Grrl Power #195 – A fearsome commitment
In case you’re not clear what the Hammerspace thing is about, check here.
Sydney’s patented non-sequitur questions were supposed to be a running thing, but I kept cutting those jokes for other content. It is not clear at this time whether they are a result of her ADD or if she’s just being impish. This one feels half and half.
Tangential to Sydney’s power greed here, I never understood why heroes or villains never tried to hoard powers and super gadgets/artifacts. Why doesn’t a bad guy who captures Hawkeye take all his arrows and figure out how to replicate his explosive arrowheads and have a pocket full of massively powerful-smaller than a golfball sized explosives? Or why heroes don’t confiscate bad guys superweapons and add them to their arsenal. Sure, sometimes they’re evil artifacts or there’s some other reason why that would be a bad idea, but sometimes there would be no possible downside to adding the bad guys’ stuff to your bag of tricks, other than it would make the hero OP and create writing challenges. I still think it would be fun to read. The bad guy has defeated a whole team of heroes, and the one guy, lets call him “The Hoarder” cause that’s what everyone else does, he shows up with Excalibur strapped to his back, Mjölnir on his belt, Star Emperor’s comic bracelets, the Chartreuse Lantern’s pinky ring, Apollomese’s boots of fleet footedness, a dozen things in his utility belt copied or stolen from the Trixter, the Trapster, the Tripster, the Flipster, the Flapster and the Candlestick Maker – all that on top of his own suite of powers and the bad guy’s just all “Oh COME ON!”
After drawing Sydney’s slightly baggy jeans and Maxima’s cargo pants, I tend to forget that women’s jeans often to contain way more elastic than mens, which is what makes them so much more “hey look at my ass.” (Also “hey look at my pantyline” and/or “No pantyline? Time to play guess if I’m wearing a thong.”) I drew Dabbler standing there next to Sydney in panel 5 in baggy pants and couldn’t figure out what was off about the picture until I remembered this fact and gave them the vacuum seal treatment. Incidentally, the “Hey look at my ass” factor is why women’s pants as often as not don’t have back pockets (or front). Yes sir, comfort and utility are a distant second and third when it comes to women’s fashion. As a guy, I admit that generally works to my benefit, but if I was a gal I would be massively irritated all the time at clothing that doesn’t have pockets. I won’t even buy pajamas that don’t have pockets.
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Greed is GOOD!
Greed is also badass (FMA: Brotherhood :P)
prefered lust i admit.
lust does have advantages
I preferred Envy myself. He didn’t need his powers to fuck shit up
Except that *it* (Envy was designed to be androgynous while its real form was either a huge swirling mass of a monster or a tiny leech-like thing) was a petty, sadistic moron. Once you got past its tricks, he could be defeated.
Now, WRATH (manga and FMA:B) was impressive. And as a villain, when he finally went out, he did it in a way that still pissed off the good guys.
I’ve always related to Gluttony as I have never been afraid to threaten to eat the obstacles in my life whether living, inanimate, or human.
Yeah, Gluttony was freaking dangerous. He’s sort of the opposite of Envy: he looks like a fat idiot, which is disarming to his opponents; however, he’s strong, tough, faster and far more agile than he appears, and has a keen enough sense of smell to track down his targets. Then there’s his “hyper vacuum reverse cannon” mode (artificial Gate of Truth). And even if he’s got the mind of a child- a hungry, cannibal child- he’s still far more impressive than the intimidating but not-as-smart-as-it-thinks-it-is Envy.
Erratum: “… it could be defeated.” ;-)
did someone said greeed? :p
https://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Greeed
I like this version:
https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?printed=true&multiverseid=2107
I was going to ask whether Sydney was a rightie or a leftie when I saw here trying to sacrifice here right arm but I guess the authors note at the bottom answers that for me. Speaking as a leftie I say its a shame would of loved to of welcomed Sydney as one of us
Aww, don’t worry we still love you!
*Stands on hindpaws and hugs Vexrapopple with both forepaws*
Maybe she is Sinister, she did offer to sacrifice her right arm afterall
Couldn’t she just replace a leg? Then she’d be a Dr. Who/ space pirate. Or… It’s not a StarGate™ it’s a StarSnatch. Either way replacement seems to be for shadowed as in Maxima is a reincarnated alien devel/ ticking time bomb, (goodbye limbs.) :-)
But chocolate is better.
Somewhat OT: Star Control 2 is one of the best games EVER MADE and everybody should play it at least once.
Nomad is a game similar to Star Control which has chocolate as the best trading item,the aliens give you anything for it,but unfortunately you only have a limited supply.
Ok, if it is based off of a game described as ‘one of the best games EVER MADE’ and it uses chocolate as the primary currency, I think I may have fallen in love, sight unseen!
I would recommend playing it with a walkthrough at this point. It’s an old school game and you can seriously screw yourself if you handle some of the quests wrong. That said, I would recommend playing it as well. It’s one of my top 10 favorite games of all time.
I dunno…. Hammer space seems kinda of a good trade off…. ^_^
Hammerspace… yeah. I’d probably have a hard time not being a kleptomaniac.
And then of course, the “Empty your pockets!” thing.
And by extension maybe a pocket dimension home/base/hideout.
So much ideas what to do…
What about a skilled infiltrator with Hammerspace holding an army hidden on it, or smuggling people past security guards?
Other used include one person with Hammerspace going in front of a flood surge, putting the flood into it, and then emptying it out onto a drought area or bushfire.
I seeing it as something like a portable hole or bag of holding. You don’t want to put living things in there because the oxygen runs out. This also could cause problems if somebody has a way to twist hammerspace and send all your goodies hurling off into the alternate dimension.
