Grrl Power #374 – It’s a club of +2 annoyance vs. Sydney
Now I want beef brisket noodle soup. :p
Happy Thanksgiving to those of you celebrating it. Comments may be a bit slow today as lots of people are away from their usual routines, and instead trying to kill time until dinner is ready by catching up on their favorite webcomics… No wait, then traffic would be flat. Well, whatever.
Harem is evidently privy to a method of speaking in a club that allows you to be heard without screaming. May. Be. You. Talk. In. Be. Tween. The. Beats? Everyone else who came to the club with them is dancing in case you were wondering where they were.
To spare people from zooming in and squinting, Sydney’s dialog in panel 3 is
“Make sure they’re vegetarian! Also see if the cheese is from humanely [cut off]”
“Ask if they have anything hotter than jalapeños!!”
“Maybe see if they have super hot wing sauce or… [cut off]”
Normally I like making each page a complete… clause? I guess that’s the best way to put it. One page isn’t one scene, but I still like wrapping up the main thought on each page and not have obtrusively dangling stuff out there like there is on this one, but as I gear up to the next storyline, not everything that happens on every page will be resolved right away. We’ll have to see how good I am at resisting the urge to throw my hands up and going “Ooh ooh! I know!” when people speculate in the comments.
One thing I could have done better with the comic so far is showing the fervor of the public surrounding the team’s celebrity even in these incipient days. If this was a manga and I had to turn in 12 (or whatever their schedule is) pages a week (and was capable of doing that.) I probably would have padded the page count out a little by showing people being interviewed about how excited or scared they are about the team and individual members. (Mostly excited) Or instead of having a few arms sticking in from off panel on the previous page taking photos, do a whole page of a crowd going nuts as they pull up. Presumably they took a car of some sort and Halo didn’t fly them all in her shield since fitting 5 people in there at once would only leave them with a few minutes of air.) I may yet in the future, even if those pages would be more about mood and pacing than cramming a bunch of jokes and dialog in to a single page. (Actually I thought of a decent gag as I was writing that paragraph so maybe I’ll save a few of those up and eventually do a page like that.)
Another reminder about the Amazon associate link. I think most people know how that works by now, but just in case you don’t, click on it then shop like normal, then I get a % of the sale without it costing you anything extra. I just thought of this too, when you distribute your Xmas wish list to your friends and family, (if that’s how your family do) you can also give them links via that associate link and trick them into supporting the comic. At least I think you can. Everyone try that. For science and stuff.
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.
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It occurs to me that Sydney, as one part of hand to hand training with Math, could end up with some truly epic dance moves as they develop that martial art that uses orbs for grabs, holds, attacks, maneuver points etc. Of course they would probably be something she could only really attempt AFTER she solved her general clumsiness but still. And as an after dark version with Dabblers professional advice help it could end up as a contact juggling/pole dancing style art form.
Clever thoughts. Halo could use the orbs* as fixed (or even mobile) hand holds, like gymnastic rings. Although that would require considerable physical training. Sydney will probably find it easier to use the fly ball. However she has numerous options available and, if she had the desire, I am sure you are right that she could learn some awesome moves!
* If she can either activate their immobility on command or if their lifting capacity is otherwise sufficient, individually, to hold her weight.
As regards her martial arts training though, I am not so sure Sydney will get too much physical training. Sure, she is both a soldier and a police woman. So will get a fair amount of restraint techniques, self-defence moves and the like, just as a part of her basic training. None of that particularly requires one of the world’s top martial artists help though.
For Halo’s standards to get high enough, to justify that, she would need to put in a massive amount of martial arts practice and training. Which would detract from her core role. Learning how to use her orbs to maximum effect. But it is here where Math will be invaluable. He has already seen how Sydney can combine her orbs with mundane combat. He can guide her to do this aspect to maximum effect.
In other words I think she will have maximum training on fighting with the orbs (which requires practising how she controls them with her mind) but no more physical training than is necessary to compliment that. It would simply be a waste to devote too much time to the latter.
She will be facing both natural-born supers, who will always be better than her, and mundane specialists (like both Math himself and Peggy), who do have the time to both achieve a higher standard, than Sydney could, and maintain it at that level.
