Grrl Power #294 – Sydney’s mighty need
I don’t envy women for having to wear bras (also known as boob jail), or buy them certainly, they can get quite pricey, but getting to take them off at the end of the day, that’s got to be a good feeling. Nearly on par with taking your socks off and slipping them around under the sheets right when you go to bed.
This is actually the last page of book 1. It’s kind of a weird tone with the succubus recharging bit, but really the point of the page was trying to tie back into the flash forward from the first few pages. I will level with you guys, when I started doing the comic five years ago, I really hadn’t thought all the way through to the end of the book. I thought the only good way to do it was to at least partially address the point of contention from the role playing game, namely lasers vs. transparent things. Obviously if Sydney was trying to claim that lasers should go through transparent shields and everyone at the game knew Sydney was a superhero with a shield that blocked lasers (which they did) someone would have pointed that out to her. I maaaaay go back and edit a line in those first few pages to read something like “I didn’t buy that advantage for OmniGal, so KopyKraut* can’t have it either.” so it all ties in better. I don’t think that would change the feel of those early pages.
As far as sticking a succubus sex joke in (really it’s a Sydney gets embarrassed joke) it does bother me a little when people include succubi in stories that never really act a lot like succubi. It’s like writing a story about Vampires that never drink blood. Besides I like the “I’m in the middle of something/something’s in the middle of me” flip, and you guys can have fun speculating on who it is that will be sleeping it off tomorrow cause all his, uh, electrolytes have been drained. Yeah… electrolytes.
In case I don’t say it enough, I really appreciate the support you guys have given me-slash-the comic over the years, and not just financially… though without the success of the Patreon campaign, I’d still be working an 8-5 job and we’d only be halfway though fight right now. Granted I might have edited it down a bit harder but still it’s a depressing thought. I never take it for granted, every day I don’t have to waste an hour and a half being completely unproductive while commuting, or just straight up working at a job that I only care about because it pays the bills I want to jump around and be all “Yeah, take that “the man!”” It’s been quite a journey from thinking “I should make a webcomic” to now, and I’m eager to get to book 2, starting Monday!
*Yay for intercaps!
Sydney does talk like Zim on occasion.
Here’s the link to the new comments highlighter for chrome, and the GitHub link which you can use to install on FireFox via Greasemonkey.
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.
This is actually a call back to the first few pages of the comic where we see Sydney rules-lawyering a GM into letter her shoot lasers through a transparent force-field.
But since THAT actually happens in the future it means she already learnt the ‘rules’ that allow transparent FF’s to block harmful light, but is being sneaky to try and get an easy win in the RPG she is playing.
Which is totally Syd!
Ahh, but she is not being sneaky. Her force field is highly advanced. She knows that a normal force field would operate in the way she described. Unless it had been massively upgraded it could not function in the same way as her force field.
Her games master is no dummy. You do not argue S.A.S. tactics with an S.A.S. sergeant. You do not dispute which bit of a brain to cut, with a brain surgeon. Well, not if you want a quick gaming session, and not a long debate, anyhow. Likewise you do not argue force fields with somebody who actually uses one.
Well, we know now that Sydney isn’t playing Champions. Because those rules work exactly opposite of how Sydney described them. In Champions you can indeed have a transparent force field which is perfectly effective against lasers. That’s just how the default power works. If you add a disadvantage which allows lasers to penetrate the force field it actually makes it cheaper. Much cheaper, depending on how common lasers are in the campaign setting (base discount: 25%. If lasers are common it’s 50% off.)
Places lasers are common would include the GI Joe setting, since all of Hydra seem to carry “blaster” type light weapons, the Star Wars universe, since likewise light weapons are commonly used by Imperials and Rebels and smugglers alike, and the Battlestar Galactica universe, since all Cylons and many (most? At the least all war machines such as Viper fighters use light weapons) human use light weapons.
COBRA, not HYDRA.
I know this is like six years late, but Star Wars doesn’t use actual lasers; their “laser” and blaster weapons are actually plasma weapons.
Also worth noting: Sydney’s forcefield is VISIBLE, which by definition means it is having some effect on the the light passing through it. Lasers require the light to be very focused and synchronized to properly damage the target. The visible beams we see is actually light that is being dispersed by microscopic water droplets and dust and so on. It’s lost energy. passing through a visible colored shield is pretty much guaranteed to disperse more of it. Makes it a lot easier to add the enhancements required to combletely absorb lasers. Depending on how it works, it might even help against flashbangs and such.