Don’t forget that Dabbler actually summons stuff from her lab, so that is not an issue for her. Of course it comes with it’s own set of vulnerabilities. Such as if an anti-teleport field is developed, she cannot pull off that trick. Or Harem can teleport into her lab and substitute the rail gun for a bar of chocolate. Although handy for trading with aliens, it would not be so useful if you want to shoot down a planet-destroyer alien satellite.
Mind you, pretty much any super-power is vulnerable to a hypothetical something which can negate the power. As kryptonite demonstrates. It is just a matter of how common the technomagic or other activating substance/energy/super-power is, as to whether the character needs to lie awake at night worrying about it.
Wait, as fun as it would be for Harem is mess with Dabbles in this way (as long as it wasn’t with something lifesaving in a time of saving lives), but doesn’t Dabbles have microchips in all her gear? That is how she is able to summon/return the item?
You are probably right, and I can see her being able to remotely check on her lab, and other locales, as well as activating, or deactivating various magical/mechanical protections around and in the lab to prevent hanky-panky from occurring. We have apps to do this sort of stuff with our smart phones, and she comes from a race that is significantly more advanced in science and magic.
*sticks microchip on Guesticus*
Pretty sure the symbol on that one means “toy”. If I am interpreting the Succubus euphemism correctly, you will only be summoned when Dabbler is looking for a good time. Either that or her pet T-Rex will be very disappointed that his favourite chew toy is not available.
Sounds like fun, either way :D
Horrible thought, a Kender from Dragonlance with access to hammerspace…
Remember, nobody in Hammerspace can hear giant space hamsters scream!
Hands off the Boo!
I get it. Ha
“Magic is impressice, but now Minsk leads. Swords for everyone!”
“Go for the eyes, Boo!”
“When the going gets tough, somebody hold my rodent!”
“Butt-kicking for goodness!”
“My hamster is getting antsy. If we be adventurers, let us adventure!”
“Sqeaky wheel gets the kick!”
“Cameraderie, adventure and steel on steel. The stuff of legend, right Boo?”
They must have searched you before they put you in the cell Minsk where did you hide Boo? Nevermind I don’t think I want to know!
Thanks for the reminder.
“Pulls Kenderkron out of storage”
Now to give it Hammerspace.
FYI kenderkron is Unicron rebuilt with a kenders mind for the intelegence
That… that is a truly scary image o_O
Just use a bag of holding
Bags can be confiscated or stolen. Hammerspace is a property associated with a character, rather than an item. Making it more akin to a superpower than a magical artefact.
In this case, more like Gloves of Storing. Now I want a Titan-size Glove of Storing that I can hold people in.
While having a cybernetic arms is one way to achieve it, there are other ways to do so that don’t require the loss of an arm. Like implants or modular gloves. If Dabbler would be willing to make a set for everyone on the team, they would be able to reach into, say their weapon lockers, and grab the right “tool” for the job.
No No no no no. Do not invoke them! Oh no, too late… (Centurions theme plays)
“Angel, send me Orbital Interceptor…” ..”Wild Weasel”, “Tidal Blast”
“POWER EXTREME”
(hope someone else will join me in the support group.) https://powerextreme.wikia.com/wiki/Power_Extreme_Wiki
Loved that show when I was growing up. Wish they’d made a decent movie.
Well as a Gadgeteer, I’m sure that Dabbler COULD make teleport gadgets, but she’s contractually obligated to keep her tech for herself, because
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ReedRichardsIsUseless
In one of the animated Superman movies (it was Doomsday, I believe), Supes stated to Lois that he really wished he could actually help humanity, instead of simpley being our strongman.
Next shot:Lex Luthor gets told his researchers have developed a cure for cancer. He orders them to make it a life-long treatment instead of a one-shot-cure.
Yeah, figures.
Lex is not a philanthropist: he wants to help mankind but he also wants to make money
THIS Lex however was somebody who needs to be shot. That fake Supes should’ve finished the job and done the world a shipload of good.
I don’t know if I’d offer up my arm for a chance to get “hammerspace” but I’d be willing to have a third arm grafted on.
Sydney, you need to think outside the box.
Let’s try keep the arms at an even number, yes? Uneven numbers would be rather bad for one’s balance.
Good idea
Let’s do 2 cybernetic arms!
Paging Dr. Octopus…
How about a cybernetic tail?
It might be easier to control than one or two arms.
Our brain already knows how to control an arm.
So that’d probably be a little easier than something completly new
I’d be willing to bet that there’s a bit of our hindbrain that still would know what to do with a bundle of nerves coming off our Coccyx. It might take a bit to get used to, but if people can get used to utilizing artificial limbs with different muscle groups, I’d think you’d be able to figure out a tail.
But our brain might have difficulties to control four arms.
We might have some tail control left though.
NO! Not my tail!!!
*curls tail between legs and holds it flat against belly*
Hey, Dabbler, how about an extra couple of arms here? I bet I could cope. Mmm, it might be a bit tricky opening door handles from down this height though. You better modify my torso to a centauroid posture, whilst you are at it. Mind you, like that you could probably give me four arms. It is not like you are unfamiliar with the arrangement.
Oh, hang on, I forgot, I already have those upgrades thanks to DR REVENGE and the notorious shipping the innocent doggy off to the evil megalomaniac’s laboratory incident.
Looks at keyboard and wonders if it could be modified to work better using four arms
Ok Dabbler, mind popping the Hammerspace upgrades into these arms?
I DID NOT SEND YOU TO THE LAB.
I just showed DEUS the doggie poop I “found” in his office.
You assumed they were sending you to the lab.