Importantly though Halo can compensate for that because the orbs allow her far longer reach than her own arms. Allowing her to attack without exposing herself to counter-attack. If Math shows her how to do that effectively. And her tentacle provides grappling capability, orders of magnitude better than any she could be taught by a police restraining course.
As you say, inventive use of her orbs can give Halo a staggering advantage. Be that in battle, or on the dance floor.
I agree. Her best bet for physical combat is to develop her Orbfu, but she’ll probably still undergo a lot of physical training. She’s skinny, but likely lacks the kind of personal strength and endurance the military likes to instill in recruits. My guess is they’ll have her take up running on a regular basis to build stamina and go through a solid PT program on base to whip her into shape.
Still, when you have someone available who is that good, it only makes sense that Math would be the hand-to-hand instructor.
True. It might be under-utilising him, from the perspective that he could be teaching experienced martial artists things that they could not otherwise learn. But, if seeking to get a primary asset, like Halo, fully armed and operational, he is an ideal choice, to do that swiftly and insightfully.
He has gotten her off to a good start, thinking three steps ahead. Which he was wise in recognising would focus Sydney, in more ways than one.
Yeah, just because she has the Orbs should not preclude her in learning non-Orb related abilities
It’s like having a mage or healer and not bothering to work on their ‘mundane’ weapon skills or defence; sure they will still be ‘squishy’ compared to a tank, but they will be slightly less ‘squishy’ and slightly more durable (and even a little can help)
While it might be under-utilising Math to have him train Halo. He’s probably the only person that could design a new fighting style that would utilise the orbs to max effect, and designing it and the inevitable counters would probably be an interesting pastime for him.
I disagree. Just being an expert in your field doesn’t make you a good choice for a teacher, especially at an introductory level. (cite: 80% of college faculty members)
I would say that it might be useful for Math to teach her on the grounds that he gets her mode of thinking and she’s already shown she’s willing to listen to him (I can imagine him as the old master to her young disciple and them going a bit karate kid) but I imagine that peggy and Maxima will give her some guidence as well (maybe harem as well?) as Math might not actually be good at teaching the very very basic stuff. Sometimes its better to have a teacher who gets you and how you think more then one who is the best teacher for most people. I have a learning disability which leads me to have a somewhat abnormal view point on the world, as a result many teachers who were excellent teachers struggled to teach me as how they were presenting the information didn’t work for me. Hopefully that makes sense and isn’t a rambling load of nonsense.
Also with Halo’s shield would she be able to use the fly orb to smush people with her shield, it doesn’t seem to smush the ground but people and objects can’t pass through it, would it simply contour to the person (and thus allow for her to trap people though she’d have to be careful to use it only on those people who don’t need to breathe of course) or would it squash them (and thus allow quite horrible attacks) or would they kind of skitter out from under it (being repelled out by the shield) and thus go flying?
Indeed, as we once found out in a superhero RPG, the flying invisible brick specializing in move throughs is very unbalancing to the game.
Only slightly less unbalancing to the game is the flying visible brick who hits an area of effect with their force wall (i.e. Halo / Sydney).
You can dodge anything? Can you doge a car right after you dodged a bullet? No? That looks like it hurt. You realize you’re bleeding, like, a lot…
After the second use of this combo put the second Martial artist in the hospital for several months, it joined the Invisible Flying Brick specializing in Move-Throughs on the “Yes, as the GM, I WILL check for that attack value / defense value and damage dice combination” checklist.
Insightful comments all around. There is good evidence that the shield deforms. Clearly we can see it in various different shapes, suited to Halo’s particular circumstances (such as if flying or in a confined area). Likewise it forms either a hemisphere or a sphere, depending on whether she is on the surface.
When Harem was scooped up, with it, that resolved the question regarding whether it was forming a sphere that passed through the ground, a hollow hemisphere or an enclosed hemisphere. In that instance it clearly must have deformed, in order to fit between her shoes and the ground. So it was clearly fully enclosed, and not of a perfect sphere.
All of these have been situationally advantageous to Halo. So possibly the shield will deform if she fears harming those it hits. Alternatively, if she desires to strike them, it may remain inflexible. Both of these assuming they respond mainly to Sydney’s wishes. Alternatively it may be decided by the maker’s intentions. In which case, who knows?
