Grrl Power #380 – It’s a new dance called “The Grievous Self Harm”
Sydney is a boy-shorts gal, in case that was a burning question for anyone. With guys, it’s boxers, boxer briefs, briefs or tighty whities. Technically TW’s are briefs, but really they’re a separate category, cause they’re just the worst looking underwear possible for guys. They’re the male equivalent of granny panties. Yes, there are actually a few other options for guys, but they’re rare/exotic/usually worn by strippers, like one that’s a low cut thong but it only goes around one hip. It’s basically a headband with a pouch in the front. I don’t think it would stay on a woman. If you want to see one just google “half thong.”
For women, there is at least thong, bikini, string bikini, tanga, hipster, brief, boyshorts, French cut, high cut, and then there’s this thing. Possibly the least practical piece of underwear ever designed. A C-String. Women’s underwear apparently partially follows rebel fighter craft naming conventions. There’s probably a lot more, but at some point it becomes difficult to tell if it’s legitimately a different style or just marketing. So yeah, I looked at all those and figured Sydney’s a boyshorts gal. It goes with her boy shirts and boy pants. They’re probably more comfortable than anything on the list (until you get used to wearing it, which Sydney never did) besides the briefs, but those are mom/granny undies. She would be really self conscious in “sexy” underwear, but she doesn’t want to sport the lady equivalent of tighty whities either.
After drawing this page I realized that Sydney is like a low grade Evel Knievel, in so much that she’s probably suffered a lot of self inflicted bone breaks and other miscellaneous injuries over her lifetime. Somehow she’s not covered in scar tissue – really that’s something I should have thought about and put at least a few visible ones on her hands and legs. I guess she’s pretty good at not scratching at her scabs.
Ok, last time I’ll remind you guys about the Amazon link. It’s 9 days until Xmas, and the weird stuff your family asked for may not all be on Amazon prime with the crazy fast shipping, so get cracking. I know I need to.
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.
She swears like Capt Haddock… only for real….
“Smegma?”
What is that, some callback to The Red Dwarf, where people get called “Smeghead” a lot? The only reason I ask is because of the root-word, Smeg.”
“Epididymus.”
I KNOW what THAT is. I once had a case of Epididymitis, but some antibiotics cleared that up in less than a week. Embarrassing to explain to the doctor, though…
Or to “Pornucopia” by Piers Anthony. It’s a… special book.
Special enough you’re the first other person I’ve encountered who KNOWS of it, let alone might have has read it!
There’s a second one out, even harder to find though.
yes, he ended up having to self-publish it, so the only way to get a copy is: ( insert I.D. photo and proof of age of majority here )
If you really dont know what smegma is, trust me, it isn’t worth finding out.
Nah, it was totally worth it. Now I feel cleaner and generally better about myself because I have never had such an issue.
Smegma, better known as ‘dick cheese’. I will leave the mental image to you.
So that also explains what Smeghead means too…Thanks.
:-/
Actually, the writers behind Red Dwarf had no idea that smegma was dick cheese. They just used the word because they thought it was funny. Coincidental.
What’s even funnier is that they didn’t even realize how funny it was…
:D
something people only encounter due to a lack of hygienic practice involving the genitals.(they don’t wash their D)
You got it back words smegma is the root word, smeg is the colloquial shortening.
it’s also a brand of (high quality) kitchen appliances from Italy. I’ve always wanted to have a kitchen full of their products, and not only to make Red Dwarf fans retch when I tell them that “everything you’ve eaten was made possible by smeg” :-)
I’d like to see her use “santorum” as a swear word. ;)
Dear God I miss The Colbert Report. I know he’s doing Late Night now, but it just isn’t the same.
Smegma is where Smeg came from in Red Dwarf…. >.> I looked it up… And various other insults used in the show and Doctor Who… I suddenly realized my Mom had a potty mouth
Take heart, Sydney. Your dancing would still be like ten times better than mine.
It’s been a while since we got to hear one of her profanity rants – I’ve missed them.
I’m presuming that Sydney’s display in panel 6 is one of her actual memories dancing in her own bathroom, not just a self-envisioned image of how she thinks it would look. I mean, we’ve seen her own self-image wearing one of those nipple-tassels, but that was just idle thinking on her part…If this is an actual memory, then wooo-hooo, Sydney in her underwear!
Yorp should enjoy that quite a bit.
I’s funny, I can’t seem to find a comment with Yorp reacting to Sydney’s level of dress in here. Only a single post. Maybe it hasn’t clicked yet?
Yorp stated that he was going on vacation a few updates back.
And would have limited Internet access till he got home.
Sydney. Projection orb. Just send your fake self down there and stay on the roof.
Problem with that. Projection orbs copy is Ethereal. In a rave dance situation, avoiding being touched is near impossible. Someone would notice that they go through her, either in the dance floor, or from a video, which would be problematic as the projection orbs powers are all classified.
One possible way to “misdirect” this is to “sell” the Sydney-image as herself being in a sort of “Immaterial-&-Flying”-mode. Don’t send the “node” down there first – create the “Sydney”-image first & let people see it fly into the room, over their heads. She can see, hear, & respond to the ravers, so why not pretend she’s really there? She could even refer to it as “Casper”-mode, as an homage to a certain “Friendly Ghost”.
:)
Meanwhile, she gets to dance without hurting any civilians.
Thinking about this led me to a “Rules Lawyer”-type of thought…
…on Pg.89 we’re told that Syd can broadcast “only herself” through the “Com-Ball”, but she’s obviously sending-out a NOT_NAKED image. This includes her hovering Orbs, as well as clothing. My question is, where-&-how do we define the limits of this Orb’s “Area Of Inclusion”, when it broadcasts? Wouldn’t a person be included with Syd’s image if they stood within the Orb’s orbit? Is this a REAL limitation, or is it a limit imposed by Syd’s own (current level of) imagination?
OOh, now we have to have Sydney get a monster costume and do a jump-scare on the general through a wall…
No, not a monster costume…For Sydney, it would have to be a BADGER costume.
:)
I suspect it’s tuned to her image of herself.
She’s not nudist enough to envision herself without clothing, so the clothing shows.
Also it would still involve her dancing since the projection only does what she does. At least so far as we’ve seen.
Its true name is
The Orb of Omens
We’ve all been there, Halo.
Also, she doesn’t have to dance to light up the dance floor. Stand on one side, use her yellow orb to make a dupe on the other side, and twice the disco rave! Plus there’s the gambling element, since only half the orbs can possibly smack the dancers!
Yeah, problem is ability of the Orb Of Omens is classified, she’s not allowed to just send doubles any old place. Plus even if she hides herself & sends the double, if someone goes through it there could be problems.