All I sent was the doggie doodoo.
Pretty sure we do. Every once in awhile someone is born with a vestigial tail, and I’m pretty sure that I read somewhere that they can usually control it.
Think about it. A tail is an extension of your spine. You can move your back, right? Contort your spine in strange ways? Moving a tail would be no different, just further down and painful to sit on.
probably only painful to lean back upon… if it’s tucked… er… down the middle, then it’s probably not too bad to sit on (depending on thicknesses of the particular tail and associated hindquarters, of course). If the tail is up, however, it’s probably best to lean forward.
Gallagher once questioned how we’d treat human tails. Would we expose them, or keep them covered for modesty’s sake? Would skirts become an issue? Would it be seen as bad manners to wag it or point it upward, thus creating a (rather depressing) cultural leaning toward keeping our tails tucked down into a pant-leg?
Hmm. I guess that would depend on the direction(s) it’s built to bend in.
Whole extra limbs also. Hyperdactily (more than 5 fingers) for example, is not that uncommon.
In “The Silence of the Lambs” (the book) Hannibal had a fully functional extra left middle finger, actually it had a little role in his jailbreak :)
It could be detachable. Most artificial limbs are. She could have different ones for different uses and maybe a special one for Cons.
There was an old british anthology comic in the 80’s (Battle: Action Force, sort of like a ‘contemporary’ sister comic to 2000AD), one of the newer ongoing features was a group of ‘heroes’ akin to GI Joe (instead of fighting COBRA and snake-themed foes, they fought a guy called Tarantula and spider-themed foes), the new leader of the group lost an arm to Tarantula and instead of getting a new arm fitted, he had an attachment added to his shoulder so he could have many new arms
Was a great comic, unfortunately it closed shortly after Cobra Commander went nuts and killed everyone in his command center (oh,yeah, guess forgot to mention that ‘Action Force’ was the UK name for ‘GI Joe’)
Four arms has potential. Dabbler herself has four arms, after all.
It might be possible, instead of surgery, for her to work up a spell to give Syd four arms.
That way brain and muscular interface could be hand-waved away with “magic”.
Not to get hammerspace, though, which Syd really doesn’t need; to get a few more hands available for orb-holding. Can’t see it actually happening, though – Syd is plenty powerful enough with a 2-orb limit, and she’s got plenty of growth potential with that skill tree.
Hmm, a magically 4-armed Halo would be pretty awesome, but I’m now recalling that Dabbler can’t even cast her Glamour on (i.e. magically disguise) someone else, per Max, so physically changing someone is probably not in the cards.
Yea, the whole premés of the character is that she has access to a wide variety of powers, but is not particularly good with any of them. Hence being ‘Dabbler.’
It may be an additional reason why she has the ‘no sharing powers’ principle. Simply as a defence mechanism to avoid having to point out that her skills are not up to adapting her technomagic for others to use. Possibly from an emotional defence angle (despite her extroverted nature) or alternatively from a tactical point of view (the less anybody knows about her weaknesses and/or limitations, the less likely an enemy is to find them out too).
Yeah the brain already knows how to control two arms, but try convincing it that you have a third (& maybe 4th) arm that needs to be controlled. That would require the brain to reduce its current processing capacity from other functions & use that for learning how to control something completely new.
It’s related to how a limb amputee can still swear they have the sense of feeling from a limb they don’t have anymore. The brain no longer receives any sensory input from that limb & tries to overcompensate *because* of that loss of limb, giving the person the sense of having a “ghost limb.”. I suspect that *adding* new limbs would generally work with the same principle; the brain would have to start taking processing power *away* from other areas in order to learn how to control the new appendage.
Can understand where you are coming from, but the typical human brain is more powerful (and adaptable) than most would believe, so as long as the connections are complete and fully integrated, it shouldn’t really take too much practice to get used to having an extra limb or 3 (just don’t do like Spinny and let one of your limbs develop a mind of it’s own and show signs of latent homosexuallity {not saying that that would be a bad thing, just troublesome, specially the “mind of it’s own” part})
How many times have you found your limbs (in particular, your arms/hands) doing something without fully being aware of commanding said action? Like picking up a cup of coffee or doodling: oftimes, your mind and limbs have better co-ordination when your conscious mind is not in the drivers seat :)
The nervous system upgrades would be pretty invasive, but I’d be more concerned with the major changes that would have to be made to the skeletal-muscular systems to support those arms – shoulders, pecs, lats, sternum & spinal supports, none of which would operate quite like our existing equivalents do (e.g. a mid-torso shoulder would strain against the spine in 2 different directions, instead of just from above, and would probably have to be anchored to the hips, and the sternum would need to be extended several inches down, else the new pecs would pull the arms primarily in a diagonal direction, being very weak at forward motion).
That’s why most with additional limbs tend to have them similar to a T-Rex (spindly and small) rather than the same size/mass as your regular arms
Hey! The Bionic Man and Woman didn’t seem to have any problems with having one cyber arm. Heck, their skeletons easily handled them lifting cars one handed and running 60 mph. TV never lies.
I think the skeleton could handle running that fast. Skiers go faster all the time, and their skeletons don’t give out. The hard part is turning and stopping.
Lifting cars without a reinforced spine is still ridiculous.
Skiers aren’t taking impacts on their skeleton unless something goes wrong – they’re either sliding across a surface or landing on a sloped, snowy surface. When you run your feet are hitting the ground and not just sliding, so you’re more likely to do yourself an injury.
shin-splints anyone? >_<
In the immortal words of Jeremy Clarkson.
Speed never killed anyone. It’s suddenly becoming stationary, that’s what gets you
You can’t compare skiing and running.
