Grrl Power #846 – City planning
On the one hand, Deus may well be a great manipulator. On the other hand, someone who yells the phrase “artful subtlety” in the middle of a classy restaurant might not be the best judge of such things.
If Lorlara does win employee of the month with behavior like that, it’s going to create an escalation. The next time we see Deus, he might be riding on a palanquin teamed by a bunch of women that look like they’re taking time off between taping American Gladiator episodes. I’m not saying that might not happen anyway. It’s just more likely that one of his other PA’s might sign him up for “Super Rich Person UBER.”
Yeah, I know, Deus never said that Lorlara was his new PA. I guess Maxima inferred it, or there’s some business getting done in between pages.
“The House Archs” BTW, is some shit I made up, because I didn’t think there was a word that meant “patriarch and/or matriarch” so in Alar they’re just called “Archs.”
And if all the house leadership dressed up in riot gear and delivered warrants, they could be called “Arch-SWAT.” Hah hah, tip your waitress, etc.
I’ve finally updated the vote incentive. I’m trying something new this time. It’s a picture of Harem in the shower. All five of her. The vote incentive will take you to a SFW (PG-13) version of the pic, and there’s a NSFW over at Patreon for supporters. (Like a soft-R. Well, you can get away with some boobs in PG-13 these days, but you get the idea.)
Double res version will be posted over at Patreon. Feel free to contribute as much as you like!
SuperheroThey're super, thanks for asking!
Meatspace ComicSeriously these are awesome. Check 'em out!
Not UpdatingNo longer updating or only updates sporadically, but definitely worth reading.
SeriouslySeriously you guys. If you like Grrl Power the check these out.
"Mature"Mature subject matter and occasionally something explicit but usually safe. Can't guarantee the ads are safe though.
Dongs Ahoy!Full frontal and backal. Lots of skin, sex on some or all pages, explicit or otherwise.
Hah, Lorlara hasn’t a patch on Deus’s chief advocate, Panda!
*Panda —–> Pander
Although she does have a longer name than I do. Very prestigious indeed.
IDK, I like her. She has my vote.
Who? Lor or Pander? o_O
Team Pander 2020.
Supporting a better Deus for a Brighter Tomorrow.
In that case… Team Panda :P
With them, you know things are… black and white
Lor, Pander or Panda?
Do I dare say “Depends on how cuddly he or she is“?
I am exceptionally more cuddly than any panda, but I’m not sure how I’d fare in a cuddle-off against Lorlara.
That is exceptionally impressive!
I would rate myself nicely cuddly.
*puppy dog eyes*
IRT the vote incentive. Where are Ellen Boorsen and Max Hellenberger this time?
Over in their new comic Roll to Save, living their best lives possible under the circumstances.
No idea who they are, or why they would be in a Harem shower
Ellen Boorsen — Leftover Soup.
Oh right, haven’t read that in years, so do know who she is :(
Wow, Deus has himself 1 heck of a cheerleader there, doesn’t he? She might even be doing a good job of it if she wasn’t pointing out just how skilled at manipulating people he is…. to 1 of the people he’s trying to subtly (spellcheck get that 1 right?) Manipulate. He’s trying to gently guide Max into visiting his country, and Little Miss RA-RA-RA is giving the whole game away!! Heck, I’m an Alien learning Earth culture and even I spotted that…
No, no. Maxima knows Deus is manipulative. She dated him, remember? So Lorlara being “out of Deus’ control” will cause Maxima to relax her guard. It’s either great reverse psychology or Dave just put in some comedy and didn’t realize how well it works for this conversation.
Well, the show is called girl power. Reverse psychology is female psychology so, double bonus here. Max will likely know both of these and be unable to determine which is which, thus it will be entirely up to her bosses, who will obviously want her to go.
“Reverse psychology is female psychology”
It’s not but I agree with the rest.
“Sure. Yeah. You can go with your friends. I wasn’t looking forward to our date. I didn’t even dress up or anything.”
“I’m fine.”
“I’m not mad.”
Calling their personal psychology “reverse” just gives them the excuse that deception comes natural.]
Don’t stand for that. I’ve seen plenty of men act the same way. It’s a character defect; not a gender trait.
Wait wait wait, SmugD won’t let them leave until he allows it? o_O
Okay Pander, spin that one!
the bigger joke in that panel is that somehow lorlara, who seems to be missing several important mental faculties needed for base level survival, is implied to be the only one to figure this fact out among a RACE of schemers and back stabbers…..
