Grrl Power #385 – Deep in the bosom of the gentle night…
Wow, only 90 pages to get through this day, as opposed to 295 from the previous one. I’m tightening that writing right up!
As superpowers go, the ability to give someone insomnia is, well, best used strategically. Still, people would learn to be very reticent about fighting that guy. Hopefully he’d have the sense not to call himself the Insominator. I’m not saying this is what happened to Sydney, it just occurred to me while I was writing the page.
Low level super powers used strategically and stealthily can wreak a lot more havoc than you’d initially think. Mur Lafferty’s book Playing for Keeps takes this to an extreme level with some semantic games, but is still a pretty good read. I may have mentioned this before, but allow me to give you my Jedi spiel. Basically Jedi’s are a collection of very low level powers employed smartly in a world with no other super powers beyond technology. Luke could barely yoink his lighsaber, Vader could rip some machinery off the walls and toss it around. Considering they didn’t flatten Luke, lets say it was… 100 lbs worth. Yeah, Yoda picked up an X-Wing, but he was a grand grand grand master, and I suspect he’d couldn’t pull that off in a fight. They have danger sense, just enough to dodge or deflect blaster fire, their lightsabers are designed to take advantage of this skill. In the prequel movies, they could run fast and jump high, but still not much more than that. (I guess those are still considered canon, but The Force Awakens seemed to go out of its way to not mention anything that happened in them. I’m certainly fine with pretending they never happened. Well, the clone trooper vs. droid fight at the end of Ep II was pretty cool, but nothing beyond that.) A Thor or Wonder Woman tier superhero would crush a Jedi without trying, but if it came down to a mid level superhero like Cyclops or Cyborg, it would be a crap shoot. Jedi training would go a long way, but initiative and creativity would be the deciding factor. I assume a lightsaber could deflect Cyclops’s beam, but he can also do a wide beam or rake it across the ceiling then gut shot the Jedi when they’re deflecting that. Of course a Jedi could force yoink Cyclops’s visor off if he realized it was important
This all ignores The Force Unleashed games, which were fun but totally not canon. Starkiller could probably take on Jean Gray Phoenix or Goku. The name Starkiller, by the way, is an homage to the original original draft of Star Wars, wherein Luke’s name was Deak Starkiller. (Actually he was Anakin’s brother but got shuffled down the continuity and became his son before thankfully being renamed.) The name also appears in the new movie but let’s give people a few more weeks before we start spoiling things about that in the comments. Anyway, in the first Force Unleashed game, Starkiller force pulls a Star Destroyer from low orbit and crashes it into the ground while fighting off Tie Fighters on foot. In Marvel Superhero RPG terms, that’s like Class 5000 telekinesis.
I finally updated the vote incentive! Sorry it took so long. I plan on getting this one inked and colored so hopefully I’ll have it done my the end of the month.
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Correction:
The doors WERE soundproof.
*wink*
Just imagine what it would be like if Dabbles’ door (walls, ceiling and floor) weren’t triple insulated ;)
They should call in Dr. Madison to design Dabbler’s room for the convenience of her teammates :D
Strip 1 and Strip 2
Heh! Man & Woman of Steel, a world made of Kleenex…
:D
I’m assuming that it’s not Dabbler saying that, or she’s just saying it to massage the other person’s ego. “I’ve never felt anything like this…” from a succubus seems a might unbelievable.
it has to be whoever she is with.
As in, “I have felt anything so pathetic.”
the door probably still is soundproof. sound proofing doesn’t work so well when the thing making the sound is right up against them, which seems Dabbler’s style.
… “In the small hours of the morning, when sleep will not come, and all the old wounds ache..”
Poor Sydney: replaced “Flight of the Bumblebee” with the “Hump of the Dabbler-Whee!!!” :D
Next comic 30 second of sleep before being woken up
With the little sleep she’ll get in the end, it will FEEL like 30 seconds no matter how many hours she actually got :-)
… I feel with her :-(
Maybe not if she gets about two houses or one completed sleep cycle and is woken up before she Start’s the next one she will feel surprisingly good but if she is awakened during a sleep cycle she will feel terrible.
Leading sleep-study experts agree that getting only a little bit of sleep can be worse than getting no sleep at all. And I can back that up with personal experience..