Running means your legs hit the ground with each step. The faster you go, the harder you hit the ground
Actually fast runners don’t hit the ground so much as stroke it. Hitting the ground would make you bounce but a good runner maintains the same (relatively) height from the ground and pulls forward. Watch slo-mo of fast animals and people and see what I mean.
And most sprinters spend most of the time airborne
Horses when galloping only have 1 foot touching the ground at all times.
Not exactly. They could have two, one or zero feet touching the floor at a time. What is characteristic of the gallop is that only one foot hits the floor at a time, ie just one leg gives impulse.
Actually kinda verify that was the reason for the most famous photo sequence in the history :)
While the bones wouldn’t enjoy the hammering of 60 mph running, it is the joints and body’s cooling system that would suffer greatly. Of course, compressing your spine becomes an issue, as well as whiplash for tight manuevers, and Heaven forfend that the runner trip while at speed.
In the books, the 6-millioln $ Man also had extra skeletal & muscle support structures throughout his spine & torso, to handle the added stresses that the bionic arm would cause on the rest of his body. The writers for the TV series were idiots for not indicate any such bolstering that would be required.
Then again, if they really had a grip on real life physics at all, they probably wouldn’t have wound up as TV writers in the first place…
Don’t blame the writers for not adding every little detail that most intelligent viewers would just figure was standard (like how they didn’t detail what size scalpel or sutures the used, or the gauge of the metal or the exact length of the wire cables)
I wish to refer you to my earlier statement, “TV never lies.” It is an utterly insubstantial argument, but I have elected to ignore your well-informed and thought-out counter-arguments, and am sticking to my guns. HA! So there! *victory dance with additional immature posturing*
The 3rd arm could help with her ski-boxing.
Oh, and Dave? Yes, it is clear she’s being “impish.”
Too bad that there is no way to temporarily transfer the orbs to Xuriel. It would be interesting, given the cyber hand, and the fact that we have only seen one person able to use two at a time, if she could use a maximum of one, two, three, or four orbs.
Another interesting experiment to do would be to see if Sydney allows a second person to grasp her orbs (hur hur), if that person can use the orbs’ powers.
But the truesight orb removed her glamor when she held it. They can have her try it with one of her cybernetic hands.
It do not remove the glamour just allow the keeper to see thru it.
If Halo chose the right person to ask, that experiment could be conducted with her holding four orbs.
I’ve had this image in my head for some time of Dabbler riding on Sydney’s back, wielding four of the orbs while Sydney wields two more. Would be both an interesting experiment and a hilarious sight to behold. XD
Would have been easier to have it the other way around (remember the size and mass* diferential between the two ladies)
*nope, not even going anywhere near the ‘weight issue’, nope, not at all
There’s always her leg….
Or a backpack. I am wondering if it needs to be body attached.
Why not something like a smartphone-style device?
There was this anime sort of based on superheroes or kids with superpowers. Each character had a single, unique power. But in a later season/new series in the franchise (the original was set in the ’60’s) they had developed cellphones that could duplicate/emulate a superpower. The main character of that particular series thus did her missions with 2 different powers rather than just one.
Yeah, I think you might be referring to “Dial H for Hero.” I used to read that (episodes included in with another comic title, then later a mini-series of its own) when I was younger.
…Jeez, I’m starting to feel my age…If I was the same species as Yorp, there’d be nothin’ left but my bones (glances sideways at Dr. Leonard McCoy).
Good thing you specified which Dr McCoy :D
Can still remember a scene in the X-Men/Star Trek crossover (sucked that the 3rd part was a regular novel, and sucked even more that have no idea where/how to get hold of it):
Someone (possibly Kirk): Doctor?
Both: Yes?
Possibly Kirk: Doctor McCoy!
Both: Yes?
Probably Kirk: Damnit Bones, stop playing around! (okay, this last line is just me making it sound funner :D)
Haven’t read that one, but there was an older X-Men comic from the 90s where another character came up to Beast and addressed him in as “Dr. McCoy” (his name is Hank McCoy), to which Beast responded. “Every time someone calls me by my title I have to resist the urge to say He’s dead Jim.”
Gods that shows you how bad my memory is for names. I honestly had no idea what Guesticus was alluding to, other than by implication. And the Beast was my favourite character in the X-Men! Which in turn was, and still is, my favourite super hero group.
As it is, now that you have kindly jogged my memory (or more accurately plugged in the gaping hole in it):
+1 to both of you
There were 2 X-Men/Star Trek crossover comic: first one was with Kirk and Co, the 2nd one had Picard and Crew (the 3rd crossover was regular novel form only, and no idea who was in it, but it directly linked from the 2nd one so probably Picard and Crew)
My favourite Star Trek crossover was when the crews of the starship Enterprise met the crew of the space shuttle Enterprise. It particularly amused me that both groups came across as genuinely honoured to meet the other.
It was Picard’s crew being sent to a planet that was suddenly developing X-Men type mutations. Q and the Watcher were involved as well.
the reference was gatekeeper an anime where kids had access to an alt dimension allowing the performance of superhuman feats the sequel gk21 a cellphone gate generation system had been developed.
Like Shenron said you are thinking of Gatekeeper, Dial H for Hero is a DC comics property, there is a physical dial that looks somewhat like a rotary telephone dial with alien symbols on it, when a certain number of symbols are dialed the user is transformed into a random superpowered being, never the same one twice, but with instant complete knowledge of their powers and identity (all of them already have a costume and code name).