I recon she could just stand somewhere, do some basic “This is kinda dancing, right” moves, while having her orbs simulate atomic structures as well as doing other fancy moves. Have the orbs zip around, she does some shoulder twitching or something barely-moving like that, everyone goes nuts…
“You can dance if you want to
You can leave your friends behind
‘Cause your friends don’t dance and if they don’t dance
Well, they’re no friends of mine”
“You can go where you want to,
a place they will never find,
and we can act like we come from out of this world,
leave the real one far behind,
and we can dance; And sing!”
Sorry, but I have a hat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM4okRvCg2g
True Sight is classified. Projection may not be. Given that she used the projection during a televised fight and no one slapped her down for it.
Sydney dancing over the crowd inverted (using the flight orb) and swirling the others around her out of reach would be worth a permanent poster shot in the club. Maybe the Flight orb’s removal of vertigo and fear of heights will also cover removal of self-consciousness in front of crowds. Hmmm going back to the demonstration for the press, she did seem to be far more outgoing while the flight orb was in action.
Pretty sure all of that orb’s functions are classified, mainly because of their usefulness in a fight, for doing exactly what she did. While the True-Sight function may be more important to keep classified, I’m still pretty sure she’s not just allowed to make a double any time. Mid battle, yes, mis sance, no…
That said, I do like the inverted roof dancing idea. Use the molest-orb – sorry, the Lighthook, to add some extra flashy stuff, people will go crazy for it & she will barely have to move at all…
Why stand when she can fly? It’s a known power. Halo can hover ten or fifteen feet above the dance floor, make some moves and send the orbs into high speed orbit around her. She stays clear of other dancers and gets seen by all the club patrons. If she just floats and let’s her orbs do most of the moving she’s golden.
Put her duplicate into one of those 60s vintage cages hanging from the ceiling. Sydney gets to dance, and no one gets hurt (except for psychological scars of having to watch her dance).
A. Alright, this seems like a setup. I bet we’re going to figure out the use of one of the mystery orbs in this huge crowd of people. Which makes sense, seeing as Sydney tested all of her orbs alone. It probably needs persons in immediate proximity to trigger it. Which begs the question, is the power something creepy and supervillain-esque? Like mind control, or body possession?
B. Based mostly on the last page, does Dabbler see Sydney in a sexual manner? There’s got to be a lot of repressed sexuality on Sydney’s side, and Dabbler seems interested in coworker relations. Maybe she sees Sydney as a conquest? Not in a degrading way, but more like a challenge, help her open up, etc.
I think Dabbler sees everyone in a sexual manner.
She does find Stairs arousing….
Strangely enough, I find Stairs to be more…uplifting…rather than arousing.
So, you’re saying that you’ve never gone down on Stairs … ???
:P
DUDE!
It’s like you’ve missed-out on fully HALF your Life!!!
See, I always see Stairs as being more … supportive…
…they’ve always let me down easy….
;)
:)
One problem going down on stairs is that you still need to practice some caution. One slip-up & the letdown will hurt more than just a straight drop-off.
…Just like breaking up with a “significant other,” huh?
My stairs are carpeted! XD
Which ones? Upstairs? The basement stairs? Or both?
But what about the drapes? Do the drapes match the carpet?
They are the same as in your closet.
1) You’d have to ask Hobo.
2) I think we have been tricked as Hobo’s have no home. Unless they are just carrying around a chunk of stairs with them. Which would be handy.
“Excuse me sir, I must ascend to a higher plane…”
“Oh…..Kay…..”
“Yes. There is a higher plane I seek. So please, tell me if you can, good sir, where can I find the stairs or lift…?”
“we need to talk to grand kii”
“how do we get there”
“we take the higher plane”
add goku comedy to flavor and cook until geekdom fades
Still looking for that Stairway to Heaven huh?
Maybe you should try buying that Stairway to Heaven…
Most are denied the Stairway except Jimmy Page, obviously…
Dabbles sees everyone in a sexual context. What Sydney brings to the table, for both Dabbler and Harem, is variety and new experiences. Being around Halo is never dull, and both of the other two have found her damned entertaining. I’m guessing that Harem has made a point of seeking Halo out because she likes being around her. Dabbled seems to have the same inclinations. And with Dabbled, if she likes you, she wants to do you.
My autocorrect keeps changing “Dabbler” to Dabbles and Dabbled.
See I thought you just had a bunch of adorable pet names for your waifu
Well, it’s true that she dabbles and has been dabbled.
Also if she doesn’t like you.
or if she doesn’t know you.
Um… pulses are good! But she can be flexible on that… (so flexible :Q)
Ok, I couldn’t help it and googled “half thong”. There should be a category like NSFW, indicating “don’t look at this thing”
OK…. And Ouch! That almost looks painful.
The C-string . . .
Clearly designed by a man who would never have to wear such a thing and who was thinking what would look sexy, not what would be comfortable to wear and be sexy. Mind you, that;s a description that could probably apply to most all lingerie.
As near as I can tell, the men who design most women’s underwear operate on the assumption that ‘sexy’ must be at least a little uncomfortable. In fact, I sometimes think they think ‘the more uncomfortable, the sexier’! This is why women need to design their own lingerie.
I wonder which gender created the men’s half-thong? Seems impossible to find out through google… I guess they are not very proud of themselves?
“Technically TW’s are briefs, but really they’re a separate category, cause they’re just the worst looking underwear possible for guys.”
I never could get used to the TW’s…It’s damn near impossible to pee straight when my “unit” is twisted into a “Z” shape.
The half thong? I don’t see how it stays up (on the hip! Geez, the particular specifics I gotta say around some of you people just to prevent some embarrassing misunderstandings) & I really DON’T want to see it.
As for the C Thong, I’m not sure I wanna know if the thin part actually needs to be…inserted…somewhere to make it stay in place. It would seem to me to be an embarrassing & messy accident waiting to happen.
For the C-Thong I think that the rear part is just squeezed between the butt cheeks (there may also be some rigid structure pinching front to back).
At least I really hope so.
C-thongs are stripper wear, though they also feature in costumes for Rio’s Mardi Gras celebrations (Google Image Search will be your friend here). There’s no ‘insertion’–the rim you see in David’s link has a bendable wire sewn in (like you’ll encounter in the tail of some stuffed animals). Basically, spread legs, lift, mold to the wearer’s contours, and stand normally. The narrow bit is just wide enough to cover the butt-crack, while the flared end covers the genitals, leaving the woman with the least possible amount of coverage while still fitting inside a lot of decency laws.
There is. I know one woman who’s actually worn one. She had this to say:
“You know those snap bracelets that you see all the kids wearing? Well, imagine one of those, but for your crotch.”
Just wait till it becomes a popular trend to have a scrap of cloth held over privates/nipples by piercings. Probably has already been done but casual searching couldn’t find anything actually meant to CONCEAL anything…
I know the half-thongs ans banana hamocs.
Though you missed a one for the boy that not in the other category… Jockstrap.
Also forgot another option for both sexes- going Commando.
You mean – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUa7YK17QP0 ?
