Grrl Power #266 – Schooling before the schooling
Arc-SWAT will definitely need to review their arsenal and tactics after this fight. That’s something they’d do anyway, but you know what I mean.
I had a few names to pick from for the violence absorbing demons. Succubi means “to lay under,” Incubus means “to lay upon.” My first thought was “to stand over” but the Latin for that wasn’t great sounding. I don’t recall what it was, I found a really comprehensive Latin dictionary when I was looking up names, but I can’t seem to dig it up again which is a shame since it’s probably not the last time I’ll need to look up a bunch of Latin words. I hate that when you can’t remember the search term you used, or the chain of links you followed to find a good resource.
Hah, as I was typing that I did a few more searches and found the page.
Anyway, there were a lot of latin words I could have gone with, I chose to call “violence eaters” Malumus just because malum also means apple or fruit, which I thought would make for a cute scene with Sydney as you see on this page. Actually for the sake of accuracy, mālum (long a) mean apple, malum (short a) means evil, cataclysm, etc.
Here’s the link to the new comments highlighter for chrome which I can’t live without anymore, and the GitHub link which you can use to install on FireFox via Greasemonkey.
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“He has as much power as dabbler would after a 50 person orgy”
… so, teleport dabbler into a 100 person orgy, and then have her come back and wipe the floor with him?
Preferably she’d have time a quick shower first.
Aaaand while she’s wiping the floor with him they need to prepare a 200 person orgy because vehemence has become a god.
Actually, I’d prefer if Dabbler took a sloooooow shower, like described back on pp. 137 & 138.
If I wasn’t so certain that Dabbler (with 4 arms & a high likelyhood that she’s a Yoga practitioner) could do it herself, I’d offer to get her back for her.
Methinks she’d pretend just for anyone she’d actually let do it. :p
She only mentions it later (I think; I’ve read through the whole run of the comic, like, five times), but Xuriel gains more energy from supers. If supers are greater storehouses of vehemic energy the way they are with tantric energy, then she’d need to have an orgy with something like *50 supers* to match Vehemence — and that’s a notable percentage of the supers on the continent, many of whom are currently unconscious in this very parking lot.
Well observed and argued.
Hmmm…Not a bad idea, but a couple of problems stand out.
Locating such a large orgy for Dabbs to ‘port to.
Vehemence can continue to power up even more; While Dabbler is away, Vehemence will play.
If the battle moves significantly, Dabbs would be ‘porting back to the wrong place; How much more power can V accumulate with an even larger battlefield?
Would even a 100-person orgy provide enough power for Dabbs, since V already has such a huge lead in powering up?
Your idea is valid, in theory, but there’s still too many unanswered questions & unknown variable to come up with any specific answer…Until Dave *shows us* what he’s got in mind already.
But your idea DOES qualify as a viable tactic, along with the numerous others already mentioned.
Judging by the glow in the last panel I’d say that “this” is some kind of energy blast, possibly a power up, but likely just a wave of pure violence.
If Vehemence goes super-saiyan on us, I’ll never forgive Dave for it. I just can’t picture a bald guy like V sprouting long, blonde spikey hair…
No way Vehemence does SS. He already has his massive power boost (which occoured to me since mt first post) so now he’s got to do something with it. Commonly a energy blast of some kind. Which Sydney will doubtless geek over.
Judging by the glow of his magic pattern in the last panel I can only assume that he’s going to shove pure concentrated violence at them. That or some kind of power up, but he already has that.
Now, as for how to beat someone who runs on violence. Sydney got it in one already back on page 252 assuming one can keep it up, only issue is he attacks right after again.
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1491
Also while you’re looking at that: check out the glow difference in his ragetats.
Hmmm…Maybe. It’s just that every time Sydney trips him, that’s violence. Every time he hits her shield, more violence. It would slow down his feeding rate from violence a bit, at least compared to any other part of the battle, but he’ll still get some power from it.