Clearly someone explained it to her. Probably using small words from her native tounge AND popular memes from her home planet. She is now sharing her new insight in… not her native language.
Its also quite possible she is young for her species!
No, fairly sure they all know it, they just didn’t realise they had become property of SmugD’s until it was too late (too soon to call them slaves? indentured servants for life, maybe?)
They’re not indentured servants. They’re just very uncooperative with one another, and they need to agree with each other in order to have the unanimous votes necessary to leave. Deus isnt stopping that (aside from likely pointing out the benefits of staying and the dangers of leaving, which keeps at least one faction arguing to stay) – they’re stopping themselves. If all three of the major houses actually got to an agreement, then they would leave. Lorlana realizes, and the one faction not wanting to leave realizes, that staying on Earth is probably in their best interests of survivability, both short term and long term.
Did you not even read that panel?
“But I know for certain it will never happen so long as he does not wish it!”
Them staying on Dirt only benefits SmugD, and as long as that remains true, then stay will they do
I don’t know about ONLY benefiting him. He’s been portrayed as a relatively benevolent overlord so far. Doing a lot of good for that nation he’s running. Sure, if he’s keeping them on Earth, it DOES benefit him, but they very well might, and probably, benefit too.
see that “benevolent” BS may be the most annoying/marry-sue part of Desu
there is literally no way for Desu to be “Benevolent”, he invades a country killing people and destroying 100’s or 1000’s of years of culture/ personal biases and people just love him for it. he some how magically constructs an economic power house without disrupting the preexisting global economy or cutting in on the already overtaxed finite natural resources on earth. he openly takes about destroying the weapon manufacturing bases of the rest of the world and make himself the only game in town. like this wouldn’t be seen as an out right threat both economically and power wise.
we haven’t even talking about all the black mail, lying, cheating and back stabbing he does..
but some how he’s the good person, everyone else that acts like him evil but he’s a good person.
yeah no there is no way
“there is literally no way for Desu to be “Benevolent”,”
Tell that to the people of Galytin. They seem to really love him for his benevolent action of bringing the entire country out of war and poverty and into wealth and prosperity and liberty and not cowering as a murderous warlord slaughters your family and makes you watch.
“he invades a country killing people and destroying 100’s or 1000’s of years of culture”
When did that happen? You seem to be reading from a different comic. Definitely not this one.
“he some how magically constructs an economic power house without disrupting the preexisting global economy”
Because he specifically made sure not to compete with the G-8 nations yet. He’s competing with a bunch of squabbling warlord-led / dictator-led nations in the third world instead. Nothing Mary-sueish about that. It’s showing him actually putting the work, money, planning and effort into it. Which is something a villain sue or mary sue would not need to do.
“he openly takes about destroying the weapon manufacturing bases of the rest of the world”
Seriously, where are you reading this? It’s like you’re adding words from your headspace into the comic that is not even remotely mentioned. The US already buys a lot of its goods from overseas – they’re the world’s leading consumer base. Why wouldnt Deus want in on that action? He’s ALREADY selling to the US, as a tech manufacturer/ business partner with ARCHON even before he was doing what he was doing with Galytin.
“make himself the only game in town”
Others are free to compete with him. That’s called the free market. Are you against the free market?
“we haven’t even talking about all the black mail”
There was no blackmail at all.
“lying,”
He has not lied to Maxima at all. And not volunteering information is not lying. If Iask you for your real life address, and you refuse to tell me because I’m a stranger on the internet, I can’t accuse you of lying. NOT telling something is not a lie. Intentionally telling something that you know is not true is a lie. Usually.
” cheating”
Deus hasnt cheated. He’s been playing remarkably fairly. He’s just better at the game than the other players.
If you play chess against Kasparov and lose, don’t claim he cheated. It might just be that you suck at chess compared to him.
“and back stabbing”
He hasnt back-stabbed anyone. He’s been rather loyal to sticking to his word and playing fair to anyone who plays fair with him.
“but some how he’s the good person,”
Because based on his actual actions and words, he HAS been a good person to this point. You just don’t like that he’s smug about how he knows he’s right. It’s even more infuriating to you that he actually IS right.
“everyone else that acts like him evil but he’s a good person.”