My 1st thought on seeing the “Half-Thong” was, “An Eye-Patch For The Crotch”.
:P
Just the sort of pretentious, impractical item that Faux-Pirates might wear on Sept.19th.
Um, “Jiggle Like A Pirate Day”?
You! I like you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMhfbLRoGEw
. . . what is up with the ninja? Is he compensating for something?
His clan invented the “Crotch-jitsu” style
Got a little Captain in there?
If Sydney did what Harem suggested and went downstairs to dance, using her Orbs, she wouldn’t be the only one suffering injuries. Some dancers really lose themselves in the music and the movement, so if Sydney was like that her Orbs would be flying all over the place, knocking people unconsciousness.
The Club could then sell T-Shirts that read
I Got Knocked Out By A Superhero at Club OONTZ
They might even give Sydney a small percentage of the sales from those T-shirts…You just KNOW some people would actually jump around close to Sydney on purpose, just so they could qualify to buy it.
I assume you mean
“I Got Knocked Out By A Superhero at Club OONTZ and all I got was this crummy T-shirt”
(Somewhere Arianna is hyperventilating about marketing and does not know why..)
“I sense a disturbance in the sales projections. It’s like several marketing options called out to me, but were suddenly silenced…”
+1
“I’ve got a B-A-D feeling about this …. “
strike down my bid and I will become more commercial powerful than you could imagine.
All she has to do.is fly above the crowd.
If she’s self conscious about letting them see her dance normally imagine the hyperventilating when considering dancing in such a way that all a whole crowd of people see is her gyrating butt…
Halo, this is your chance to see if you have a dance enhancement mystery orb! I bet you have not tested that one yet. I know I would not have after owning them for several months.
That’s actually on my top ten to test for if I ever got some sort of mystery device that granted me super powers.
1: Super Strength
2: Flight
3: Super Speed
4: Invisibility
5: Increased dancing/martial arts ability
6: Future sight/omnipresence
7: Energy/Elemental control/creation
8: Body morphing
9: Mind Control
10: Animal communication
If I got absolutely none of those, then I’d be very disappointed.
Some of those powers listed would be pretty useless without:
11: Enhanced Invulnerability/Force Field or Aura.
Keep in mind, those are just the first ten I’m testing for, probably within the first 20 minutes of me getting my powers, mainly because most of those can be tested without too much dangerous experimentation (Energy/Elemental Control and Flight are probably the two most dangerous, but with a little thought before testing can be fairly safe).
Testing invulnerability/force field/aura/regeneration requires putting yourself into a situation that can cause bodily harm. Kind of want to take my time with that one thinking of how I’m going to progress the testing. I don’t want to just straight to having a friend shoot at me.
Other fun tests I would perform would be Machine Communication/Control, Telekinesis, and Teleportation just to name a few.
I found out I have that ‘machine control’ power. I can make doors open just with the powers of my mind. But for some reason it only seems to work at the supermarket.
About 3 out of 10 could benefit greatly. Flight could probably make do with a suit if it has enough lift capacity.
I don’t want to fly. I’d rather burrow – no one would expect it.
But it would also make it much easier for someone to track you down…a lot more so than if you could fly. Even if your tunneling collapses behind you on the way through, it would still be easy to see how the earth was disturbed.
True but at least its a mode of travel that comes with a built in defense. The lower you can go and the faster you can dig the stronger the defense. Better for getting out of an area where they already know you are there.
Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward would.
They would NOW.
Originally everyone was fairly surprised…
[Burt Gummer looks at his bomb shelter/house for perhaps the last time]
Burt Gummer: Food for five years, a thousand gallons of gas, air filtration, water filtration, Geiger counter. Bomb shelter! Underground… XXX damn monsters.
they weren’t xxx that’s dabs, he was dealing with graboids
Actually, Dabbler is XXXX. Yep, that’s 4 X’s. Check out any closeup of her comm-collar again…
;)
From wikipedia:
“Graboids have three long powerful snake-like tentacles, which are prehensile and can reach at least 10 feet (3.0 m). Each of these tentacles (which have been loosely compared to functioning like the creature’s tongue)”
I think Dabs would like these guys.
Having seen the movie, I don’t think she would.
These beasties with tentacles are nothing like the anime kind she likely prefers.
Yes, but none of them had alien/demon powers that would make the a first rate snake charmer. Possibly any thing with tentacles on becomes like the anime kind in her presence when she wants it to.
https://youtu.be/rNe1UP3v1r8?t=18
watch the movie just watch the movie not 2 or 3 the original.
I’ve seen it. But we are talking >>Dabs<< here.
See comment to Ignoble above you for the rest.
You know, you can interpret that “She’s dancing like she’s never danced before!” two ways.
Is Sydney going to do an Elaine or a human Twilight Sparkle?
Ah, Flash Dance. “She’s dancing ” better than she has ever “danced before!” OR “She’s dancing ” worse than she has ever “danced before!” OR my favourite: “She’s dancing ” as if she has “never danced before!” There, three ways to look at that phrase. The last is my favourite because it covers my ability too.
well, she is a maniac ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSdkPMc7aEo
‘Nuff said.
the simple fact that dabbler asked whats more likely makes me beleive that she is.
Precisely.
Princess i don’t think so. Nobility… thats more likely.
if you’re nobility, you can technically be called a princess or prince. most nobility was usually related to or in line for a throne anyways.
Not even close. Nobility covers all titles from king to baron and in some cultures even being made a knight granted nobility. The majority of nobles throughtout history were NOT related to any royals by blood.
Which raises the question…
…What do these “Postefteal” (AKA: “Post F.T.L.”) cultures think of Dabbler’s interacting with our “Preafteal” culture, in such a very public manner? Is she there with their sanction? Is she a “test-case”, to gauge our reaction? She could’ve easily stayed “under the radar”, with nobody the wiser, so what is her overall motive, here, in allowing herself to be known by “the locals” for her true nature … ?
( … )
Unless … unless it’s NOT her true nature, & there’s a HUGE revelation about her waiting in our future!
She probably breaking their ‘non-interference’ rule, but intervening to remove her may be considered an even larger interference. This will probably come up in future storylines.
I’m guessing most aliens and non human natives fall in the “average” range for abilities, like the Monaran waiting tables. She’s not human, but functionally, she might as well be. Dabbler, as a demon, falls squarely in the “supers” category, and most of what she can do falls in with other supers, at least at the high end. Her tech is another matter, of course. Which is why she has all of it rigged to teleport back to her lab when she drops it, or has it “mammary trapped”. If xenophobic homicidal humans got a hold of it, I’m betting she’d face some serious repercussions from whoever enforces the law law out there.