To see this concept done much better watch Ben 10, or Ben 10: Alien Force (even better), though Ben 10: Ultimate Alien was starting to feel the escalation fatigue, which probably lead to the current version, Ben 10 Omniverse, which I believe is basically a reboot (I could be wrong though). Despite it being a kid show I find it a fairly enjoyable watch, and the Green Lantern (and other) homages are both amusing and well done.
This could also be describing the Gatekeepers franchise.
Bingo! You deserve a cookie, EugeneF.
Hammerspace would be usefull as her powers are artifact based.
Maybe she could get a customized case if she doesn’t want them just
floating around.
Has she considered a utility belt?
Has she considered those pants with lots of pockets down the legs?
Or, get Dazzler to customize her tube so that it opens via a button but into a “super special secret superhero watch” as Sydney would put it
the image of Sidney in three tear(SP?) cargo pants. talking to some villain with her arms down at her sides. then say as she loses the witty banter had an orb fly to her hand and yells, “Yah, well take PPW!” and the relises it the Tentorb it wrapping her up head to foot. leavings the villain to walk away laughing manically.
Well since Sydney can summon her orbs by mental command grabbing the “wrong one” would be impossible unless the orbs were having a bad day. And at this point we don’t know if that’s even possible.
Forget ‘having a bad day’ and pray they never develop a Sydney-esque sense of humour (or her ADwhatsthatoverthere?)
There were times I swore my mother had Hammerspace in her purse. She carried all kinds of stuff in that thing including (at times) hammers, Crescent wrenches, jack-knives, screwdrivers (both types), handkerchiefs, tick-tacs, change, wallet odds and ends. If any idiot ever tried to grab it they’d either get a hernia from the weight or a caved in skull when she whacked them with it.
An issue with Sydney having access to “hammerspace” is that she actually has little or no need for it. There possibly only few gadgets her orbs can’t replicate the abilities of and even fewer anyone would trust her with. The best thing I can think of is that it could give Sydney ready access to a weapon that isn’t as powerfully destructive as the PPO.
Also seeing as Dabbler has stated that her “hammerspace” is really just teleporting objects between her lab and her hands instead of a magical dimensional pocket means that Sydney can’t use it to store her orbs (Which would be the most useful for her) because that would put them outside the bounds of the leash, and given how insistent they are of staying within those bounds it could possibly lead to some unpleasant circumstances. Either that or their scan immunity would also extend to them not being affected by the teleporter.
Who says it has to be offensively? Unless Sydeny uses it to summon her lunch in the middle of a battle…
I’ve always held a high belief that alien grays are time traveling archaeologists, coming back to study their primitive ancestors much like Jane Goodall and her chimp fascination.
Also, I’m trying to remember if “Lighthook” (from the last strip) was something Dave came up with, or something that was suggested in the comments for the strip where “Molestorb” was introduced. Anyone know?
The name is new to me. Although I am not the most reliable witness when it comes to remembering names. :-/
“Looks at YORP” MASSIVE SIGH
A question about Dabbler.
What does she do with her invisible arms?
She’s moving around her visible set as if they don’t exist, so is she constantly moving them out of the way?
What else would you do with two invisible arms?
Comparing her design in that picture to her current one, I have to say Dabbler is much easier on the eyes when her tattoos aren’t outlined.
If indeed her pale facelines are tattoos.
we dont know how the illusion works for all we know the upper body part of the illusion may be loosly bound. or shaped in such a way as to account for the extra arms
aka the coat is to take her extra arms and tail into account. I think that was mentioned (the tail anyway) was mentioned about the time Dabbler dropped her illusion in the office.
Sure, but I mean where does she leave the arms when she’s folding her visible arms over eachother?
Behind her back?
What if someone brushes up against her? They still exist, so surely you can still feel them
I’d imagine she moves her invisible arms wherever makes the most sense at the time to keep them out of the way. It would be interesting though to seem more shots of her through Sydney’s True Sight.
Well, we know that she grabs Max’s buttocks…
As seen in NotFred‘s link (total loving Maxi’s face when she got invisi-groped :D)
Do not forget the animals the greys are molesting. Don’t ask me how I know.
On a side note I have access to some nice alien themed porn if any of you are interested in buying it. It’s so believable you won’t be able to tell they aren’t real aliens.
I still don’t wear jeans.
Why?
Because the pockets can’t hold crap, you have to break them in, and they’re heavy.
But mostly the first one.
Answer – Fanny pack.
Heh, you Americans and your funny terms (look up what fanny means in English to see why this would be a strange idea for anyone but a determined smuggler).
you should see the looks you get when you say your “just popping out for a fag”
It is always wisest to find out how cosmopolitan an American girl is before asking if you can ‘stroke her pussy’. Not to mention ensuring she has a sense of humour.
Just having a gay old time then.
“Yabba-dabba-DOO!”
the expression itself refers to smoking a cigarette. what fags have to do with cigarette’s i don’t know, except it’s probably ye olde English for some thing else
Fags are the cigarettes.
The word fag comes from faggot, which originally meant thick sticks you burn. Cigarettes can easily be traced to that.
Marshy sod you burnt was called a punk.
When applied to people, punk originally meant a male prostitute or a boy who had been sodomized. It latter came to mean to mean poor people in general. That usage died out and latter was revived by people using it to describe themselves as not being part of normal society. Many modern punks will be shocked to learn they are calling themselves an @55fucked boy or a male hooker.
Either way, one think many people can agree on is that you burn punks and faggots.
Another usage of the term fag is in the English boarding school system. Being someones fag means you are their lackey, doing what they want you to do in exchange for their protection. That originally included sexual favors.
Actually, some smugglers already do (not to mention, that was how the mother on American Dad managed to get her son out of that South American sweat shop)
In Australia they are sometimes already known as bumbags because you wear them around your bum.