Just going to say another good comic in the series. Dabbler is a naughty grrl.
Maybe she gets coal a lot for Christmas…For her, that’s only a small loss.
This kind fo coal i bet :P
https://www.poisonedminds.com/d/20141223.html
If I had to guess, her shield acts like a pair of transition lenses, and blocks out potentially damaging light and sound.
Right, so… smart tech.
If I were Sydney I would ask something else. How the hell I didn’t get blinded by flash bang granade? It is not even laser just blinding light :P
It could be
advanced https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photochromic_lens
or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polarizer which the Force Field adjust for every Laser
2 Layers could block all light.
Dispersion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispersion_%28optics%29 if it is just one wavelength it would only redirect it (But the world would look different in the force field)
, it would explain why one laser was not a line https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1386
Magic
or Techno Babble https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TechnoBabble (Metamaterials that block light above a specific energy level, or Diffraction somehow or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_light)
the Hex’s lasers could also be something else than light (than Sydneys explanation at the beginning is still true) like magic or something…
Usually, the output of a laser is polarized. So all it takes to block a harmful laser beam, but allow regular light to pass, is a polarized light filter configured properly. Or, really, just about any filter configured to block the laser’s light spectrum. Perhaps even something like Transition Lenses which can adjust fast enough in response to very intense light. (They even have welding helmets like that.) The very fact that we can see Sydney’s force field indicates that light which passes through it is altered or bent to some degree.
That reminds me: There was an X-Files episode like this, revolving around an incubus/succubus. Mulder and Scully were tracking down a killer that apparently killed through sex. And he/she swapped genders after every act, making it difficult to track it down. If I remember correctly, the killer came from some sort of clan or family and it seemed hinted they also had this ability.
It just struck me, that I had not mentioned this before. The flashback started by Sydney talking to us, through the fourth wall. Here, although, in the final panel, she is principally directing her comment to Dabbler, it can also be read as a comment to us, the readers. A fitting conclusion to the long day of book one.
See you tomorrow, Sydney.
As it was written earlier, Achilles has his uses. Leave it to Dabbler.
There is one good reason why it could not be Achilles. No way would he fail to get his face into shot! Regardless that the 4th wall is meant to be undetectable, Achilles would instinctively seek the frame.
It could be that his face was occupied at the time. If Dabbler arranged this solely for the benefit of powering her up, then the more, the merrier. :-P
Why wasn’t I that was in the middle of her?!
I was just looking at the cast page. It would be very helpful to have a legend on the page explaining what each to the little ‘powers’ symbols mean. I assume the muscle arm is strength, and the wing is flight, but what about the cluster of arrows or the thing that appears to be a swim fin or a duck foot? A lot of these are unclear, at least to me.
I think it is probably deliberate, to avoid spoilers. Certainly it would give away some surprises, for anyone starting from scratch. And, it is possible, that there might be some things that could be spoilers even at this point.
However, if it is any help, here are my guesses. I made them some while back, but they still look consistent with what we have learnt since then.
I noticed that all the supers are at least rank 5 and the only “expert human” is rank 3. What I’m wondering is where might an augmented human (like this girl from FMA) fit into the ranking system?
Interesting question. Answering it fully may require ‘wall of text’, so apologies if it is over-long.
The first complexity is that there are two kinds of powers. One that any person can have (for instance sniper or martial arts skill). The second that only a super can have, such as flight. When comparing the relative powers, and trying to assess the overall power rating of a character, as you are after, it is important to consider this distinction.
Whilst bearing that in mind, the ratings, for supers go from ‘better than any human can achieve” (Achilies is 50% stronger than a normal fit person, yet is only rank 1 on the super strength chart), to “the best in the world” at rank 5. The only one who exceeds 5, in any power, is Achilles, and that is his invulnerability at 6. Which we read as being an absolute. He cannot be harmed. By anything.
Whereas the scale for powers that regular humans range from more modest levels, that typical trained individuals may achieve, at the lower ends of the scale, up to “the best in the world”.
Secondly there is the issue that any non-human who has gotten on to the Arc-SWAT team is there because they are so extraordinarily skilled, that they can fight side by side with, and against, super humans. So they are not just experts, they are at or near being the best in the world, in their specialities. As you can see from their individual power/skill ratings.