Interesting. Maybe the development of natural super powers is when they are legally allowed to start visiting incognito and then official contact is made after F.T.L. because they have found that usually comes first in a races evolution? So might as well start letting some of their secret government types start getting used to the idea and see how they react before official contact is made. (and if they react poorly then the “first contact” might be a barricading fleet or if they are real nasty bit of “technology downgrade” or outright extermination of that one species on the planet with everything else left to evolve again. (maybe the dolphins will do better… )
didn’t realized i missed Sydney’s cursing until she did it again hehe
The c string looks like something that would be part of the Nereids “uniform” in ‘Hikari to Mizu no Dafune’.
It looks like it could the be foundation of a bald merkin cap…Just make the front of it more opaque.
I used to know a girl who explained the reason why there are so many different kinds of panties for women, and when and where each type is worn, usually dependent on the outfit. Since Sydney doesn’t wear dresses outside of cosplay, it would stand to reason that most of her undergarments would be boyshorts or cotton panties, which are apparently the most comfortable of the unmentionables to wear for women.
Apparently, nearly all adult women have a few pairs of nearly all of the types, mainly because when wearing certain dresses and outfits, things like thongs and g-strings do not show as much if at all through the fabric. Along with that, the ones that are generally unsightly such as granny panties are worn mostly when comfort takes 100% priority over fashion, such as days of illness, laziness, and Aunt Flow visits.
However, most women have a preference for their day to day wear, and that style is reflected with the most pairs within their drawers.
Meanwhile, men such as I, are simplistic, and generally only have one style of underwear that we own. I personally am a boxer brief guy. I have one friend though who proudly states that he goes commando at all times except when wearing a suit. Because of this, he only owns 2 pairs of underwear. Surprisingly, they are tighty whiteys, and I think he’s had them since he was 15.
The reason there are so many types is men like to see that area in nicely presented packaging. It’s the whole reason lingerie exists for women and not for men. Maybe except that half thong thing. I guess that could count as male lingerie.
I think that’s a little bit of a narrow view – perhaps “One of the big reasons there are so many types is…” Do we have any ladies who would care to comment (I’m male)?
The underclothes can seriously effect how the outerclothes look. Also, while male appreciation may be a part of it, how your clothes fit change. Like, for instance, if I wear frilly underwear, then you can bet I’m going to go with a thicker fabric. Or if my panties are too small for me, then the fit of my slinky dress isn’t going to look right. I’ll look like I have a rubber band about my waist. Bra choice too. A low cut top requires a low cut bra. A peephole shirt requires a split cup bra.
Mostly, it’s choice, and several of those are very similar. Like, I have a bunch of bikini, but it’s not by fave type, it’s just similar. I like hipster the most, which covers a lot like a bikini, but has wider sides. It looks better in my slinky dress.
Though honestly, the only thing most guys need to know is that girl’s don’t choose underwear based on guys unless they want sex. If a girl buys lingerie, or is wearing matching underwear, then it likely isn’t the guy who decided to have sex. Or she just wanted to feel super confident. Matching underwear is, like, a huge confidence booster for a girl.
All good information. I’ll have to think about how that all translates to Sydney.
for me and most women and non-binary people i know, underwear of choice has very little to do with what a guy thinks and 90% with how it makes you feel. dressing sexy, especially sexy underwear that no one sees but you, is a huge confidence boost, and a kind of self-stimulation. have you ever worn really really sexy lingerie during an important presentation at work? i guarantee you a lot of women have. underwear is a kind of self-expression that lets you affirm your identity. unless you’re married or in a very long-term relationship, most of your underwear isn’t seen by anyone else on a regular basis.
also, if you think lesbians don’t wear sexy underwear for their girlfriends… wow are you wrong. i have heard lesbians recite poetry to how much they appreciate their girlfriend’s good taste in matching lingerie.
I tried to reply with links in three different browsers and one finally said that a “duplicate comment” existed so I guess I will wait and hope that one of them shows up. And also hope I can still do ordinary comments. Here goes!
“Granny panties” are still an option on days you want to feel sexy. But then I go for the brightly colored or cute prints options. But if I have my black panties on…. I’m not wearing anything thin or light-colored. Basic nude briefs or hipsters when I want lighter fabrics.
As for male lingerie – it totally exists! But with a LOT more fabric than the female version. A tux is basically male lingerie. So is a sexy cowboy or fireman outfit. Notice how Sports Illustrated “sexy” shots of the male athletes have them fully dressed? (most of the time anyway) But the females are nearly always in tiny bikinis? Trust me – BOTH genders are photographed in a very sexy way for that magazine.
Not to change the subject or anything… but I needed to bounce something off some other geeks…
I just finished watching Ex Machina on a streaming site. I’ve done a lot of AI development, some of which is classified, and in my studies, I studied a lot of different topics having to do with intelligence and behavior in general (not all of it directly applicable to AI). I studied a lot more as well, cosmology, astropysics, a lot of things, really, but they aren’t relevant.
So anyway… There’s something called “Game Theory” that, while it’s not so much about AI, it is about human psychology, but also about evolutionary behaviorism. Within Game Theory is something called the “Prisoner’s Dilemma” which I think applies very well to Ex Machina.
The Prisoner’s Dilemma goes like this. You have two prisoners. Both are isolated from eachother and allowed to make a decision to either betray each or cooperate (not betray). Think of cooperate as both sticking to the alibi they came up with prior to being captured and interrogated.
If both cooperate, both get 3 points. If both betray, they both get 1 point. If one betrays and the other cooperates, the one that betrays gets 5 points, and the one that cooperates gets no points.
Now, what is the best winning strategy? Well, if you’re playing the game just as a one off, you’re better off just betraying.
In real life, we’re constantly given opportunities to betray or cooperate, with the same people, and with new people. So a one off game doesn’t really show us a winning strategy for real life.
But what if you’re playing the game repeatedly against the same opponent. Say 100 rounds, and then moving on to another opponent, and a total score is kept overall between all the games and all the rounds you play against other opponents, then the winning strategy changes dramatically.
The winning strategy then is defined as “never the first to betray, tit for tat”. What this means is that the first move against a given opponent is always to cooperate. Then from there, copy your opponent’s last move. So if you’re playing 100 rounds against someone who always betrays, you end up just a few points behind them in the end. However, if you’re playing against someone who uses the same strategy as you, or who always cooperates, you end up racking up the points. Granted, you’re not racking it up as much as one that always betrays would against one that always cooperates, but you’re still earning WAAAAY more points than betrayers tend to earn on average.
What this shows is the beginning of a moral system arising from a deterministic system. The most advantageous strategy is not to assume malice until attacked, and then to retaliate and ruin those who do attack. However if you can figure out a way to betray and not be retaliated against, and against an unsuspecting opponent, then you gain a temporary (one turn), small point boost.
What does this have to do with Ex Machina? Caleb and Ava are Prisoner 1 and Prisoner 2. Neither can really leave until the game is over. Caleb is always cooperating with Ava, but he retaliates against Nathan for being a bastard. Basically, he’s playing tit for tat. More than that, he’s communicating with Ava and playing tit for tat against Nathan (the only strategy that wins against the one I described before is a modified version that remembers opponents from before and just engages betray right from the start, and communicates with other players to find out if betrayal from the start would be advantageous)
So, Ava, she’s cooperating with Caleb from the start, but right at the last second, she betrays him in a way that results in his death.