Speaking from my experience (caffeine-driven college-bound all-nighters), a little sleep is roughly a thousand times better than no sleep.
Is that in terms of performance, or in terms of how you feel after?
Because Mythbusters did that test during their Deadliest Catch episode- grabbing a couple catnaps makes you cranky and irritable, but you’re better able to think, decide, etc. etc.- while just staying up straight through, you feel slightly euphoric, but are, well, a little loopy in terms of doing anything important.
Now, who knows how that works with more than Powernapping, but I know even a little sleep is better than none for me when it comes to doing my work properly in the morning.
I’m sort of hoping next comic is “six months later” or something like that.
Just not literally six months later. ;)
Reminds me of The Tick, actually. The first three issues were black and white, then they shifted to a color process. It took about three months to make the changeover. Then, issue #4 (the first full color issue) comes out… and it starts with Tick waking up in bed. “Wow, what a horrible nightmare! I dreamed I didn’t exist for three whole months!“
“Yoink his lightsaber” – is that what they’re calling it these days? (Happy New Year, all!)
Yup. Been there. Can’t sleep due to excitement and uncertainty of immediate future. Tomorrow is gonna suck for her. Hopefully she will be allowed a nap sometime in the afternoon, providing that naps actually do Sydney any good. The military is an excellent place to hone one’s napping skills. I was able to sleep, sitting up in the back of a deuce-and-a-half that was driving cross-country. Can’t do that anymore…bummer. I just am too well rested these days.
I’m not so shore that’s a good idea for arc to do that in the regular forces they are used to dealing with sleep deprived newbies and they are supervised and kept away from the public for the most part and are not armed when they do go off base. With arc focase on the public and the inability to did arm its recruits sleep deprivation training stile may not be a good idea.
Actually, I don’t think it’s about being excited for the next day; Sydney’s not so much looking forward to it as she is concerned about getting enough for the next day of rigorous training. She’s trying to fall asleep and worried about it but, naturally, the concentration and stress of forcing herself to sleep is keeping her up.
I’ve done that to myself way too many times, such as last night, when I stayed up to play a video game and going to bed past 4 AM. With work in a few hours, I was concerned about getting enough sleep to not feel miserable at the office which delayed me falling into sleep and ruining the quality of the little I had.
If you want to fall asleep, exerting effort at it will only keep you up.
My technique when I need sleep is to close my eyes, put myself into a fantasy situation and just go with everything that happens. Puts me out in 5, 10 minutes tops. But sleep has never been an issue for me. I’m that asshole that is sleeping peacefully in a blizzard while everyone else glares at me in jealousy and spite.
The sign, word can’t describe its perfection.
“Abandon all chastity ye who enter here”
because saying “dabbler’s room” was not enough.
with a pun on “enter here”
“enter here… and here… and here… and maybe here if you’re really cute…”
“Enter….Ooooo, yeah! Right THERE!“
Yes, it’s a good thing I didn’t have anything in my mouth when I read that.
But it’s quite possible that at least one person in Dabbler’s room might have at that moment. After all, Sydney only heard only one voice.
Every time I spend a night out, I also get insomnia, even if I’m tired and/or wasted.
Re the vote incentive: Harem Leia Cosplay. That is all.
Double the Leia (but only because they couldn’t find her Ewok Princess outfit :D)
Dabbler also has an intnsive physical workout routine which makes people collapse into unconscious bliss too – far morr fun than the spell
1) It sounds like Dabbler is already doing that with somebody and 2) Sydney has expressed her preference that she is not interested in that kind of thing.
No.1 isn’t a problem for Xuriel. She’s experienced enough that a bit of multitasking isn’t a problem.
No.2 would be a challenge rather than a problem if it wasn’t for the fact that Sydney is a friend. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dabbler occasionally seduces a girl that claims to be 100% hetero. Though I guess that she’d probably try to do it without using her psionics just for the challenge. After all she has no problem finding willing playmates of any sex.
Yep, this is pretty much me when I’m trying to go to sleep…
Wonders who’s with Dabbler.
I bet it’s Harem. Or a Harem. Or maybe even up to all of them.
Na my bet is on the alian who served Sydney her nachos. After talking with Sydney I guessing dabbs curiosity was peaked and she terned on the come hither so she could find out more.