I would say that it confirms that it doesn’t bisect matter (so no putting up your shield and cutting through people/things) but it seems that if things are hit by it they do get damaged (her flying into that sign on the way home after the battle royale) I would think that if it shrank to fit Halo a that point she’d have commented on it (if only as it would have been a funny thing to see) so my particular head canon would be that if she hits something at speed it will get good and smushed. Also “SONIC BOOOOMMM!!!”
I once made a character in a super hero rpg that could jump super far while carrying things with total accuracy (and I think jumps regardless of distance counted as being a single round thing due to an oddity of mechanics so I think you could do multiple ones per turn), could survive in a vacuum for about an hour and was really good at grappling. The GM running a bank robbery to start us off was not pleased when my character grappled a bank robber, lept with him to the moon and then back leaving him to die in the cold vacuum of space….. this character was called the LunaTick! (exclamation mark was actually part of his name), he ended up with a mental disorder which I played as him switching between different eras of comic books in mentality which was fun.
That is entirely possible. The main thing which makes me suspect that the shield may opt for the less-dangerous response (if being directed at living individuals), is that the PPO has a safety feature, which prevents casual use. Halo has to concentrate really hard, in order to use it.
Plus the orbs do have collision avoidance, given that they have not bumped into anyone accidentally yet. So there are known safety features, which supports the possibility that something similar would apply to the shield.
However Sydney can override those safeties and do harmful things. Including ones that could harm her too, such as setting the forest on fire. So it would not intrinsically preclude her from forcing the shield to remain rigid, if she wishes to kill with it. As you say, it did damage the sign, so is capable of doing that.
There’s another reason, why Mat’s such an usefull trainer. He already has shown to be able to impress Sydney in such a way that she will follow his advice with “his three steps ahead” advice.
I appreciate the my little pony reference in the first panel.
eeyup.
Nope, Eeyore isn’t in this webic… yet! ;)
By the way, she made it into this week’s season finale group shot.
https://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/8/81/Mane_Six_and_ponies_final_crowd_shot_S5E26.png/revision/latest?cb=20151128214401
Gotta appreciate a good Easter egg.
Not if it’s found six months later! o_O
wow. i just noticed that. after reading the whole archives 6 times.
Aw. It’s so cute the way the pros have adopted Sydney as a sort of little sister.
She may annoy the life out of her friend Joel and drive Maxima and the rest of the team to distraction, but there’s just something about the little nut case that you cannot help but love. Even Vehemence seemed to take a liking to her even as he was trying – and generally succeeding – to clobber the whole team!
Funny then that Sydney is about 3 years older than Daphne/Harem.
Yours is true, but joe england‘s comment is perfectly fair too. Harem has clocked approximately 37 years of life-experience,* by doing multiple disparate things simultaneously. Mind you Sydney has managed to become the co-owner of a shop, at a very young age. So is not lacking in worldliness herself.
However factor in an emotional age that can dip down into the single digits, such as when Sydney is pretending to be burnt by sunlight, and he is being more than reasonable.
* Whilst acknowledging the counter-point, made by someone else previously, that most of her extra years are duplicated teenage years. So her experiences will not be as rounded as an actual 37 year old.
And finished! I can’t wait for tomorrows page to come up ^_^.
:-)
An interesting short sci-fi movie. And more to come.
I’ve seen that one before… but then I do tend to ferret out every post apocalyptic thing I can find :P lemme know I ya have any other goodies :P
i cannot be the only one to notice there seems to be no door of the room that zeph,max, and adrianna are in?
Maybe it happens to be on the fourth wall?
They are still hanging around on the stage, of the meeting room. You can see the door in panel 1 on this page.
Is that, Vinal Scratch in the top right?
Yup.
in the paragraphs below the comic page “a few minutes of air.” I saw a closing parenthesis but couldn’t find the matching opening parenthesis. Could anyone either point out the matching parenthesis or notify DaveB? I will forget about it within a few pages (I like a few to build up then read them all at once) but this still piques my curiousity.
I assume DaveB was closing off an opening parenthesis he left dangling in the paragraphs below the previous comic.
Holy shit, has DJ P0n-3 always been there?
Not that I’ve been through this comic a ton. This is only my second time looking at this particular page, I’m pretty sure.
MLP REFERENCE.
CAUGHT IT FIRST TRY!