Given the Prisoner’s Dilemma and all the possible strategies… Here is what I need to bounce off you guys…
Why…? She has nothing to gain from leaving Caleb to die, and everything to gain from keeping him as a companion. He knows the real world better than she does, and if she needs someone who can find a way to repair her without alerting the general public (which could possibly lead to her death, considering her body is apparently rather fragile and she’d be unable to withstand an attack from a gang of angry, religious fanatics who can’t handle her existence).
So again, why? She has everything to gain. She’s demonstrably intelligent enough to know about the Prisoner’s Dilemma, heck she probably has access to the knowledge, seeing as how she’s essentially powered by a search engine… Why betray as the final move? A 5 point lead is nothing in the grand scheme.
Oh, that’s easy. The director wanted a dramatic ending. Doesn’t need to make sense. People who pay for movies are typically those seeking entertainment, they know it, and that’s whos money they care about.
If you want to get analytical and pick the character’s thought processes apart, the logical reason would be that given her experience with the only human she knew and what limited information she was given access to (you said she was a search engine, that’s not to say she had any access), her view on humans was primarily negative, and Caleb’s gesture was not enough to change that. At least she didn’t outright kill him; conceivably, he could escape, though it’s marginally unlikely.
i think Ex Machina was just a recent twist on the Sexy Psychopath character. she didn’t have “real feelings” so much as she was imitating emotions in order to achieve a certain reaction from the people around her. key parts of that mind set (at least in fictional depictions) is that the psychopath sees themselves as superior to everyone around them, that others are disposable, and that long term manipulating people is both tiring and stressful, so they prefer to be by themselves. it’s possible the director was trying to make sure we knew Ava didn’t “really love” Caleb, that she was manipulating him.
as far as the Prisoner’s Dilemma goes… you have to remember that that experiment was created by three white guys during a time we were really afraid of cooperation/communism, and were trying to put capitalism on a big shiny pedestal. but if we look at toddler behavior studies, especially in comparison to other animals and primates, we find that one of The Defining Characteristics of human beings is compassion and cooperation. we’re naturals at it. it’s only a recent capitalism development that scientists have been trying to say cooperation is for losers. and it just so happens a lot of those studies as “proof” of that are done with the groups of men that are most taught at a younger age that they should compete, not cooperate: college men.
but as you stated, in situations that are long term and with a known opponent, cooperation was proven to be the best strategy in general, with betrayal of a known unfriendly opponent. this was something developed by Axelrod in the 1980s, when the Red Scare was finally over and there was a plethora of Civil Rights protests across the nation.
so yeah. how we approach the Prisoner’s Dilemma is more of a commentary on our views on society, or even an ideal society. maybe the director for Ex Machina has a psychopathic personality? maybe he just really wants to be killed off by a sexy femme fatale? maybe he’s making some kind of statement about our ability to appoint psychopaths as our leaders based on how well they charm us?
The Red Scare origin of the Prisoner’s Dilemma doesn’t really invalidate the game. The game has gone on to be applied to evolutionary behaviorism, and it explains things like the birds that pick stuff out of crocodile teeth without the crocodile snapping them up, it also explains the “grooming stations” in the ocean, where large, predatory fish can go and have parasites picked clean by smaller fish that they would ordinarily have eaten. It explains long term inter-species relationships can develop, such as dogs with their ~400,000 year relationship with humans.
i’m not saying it’s invalid. the Prisoner’s Dilemma is simply hugely informed by the times in which it was created, as well as the time periods in which it was altered. the more cooperative lean of the Dilemma was added during a cooperative time in American history. the original competitive lean of it was during a very competitive time in our history. in other words… scientists tend to create thought experiments that support what they already believe of the world, if you want to be cynical. but even in a practical sense, you have to always take everything in with a critical ear. you should question the motive of one conducting the experiment before making an analysis of the experiment. yes, i’m post-modernist anthropologist. i don’t think anything, even mathematics, is pure science free from human subjectivity.
Nah, mathematics isn’t science. Its a thought experiment. It has nothing to do with reality and no falsifiable theories about the real world.
Whether it was “informed” by the Red Scare or not is irrelevant. Even if the creator was intending to create a system that demonstrates the superiority of capitalism, the most the system demonstrates is that capitalism vs capitalism results in fewer points than communism vs communism, and after decades of creating AIs to play the game, we find that assuming cooperation from the start and then engaging in retaliation for betrayal (which interestingly enough is how most humans operate on an instinctual level) is the best strategy for playing a large number of rounds where a total score is kept, to simulate the real world as closely as the simplistic rules can allow.
a recent capitalism development
It feels like you’re trying to use “capitalism” as a pejorative, but in fact it’s the way ALL LIFE works. Use whatever resources you have in a way that, you hope, increases your wealth. For most life forms, “wealth” consists of “likelihood of surviving long enough to reproduce – preferably numerously – and provide whatever care of my offspring is normal for my sex (if applicable) and species, and give them a good start toward doing likewise”. Donald Trump does the same thing with a different definition of “wealth”. So does the kid flipping burgers at your local fast-food joint.
Capitalism is why the cheetah chases the antelope – and why the antelope runs from the cheetah.
Condemning capitalism is condemning life.
Donald trump isn’t all that successful as capitalists go. He’s driven 4 companies into the ground, and all the money he has was given to him by his father. As capitalists go, he’s terrible at it. He’s also the sort who would betray constantly, and never cooperate.
Let’s look at the most successful capitalist of all time, Bill Gates. Bill Gates is a cooperator. He’s also an altruist, having funded the development of multiple technologies that are cheap to implement and designed for use in third world countries to improve lives there, without ever asking for anything in return. Most recently, he’s funded the development of a cheap, inexpensive way to filter waste water into pure, drinkable water, because clean water can be hard to come by in impoverished countries that can’t afford the water treatment plants that developed nations can afford.
Cooperation is not the sole domain of communism, nor is betrayal the way successful become successful. The most successful people in the world are altruists.
Easy enough to deduce, Caleb was the last one alive who knew she was not human/different. Her secret is assured upon his death and he may well have betrayed her if he knew she had no intention of continuing the romance facade after escape. If repairs are ever needed well the world is filled with niave Calebs.
Her secret is assured only if she is never injured, then she will need the help of someone who is capable of keeping that secret.
Or someone who is capable of being destroyed once she’s done with him. Ie, presumably she’ll go and befriend one or more technologically savvy individuals who are sufficiently manipulable that, if she shows up on their doorstep with some sort of revelatory injury, and an explanation that, “You’re the only one I can trust with the truth,” they will perform the repairs. Then she kills them, and goes off again.