No one else acts like Deus does. He’s rather unique as an antagonist because he’s NOT evil. You can be a competitor without being evil. McDonalds does not look at Wendy’s and assume they’re evil.
You missed one. Allow me:
Deus constructed at least one massive renewable energy source. One that can double as a greenhouse/hothouse for food production also tapping into free/renewable energy.
Even if Deus *did* destroy the culture of Gatlyn…
As far as I can tell, before Deus got involved, the culture of Gatlyn was one of being exploited and being at war. That was not only the way of their current leader but also the one before him, and the one before that. If that was my hundreds of years of culture, and Deus showed up and offered me another culture? I’d *gladly* take it.
Yes, Deus still manages to turn a profit off of the Gatlyn people, but they make out much better than they had in the past. As far as we’re aware, Deus doesn’t weigh in at all on what they believe, how they dress, what art they make, or how they act in their (newly found) leisure time… so long as their choice of behavior is not violent or disruptive.
I understand that Deus clearly *wants* to be evil, but he fails so miserably at it… in large part because he apparently understands most or all of the major weaknesses of how evil overlords behave. Does he expose some weaknesses himself? Probably. But having an exposed weakness only matters if someone opposed to you can make use of it against you. Deus doesn’t have any opponents who are currently making use of any of his exposed weaknesses that we have seen.
It’s possible that he will actually manage to turn out to be evil at some point. But thus far, I feel like he’s probably less actual evil than most of the presidents we’ve had… Of the United States, of other countries, of companies, of the Mormon church, whatever.
Okay I sort of love your take on Deus. The idea that ‘he wants to be evil, but he fails at it because he’s just such a good and decent person’
On a not-quite-related-but-still funny-note:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPUgjy-Pn-4
That’s magnificent! Love that video, Resident Lawyer of Grrl Power.
“Did you not even read that panel?”
I did read it. All it says is that Deus is very good at manipulating people to do what he wants by being very influential and savvy. Them staying on Earth benefits Deus, but it also does benefit the Alari as well. Remember, they’re right now on a planet which has single handedly stopped a Fel invasion with a handful of soldiers, and which has someone on the planet that single handedly killed two of the things that laid waste to the Alari homeworld. To quote De’lenn from Babylon 5, “There is only one human who has ever defeated the Mimbari in battle. He is behind me. You are in front of me. Choose your next move wisely.”
Deus is smart enough to be able to manipulate the squabblers so they will do what he wants while making it look like it’s what THEY want, because it will benefit both the Alari AND Deus.
Seriously not sure why you think this is damning evidence against Deus. It’s actually rather flattering that he’s so good at negotiations. Sort of like how Arianna is with the consuming public “Yes! Twist on my finger, muhahahaha!”
At some point, readers seem to be forgetting that every character has their own drives and perceptions, and the narrator, who appears in the panel notes, has proven that he is not completely forthright, to say the least.
Lorlara believes that the ship will never leave unless Deus wants it to. that’s all. It’s not a fact, just a belief. If the rule of Cool or the Rule of Funny demands that they suddenly take off, or if our evil Alari suddenly arrives and takes over the ship via power or strategy, then that situation changes.
Deus’s superpower seems to be roughly on par with Lex Luthor, without any of the personal weaponry or consorting with evil loose cannons.
No, you are not reading what was said, you are PR-ing it to sound good, just like you did with the last page: you ignored what was shown an only focused on what was said
The ones who stopped the Fel attack (it was not an invasion), and the one who killed one of those who drove the Alari from their homeworld, have NOTHING to do with SmugD
If they want to stay on Dirt and be safe, they should relocate to North America and side with Archon
No Guesticus, I am reading what was LITERALLY said. You’re trying to spin it to meet the narrative that you have in your head that Deus (all praise him amen) is evil.
I focused on what was said because …. that’s what was said. What was shown was Deus steepling his fingers together with a smile on his face because he’s awesome and because the Alari are amateur hour when it comes to subtlety and convincing others.
“The ones who stopped the Fel attack (it was not an invasion),”
Cora referred to it as an invasion. Because the Fel were INVADING Earth. Which does also involve attacking.
“and the one who killed one of those who drove the Alari from their homeworld, have NOTHING to do with SmugD”
As far as the Alari are concerned, it might as well. It’s all related to supers on Earth being a very powerful force that can offer a lot of protection OR alliance potential. Which is an obvious route that Deus can use, since he has so many supers at his disposal to help him out – INCLUDING Archon (whether they realize it or not).