…or it could be the 2 guys she was dancing with…
All of the above, in various combinations
At the same time. She does have four hands. >:D
With 4 hands, maybe Barberian is in there too…
Or, no, probably not…He’s got to have a few days to “carb up.”
I choose to assume it’s Maxima.
Head-canon now.
Nah, if it was Maxi, Sydney would fly home and hide under her bed
Luke does the Force Jump in Empire, for what it’s worth.
You also need to remember Luke training was the most rushed and inefishent in Jedi history so in the original movies it is Vader who best shows off Jedi force abilatys wile Luke’s trading with Yoda were he force runs and force leaps show off the physical abilities better as Vader has exetencive injury’s and can’t move as well
Luke’s training was rushed for pretty good reasons…Yoda was the last of the “old Jedi Order,” but Luke had to become the first of the new Jedi Order.
Yup, was going to mention that. He gets about 15 feet of vertical to escape the carbonite pit, and probably could have gone a lot higher given the speed he moves.
…. must know what’s with her bangs. They have supernatural body to them. >.>
…That’s what the Barberian said…
So THAT’s what the mystery orbs do!
ROFL
i just LOVE the sign on dabbler’s door hehe
Low-level superpowers are interesting. This comic made me think about superpowers some and I came up with the idea of a guy with very weak, but fairly precise telekinesis combined with a sort of 6th sense that would allow him to “touch things from afar”, kind of like a radar, which I guess would be in a way part of telekinesis anyway, I mean they need feedback on what they are holding, right?
So then I wondered what uses that power might have, and I guess it would make a decent mechanic or such, could open non-magnetic locks easily, jam guns etc.
And then I thought, well, if he can jam guns, why couldn’t he also squeeze arteries or stop the heart for a few beats? So that would actually be quite powerful in combat, since not many things can stop telekinesis, especailly if you aren’t ready for it. I’m sure Maxima would be immune to that or could block it, also Sydnes’s shield, and other tough supers as well. But regular humans or supers not resistant to telekinesis would be susceptible.
but that’s just my own little “fanfic” for my own amusement :D
I made up exactly that same sort of telekinetic character for a Champions campaign: TK-based “sonar”, a good bonus for lock-picking, and in addition to the usual (and relatively weak) TK, and a quite low-level but potentially lethal (because once done it could be applied continuously without having to re-roll) attack that could bypass most normal defenses that was defined as “being able to reach inside a person and squeezing organs and/or arteries that, well, were never meant to be squeezed”.
GURPS has rules for just such tactics.
Yep. I had a low-level teleporter who could also teleport small objects. With a bit of medical/anatomical knowledge & a handful of wooden toothpicks, could stake a vampire’s heart by using Auto-teleport…
You’re not the first to spot that one! JM Straczynski’s Rising Stars, see Laurel Darkhaven here: https://risingstars.8m.com/
He made a few mentions of training telekinetics to assassinate people using this method in Babylon 5 as well.
Before that was Larry Niven’s Gil “the Arm” Hamilton, who had developed a telekinetic “arm” after losing his in an accident. In one story, he used that to squeeze a villain’s heart.
A great set of stories. And he didn’t really have the strength to hurt the guy*, he just scared him so much that he has a heart attack.
* He could barely pick up a full shot glass, and used that trick to pick up girls. He also preferred places where they were dancing close so his light TK touch and ability to reach through objects such as clothing could, um, make the girls more receptive. That deserves mention on the TVTropes power perversion potential page for sure.
I’ve had that EXACT character running through my mind for about a year now.
You could also have a pyrokinetic that can’t make a fire larger than lighting a single match… judiciously applied to the heart or brain, it would be quickly fatal.