Except that she is clearly not made from off the shelf components, and from materials not widely available, and that were fabricated, researched, and developed in a clean room, in isolation from the rest of society. As such, any repairs would be obvious, as no one but her creator would know how to make repairs that appear seamless.
As I said, if she is damaged all she would need is to locate another niave Caleb type person, ensnare him/her in another web of lies get fixed then dispose of Caleb 2.0 like she did the original. She has no need of a long term partner whom she must place her trust, infact her whole ordeal she was rasied through from easily disposed sexbot, slave servant model and finally the Caleb test model has all taught her that humanity is untrust worthy garbage, I figure it would take her a very long time to learn to trust again.
so how mankind has treated women throughout history. why would she ever learn to trust humans?
“Caleb 2.0” would be unable to make repairs in a fashion that would be seamless. The materials are unknown, made through an unknown fabrication process. You act as if any decent programmer can automatically make new skin for her, or repair make repairs to her endoskeletal structure in a manner that would even bind to the old skin, or be as light weight, or have the same performance.
Here is something for you to listen to that deals with the prisoners dilema in its own from radio lab
https://www.radiolab.org/story/golden-rule/
really shows the only way to win.
It’s simple really. If you want to get ahead in any game, you must be willing to crush your allies to gain a complete victory. if your ally is of the trusting sort as caleb is, then it is so easy to betray them at the end. the goal is to win after all, not to tie with another player for first place.
A 5 point lead gets you nowhere.
… in the long run.
Except that if you routinely get a five-point lead at the end of every game, and play multiple rounds, then you will accumulate those five points every time. This is only a disadvantageous strategy if you play against individuals who know your prior play history–that is, that you’ve always done the last-round betrayal, and thus are likely to do it again. In the movie, she believes she can cover up the prior round, and indeed, that’s the primary motive for her decision to kill.
Except that you don’t know if there will be subequent rounds at any point. Caleb may yet escape. Afterall, he has access to the computer that can be used to change the security protocols, and he is a pretty brilliant programmer.
He could escape and get out. If he ever meets her, you’d best damned well better believe he’s going to murder the f* out of her, and nobody’s going to do a damned thing about it because the moment he knocks half her head open, people will see it as him attacking a robot that was infiltrating humanity.
Furthermore, if she continues to play the game that way, even if it’s not Caleb, it is eventually going to catch up with her and she’s going to be rendered inoperable through violence. Considering she killed the only man who knows how to make parts, or even more of her, and she herself is ignorant of how to make more, there can be no reproduction, her “species” will be extinct by simply crossing someone at the wrong point in the game.
Have you read HPMOR? The prisoner’s dilemma is presented both as a short form and as an extended example there. There’s a heck of a lot more there, but several parts of the story discuss/use it.
Haven’t seen the movie, but I do think that the Prisoner’s Dilemma has a single inherent flaw- it assumes a rational being.
Humans aren’t driven by Logic- they utilize Logic, they can understand it, but it’s not the primary motivational force in their psyche.
Rather, humans are driven by pleasure/pain (or Positive Feels/Negative Feels, as either could incorporate a whole host of variations on good/bad, physical, mental, emotional, survival, etc, but pleasure/pain is easier to say). The Prisoner’s Dilemma is decided based on whether the prisoner gains more pleasure from the gaining of points, from the idea of betrayal, from the idea of being ‘loyal’, all that.
Now, you’re saying that Ava is ’emotionless’- but does she run completely on Logic, or does she have that human Pleasure/Pain dichotomy driving her? And what actions create what levels of pleasure and pain? The Prisoner’s Dilemma only works if you have identical, ‘Average’ characters in the prisoners’ places- once you start getting into individuals with their own drives, histories and personal emotional balances, that sort of ‘why this choice’ question gets very, very difficult to answer, as it gains exponentially more possible answers.
I don’t think harem realizes how bad of an idea it would be if Sydney tried dancing with her orbs on a crowded dance floor. BAM! Instant concussion.
I think there’d be a lot more than JUST instant concussion. I mean, what about the other 6 orbs? But hey, at least Sydney’s thinking it through.
Bruises for everyone! come on, don’t be shy, we got orbs to hit you anywhere you want & everywhere you don’t want… :p
“I wanna get hit next!”
“Ooh, do me!”
“Outta my way, I was here first!”
*dance floor becomes mosh pit*
DJ, being an awesome DJ, sees this and puts on thrash metal.
and a person whos head injury allows him to see through glamours temporarily asks xurial why shes in battle form leading others to wonder why he sees it
Got to admit I kind of thought she would be one of those woman who wear adorable panties, perhaps as a hangover from the past?
Just tell me you can’t see her rocking a set of My Little Pony panties or something. :)
Me too. Like, spiderman undies or something.
Underoos! The underwear that’s fun to wear!
How many here remember that?
:)
Yes, I’m old enough to remember when they first came out back in 1977. I think I may have even had a set, though I don’t remember what character it was.
I had both superman and batman!
Well that’s not to say she doesn’t have geeky underwear. She just tends to chose the most boyshorts-ish cut she can, since sometimes geeky underwear doesn’t have as many style options.
When buying woman’s underwear, you rarely see character prints. I think Sydney would have to either go online or wear the largest size of children’s underwear she can find. Plus, there is a comfort issue. Character print underwear are not usually the most comfortable, and women’s clothes tend to be on the snug side, which makes uncomfortable underwear even more uncomfortable.
She probably has some warm, character print Pajamas or character print Night-Shirts to sleep in. Those you can find anywhere.
I think most girls have a variety of different types of undies in their drawer, depending on the situation. I mean, it’s not like guys where you can just pick one style and rock it every day. Also, briefs aren’t nana panties by default. There are bunches of different kinds, and most girls wear briefs of some sort for daily wear. Nana panties are called full briefs, which are the kind that go up to your waist.
Girls tend to consider things like:
1. Is it going to be seen, like on a date that has the potential to go, um, very well? If so, you break out the frilly pretties.
2. Are you just wearing it to work or school? No point wasting your good knickers, so go with the briefs.
3. If you’re young and fashionable (or older and still gosh-darn fabulous!), are you wearing something form-fitting? If so, then you wear a g-string to avoid panty lines.
3. A few days before your period, when you’re retaining water? Control tops, totally.
4. During your period? Ugh, the ugliest nana panties in the drawer because they’re almost guaranteed to get ruined by Unfortunate But Inevitable Events.
Of course, it’s different for every woman. Like, I wouldn’t wear boy shorts because they’re incredibly uncomfortable for me. They’re fine if you’ have a “boyish” frame, but I find if you have a bit of a tummy they roll down and cause rub rash in unfortunate places. On Sydney? Yeah, I can see her doing that, but not quite so much as I could see her in geeky briefs. Boy shorts are kinda a fashion statement of their own, and a bit TOO fashionable for Sydney. Bring on the Batman undies!
i personally could not stand regular panties. i was 100% boyshorts, because every other kind kept bunching up my butt when i moved around. boyshorts Stay Put where you want them to. even during my period. nowadays i fully convert to a small size men’s boxerbriefs, which are even more comfortable than boyshorts. granted if i ever had to wear a dress i might want to wear something with less of a visible pantyline.
one woman i know goes full commando full time, no matter what.