(I mean bum as in buttocks, not hobo.)
I’ve heard them referred to as bum bags as well
Ya gotta try the duluth trading company’s line of jeans. I’m a pocket packrat, so having an ample supply of pockets is always a plus. It took over 5 years of constant rubbing for my tactical folders to wear a hole in the pockets. So very durable. Have only had one pair rip in the knee in the same timeframe.
Kinda on the pricy side, but they last forever and take a lot of abuse.
for those interested we are at 5th on the list about 50 from 4th
And we could make it if everybody vote :)
Only 12 to go to make #4.
Make that 5 to go…
Achievement unlocked! We are in 4th place! Only 407 more votes to catch up to third!
I so miss when Cargo pants were popular for girls! Then I had actual usable pockets! Even now I still try to cram a pocket knife, flash drive, my inhaler, and my keys in my pockets. Which only sometimes works. And forget about wallet. :-P
You want cargo pants popular amongst the non-military females again? Be the trendsetter you know you are and start the trend back up again
LOL. While I’ve always worn what I wanted regardless of whether it was popular. I was never popular enough to set a trend. ;-) And I don’t know where to buy good female cargo pants! Maybe I’ll just try on a pair of my husband’s and see if they fit! XD
Go to the nearest military surplus store.
They have lots.
Syd should look for The Doctor and make him give her cargo-pants with pockets or something. Closest thing to hammerspace I know.
Sydney will only was a jelly-baby if is extra-spicy.
Oops, she won’t want …
You can be assured, they will have a contest of emptying their pockets sometime then.
And Syd will not be able to wait to prank somebody with it.
Hey, wouldn’t you?
…as seen in the motion picture “The Mask”.
“I have a license for that (bazooka)”.
These has been bugging me for a while any one know what side Max’s plays for. She a feminist so that might make here learn to women but then I seems Dabblers lust aura did not work on here and she find Dabbler offenceive and we all no Dabble would do anything with a pulse and maybe with out. Anyone know??????
She’s straight. Feminist != not attracted to men.
I do not remember nothing canon stating that one way or another. I bet the same, though.
The way I see it, a woman who is self-reliant & strives for male/female equality in rights & opportunity is a Feminist…A woman who strives for female *superiority* is what the term “Feminazi” was coined for. A lesbian could be either/or, depending on how her personality really works.
Actually, the term feminazi was coined by Rush Limbaugh to deried feminists and derail the meaning of the term feminism, which is exactly as you put it. I think the term you’re looking for is female supremacist.
I’d also like to point out there are more than two options. Maxima could be bi, pan or aromatic ace. Or a gray-A, or romantic ace, which would still have her being any of the above.
Though, it’d probably annoy the shit out of her how many guys (and girls and others, but mostly guys) hit on her if she’s ace.
She can’t be she doesn’t look anything like Chris Barrie.
I like to think that she was so frustrated with the situation that she didn’t allow herself the opportunity to feel aroused (if she swung that way).
She’s the leader and treats herself accordingly.
Agreed, she seemed more offended by the time/place rather than the action (and that includes the invisi-grope)
O it effected her. But she knew what was happening, and willpowered her way through it
“The Hoarder” description just reminded me of just about every D&D adventurer with magic items. I even know a guy who has the “Apollomese’s boots of fleet footedness” equivalent on his character already, to say nothing of all the other stuff he has.
Had an old super hero character with the ability to push anything out of space and time as a power feat and then release a target as a free action. A few problems – Kleptomaniac – lousy memory – targets physical properties remained unchanged, trajectory, temperature, velocity, attitude [kill crazy starving flying squirrels]. He was every Game Masters greatest instigator, headache, comedic relief.
That description reminds me of a character that got nicknamed ‘four handed Finagan’. It was his first time playing. Upon entering a dungeon he and his party got into a battle and he was doing fairly well until someone noticed that he was fighting with a two handed sword while claiming an armor bonus because of a shield. Plus, as a human he also claimed that he could see because we was carrying a torch. I don’t know if he was confused as a newbie, or actively trying to pull a fast one.
Isn’t that the basic player strategy in every game? Keep all your non-trash untill you can’t get anymore bigger bags and they all are full?
That’s me! Hate getting rid of anything (including trash that even vendors don’t want)
Loved SWG because you could actually drop your ‘trophies’ into your house (actually made a creepy greeting for visitors to one house where you entered the house through a Kashyyk Bantha trophy, the trophy was in the doorway and you couldn’t see anything until you passed through it, to be greeted by a floating brain and eyeballs :D)
In answer to Sydney’s question: Yes, they’re far-future humans, but the anal probe thing was just embellishment by people who somehow thought space aliens weren’t interesting enough. Time travellers stick very closely to the Prime Directive where butts are concerned.
There was a film in the ’90s where the greys were exactly that: evolved humans from a far-flung future. The plot was basically about this guy who’d get abducted by them frequently throughout his youth, and into adulthood, and when he eventually learns that they’d screwed up their world and were trying to prevent it from occurring, he shaves his head to look more like them and the film ends with him waiting for his next abduction.
No idea what it was called, tho.
Millennium?
The film with Kris Kristofferson and Cheryl Ladd? No. Totally different.
The film I’m on about is almost totally from the main character’s POV. He gets repeatedly abducted. Gets obsessed with the abductions. His wife & kids leave him. He discovers the aliens (greys) are future humans trying to prevent their destroyed world from coming true. He shaves his head to look more like them. And the film ends with him waiting for his next abduction.
Regarding the power hoarding, I’m holding onto a comic book idea that is pretty much exactly that. Issue 1, hero collects powers XYZ.