Looking at the character you linked, the first thing for you to do is to put aside the augmentations, and decide how capable that individual is at her core skills. And bear in mind that the overall ranking focuses mainly on overall threat level, to combat supers. So, if she is the best knitter in the world, that would not impact things. Unless she can knit an impassible wall, or some other combat useful adaptation.
If she can compete with the best in the world, in something like martial arts, though, then she could classify as rank 3, even without her augmentations. With them, you have to assess what extra powers they provide, over and above a normal human. Peggy is actually augmented, but only to offset her lost leg. Which, at our current tech-level is still clearly a disadvantage, but one she can overcome. It has no impact on her threat level, either way.
Presumably that character’s augmentations though may exceed human maximums? Probably for speed. Maybe for lifting capability, or jumping. In which case you simply have to figure out how significant an increase it is. Twice as fast as a normal person is still probably only rank 1 super speed. By comparison, strength 3 is car lifting (Sydney’s telekinises) and 4 is tank throwing (Super Hiro & Stalwart).
Likewise each rank is a significant leap, from a lower rank. So much so, that a higher rank would (all other things being equal) always beat a lower rank. They are simply not in the same ball park. Super Hiro realises that Maxima has been pulling her punches with him, in sparring. His rank 4 will never beat her rank 5 (albeit that she is not actually always that strong, so he can beat her if her strength is not maximised).
I would guess that, assuming she is top ranked human skills too, an augment like her may be overall rank 4. Possibly rank 5 if she can leap over tall buildings and outrun high-speed trains. Or kick a tank through the air. If she has capabilities beyond that, just compare those to the hero on the team who has the closest approximate power.
I was just using her as an example for a person whose prosthetic limbs were more than they appeared. I don’t remember if her mechanical limbs helped beyond replacing lost limbs and hiding various weapons.
Then her upper limit would be 3, if she is as capable as Peggy. Both have easy access to weapons, and similar situations for their prosthetics. Although it has not featured yet, Peggy is also a helicopter pilot. So is more than just a sniper.
The classifications are odd, to be sure. Math is said to have absolutely no super powers, which should make him an “expert human”, just like Karate Kid (not that Karate Kid…) in the Legion of Super-heroes who is also an unpowered human master of the martial arts who can hold his own against supers, including even Superboy! And yet he is classified as a 7: “Paragon”, just like Super Hiro and Dabbler.
In D&D the class “Tier” system is based around flexibility, the ability for the character to act effective in multiple situations, to have options regardless of the challenge facing the team. For example a Fighter (Tier 6, the lower numbered ranks are more flexible) can only swing a weapon, has no decent non-combat skills and precious few combat skills either. On the other hand a Wizard (Tier 1) can tell physics to sit down and shut up, and also has a lot of skill points to invest in decent skills.
Halo is rated a 6, and yet she has a lot more power andflexibility than Super Hiro. She can shield a large group of people with her force field which is rated a 5, he can stand in front of maybe two people and block with his body which has a 3 “shield” rating. A powerful enough blow might just knock him back into the very people he was trying to save, killing them anyway. He can punch things with his 4 strength, she can blast them with the 3 PPO or slam them into the pavement with her 3 lighthook. She can see through illusions, he has no such ability. And on a strictly numerical level she has 5 powers ranked at (5,4,3,3,1) and he has 3 powers ranked at (4,3,3), so she has all of: More powers, a higher single power rating, equal scores to all of his powers, and a higher power rating total.
His “maybe something else” was revealed to be the ability to block sonic attacks well. But Halo can also do that, can block lasers, can see and block magical effects, and at the same time she can be using her lighthook or any other orb, while he appeared to have to focus totally on blocking the sonic blast. From any perspective you look at it, Halo should rank higher than Super Hiro. And yet she does not.
This does not appear to be a very well thought out ranking system.
I kept Math in mind when framing my comments. “Expert human” has with it the intrinsic implication that such only have access to things which humans normally use. In Math’s case he does not, as he also has the secret teachings of 999 generations of mystical martial artists. Which includes abilities no normal human has. Off a cinema screen, anyhow.
Math’s rating is simply an accurate reflection of that. Regardless of the fact that he was born as a normal human, with none of the intrinsic advantages a natural-born super hero gets. Math can beat anybody on the team, who has a lower combat ranking than him. Which we have seen, first hand, with Sydney. Despite all those powers you listed!