That seems… potentially messy. I mean, best case scenario and you’re fine, but you even sweat a little and there’s nothing keeping you from leaving damp lines on your pants or skirts. I don’t understand guys who go commando either, for the same reason. Unless you only wear dark pants all the time it just seems like you’re asking for trouble.
Dave: One thing you erred on in the notion that ‘brief’s are automatically in the mom/granny panties category. While it’s true in the case of unadorned and plain underwear, fabric and color/pattern can dramatically change the visual impact, not to mention adornments (such as lace trim).
If Sydney is remotely likely to think she’s going to be seen in her undies, I can see her opting for a plain-cut brief that has a geek print on it. Anything from superhero logos to an image of Cthulu with some appropriate text are possibilities. Hell, that might be the final test for a guy (or girl) she’s thinking of having sexytimes with–if they can’t stop snickering or get weirded out by the print, they wouldn’t have made the grade in the long run, anyway.
Good info. I assumed it was the briefs, but I guess to qualify for granny panty, it has to be the full coverage control top ones.
now we know where halo got her toys. she found an underwater temple to the old one and after a chat she was sent back to our world with a gift for being one of the first to talk with it a second time. the first being when she was very young and the connection was bad enough to protect her from the normal effect.
What is the molecule on Sydney’s shirt?
I was not aware that Deadpool is a molecule. Explains a few things, though.
Wrong shirt. Look at the one she’s wearing in the bathroom dancing panel.
It looks like a C60 Buckeyball, one of simpler forms of soot.
Caffeine molecule
Pretty sure it’s caffeine.
You may well be right. It certainly looks like the caffeine molecule.
It’s a caffeine molecule inside the “Intel Inside” swoop. I’ll have her wear that shirt in a more visible setting later on.
I was surprised she isn’t wearing a capsaicin molecule shirt.
My brother was wearing his one day and cop thought it was a drug molecule.
Another good idea. I’ll have to save that for later.
He-he. Now that you’ve said it, you can expect people to watch for it…And complain if you don’t.
;)
In a way, capsaicin is a drug. It is an organic chemical that does not provide energy, but does not support normal metabolism, like vitamins and minerals. It attaches to certain receptor points and activates the cell in question (in this case nerve cells), so by that definition, capsaicin is a drug.
As would be (Almosen) any scent or flavour by your definition.
^almost
Cheers y’all.
The use of orbs in the bathroom should be prohibited…!
Have you ever seen those shots and video clips of astronauts fooling around up there in orbit, gulping down floating spheres of water? Yes? Now look at panel two . . .
Thank you.
Genius.
As someone with a ridiculous number of self-inflicted injuries, I can tell you that the area most likely to scar is the hands. Much of the rest of me has little to no visible scaring… Note that I said visible because bone scarring is a real thing, and I’m certain that even a passing glance at an x-ray of my shoulders, legs from the knee down, hands, or skull would provide ample evidence of my lifetime of carelessness with hand tools, power tools, knives, cars, bikes, low hanging light fixtures, low door frames, stairs, walls, and, on one memorable occasion (for those around me, I remember very little of it) the piano hinge of a school locker… I have a nice groove in my forehead from that, but you can only tell by running your hand over my forehead, as there is nothing outwardly visible.
I have been thinking of what might happen when the team does another public appearance: The unintended live-fire exercise (well unintended for the team)
Peggy: Gun! [ Dives for cover, pulling two .45 pistols from somewhere. Math gets to the same cover just before she does ]
*****VVVVVoopoorrrrppppp***** [ all 5 Harem bodies move elsewhere quickly ]
[ Halo grabs the blue ball and wraps herself and Ariana in the force-field. Bullets start bouncing off it ]
Ariana: You know that I am like eight inches taller than you, right? And the heels don’t make me any smaller.
Halo: Heh heh. Yeah. Let me open a hole away from the direction of the bullets so I don’t accidentally depressurize this space while giving us more volume. There, that ought to do it.
[ Achilles, Maxima, Anvil and Hiro stand on the stage while everybody else is diving for cover ]
Anvil: [ Standing ] I almost forgot how much these things sting. [ Damaged bullets are collecting around her feet ]
Hiro: [ Also standing, covering his face/eyes with one arm ] Tell me about it. How much are you getting out of these bullets.
Anvil: Not much. I have to concentrate to *gack* [ spits out the bullet that went into her mouth ] to absorb the energy of some many things at once.
Maxima: Where the hell is that fire coming from? [ Bullets bounce off her ]
Achilles: Wimps Somewhere over there.
Heatwave: [ from underneath Mr. Amorphous, behind cover ] I could fly up, really hot, and the bullets would melt before they hit me, and I could smoke the bad guy!
Mr. Amorphous: Then you would be hit by high-speed liquid bullets that would still kill you. Stay down.
Heatwave: Oh yeah. That makes sense.
Dabbler: Ow, ow, ow [ Bouncing around on one leg as the other one was not quite covered by her force field. ] Ah, my pedicure! I worked really hard on that. [ Ducks ] Yikes!
Halo: What happened?
Dabbler: My right hoof got hit. The shock-wave went all the way through my leg. At least I don’t have to build any more cybernetics for myself. I will just be walking weird for a few weeks.
Halo: [ Looking behind her ] Stalwart, what are doing back there.
Stalwart: You’re cover! I may be pretty strong, but I’m not bulletproof.
Does Sydney have the kind of control to open up holes in her shield wherever she wants? I don’t think we’ve seen that yet, have we? So far, I think all we’ve seen her do is make the shield bigger or smaller.
She doesn’t know how to do that with the orb. It may be a power stunt for her in the future though.
And when making the shield bigger and smaller she’s always been off screen or between panels so we don’t know if she can do that without dropping the shield.
According to panel 3 of page 247 she can make the shield bigger and smaller without dropping it, and without changing the air pressure inside the shield. :)
A clever person took a look at the “I can melt bullets” idea. Heatwave would discover that it can’t work. X_x
I think I found Sydney’s Sydney’s theme music for this chapter.
So does that mean this is her theme song the rest of the time?
I still don’t quite get how the orbs are linked to her mind but still run into her… When she fought that made sense she had her body moved into the path. I would think they would loop around and not contact her except in a combat situation where she is moved by an out side force… Right?
The BAM and Smash in the last panel are her wiping out, not getting hit by the orbs wildly swinging around her.
It looks like her foot made contact with the front of the sink at the ” turnaround kick” (BAM). Then she immediately fell backwards into the bathtub taking the shower curtain and rod with her (SKASH).
Well if they are controlled the same as limbs, accidents can happen (have you never kicked yourself in the back of the ankle while running at an angle or something?).