Asked if I have any questions, I always pull from THE SURE THING: “Who invented liquid soap, and why?”
The range of responses (from total AtALoss stares to some quite inventive offerings) always provides useful insight into the respondent’s psyche.
The real question should be: “Why did someone take liquid soap and make it a solid bar? and why did it take so long before someone made it liquid again?”
I don’t know if she was acting impish, but the joke DID seem kind of forced.
Concerning pockets, my job allows me to wear cargo pocket khakis and I simply cannot think of what I would do without them.
That’s unexpected.
I heard woman find it annoying, but didn’t think it’d be that bad
Interesting.
What about purses? I’d imagine it be extremely annoying to have to carry one around all the time
Not so much. Only when they fall off my shoulder, or if the strap is too small to wear it on my shoulder. But I often carried messenger bags before, so it was really kind of just a small step to purses. And I must say I appreciate being able to carry my wallet, keys, phone, meds, change purse, a video game system or two, and whatever other random shit I feel like. :p
On the other hand, if I’m separated from it I feel like I’m naked. So that’s obnoxious.
Yeah, the next step is usually to start wearing jackets with a lining and build inside pockets into the lining.
Or that’s what I should be doing with my spare time. And just think of how little you can fit in these sad excuses for pockets when you’re petite. As everything has to be freaking proportionate…. there are some pants where I’m lucky if I can fit a key and a tube of chapstick without either of the items working it’s way up and out due to the stupid elasticity they put in the material….
Glad for the first time in my life that I’m not petite :P
Have a sleeveless denim jacket like that: not sure if it was designed like that, but the inner panel on both sides of the front are open at the top which gives me 2 ‘semi-secret’ large pockets (much bigger and roomier than the front pockets)
As George Carlin used to point out, you just wanted a “place for your stuff.”
Basically!
Mum used to lug around a large handbag thing, but it was an annoyance plus the handle kept breaking/wearing out, but now she has a shoulder/courier bag she places over her head (she tends to push it around so the bag is against her back for ease of walking)
Panel-8 Sydney looks like she’s trying to make her arm transform.
…Which I suppose is technically kind of accurate?
Yeah, she does seem like she is trying to force the arm to either transform into a cybernetic arm, or willing it to fall off (“Hey, it came off on it’s own, now will you upgrade it?”)
The whole pockets thing is an evil plot by purse makers to force you to buy purses. I have been tricked too often when buying pants into getting ones with non-functioning pockets. Usually it takes me forever to find one that fits my rear and waist size properly, since most times they assume my waist would have to be much bigger, and buy the first thing that fits without checking if I can put my hands in the pockets. Thus, I have had pants that had no front OR back pockets, and nearly cried when I couldn’t even store a phone or ipod. The worst thing I have seen recently are pants that have little zipper pockets in multiple places on the leg, not just the usual spot, and ALL OF THEM ARE NOT REAL POCKETS. That pisses me off.
Agreed. I don’t want pockets for the looks, I want them for the function. Hooray for cargo pants with pockets big enough to shove a paperback novel in…
So it is a device built into the arm which means it can be build into an external device for and used as a one shot effect. So sure Sydney can learn hammer space.
Possibly, but probably not. Given Dabbler’s comment and the implications of that, anyhow. The difference between a cybernetic limb and a prosthesis is that the former is controlled by the mind. Whereas the latter is controlled by the body. Whist it may appear the same, and a person can make the operation of either subconscious through training, the mechanisms are very different.
Dabbler’s brain is directly linked to her cybernetic arm. Whereas what control Peggy has over her foot is limited by how well she can manipulate it with the rest of her leg. A mobile phone is like the latter, not the former, given that you use your fingers to push the buttons. Until we develop brain wave transmission Bluetooth, anyhow.
Plus think on the mechanics of summoning a weapon to hand. In addition to transferring the relevant information for where you are, in order for the summoning to work, you must also pass on ‘my hand is in this orientation’. Whist it could be done instinctively with a neural link, it requires a very different mechanism to adapt it for use with a separate device.
Not to mention the risks of any signal being interfered with or the delays involved if a keyboard or other interface is needed instead*. And would require much practice getting the hand into a suitable position for the weapon to teleport into (as opposed to the flexibility that Dabbler has in being able to call it in any situation).
In short, it may be that the Hammerspace implant will only work if directly controlled by the brain.
* Underlying all of this is Dabbler’s principle that she does not share her technomagic, of course. She is breaking it gently to Sydney here mind. But even if she chose to adapt the technology specifically for an ally to use in a separate device, then there is a serious risk of it falling into the wrong hands.
This ties back to DaveB‘s comment about hoarding. Dabbler has managed to gain a bunch of toys. Ensuring that key ones can only be used via her direct neural link greatly reduces the danger of an enemy stealing the power and using it against her.
Dabbler is a smart woman she figured out direct neural interface with a missing limb figuring that out through direct skin contact wouldn’t be much of a leap for her. The big thing is her unwillingness to share with the less evolved beings which I totally get.
There was a Marvel Comics character who used all the gadgets that were taken from villains or could be copied from heroes. He was sent by the Govt. to “take care” of anyone they ordered him to. In one issue I saw him in he killed Baron Zemo.
Taskmaster?
No this guy used Henry Pym’s ability to shrink objects as a means of storing the devices on himself. So that he could carry the gadgets of lots of heroes at once. He even used the Stiltman’s stilts to get from the ground floor to a balcony that his target was on.
One little known alternative to hammer space is M C Hammer space, where you can summon items by performing a series of overly complicated dance moves while wearing really baggy pants.
