Randolph "You furnish the pictures, I'll furnish the war." Hearst. Even if Deus is getting away with maybe more than is entirely believable... eh. Sydney'd probably have been on KP for the entire duration of the comic with the way she acts if it was a 'realistic' storyline.

And billionaire corporate raider Luthor is so very much a product of the 80s, much like the dystopian cyberpunk that expected megacorporations to own the world in a decade or two.

[Rater202]

Sydney'd probably have been on KP for the entire duration of the comic with the way she acts if it was a 'realistic' storyline

ARCHON is very much presented as not being typical military and as presented is only military for making it easier to move around pre-existing assets.

Like, the simple fact that Civilian contractors like Dabbler are allowed on the front lines proves that.

Also, the fact that they are very much recruiting civilians to be superheroes specifically and the fact that Supers are explcitly rare and considered national assets means that being lenient with the Supers is mandatory less people just stop turning up: If the training is too harsh or the discipline too strict people won't consider ARCHON as a viable alternative to other means of turning a profit with their powers, legal or otherwise.

Which in turn necessitates being more lenient with the recruits/cadets/soldiers in general to avoid accusations of bias or favoritism.

Also, given that a good chunk of their branding come from merchandise, allowing for excentricities and discrete personalities rather than breaking everyone down into perfect soldiers allows for better marketing.

And like, Syndey isn't the only one who gets treated leniently—see Dabbler still being there at all.

So no, Syndey not getting disciplined the way she would in a "real" military situation makes perfect sense in context.

[lord_khaine]

a) It's not slander if it's true, Deus wouldn't have even the slightest grounds to work on. Also the other Senator doesn't necessarily have a smaller PR team.

It hardly matters if its actually true. What matters is what can be proven in a extremely expensive court case, that Deus is likely to win.

b) Well it depends how hostile people are towards Deus. I mean, realistically speaking, there should be people flat out calling for his head at this point. But the author is very gentle towards his characters in regards to people getting upset.

What? No it dont have anything to do with how hostile people are towards Deus. There could be mobs howling in the street for his head, but it would not affect if Sued Soap Special was quietly holding fund raisers for someone, that some of Deus's friends just happend to attend.

Eeeeehhh... hard to answer that without getting too far into real-world territory, but suffice to say that history contains a remarkable number of examples of utterly psychotic behaviour being excused and covered up because the psychopath in question had money and connections, even starting (or at least facilitating) wars- e.g. William Randolph "You furnish the pictures, I'll furnish the war." Hearst. Even if Deus is getting away with maybe more than is entirely believable... eh. Sydney'd probably have been on KP for the entire duration of the comic with the way she acts if it was a 'realistic' storyline.

Yeah. Deus is a popular handsome Billionaire. Basically American Nobility/Royalty.
There really isnt anything unusual about what he has gotten away with personally, just by going on RL examples.
And thats before we factor in supernatural intelligence and manipulation skills.

The same with the war in Afrika. Its more plausible he gets a medal for creating jobs for the gun industry, than sanctions.
Especially since he isnt running the country. He is just an "advisor".

So no. I cant really think of anything he has gotten away with due to plot armor.

[Radar]

And one has to also remember that he is also making a lot of deals with the US government for many years now - he is for example trusted enough to provide equipment for Archon. What Deus does is this sort of balancing act as the one Lord Vetinari does: he irritates loads of people but arranges everything so that each of them is slightly better off with Deus alive and well.

Probably a fitting quote as well:
I'll give each and every one of you a Caddy for your troubles, Because I'm going to walk out of here and there ain't a damn thing any one of you can do about it.

[lord_khaine]

Well Deus obviously does it even better. As he often only irritate unimportant people.
(or people he tries to manipulate. Or Max)
Important people he charms, bribes, or both.
I mean, he directly shows up on talk shows.

[turaiklim]

The problem with selling information to the highest bidder is that after you sell it, you still have it. How does the US know that Deus isn't selling the same info, or info that leads to the same discoveries, to China / Russia / Egypt / Monaco?

[lord_khaine]

They dont. But they -do- know that if they dont buy it from Deus, then they wont have it.
And someone else might.

But your right. It is Deus's technology. And hence he has the right to sell it to whoever he wants.

