Grrl Power #496 – Bishōnen hold’em
I fully expect the majority of the comments to be about how a Bishōnen playing deck should be filled out. I intentionally didn’t show Sydney holding the Ace or Kind of Hearts, and I prefer to leave those high level decisions to experts more qualified than I. As it is, I think “L” might be a little low as the 8 of Hearts, but this all assumes the deck is making a value judgement based on the card face, which is totally valid given that Racoom is the 2 of Clubs. I doubt he’s high on anyone’s effeminate boys smooching on other effeminate boys ship list. And yes, obviously the deck came from Sydney’s utility belt.
I assume they’re playing Texas Hold’em, so the quality of Sydney’s hand depends entirely on what’s face up in the middle. Is that the river? I don’t know poker, but I’ve heard the term “river” before. I know there is some skill to playing poker, but you’ve got to admit there’s a shitload of luck involved. Those movies like Maverick and Casino Royale where the main character goes all in on the last hand and the right card happens to come up? That’s not skill. I mean, ignoring the part where it’s a movie and some guy in a coffee shop wrote that particular outcome. It’s luck, and anyone saying “Ooh, he’s the best at poker…” Yes, some skill was involved in actually getting to that last hand, but one card flip does not a skilled player make.
Sydney doesn’t quite seem to get the rank structure yet. Harem, for all her goofing around, does outrank Sydney. Harem hasn’t shown much in the way of leadership, and Sydney’s plan does seem sensible. Still, usually shouting “Nein!” at a superior… well, Harem’s not an officer… just shouting down your superior, probably not the way to go. If Arc-SWAT ever does a training exchange program with another branch of the military, Sydney will get in trouble real fast methinks.
I know there’s a shot at the news on the page – I really had to edit down what Harem said cause it was turning into an excoriation which was really digressive. That said if just can’t restrain your need to discuss the business of news and its role in a democracy that’s fine, but please no politics. You know. Current event stuff. There are other places online if you absolutely need to vent and nothing good will come from doing it here.
Edit: Made Sydney’s POV slightly blurry in the mid ground. Also, here’s panel 2 without the word bubbles so you too can experience full Sydney-vision. 
Edit 2: Fixed a typo, made Spike’s hair a bit bigger, so hopefully people will be better able to recognize him, and made his card the Ace of Spades since that comes up in Cowboy Beebop a few times. Been a long time since I’ve watched that show. :)
Double res version will be posted over at Patreon. $1 and up, but feel free to contribute as much as you like :)
Check out Wearing the Cape: Team-Ups & Crossovers. Sydney’s first Crossover! I’ve made a dedicated blog post for it, please comment there.
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Yeah, who in this universe would ever believe that? I mean, what would those people think if they saw a YouTube video claiming that superheroes were real? No one would ever fall for that crap!
Exactly. In a world where golden Amazon women nuke tanks in a desert and gloat over it while reveling in the fallout, I wouldn’t bat an eye at someone claiming vampires have magically hypnotized the majority of the population to prevent detection.
Again with the false nuke comparison and loaded language. We’re given every reason to interpret the bomb range detonation as being a conventional explosion. ‘Fallout’ is only appropriate in a metaphorical sense.
A social fallout was sure to come after people saw the news from Golden Girl’s “ground zero”.
Not only that, but I think they used that language themselves. I might be remembering it wrong, though, but the nuke comparison is apt. It had a mushroom cloud and everything. She was way out of line.
It was a bomb range. She had the authority to authorize her detonation. She herself called it a ‘daisy cutter impression’, which is far short of a nuke. You’re overblowing the matter to prop up a deliberately divergent interpretation of the story as it has been presented.
Difference being: the Superheroes held a press conference and then a demonstration
Also, The Council doesn’t want to reveal their existence
So The Council owns the media. Ain’t that just scummy as all get out? Sure would explain why fake news is so prevalent. Bunch of vampires spreading lies and feeding on confusion.