“If they want to stay on Dirt and be safe, they should relocate to North America and side with Archon.”
Except:
1) North America did not accept them – Galytin did
2) It’s not about a PARTICULAR super being a good ally or defensive force – it’s about supers in general being good allies and protective forces. And Galytin has the highest density per capita of supers according to Deus. Plus they already have had a mutual understanding between Deus and the Alari, while America might have some problems with the Alari thanks to Sciona. Plus there’s the fact that the USA might try to seize the Alari ship like they threatened to do with Cora’s ship when she was (unjustifiably) telling them they could not have the Fel ship technology. Under those circumstances, Deus is their best shot at both short term and long term survival.
Again, what he literally said was “it will never happen so long as he does not wish it!”
Which means, he is preventing them from going back and helping their people fight the Squids
The reason why Galytin accepted them and North America didn’t, was because they landed in Galytin before they knew better (prove me otherwise)
And… no, Cora wasn’t saying they couldn’t have the Fel technology, she was telling them they couldn’t have that Fel ship because it would corrupt the shit out of them (not that many would notice amongst the Suits)
“Again, what he literally said was “it will never happen so long as he does not wish it!””
1) What SHE said. Not what Deus said. This is what Lorlanna feels about Deus, and it is said as a token of admiration, not scorn.
2) Because Deus is very good at convincing people to do things. That’s not evil.
“Which means, he is preventing them from going back and helping their people fight the Squids”
He is granting them safe harbor against the Squids on the one planet that they know of that has people who have beaten both the Squids AND the Fel… and a place to have a productive future. Alari respect strength.
“The reason why Galytin accepted them and North America didn’t, was because they landed in Galytin before they knew better (prove me otherwise)”
You ask me to prove you otherwise? I will. From the comic itself.
Exhibit A:
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-719-idiomatic-planetary/#comments
First panel – Suzie News is saying how the Alari ship appearing in orbit caused a lot of panic. Presumably the only one who did NOT panic was Deus – he extended an invitation while the rest of the world was wondering if there were about to be in a space war. Suzie News even describes the reaction from G-20 countries as having ‘initial xenophobic instincts’ and are now fearful of those initial instincts causing them to miss out on potential cultural, economic, and technological boons. Deus realize that before anyone else did and he did not act all xenophobic about it, and instead welcomed the Alari refugees with friendship and kindness. What a wonderful man Deus is, rather than being xenophobic and fearful of those who are different than us.
Exhibit B:
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-829-spilling-news/
Panel 2
Deus’s own words: “The G-8’s are upset their own xenophobia caused them to miss out on hosting our Alari guests, and are trying to get their foot in the door with various political tactics.”
So what can we conclude? When the Alari arrived, most of Earth’s countries, including the US, bungled the first contact by taking an adversarial, aggressive, or threatening stance, while Deus took a welcoming one. That’s why the Alari landed in Galytin – because they were welcomed there, and were not welcomed to any of the other countries until people realized that it was stupid and xenophobic not to welcome an advanced alien civilization in need of help who would be grateful for that help.
That was VERY easy to prove you otherwise, Guesticus. :) :) :)
“And… no, Cora wasn’t saying they couldn’t have the Fel technology,”
She literally said those exact words multiple times.
“she was telling them they couldn’t have that Fel ship because it would corrupt the shit out of them (not that many would notice amongst the Suits)”
Yes, which is the excuse she was giving for why they could not have the Fel technology, even though she was in no position to dictate terms and without being able to give any substantial proof that would be verifiable or falsifiable to Earth science, including not even giving the ability to backwards engineer the technology required to see Fel corrupting radiation in the first place. It wasn’t until she offered fair compensation in other technology (a starter FTL ship) that the standstill was overcome.
It’s probably worth noting that it’s less a statement of the Alari’s sophistication, and more of a statement about the sophistication and makeup of this specific refugee ship.
Sophisticated and affluent factions would have mostly had their own refugee ships. They may have accepted some Alari on board who weren’t part of their primary faction, but they would’ve been dominated by a single faction. I would guess this would be less because of excluding those from other factions, and more because they were specifically trying to be available to those of their faction.
Once in flight, they may have had their differences, but if they had a very sophisticated and dominant leader, it wouldn’t have changed their overall situation much.