Likewise Zephan Zoeng. Retired though he may be, and just a non-field operative researcher at that, I bet he exceeds three on the scale. We do not get to see that rating, in the cast list, simply because he is HQ ‘support’, rather than a front-line cop. But, if push comes to shove, I bet his artefacts will mean he is no push-over in a fight!
I disagree with your final line, as I find it holds together very well. One thing you omit from your analysis is experience. Halo has lucked out, in last night’s battle, despite taking a massive risk. Namely raising her shield with Vehemence on the wrong side of it. Ok, it was a calculated risk, so she is not dumb. But an experienced soldier would not have taken the chance, but found a safer way to achieve the same result.
Sydney’s lower ranking represents her inexperience. Not to mention factoring in that her quirkiness probably impacts the score too. Unlike Maxima, who will strike with maximum force, with full intent to kill, if the situation demands it. And using the most effective means at her disposal. Whilst not looking around for an interesting or amusing twist.
DaveB has acknowledged, in comments, that Halo will, when experienced, rate right up there with Maxima. Whereas Super Hiro is pretty much at his peak already. In terms of his powers as they stand. If he finds a way, for example, to broaden his sonic absorption, into other energies, he will improve too.
I was just using her as an example for a person whose prosthetic limbs were more than they appeared. I don’t remember if her mechanical limbs helped beyond replacing lost limbs and hiding various weapons.
I wonder if Hex’s lasers aren’t really lasers at all. Maybe some sort of focused plasma or particle beam? It would help explain how they can hold her up in the air like: . That would make it work more like an ion engine, but really powerful.
I just realized two comics later, where are the orbs when she wakes up? Do they produce any ambient light? It is interesting to think that they might not be active in this seen since they turned off when she went to sleep (was unconscious). If that is the case, do the orbs need to recharge?
Napping. Check out the previous page. They all fell around her, when she went to sleep. And will not have moved since. Sydney has not mentally told them to wake up, as she is not intending to go anywhere.
She did have to poke them, in the boardroom mind. Because they were deeply asleep enough then, that they did not stir to her mental command.
Yes.* For the purposes of finding her way around, in the dark, or being kept awake. However they do turn off the light, when they sleep. You can observe their glow on any page in the comic you choose.
Examine any frame, where there is an object near, such as Sydney’s hair. You will see the appropriately coloured tint, matching whichever orb(s) are closest. But look at the previous comic for the best examples, of each of those points.
That seems a likely implication. Or, to simply conserve energy, which has slightly different connotations. But there are other possibilities. Perhaps it is simply to avoid keeping her awake at night. I certainly would have difficulty sleeping with seven glowing balls orbiting right above my face! Likewise they may only move when she is conscious. Without even the subconscious mind directing them, they may completely lack volition, of their own.
* Sort of. They glow, and illuminate objects. But do it in such a way that Dabbler cannot explain.
Huh… You know, I was wondering just how much Dabbler likes to mess with Maxima. Like, if some guy finally said, “Hey Maxima, I’m in love with you.” Would Dabbler appear as Maxima to screw said guy just to mess with Maxima? Not that there appears to be any Maxima Love interest at this point. Just one of those “What if…?” speculations. I’m not quite sure if such an action crosses the Moral Event Horizon, but it would be close.
I think you misread Dabbler’s character, if you expect her to do that. Now here, I must point out that I am saying this with my own mind-set and biases, so my opinion is no more valid than anyone elses. But here is my thinking on it.
Dabbler is a super hero. So, until we have some hint to the contrary, we assume that they are suitably heroic. When in a comic which has such as the default behaviour, anyhow. And GrrlPower clearly has most of the heroes acting appropriately, albeit with relaxed discipline. Now, to date, we have seen that Dabbler is a very sexual being. Anyone can be, but she has pointed out that succubi are particularly known for this.
Plus we can see from her teasing Maxima, in the boardroom, and playing “Make Maxima Say”, that she loves challenging Maxima’s prudish ways. Which, if you check out Dabbler’s entry, in the cast list, is wholly consistent, with her character. Dabbler is simply trying to get Maxima to have a more relaxed and open attitude to having sex. She is not trying to mess with her mind, for it’s own sake.