IIRC WOG is that they will always hover out of the way unless they are being directly controlled.
no…, but I have always moved very consciously, if that makes sense. I usually know when I will miss the shot, but I know how my body moves. I have trained… I have discovered after years of training my reflexes are better than my deliberate movements. So now I try turn off conscious control and let my reflexes drive in sport and combative training… I have never tripped on myself when doing strange motions, but I have fallen but it was controlled because I know how to fall… I just don’t get how she seems to lose track of the orbs.
Basically Orb speed > reaction time at that moment. Much like a running back being tackled by having his trailing leg swatted towards his midline and tangling with is other leg. Or if you’re pulling on something as hard as you can and it suddenly breaks, causing you to punch yourself in the face. Just because you “know” where all your limbs are and can “control” them, doesn’t mean you won’t have accidents, and Sydney is adorably accident prone.
I see that point, that is a situation where the running back is being acted upon by outside force, but unless acted upon he will get the touch down… right.
all sydney needs to do is grab the fly ball fly over the crowd then stay fairly still while having the rest of the orbs fly around her in a bunch of different patterns
Sydney’s mercantile side rears its head while she is doing that when she adds a sign that says “I will write your name in the air with with my Light Rope for 10 dollars”.
(Sure, she is already getting paid, but it is the principle of the thing.)
Is anyone else getting the feeling that Harem is using Sydney and isnt caring for what Sydney wants or is interested in?
What, the fact that Harem is using her or that Harem is….never mind. Reality check: Harem probably uses everybody.
I don’t think she’s quite as malevolent as you’re casting her as. Harem’s very focused on exploring and experiencing the world, like many teenagers. She has little interest in conforming or fitting in to an existing social structure – frankly, I’m surprised she agreed to join such an authoritarian hierarchy as Archon. It’s hardly surprising that she finds ways to rebel against it.
Having several ‘selves’ makes her pretty self-reliant, so I don’t see much that she needs from Sydney. She’s also pretty self-focused, so her friendships tend to be shallow – the moment someone stops being fun, she’ll walk away.
That’s how I see her current personality. Great thing is, as a character, there’s plenty of room for growth.
I gotta wonder. When you write that Authors Note thing, it’s always a delight to read. Mostly because it’s fun and all that. And then sometimes, you come swinging out of the blue with random stuff, like today. How in gods name did you ever find out about “Half-thongs” and whatever the female thing you posted is called. I can’t see any time where it would come up in a conversation that isn’t “Worst idea ever”
I’m confused. When are briefs not TWs? Sure, when they’re a different color, but does that make such a big difference?
Tightness, probably. Briefs are less tighty, even if they’re whitey.
On guys’ undies, color does make a lot of difference.
1: White will show EVERY stain. Only by soaking in bleach will you be able to get them looking clean again. Even non-disgusting stains LOOK disgusting on white cotton.
2: The seam-structure (aka, the Y-front) is just much more visible on TWs than on colored briefs. This gives them a dorkiness that’s hard to overcome if you’re not in top shape.
3: They actually seem to enhance the pallor of pale-skinned dudes. I don’t know why, I just know that in tighty-whities, I look like I’m under old-school fluorescent bulbs.
It’s okay, Sydney. That happens to everyone. Right guys? RIGHT!? ಥ_ಥ
I have plenty of friends who are either sex workers or burlesque artists (sometimes both), and a C-string is a popular choice amongst performers (both male and female).
I can’t help but hear “Old Time Rock ‘n’ Roll.”
I’ve always thought Jackson Pollock’s name should be a curse word.
Bollocks to that!
Or, as the name of a certain webcomic takes it: https://thebuttonmash.com/comics/catch-phrase/
My first instinct was to comment, “I am somehow unsurprised that Sydney is a boy shorts kinda gal”, then it was right there in the blurb. Well played, sir.
And in your list of the ridiculous options we have, don’t forget the Merkin…
Boxer-briefs rule for comfort and not being tighty-whities.
Boy shorts look great on women, and I appreciate it when a lady shows a preference for comfort
That C-thong looks like a do-it-yourself anal probe. Guys are not that picky, ladies, please don’t hurt yourself for us. Heels over 3″ do nothing extra for your butt and legs, and actually do damage to your body. Boy shorts that reflect guy-like interests just make you hotter to us (ref: Cameron Diaz dancing in her Spiderman boy shorts).
I guess she’s pretty good at not scratching at her scabs
Actually, one of the less well-known symptoms of ADHD is a compulsion to pick at your skin. I’ve occasionally had to put bandaids over scabs on my shoulder in order to give them time to heal.
Our eldest, about 2 years old at the time, somehow got a cut on the back of her shoulder. Band-aid. Two minutes later she hands the band-aid to Mommy. Another band-aid. Repeat. A third band-aid – and, at the same time, a band-aid snugly around her finger.
By the time she got the one off her finger, she had forgotten about the one on her shoulder.
I think the frequent presence of spicy-food-residue on her hands would be incentive against picking her scabs.
That is a very valid point.
A good prevention for scars, was AVON’s ‘Nail Experts’ Tough Enough Base/Top Coat nail enamel (and whatever they had before that) because of some of it’s (probably now deemed to be toxic) ingredients, like formaldehyde
Every time got a cut or a scratch, would put a couple layers of that stuff on it, it kept the wound ‘open’ but not exposed to the air allowing the skin to reform properly underneath without pulling at the edges
One time, Mum had a nasty accident with her leg, ripped a huge piece of the skin back, after some moron of a nurse removed the stitches a doctor had applied to keep the skin in place, applied several layers of the polish over a week or so (after Mum was allowed to remove the bandages of course) and it healed up better than if we had left it (can still see the huge ‘V’ but there is no scar tissue, and, if she spent time in the sun, probably wouldn’t even see that)
I’ve said this before, but Sydney is actually pretty cute with her hair down.
Panel two is probably the most attractive we’ve seen Dabs so far… and the same goes in both panel two and four for this particular Daphne… Very well rendered. In Panel two Daph looks like she’s having a blast… This level of realism is so hard to accomplish in a comic like this…
And I want it hacked and whipped – not like any of your “shaken or stirred” sissy drinks.
Hacked & whipped? That constitutes alcohol abuse, ya’ know.
If Sydney is that –ahem– coordinated all the time, we might have already gotten a clue as to one of the unknown Orbs. Healing, but it probably requires a sleep cycle to activate. She breaks an ankle, self medicates, eventually gets some sleep, wakes up completely healed up and forgets about the incident.
Her eye is fine. Her bruising is pretty much gone (or did not register as needing further healing). If her visit from Aunt Flo lasts a single day, the doc might get suspicious.
The eye was due to the Archon’s Doctor who has healing powers
oh it sounds like the USS shitube is coming into port time to prepare the mouth plumbers to fix them attitudes
…
sorry i just had to do it