That’s not this ship. This ship was a mix of whomever could get to it. Maybe it was dominated by one faction, maybe not. But in any event, there’s three factions on board. I feel it’s likely that there were two main factions until they landed, and their host turned out to treat people better than either of their leaders. He turned out to be clearly more sophisticated than either of their leaders.
Lorlara is almost certainly not the only member of this faction. It’s likely that the members of this faction are doing their best to convince as many others to join their faction, because they want the ship to remain. Thus there was definitely somebody to convince Lorlara (who was almost certainly in awe of somebody else before she was in awe of Deus).
The ship probably doesn’t need to have the three factions agree. They just need to have enough people in the right positions to agree. As such, those people are a priority for any faction. And, if the pro-Deus faction actually works with Deus (which it looks like they do, considering Lorlara is obviously one of them), it’s probable that they have converted a number of the people in those priority positions.
As soon as all of the people in one of those roles has joined Deus’ faction, the ship is definitely grounded so long as he wills it. By having some or all of the people in those priority positions actually claiming to belong to one of the other factions (possibly whichever faction is most expedient at the time, or possibly with some assigned to pretend to be one particular faction while others pretend to be a different one), they become less of a target for the other factions to re-convert.
Of course, Deus would choose people who were more sophisticated than Lorlara for that duty. He’d have other tasks for those like Lorlara. For example, working as his PA.
It would be my guess that the two factions who don’t want to stay are to a large extent separated on organizational lines, which basically means each priority role is fairly unified, apart from those who have decided that they’d rather stay on Earth. This would probably make it much easier for Deus than if there was a reasonable chance for the members of one faction to simply act wile the other faction wasn’t paying attention and boom, they’re back in space.
… of course, the biggest prize faction for Deus would be those who were necessary for repairing the ship. It doesn’t necessarily require them to *not* repair the ship. Just not give good status reports to their management, and possibly do some of the repairs differently.
“We’ve actually repaired the ship weeks ago, but our status reports say it’ll be ready next month. Also, we’ve modified the controls so that there’s a foot pedal that’s necessary to be pressed before the ship will actually take off.
“That foot pedal’s in Deus’ bedroom.”
You are right. I get the rest of her race couldn’t believe their luck when Deus hired her ;)
Sure, I can spin that one, Guesticus. PRetty easily actually.
Lorlana mean that Deus is an extremely persuasive man, and since the ship is run by three factions, and all factions must agree in order to leave, then as long as Deus plays them against each other and is able to convince at least one faction to not vote to leave, since they seem to squabble in a very disorganized fashion, they will not leave the planet.
That’s not evil. That’s called being a good negotiator. Deus probably has practice at it from dealing with the UN, who likewise tend to argue with each other in an exceedingly disorganized fashion and rarely get anything done as a result.
I vote for the plot twist that with Deus absent, the factions agreed and left, happily leaving Lorlana behind.
Oh please, yes. Then she and Sciona can face off in a misguided, lopsided power struggle for dominance while completely misunderstanding each other’s goals, and we get to watch Deus caught in between them and Archon.
While that would definitely be a trope subversion, I doubt it will happen. I think Deus thinks ahead enough to make sure not to leave a power vacuum when he’s not there.
Someone’s been drinking the Kool-Aid.
Not Tom Wolfe surely…
Pander :P
Oh Guesticus, you card you.
Wait, is drinking Kool-Aid joining the cult? or preparing to board the ‘cosmic mother ship’? o_O
It’s fine. Don’t worry about it Guesticus. The mothership gave me a present. it’s some sort of book – ‘To Serve Man.’
They seem like upstanding sorts.
Just wanted to make sure you know, wasn’t advocating you drink deadly poison and die
As for the rest, going to attempt to stop replying to SmugD posts (not saying you have won, which you have not, just it tends to get close to getting ugly, and do not want that)
Posts about SmugD and his evil ways will stop (after this one :P )
It’s cool. I know you werent advocating that I drink poison and die, Guesticus. You secretly like me. :) I didn’t think you meant anything mean by it.
I likes ya too despite your blasphemy against our lord and savior, Deus. :) In goodeth time, thou shall come to appreciate his great works.
Somehow, watching Guesticus and Pander and their back-and-forth makes me think of The Walrus and The Carpenter.
Hmmmm, no. Guesticus is far more oyster than either Walrus or Carpenter.