But we should not be wary reading more into it than that. However, she is an alien and succubi may well have very different social codes to us, so what you suggest is not off the cards. I am sure Dave will likely explore some issues regarding that, or miscommunication. Although it would, very much, surprise me if he would choose to do what you propose there.
Betrayal of a friend (which, despite the teasing, they appear to be, there was quite a friendly vibe going on, in their chat in the restaurant) would be a social no-no in most societies. Even when you contrast very different ones, that we know about, such as American vs Japanese.
And, noting your use of the word “love”, I am sure he would treat that even more seriously. Possibly succubi really are amoral demons. But Dabbler clearly is not. She has actively preserved Sydney’s dignity, sexual-identity and self-will (the incident where she turned Sydney’s head away from the hypno-boobs). I expect Dabbler will not treat “love” and “sex” as synonymous.
If Dabbler behaved the way you fear, she would not simply be being playful, she would be betraying both friendship and love. Speculate no more on that point, at least. That is not just beyond the Moral Event Horizon, it is well inside the Black Hole, beyond it.
Additionally, masquerading as someone else to have sex with them is a form of rape.
I sincerely hope that one of our main heroes ISN’T a rapist.
Actually, I miss-read the sentence, as “screw said guy [mentally]* “, presumably impersonating Maxima to spurn him, turning him from her. But you are perfectly correct in what it actually says. Whilst my comment does still stand, it’s tone is slightly off, due to my misunderstanding.
However, as I totally agree with your comments, I would only make mine indicate that it was even more serious than I did. Mind games, to mess with love and friendship is bad enough. Throw rape into the mix, and that is a ‘go straight to Hell, do not pass go’ material.
Maybe not much of a deterrent for a demon, mind. But she would have shown her true colours, in that act, if that ever came to pass.
* Inserting ‘mentally’ due to thinking this was all mind-games.
To be honest, though, I don’t really think Dabbler’s a rapist. I just can’t see it with her personality. Also, I imagine she’d be treated as more of a threat by her coworkers if that were something she’d be ethically capable of.
Likewise.
Okay, i didnt think it possible, but i love this comic even more for the Invader Zim reference. *silently screaming in geeky ecstasy*
I swear, it is enormously comforting to see most of the commenters focusing on debating the science of the lasers and shields rather than make gross comments about succubi. My faith in humanity has been slightly restored.
3…2…1…
TOP BOOB!
Drooldrooldrool.
There, are you all better now and back to a naturally cynical state?
Bad Oberon! Scaring off nice people. No scooby snax for you!
I just hope my analysis of succubus folk lore was not thought to be part of the ‘gross’ comments. :-/
I didn’t read all of them, but probably not. Folklore =/= being a gross creep.
But like…. that’s the good part of nerddom for ya.
Haha, I’m actually probably more of an optimist. Why else would I read the comments sometimes?
The vast majority of my girlfriends or wives (I’ve only had the one of those) with anything sized C cup or larger have preferred to sleep with a bra on, even if it was a different one than they had worn all day. Even to the point of putting one back on after sex. I’ve never kept track, but I’d guess it would be ~90%. Only B cups or smaller seemed to find sleeping without any support comfortable. Which is consistent with Sydney’s behavior as a member of the “B team.”
I’ll add that I’ve never had a girlfriend (or wife) with fake boobs, so I don’t have any idea if fake boobs are more comfortable to sleep with than real ones.
Actually, I’m a D-cup and HATE sleeping with my bra on. It absolutely KILLS my shoulders.
Was it ever actually stated that Hex’s beams were literal lasers? If not, I’m thinking particle beam of some sort.
Well… How about that the light that is already inside the forcefield stays inside?
Then we would not be able to see her from the outside. Her force field would appear either black or possibly reflective, like a mirror, if it did the same both ways.
Third or fourth time I’ve read this, and I only just now noticed the little commbadge on her bra.
My assumption about the shield is that it blocks all matter, and blocks anything else if it would come through at a level dangerous to the owner of the orbs, or at least reduces them to a safe level. As a result, it blocks deafening roars but not speech or even shouting, blocks lasers but not sufficient light to see by, and so on. Unfortunately, because matter is so hard to judge it has to block all of it, including harmless air.
Well argued.
Is that a Star Trek themed bra? Fantastic XD.
I actually love Sydney’s expression of comprehension in the next to last panel.
Now if only the last panel didn’t make her look quite so angry.