Last comment before Dave B posts a new page
Then again, maybe not…
:D
*twitches* …. need..update…. Urge to talk like Gollum becoming overwhelming… need it…. neeeeds it…
I really like Grrl Power. Dave writes it well, the art is good, it’s got humor. Even the commentators are well-behaved, inventive & funny too. This comic has become precious to me.
…My precious…
Comment #950
I WIN!
They need to wake up portal girl and have her send Vehemence to the moon for a couple minutes. Or an hour. My only question is whether he keeps the vehemic power until its used or whether he loses it over time.
Comment levels have increased almost 100% which is dynamite! If you can’t do it one way there is always sound. Sonics set for say fear, or for destruction can work. If their govt will bring them out to use on him.
Also Maxima seems to have a smear under her nose, almost like a thin mustace in P1.
This has probably already been pointed out, but Vehemence has all his teeth in the 2nd to last panel.
He actually doesn’t, it’s just that his head is angled in such a way that you’re seeing the side of the next teeth over where the missing teeth should be. I probably could have shaded them more strongly though.
As EugeneF pointed out, the image of Sidney does not receive true-sight.
As seen on this page: https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/660
Therefor, Vehemence still *could* be glamored in some way that no-one has seen through yet.
A while back in the story, there was a debate about her nature (was she an E.T. or a Demon).
The clear knowledge she demonstrates here about demons tells us that she is one, although earlier pages also tell us that Demons are actually a high-tech society.
She doesn’t have to be a demon to have a lot of knowledge about them.
I would really want to see a four-handed character dual-wield two-handers.
Both upper hands holding one would work, as that is like humans normal arrangement. But add both lower hands holding another and that is all to likely to clash with the upper one, in a serious fight.
Two right hands holding one and the two left the other would avoid that. But then you lack the control advantage of arms holding the weapon at right angles. Instead they are both acting on the same plane. Significantly reducing the ability to alter direction in swings, apply full strength force to blows (at the kinds of angles that you need to in real combat).
Aesthetically, really cool. Likewise for an intimidating pose. Plus in circumstances where you are not facing credible opponents.
Other than that though I suspect that it would be like trying to wield two full-sized swords in the real world, a very inferior choice. Great for fantasy but the single sword wielder has far greater control and can apply his force more effectively than the dual wielder.
Those dual-wielding styles which did prove effective had either one long and one short or two short weapons. Obviously a skilled swordsman could pull off the less practical option, versus unskilled opponents, but would very likely loose against an equally experienced and talented opponent.
Dual-wielding two two-handed swords (either way) might be awkward, but combining a single two-hander with two one-handed implements could be useful. Perhaps a dagger in the lower right for close-quarters work and a buckler in the lower left for dedicated defence. Whether that counts as ‘dual-wielding’ is open to debate – it’s the sort of term that tends to be defined in terms of one’s own species’ physiology, and Humans tend to max out at two arms.
And again, a retread of what I said two pages ago, Vehemence is just a really cool guy. “Yes Miss Scoville, also Apple.” Just so chill, and really polite (to her anyway). For a guy that quite literally feeds on violence, he’s kinda good guy, in a way. If it weren’t for the whole rampaging villain thing I’d say that he’d be a really great guy to just hang out with.
:-D
I mean, I know he’s a villain whose only desire is violence, but dammit Vehemence is a likeable dude. It seems more like he did this as a lark, not so much “muahaha I’ll rule the world” so much as “bunch of Scotsmen get drunk and think it’ll be fun to beat the shit out of each other, no hard feelings afterwards”. He’s a supervillain, but he doesn’t seem like a bad guy???
You know what scares the crap outta me? It’s been years and we STILL don’t know what Vehemence’s deal is. Is he a malumus himself, half-malumus, or some kind of vistric warlock? Questions that remain unanswered to this day….
Malim= apple….. so eating the apple in the Garden of Eden (according to theologians whose first language is Latin) unleashed all the other crap on the human race – that was the real Fall! (The actual fruit Adam and Eve ate is not specified in the Bible – is this association how it came to be an apple?)