Wait, which one am I?
Course like you, you are a good egg, just a little ‘scrambled’ at times :P
Only thing will say about SmugD: promise not to dance on his grave (if it can even be found >.> )
How presumptuous of you to assume he will ever die. :)
I hear the Kanamits are excellent chefs.
I like to think Maximus can cope with Lorlana so well because she has the same energy as Sydney. In fact if you put the two of them in the same room it could symbolize the coming nerd-pocalypse
I feel like Sydney and Lorlara have very different energy.
But they do both have a lot of it. At least much of the time.
(To be clear, we don’t know if Lorlara has moments where she’s less excited. Or if she has meds that she might be off sometimes.)
Hmm, if Lor has meds that ‘calm her down’, maybe Sydney should try them, after having them properly examined by the Doc, Cora, Dabbles and anyone else qualified (and not SmugD-ified, ie the Daphnes) to make sure they are safe for Sydney-consumption
The combining form parri- is the gender independent equivalent to matri- and patri-, as in the word parricide. So you could use the term parriarchy if you want a strict unisex parallel with patriarchy and matriarchy.
As someone else already pointed out: matri- and parri- are Latin, whereas patri- is Greek, and matri- and patri- do not have the similar meaning (matri- meaning mother, and patri- meaning clan)
I’m not even sure why matri and parri are being mentioned here. Matia and Patia the source words of matricide or matrial – are greek for mother or father respectively… Matriarchi literally means the Mother has authority, and Patriarchy the Father has authority and are retroactively used to describe different variations of Monarchs
And THAT is the correct term here. A MONARCH.
And before you ask Monarch literally means “One in Charge”. It’s not a gender reference. @DaveB If you’re discussing a house of Monarchs – like a meeting or of independent leaders – then you could also say a Monarchy Council or a Monarch Parliment, or possible the United Monarchies
“Give me a word, any word, and I’ll show you how the root is Greek.”
I was tossing my cookies on which side to go with. Greek or latin – Monarch appears to be a Greek word predominately but Matri and Patri are latin and used as I described. Matriarch and Patriarch however appear to combine the greek word of monarch with the latin words for mother and father. I didn’t want to go into all that though because bleh – but I forgot. The internet is full of know it alls. ^.^
Much like The Tick, I resemble that remark! :D
I mostly just think of that quote any time someone brings up etymology. I looked it up* just now though, and “patriarch” does in fact come from Greek (by way of Latin and French). “Matriarch” is indicated as just Latin.
* Googled it, they cite Oxford. Certainly didn’t do any actual research, because ‘bleh’ indeed -_-
You were throwing up over which side to go with?
Already said that matri- and parri- were Latin, and patri- was Greek (because someone way smarter than me mentioned it on the first page)
Yess… I mean actually my phone autocorrected that sentence but I’m going to say yes. Because it’s funny.
And guesticus – this is the internet. You should always take credit for the fact that you read it at all ! ^.^
Just figured it was a ‘lost in translation’ kinda thing :D
Nope, not going to lay claim to something someone else said first (sometimes won’t even lay claim to things have come up with first, largely because can’t always remember if it was me :( )
Have come up with a few doozies, and always get a thrill when see someone else use it :D
English is an Indo-germanic, language. I learned that in high school.
So there you go.
Or, we can just cut to the chase, and say that somebody in power is the Arch?
I’m still not seeing a reason why Maxima wouldn’t just arrest Deus, given the numerous crimes he’s admitted to committing just in this one conversation.
Because everything thats been admitted is as crooked as heck but isnt an arrestable offence(Trust me if it was wed need new prisons for all the politicians from the presedent all the way down to local mayors thatd need tossing behind bars).
Also though Maxima only obeys rules when she feels like it even shed feel blowback for trying to arrest people for non crimes(She only got away with the gunship diplomacy of kidnapping a twilight council member because they expressly didnt want attention so were willing to wait things out rather than raise hell).
She didn’t fucking kidnap Kronachrome!!!!
Actually – Dues is technically a “Visiting Dignitary” and therefore has diplomatically immunity. Maxima could Deport him from the US back to the country he currently owns – but any charges or trials would have to be made by the people and population he is effectively king of. So Not Gonna happen.
Deus is a citizen of the United States who is also the head of state for a foreign government.
Given this has NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE in real life I am unsure of the legal ramifications of this, but he isn’t technically visiting the United States given he lives there.