P.S. I don’t know why Max is concerned about her food getting cold when they have Brook around. One wave of her hand and any entrée is piping hot.
Yeah, but reheated food isn’t as good as freshly-cooked.
Plus, that was just an excuse to get away from the awkwardness (and Dabbles)
Is it just me, or does Maxi seem to try and avoid being alone with Dabbles?
For an answer to the question on hoarding powers: https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/48.
Come on. It’s THE VERY FIRST COMIC!!!!!
The reason supers don’t normally collect artifacts and/or powers is because learning how to use a mystical artifact and/or power is HARD. Even assuming that one’s new artifact/power fits one’s personality and style of combat, getting the most out of said artifact, or being able to use it responsibly, is going to take MONTHS of practice. And the LAST thing you want is to take the newest mystical whatsit that you’ve captured out into the field, and have the villain just take it away from you.
Or, to put it in role-playing terms, having powers does not equal having feats. And not having feats means that powers become a LOT less useful. As anybody who has ever played a fighter under 3.5 rules can tell you, general utility will usually trump raw power.
When you think about it, this is why heroes like the Flash or Spiderman are so powerful: yeah, sure, their powers are limited to only one arena, but those powers are able to operate in ways that nobody else can come even close to matching. In the end, somebody like Spiderman can fight against somebody who’s way out of his weight class, just because he can do things the other guy CANNOT do.
Oh yeah, and Sydney’s question is pure imp. I know, because I do things like that too.
There’s at least one character out there whose schtick was using the weapons and gadgets of supers around him: Marvel’s Taskmaster. Precisely his powers (photographic reflexes) allowed him to observe, copy and learn the moves of people he sees. That means he knows how to use a shield like Captain America, bow and arrows like Hawkeye, a sword like Black Knight, and Punisher’s 1911 pistol among others.
But point taken. It’s not like he’s a magic user and his physical abilities- while impressive- are still human; meaning he’s still quite limited in what he can do.
You have got to love Sydney’s dedication. The instincts of a true role player. An arm for a super-power… sure!
I’m impressed by Dabbler’s show of restraint and foresight.
Thong or commando? There. I said it.
She is part succubi … It’s just a Thang.
Just a thought but all the ladies seem to expose their midriffs a lot. Hope Sydney doesn’t develop six-pack envy. Though that at least is something she can actually work on without surgical assistance.
Dave does have a point about removing all the items/gadgets, etc from captured heroes/villains. you never know when a thermo-nuclear device will come in handy.
With two unknown orbs there is still some chance of a hammer-space power.
Just what I was thinking, one of those unlit glowy things in her skill tree has got to be hammerspace.
How hilarious would it be if the random unknown power she picked off her telepresence orb turned out to be some sort of object projection skill, so she uses it and briefly thinks that she gained hammerspace, only to find out that she only has the projection of an object and not the real object. Imagine the stream of curse words that will billow forth after an incident like that…
Personally, I rather doubt someone like The Hoarder would be able to wield Mjölnir, or even pick it up, but otherwise that would be so cool! I’d love to see a character like The Hoarder in a webcomic like this, though the name strikes me more as that of a villain.
Just realized how genuinely affectionate and concerned Dabbler is towards Sydney here. She’s acting very sisterly or mentor-like. So she really does like her (and not in a manner particular to a succubus)?
For any role-players out there, or anybody interested in ground-breaking new developments in comics and the implications for the future of entertainment as a whole, you may be interested to find out about a fascinating new venture. Skilled role-players are being hired to become ‘actors’ in a web-comic.
The concept of basing a web-comic on the actions of a role-playing group is not a new one. Many have started off by either being inspired by a game, or in a desire to blog it. And, as stated in the link below, at least one has allowed readers to pay in order to control the actions of a character. The subtle change being the move to a professional status. Ok, it is likely to be peanuts money for them. But the principle is the key part.
The obvious analogy being to the film industry, and the era when it transited from a fledgling hobby field to the industry we know today. But having a key difference. Whereas you currently have a professional actor playing Golem, he is following the script written by another person or team. In this new arrangement, each character will be writing their own script. Which adds a whole new dimension for readers who enjoy being taken by surprise with a story. One writer’s style you may get to know and anticipate the upcoming twists but, with this arrangement, an entirely different dynamic comes into play.
If the concept interests you, be sure to check out the announcement in Blade Bunny.
Was just going to say: “yeah, remembered seeing that advertised this morning”, and then saw your link and “yeah, that’s where saw it” :D
Cool premise. I just emailed him regarding my interest.
Drowemos has always impressed me. While his web comics haven’t made huge amounts of money, that guy is a serious workhorse that does it for the love. Respect.
He doesn’t necessarily add every weapon to his arsenal, but Batman does break out Mr. Freeze’s gun from time to time.
Yeah, it would be kind of hard on Batman’s public image if he consistently utilized that robot dinosaur in the Batcave…
I always wondered why after inventing some uber-powerful gadget the villain of the week tries to use it in some complicated and ignominious (bonus word score!) way.
Option 1) I have created a weather machine. I will threaten to flood a major city unless I am paid one billion dollars. End result: captured by some surly guy in a cape and sent to prison.
Option 2) I have created a weather machine. I will offer to transform the Sahara desert into millions of acres of fertile land and wildlife habitat for the low low price of one billion dollars. End result: Retire to your private island in great wealth and fame, and statues of you are erected all across Africa.
Loving panel 6: not just for Dabbles’ own “chest-orbs” (that was an obvious), but also for her eyes (yes, for those who can pull their own away from her chest-orbs, her eyes have been delightfully drawn in that panel and it would be such a shame for all of Dave‘s work he put in to it to be ignored)