Daniel here. A friend of mine came up with a series of Orbs for the Naruto Universe that when absorbed into an OC, gave them a 2 part power. My OC got Chakra & Emotions. The Chakra was the easiest to work out how to use, recreate any jutsu (attack) anyone else can do, as well as manipulate the Chakra in other people’s bodies. However, since the Orb users are powered by their Orbs, he was technically the weakest of the lot. But THAT’s where the Emotion element came into play…
The Emotion part allowed him to influence how others felt, making them angry, sad, happy, etc. The other Orb users could block this too. However, he could also use it subtly, potentially ingraining fear, trust, anger or anything else into even other Orb users slowly over time. So if he ever had to actually fight to the death with another Orb user, all he’d have to do is do some flashy move & activate their deeply ingrained fear of his powers, hopefully now at clinical phobia levels…
So, he was that lame ‘Heart’ kid from “Captain Planet”? o_O
Daniel again…
…Heh heh heh, not quite. I remember that kid, he could talk to animals, act as team communications & calm people down. My guy could calm people, relay messages via Ninja clone techniques, maybe even gt a few animals to do what he wanted with Ninja mind tricks, but Ma-Ti couldn’t embed phobias deep in people’s minds, give people an unnerving sense of dread for no reason, send them on emotional roller-coasters, give them a silly crush on a rock (had him do that once XD) & just play with their emotions in general. While he can’t do true love, he can definitely get someone so infatuated with something “they never wanna leave it” till the effect passes. It was harder when the target knew what he was doing, but he rarely used it & when he did, he made sure it was subtle…
He was the weakest of the team, but it was the WAY he used his powers that made him dangerous. He played the games Batman style, with contingencies & long-term preparations always at the ready, if needed…
“My definition of an intellectual is someone who can listen to the William Tell Overture without thinking of the Lone Ranger.” – Billy Connolly
Sydney fails that test..
What about someone who listens to “Flight of the Bumble-bee” without reaching for a swatter? :D
Pfft. Try flight of the blowfly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY4KZ-XUi9U
What blowfly? o_O
I couldn’t fall asleep either, with that light show above my head.
They go to sleep when she does (just go back to her time in her own bed, they powered down and dropped around her
The orbs don’t “go to sleep” until after Sydney does. So while trying to get to sleep, they would still be circling around her head…Which would also keep her awake longer. It’s an example of self-defeating circular logic (pun intended).
Yeah, I’d put last night (comic time) down to her being so tired right after an epic Super Melee. Sure, today she’s been training, but she’s also had plenty of rest along the way, as well as food. Having watched Daniel the human on a Saturday after 5 night shifts, I can confirm rest & food will keep humans running after they’ve done hard work…
That said, he does sleep like the dead for a good while after. Something tells me Sydney’s not gonna get THAT opportunity tho…
Will Sydney ask one of her unknown function orbs to send her to slumberland?
An opportunity for a dream sequence!
Example: She dreams she’s awake but her encyclopedic fantasy knowledge colors ARCSWAT
into an idealized version based on every comic/movie/comic movie she’s ever seen.
That would be sweet, and possibly a bonus comic if DaveB had a team of artists under his control
I barely manage to stay awake long enough to see this comic while my head nods and its about not being able to sleep. That might be some kind of irony though I’ll have to wait until after my sudden onset nappy time to be smart enough to know for sure.
Okay, we know what Sydney Skywalker’s ‘saber is made from, but what about Dabbles’? Or is that Top Secret Dabbler-Tech(tm)? Have been a Twi’lekian since played “Star Wars Combine” (played that before playing SWG, at least, before they ganged up to break the game rules and have me killed off :( )
Who else could Maxi go as but Golden-Rod’s ‘sister’, SeeThruMe :D
Who is Anvil and Leon going as?
And is Harem wearing only part of Leia’s Ambassador outfit? Would have thought she would have worn Padme’s white outfit (the one that got ripped), that way mother leads the slave daughter :D
Kenya and Leon look to be smuggler, bounty hunter, rebel, or just generic people from a galaxy far, far away.
Leon has Chewbacca’s belt thing. Considering his height I’d imagine that’s what he’s going for, his clothes are probably brown. Kenya’s got Han Solo’s outfit, and Maxima has C3P-0’s chassis translated into clothing. Because he’s gold.
Belt is going the wrong way, and Leon isn’t ‘hairy’ enough, more likely to be Old Ben the Hermit-man
No, Maxi is SeeThruMe, Threepio’s ‘sister’ :P
Leon may not be as hairy as Chewbacca, but he’s still got a hairier face than anyone else there…
Still counts as being the old Hermit
It’s actually just a big demon rave glowsitck.
Is that why it is not connected to the handle? o_O
My one and a half hour sleep with which to start this semester of school agrees with this sentiment.
“Abandon all chastity he who enters here”?