[Traab]

I see it as a case of fridge logic. If you dig down deep enough the holes become apparent in Deus and his schemes plus the reaction of the world, which we honestly havent even really seen yet. So we can read the comic, go, "Deus is a rich handsome multi billionaire with enough connections that he is a major defense contractor for the US military AT LEAST plus whatever else he does, and he got his start taking over rinky dink warlord ruled "nations" in africa that nobody really cares about in the states because why would they. And now he has access to super advanced alien tech, a demon army, and a track record of actually making things better overall wherever he goes. Yeah, i can see why nobody is willing to be heavy handed with him."

Yeah plot armor is part of it, but its at least fairly believable plot armor. Its a real life issue that the rich and powerful get away with a LOT of nonsense and even when they do get in trouble it can take YEARS of effort to punish them properly. Combine that with the whole having sci fi tech and a demon army along with his own supers and yeah, that makes it reasonable to believe his plan is working out for him. As for todays comic. Oh god sydney, what are you doing?! Taking bets. I think she wants to summon the young succubus friend of hers. Also, holy cow gwen, you look like you are ready for one HECK of a night on the town! She looks really nice. Getting some serious mai shiranui vibes with her outfit choice.

[Shining Wrath]

I see it as a case of fridge logic. If you dig down deep enough the holes become apparent in Deus and his schemes plus the reaction of the world, which we honestly havent even really seen yet. So we can read the comic, go, "Deus is a rich handsome multi billionaire with enough connections that he is a major defense contractor for the US military AT LEAST plus whatever else he does, and he got his start taking over rinky dink warlord ruled "nations" in africa that nobody really cares about in the states because why would they. And now he has access to super advanced alien tech, a demon army, and a track record of actually making things better overall wherever he goes. Yeah, i can see why nobody is willing to be heavy handed with him."

Yeah plot armor is part of it, but its at least fairly believable plot armor. Its a real life issue that the rich and powerful get away with a LOT of nonsense and even when they do get in trouble it can take YEARS of effort to punish them properly. Combine that with the whole having sci fi tech and a demon army along with his own supers and yeah, that makes it reasonable to believe his plan is working out for him. As for todays comic. Oh god sydney, what are you doing?! Taking bets. I think she wants to summon the young succubus friend of hers. Also, holy cow gwen, you look like you are ready for one HECK of a night on the town! She looks really nice. Getting some serious mai shiranui vibes with her outfit choice.

Right now several nations in Africa have had coups with the active participation of a group of mercenaries employed by a billionaire, and he's still drawing breath although I think there are warrants out for his arrest.

[lord_khaine]

I see it as a case of fridge logic. If you dig down deep enough the holes become apparent in Deus and his schemes plus the reaction of the world, which we honestly havent even really seen yet.

Stuff has been said about holes. But so far i dont think any has been revealed that dont have a plausible cover.

Yeah plot armor is part of it, but its at least fairly believable plot armor. Its a real life issue that the rich and powerful get away with a LOT of nonsense and even when they do get in trouble it can take YEARS of effort to punish them properly.

But thats kinda an argument against it actually being plot armor?
Plot armor is when circumstances twist themselves to protect someone from things they should not get away with.
Here its kinda the reverse. Being one of the top 10 richest men in America (unsupported assumption) means him getting away with it is the likely thing.

Right now several nations in Africa have had coups with the active participation of a group of mercenaries employed by a billionaire, and he's still drawing breath although I think there are warrants out for his arrest.

Yeah and i think said guy has been at this game for at least a decade in afrika?

[Shining Wrath]

Stuff has been said about holes. But so far i dont think any has been revealed that dont have a plausible cover.



But thats kinda an argument against it actually being plot armor?
Plot armor is when circumstances twist themselves to protect someone from things they should not get away with.
Here its kinda the reverse. Being one of the top 10 richest men in America (unsupported assumption) means him getting away with it is the likely thing.



Yeah and i think said guy has been at this game for at least a decade in afrika?

But that guy also has the support of a nuclear-armed nation and his mercs are largely viewed as proxies for that nation. The analogy with Deus is weak. My problem with Deus, in fact, is that the major powers would be trying to co-opt him, and if he refused to play ball someone would decide to take him out as a threat to their interests - and the opinion of the UN wouldn't matter when "nation with annual defense budget several times Deus' net worth" decided he was a threat. The idea that no one could counter him unless the UN agreed and / or international law agreed is pretty naïve.