He’s not the head of state, he’s the power behind the head of state.
That may seem like a very fine distinction, but I would bet that in the 244 years or so our country’s been around, we’ve had at least one power behind the head of some non-US state be a US citizen.
Also, at what point did we learn where Deus lives or holds citizenship?
The most powerful person in a kingdom isn’t the king.
It’s who whispers in his ear.
Which is why SmugD gave the target-seat to the son, so he can do what he wants without worrying about all that nasty legal and moral crap
You are assuming that what is shown on panel is what Deus claimed… it’s not. Look at his words. He has admitted to subtle and fully legal manipulation, not to blackmail. The panel that shows direct blackmail is her interpretation and dramatization of the words, not a direct rendition of what he said.
However, even if he had admitted to direct blackmail of an unspecified person, you could not arrest him on that. You’d have to figure out WHO first, and prove how.
PAs in the HOUSE! (Pun in tended).
Sorry, I can’t see the pun in “tended”. Where’s the light switch?
Is…Maxima staring at Lorlara’s cleavage on the 4th panel ?
No, the dagger in her right hand.
“Captain [of industry] Deus…”
“LORD Deus!!”
Given that Deus undoubtedly owns a significant number of properties, thus making him a landlord, calling him Lord Deus is actually completely factual.
She is definitely going for Arch Sycophant.
Although she does seem to be very talented at evil monologuing so she’s probably the most qualified for the role.
For some reason I’m also reminded of the Assassin in White.
I imagine it’s much more impressive in her native Alari, especially to other Alari. The combined cultural and language barrier isn’t really portraying her in the best light – she must have held a pretty respected position to be at the table with only a handful of other leaders negotiating the fate of their people.
Or waitress or bodyguard or assistant to somebody important.
+1. This.
Even if she was just an honor guard for the head of her house, that’s a pretty high position. She’s definitely more than just ‘assistant to the regional manager‘.
Given I’m just “interpreting” the panel, That looks much more like a “wait-person” stance/position. As in “a person who stands around waiting for a command”. I do like her, but her attitude with Deus’ employees indicates some basic insecurity, exactly as someone promoted one rank beyond his or her actual ability.
I’m wondering if Lorlara’s prime job is interfacing with the other Alari off the wounded colony ship? That definitely comes under “PA”…
I’m sure there’s a reason that Deus selected her as his PA. I wouldn’t doubt the breasts helped, but the man clearly has options. But he’s also shown a desire to be evil, even if he’s not been very adept at it. As such, someone talented at evil monologuing would certainly win some points with him.
My Goddess, I hate Dues so MUCH.
Worse than arthritis or calcium deficiency?
Yes
It doesnt matter if you hate Deus. He loves you.
All praise Deus amen.
I only have one thing to say about that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPhDcP9y76Y
I’m not sure if it counts as a mistake but in the first panel there’s no little line going from the speech bubble to Lorlara, even though it’s obvious who’s talking
Probably because it is obvious. Trust us, there are many comics where life gets… interesting.
https://www.deviantart.com/lady-angelia-13/art/Yaotl-04-805678375
… just had to put this here. this is why Deus has looked so familiar to me all this time. This guy, from a 2007 TMNT animated movie. (Yaotl) I know it’s not exact or anything, but it’s close enough my brain has been going ‘Where do i know him from?’ and then the other day, Netflix had the TMNT movie.
Just a fun little comparison.
Although never seen that movie, that face looks familiar…
Wait, he looks just like one of those cops in “The Mentalist” TV show!
Can I just say I am truly impressed by the size and whiteness of Lorlara’s teeth?
They are magnificent.
Hey Dave, I think some of Harem’s selves might be missing a few tattoos. Per the Playboy shoot she did.
Having a mark in a photo shoot doesn’t mean that mark is necessarily a tattoo. I also have some doubts about whether a tattoo would necessarily survive Daphne teleporting if she wasn’t keen on keeping it.
No, each body remain in the same state as when they enter *VORP*, any and all alterations remain until she physically changes them
Remember the one who broke her arm? She was left in *VORP* until the Doc could fix her up, and all ‘awake’ versions of her re-felt the pain when she came out
I wonder if Harem is able to teleport without teleporting the ink that is in her tattoo, therefore removing the tattoo.
I would expect not – ditto piercings (which we also know she has), fillings (if supers ever needed them), etc.