I love the reference, but I was under the impression Dabbler wasn’t that picky.
Shachar
ye not he. Tis oldtimey lingo.
Actually, in Olde Timey script, ‘Ye’ was actually ‘The’
…I think you mean: thee.
OK worthless fact of the day. Back in ye olden times there was a letter in the English language that was sounded like th. When printing began in England the printers had a problem. Since all type was made in continental Europe that letter was not included in the sets they bought. So they used the letter y (because it kinda looked like the real letter they were substituting it for). Since that letter wasn’t used in print its use died out. So ye should be pronounced the.
except not always, because there is still you ye; Ye Olde Shoppe yes but not all ye who enter
btw the e in shoppe is a weird add on that was never there origenaly and the e in olde is also meant to be silent. “Ye Olde Shoppe” should read as “the old shop
Thorn or þorn (Þ, þ)
I’d seriously love to see þorn come into regular usage, for a few reasons one of which is that my inner 12 year old finds it amusing.
I think the internet is full of porn. Or so I am told.
No, on olde signs that had ‘Ye’ the ‘Y’ was in place of a ‘th’
What Captain Bill said
To each, thine own.
Ye is also a plural version of thou (or you) https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/ye
Oh, and “Ye Olde Shoppe” is strictly speaking a case of “Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe” (out of courtesy I won’t link to the tv-tropes page, use the saved hours well).
I’m having a hard time imaging the doorway to Dabblers room as the gates of hell though. Sin maybe, but definitely not hell :-)
So, I take it she basically troped herself to sleep? :-D
She was alone in there, that’s the thing….
Yeah, but in that state, would you want to disturb her? o_O
Your emoticon nails it…It would be an eyeful, for sure.
Yes. Yes I would. And I would have no regrets.
If you survived it…
There’s little room for regret after death…
;)
It would certainly put you to sleep ;)
Considering it was she who talked her into going out to that club tonight, Harem might want to lay low tomorrow. Cranky, grumpy and sleep deprived, Halo might decide to take it out on her!
On the other hand, I’m wondering if Max is going to do her a huge favor and let her sleep in just this once. Sydney doesn’t have to be in to Archon until around about lunch time normally because she spends the mornings at her comic book store. Maybe that won’t change just because the store is going to be closed for inventory this time. It’s in her contract, after all, that she gets to spend her mornings somewhere other than at Archon.
It’s more likely though that come the dawn Maxima is going to give her a little lesson in how to better budget her time . . .
Yes, normally, on certain days, but she was scheduled for early morning PT and training with Ari for
tomorrowtodayMy guess? Max is gonna kick her door in boot camp style. Just because.
Classic Marvel RPG reference in the notes. Nice.
Ahhh yes… “Fuck off Lone Ranger Theme”
Who hasn’t uttered those words at 3.00am at least ONCE in their life?
+1
And on a quasi-related note & in the interest of clearing up the question for some of insomniacs…Yes, penguins DO have knees:
https://penguins.neaq.org/2010/07/faq-do-penguins-have-knees.html
Me. It’s never the Lone Ranger theme that gets stuck in my head. Like right now it’s Pentatonix “Love Again”. Or some electronica that I listened to earlier in the day. (Yay! It’s not “Love Again” anymore. Now it’s Art of Noise “Paranoimia”.)
I haven’t. To fair, it was mostly because I did not know what the lone ranger theme was until this comics. I always referred to this piece as the “Wilhelm Tell Overture”, perhaps because that’s its name.
Shachar
What about the Clone Wars cartoon? Yoda also pulled one star ship into another star ship, wrecking them both. And Mace Windu? He took on an entire army all by his lonesome. That cartoon did lots of crazy stupid stuff.
Because it was based off the Prequels where the Force got a massive enhancement in combat viability.
KOTOR and subsequently SWTOR are sort of midways. The Force has more punch to it than the original trilogy, but less than in the prequels. The Force Unleashed is just silly; Starkiller is like the most brokenly overpowered thing in the entire Star Wars universe.
“the Force got a massive enhancement”. I wonder if they had late night commercials for that?
“Are you unhappy with the length of your light saber? Do you have trouble nailing womp rats like you used to? Try new MAXI-chlorians. These ARE the meds you’ve been looking for.” *
*Side effects may include facial disfigurement, unintended lightning discharges, and whiny goth behavior in teenagers.