[lord_khaine]

Initially it should be pointed out, as a defense supplier to USA Deus has enough subtle backing of his own.

Besides that, the entire point of what he did, is that it was a tiny wartorn hell hole, that absolutely noone else cared about.
We got plenty of examples of the great powers mostly not caring about what goes on in Afrika.
So its quite plausible him being around as there were a regime change would only illicit a "meh".
Its not like any of the great powers did anything before the former Dictator had a heart attack.
So weird if they would move in when his son took over.

Besides that, IF he had then accidentally stepped on a few toes of some minor politician somewhere.
Then the important part is, that the size of said powers military budget isnt significant.
Whats significant is what slice is available to whoever he is dealing with, and how large a % of it
they can spare on this particular insignificant part of Africa. Since quite likely there are plenty of other,
actually hostile agents to kill, and politicians to bribe, and vacation homes to buy.
So in the end, it should be quite easy for Deus to have local superiority in "this" country.

That was then of course. Now meanwhile he has build up his country.
And is to entrenched to remove violently.

[Forum Explorer]

But that guy also has the support of a nuclear-armed nation and his mercs are largely viewed as proxies for that nation. The analogy with Deus is weak. My problem with Deus, in fact, is that the major powers would be trying to co-opt him, and if he refused to play ball someone would decide to take him out as a threat to their interests - and the opinion of the UN wouldn't matter when "nation with annual defense budget several times Deus' net worth" decided he was a threat. The idea that no one could counter him unless the UN agreed and / or international law agreed is pretty naïve.

This sums up my opinion on it pretty much. Deus is making some big moves and nobody is really doing anything about it? On screen at least. Like, if we saw his personal team of supers throwing out dead assassins and stuff like that, that would be one thing. But we haven't really had anything like that.

And the Twilight Council should be absolutely pissed off about the demons, to the point where again, assassins, but this time they are holy crusaders, and mystical golems and things like that.

We have seen Archon talk about and justify working with Deus, so we have their angle at least, but the US is still only one country and Deus is acting as a threat to a lot of world powers and being an American citizen would only make them even more unlikely to trust him. And if he isn't selling information to China/Russia/OC rival superpower, then they should 100% be doing everything they can to co-opt or capture him because America recently got a space ship they can reverse engineer, so a warmongering nation in Africa that happens to have a large population of alien refugees is an absolute goldmine.

Mind you, negotionations and things like that could very well be happening off screen.

[Traab]

This sums up my opinion on it pretty much. Deus is making some big moves and nobody is really doing anything about it? On screen at least. Like, if we saw his personal team of supers throwing out dead assassins and stuff like that, that would be one thing. But we haven't really had anything like that.

And the Twilight Council should be absolutely pissed off about the demons, to the point where again, assassins, but this time they are holy crusaders, and mystical golems and things like that.

We have seen Archon talk about and justify working with Deus, so we have their angle at least, but the US is still only one country and Deus is acting as a threat to a lot of world powers and being an American citizen would only make them even more unlikely to trust him. And if he isn't selling information to China/Russia/OC rival superpower, then they should 100% be doing everything they can to co-opt or capture him because America recently got a space ship they can reverse engineer, so a warmongering nation in Africa that happens to have a large population of alien refugees is an absolute goldmine.

Mind you, negotionations and things like that could very well be happening off screen.

Yeah we need to remember this isnt the deus comic so we have no way of knowing how many international law firms he has working 24/7 to block random attempts at legal sanctions along with negotiating with various other nations promising them whatever scraps he intends to sell in exchange for not acting outright against him. He also has a pretty solid team of mercs loyal to him to keep him safe plus vale, whatever she is. It would not shock me in the slightest that his crew has been hopping constantly to keep infiltrations and assassinations to a minimum. As for the twilight council, they may be tied up in their own issues. Dont they have a big faction who are in favor of coming out into the light as it were? They are just the mystical UN with all the same weaknesses and flaws of the other. Being deadlocked is likely, and they may also be just accepting reality. You cant put the genie back in the bottle so while upset they cant really do anything about it without risking massive backlash.