Either way though, henna tattoos exist and are a non-permanent thing.
You’re probably right but I’d like to understand the in-canon science reason for why that wouldnt work :) She’s able to teleport other objects, and is able to choose to NOT teleport other objects I’m assuming (ie, could she teleport without teleporting her shoes or her jacket, or does she literally need to take it off first because they’re ‘bound’ to her or something?
And if it’s the latter, wouldnt a good way to prevent her from being able to teleport be to handcuff her with something that weighs more than her teleport limit?
I’m pretty sure we’ve never seen her ‘port and leave anything behind, whether worn or held. Perhaps just because it hasn’t been relevant in-comic yet, so I lean towards thinking anything worn or held goes with her.
In fact, just remembered she had to physically remove her boots to stay under her weight limit for large items during the battle armory runs, so I think it’s canon that she can’t selectively abandon anything she’s wearing. I think that also implies anything she’s holding / being held by (e.g. handcuffs) being non-optional, but not conclusively. Trying to recall whether she’s ported with anyone (besides Varia) grabbing on to her arm (during the various fights?), but too tired to hunt through her appearances to verify.
No, it is canon that she can’t carry living matter (that is not on or in her in the form of virii, bacteria or similar), Vahriah is an exception because she ‘becomes one’ with the Daphnes
As for escaping from handcuffs? After reading a book in the 80’s about a teleporter, going to go with… yes (until DaveB says otherwise)
The ‘porter in the book was able to port with shackles (he wasn’t wearing them, someone else was), in fact, the first time he did it (attempting to get them out of the shackles) he ‘ported part of the wall as well
“As for escaping from handcuffs? After reading a book in the 80’s about a teleporter, going to go with… yes (until DaveB says otherwise)”
I’d normally say yes too, except for that she needs to apparently remove her boots in order to teleport without them. Which you’d think she would not need to do – you’d think she could just teleport and leave the boots behind without first taking them off. Since she CANT…. that seems to imply that if something is touching her or is bound to her in some way, that she cannot teleport with it if it’s over her weight limit (I believe around 50lbs according to DaveB) or alive (with the exception of Varia), that she then can’t teleport. Which is why i’m not sure if some sort of specially weighted handcuffs (or heavy gauntlets put on her hands or feet or something) would prevent her from being able to teleport.
I’d love to see something said about that in a Dabbler’s Science Corner in the future, or maybe something happening where someone tries capturing Daphne. Very curious about that now.
Maybe she can’t leave behind the boots because they are not loose, whereas with the cuffs, it depends on how tight they are
We haven’t seen, or heard of, Daphne trying to escape cuffs (or similar), not even ‘pink fluffy’ ones :P, so just going with the one example am aware of, and he had to actually hold on to the shackles (fortunately he brought the whole chain, including the part that was secured to the wall, plus part of the wall itself, rather than just the hands leaving the rest of the person behind)
I think personally, it was more of a sanitation thing.
She took off her boots instead of teleporting out of them, because she would have to put them away, and teleportation isn’t enough of an excuse of why you left your boots in the middle of a hallway, for example.
She just didn’t want to get in trouble from someone possibly tripping over her clodhoppers.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Harem’s teleportation automatically includes anything solid within a certain distance of her body. The alternative would be having to deliberately ‘carry’ all her clothes and encumbrances every time, which is unlikely to be fully accurate even if it does become subconscious with time – consider also the case of a locked box, which may contain items that she doesn’t know about to ‘carry’ individually. Admittedly, that does raise the question of why she isn’t always trying to bring the planet with her.
Deus reminds me of Le Chiffre from Casino Royale.
Which version?
Mads Mikkelson.
The Alari are probably a bit out of practice dealing with someone who wears their Planet of Hats trope better than they do.
The vote incentive image of 5 Harems in the shower made me think (of two things, one of which I will discuss). Two of them have multi-colored hair: Black/purple, and purple/pink. I thought it’d be a neat thing if they all had a bit of two-tone hair, each sharing the colors of the two next to them. So it could be (from right-to-left), black/purple, purple/pink, pink/blonde, blonde/grey, and finally grey/black to complete the circle.
Just a thought. Enjoying the comic and the humor in it! :D
But can we at least appreciate Lorlara’s rack?
Maxi certainly was ;)
I have a thing for “Drow”.
Positive or Negative?
Driders for me.