Makes perfect sense for a directed, ancient group with interest in controlling the message to own large stakes in the industry though.
Worst implicatons… It’s Susy News a puppet or it’s implicated in the conspiracy.
Dude! What if Susy is a (insert terrible monster here)!?
If you can’t trust the local news, who can you trust??
Just been thinking of something, does the existence of The Council mean that this could actually have been true? o_O
only if you’re pining for the fjords
Why are Sidney’s hair and glasses edges showing? It’s usually occulted directly by the brain. Same as why you dont’t “see” your nose unless you look directly at it. If side hair and glasses edges shows, so should her nose.
Sydney has a petite button nose, that’s why it doesn’t show, and that’s not Sydney’s side hair, that’s her bangs, now imagine how it looked before she got the magic hairband
it’s pretty easy to overlook your own nose, i mean, your eyes are above it.
:)
So why did your brain not occlude the glasses, when you looked at the image?
They have four cards, and yet you say “hold ’em,” so… Omaha?
DaveB also said he has no idea what they are playing
Dave, your 2 of clubs is BEAUTIFUL. The perfect choice.
I wonder if someone is going to see Lightbee, she’ll start talking then have to excuse hereself because she has to pee. (Or worse)
It’s been at least 10 minutes, but more likely 15-20 minutes if you had enough time to set up a game of cards and play a bit. While Krona can keep “snoozing” her bladder, it’s probably not the best thing to do.
Do you really want to see her peeing over the side of the building? o_O
Whoops, should have posted this sooner.
For King of hearts we shall nominate Domon Kasshu, see below for why.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fUJ6LehQ3I
So, is Sydney going to tip her non-existent hat and say “Bee seeing you”?
(obscure reference is obscure?)
I used to play a City of Heroes character called “Along Came B” (in the same villain group as “Along Came A” (a villain type called “Spider”) and “Along Came C”. Mine was a cute little bee. When she uttered her (ripped off) catch-phrase “I float like a butterfly, and sting like a bee”, her boxing outfit would instantly appear on her.
Nice thing was that it was not all talk. Although she was primarily a ranged attacker, she had a devastatingly powerful punch. Likewise she did have to be light on her feet, as she was a fragile little thing.
But, to offset that, had more ways of confusing, or otherwise mentally subduing, enemies than any other group of powersets in the game (hero or villain). As such, she could often use the punch perfectly safely, even against normally resistant boss types. The instant one mesmerizing effect wore off, she could layer another couple (of matching types) to ensure the boss was once again unable to retaliate.
Of course if she failed to get both to stick, then they would be at her. But that was part of the fun of playing the character. Knowing when to ‘float like a butterfly’ (she could hover above melee attacker’s range, in such situations).
She also loved bee puns, which is what made me think of her, from your comment.
Which raises the question – what was the ‘angle’ on Along Came C? Were they a hydrokinetic, or a light manipulator?
Bee? I thought it was a lightHOOK?
The lighthook is the tentacle, which comes out of the pink Energy Tentacle orb. The lightbee (a reference to the hologram emitter from Red Dwarf) is the orb-within-an-orb in the Yellow Truesight orb.
I like the fact that Krona has a dress/skirt that goes all the way down to her feet instead of it being a miniskirt, pants, or any other common leg-wear. Partly because you don’t see characters in ANY series wearing something like that often. Weirdly enough, the length of the dress makes it feel (to me) mildly exotic because of it’s un-commonality.
Also it shows that she is some level of conservative. I may have found my favorite side character in this series.
I fracking love the second panel there. Nice job!
Wait what? Her glasses make her vision worse at long range? … They’re not supposed to do that, y’know.
some glasses do actually…
Those cards are for anime fan girls:
King of Diamonds: Final Fantasy VII – Sephiroth
Ace of Spades: Cowboy Beepop – Spike
8 of Hearts: Death Note – ‘L’
2 of Clubs: Dragon Ball – Recoome
Reecoom is depressed that he only rates as a 2 of clubs.