And I thought those were just for her heavy flow days.
I like Jedis from the original trilogy. Granted Vader was half the man he used to be, Luke was untrained and Yoda was crazy old, so you could make an argument that a Jedi in his prime could be more powerful, but I still like the idea of them being very low level but well trained and clever rather than top tier Marvel Superhero powerful. If I had massive time or a zillion dollars to become my own publisher, I think I’d like to write a comic that’s more about people using very minimal powers cleverly. Not that I couldn’t incorporate that into Grrl Power, but I don’t want to create tangent storylines that distract and delay the main one.
The most recent book in the “We Could Be Villains” series dealt with the team (none of whom have super powers but they go against super powered teams) working with someone with low level precognition to figure out how to use her power in a practical way when none of the super teams could figure it out and would just side-line her (despite her being the only pre-cog in that universe).
Such characters in Grrl Power would make excellent villains…Or even “anonymous heroes” that would be very hard to track down to indict for being Vigilantes.
I remember once reading a Mara Jade comic. She was clever, and hid a lightsaber inside a bust. When the guy she wanted to kill picked it up to examine it, she used her force powers to telekinetically activate the lightsaber’s trigger, melting everything above his shoulders.
It was pretty clever, to be honest.
Speaking of Jedi powers the most significant of which would be bloody precognition powerful enough to deflect bullets with a stick. Not mentioning Mace L. Windu with his uncanny ability to know precise weak point of anything (including people, ships, galaxy, Fate, and Batman himself). That stick-striking contest in episode IV, silly as it is, is the most realistic depiction of what confrontation of two Jedi masters should like. No acrobatics, not flashy movements, slow, almost ritual movements with two opponents, fighting mentally in several possible futures simultaneously (and in case of Grand-masters a-la Yoda vs Palpatine – in several impossible to boot). You want to make it good for the screen – use description of Temporal Fugue and some real bloody talent, you will need it in this kind of venture.
And that exact;y the reason I can’t stand Yoda in the preque;s (we;; a;most anyone in the preque;s, but him especia;;y). His “big moment” should be just standing perfectly still, looking Count Christopher Lee in the eye with endless sorrow and a hint of regret, while reality itself shifts and warps to fulfill what he not commands but asks for. You want something more “earthly” – ok, he grabs his lightsaber with telekinesis, spins it like a circular saw and fight CCL with it while still standing perfectly still (except for pointing arm to direct lightsaw movements, of course) – here you go.
That planetary battle, where Jedi Order reaps the storm they have sown, and abandoning it to save one life should be a crucial moment to him, signifying transit from General Yoda with “finis sanctificat media” type of worldview to reclusive monk from Dagobah with “do right or not do at all” tattooed on forehead, running Council errands of obligation only or actively trying to remove blinders from other Jedi and peer through the veil of Dark Side.
Instead we got Yoyo.
…and don’t get me started on Fusorian microbes in bloodstream…
PS:
Aeioyu dies.
And Dumbndrfr too.
as to the jedi, their two biggest powers were ones they barely use: clairvoyance and mind control.
Now the sith were all over that.. how else do you explain an ugly cackling maniac becoming elected absolute ruler?
He had a huge ‘staff of office’ ;)
The Jedi didn’t use those much. You know, because Dark Side.
Something, something darkside.
Something, something, something I will have my revenge.
Something, something shut up you whining little bitch!
Did somebody say my name?
Ka-Lightsabre
No!
Hmm, yes, I suppose you didn’t. But you will.
*Boom tubes open*
Soon all will proclaim the name of Darkseid.
Darkseid is a little girly boy, who plays with anatomically correct Ken dolls.
So it is proclaimed.
XP
Jedi’s abilities may not look like lot compared to various superpowers, but the fact they can see future and therefore their reaction time is negative is definitely cool. Most precognition abilities are totally useless in fight, but Jedi? They can deflect lasers (moving at speed of light) from robots (who don’t give any signals they will be shooting).
Know who else has that ability? Spider-man
Spider sense doesn’t work on robots. He hates fighting them.
Also, blasters aren’t lasers. They clearly move much, much slower than the speed of light.
Mythbusters figured it was about 130 miles per hour. They were testing if the good guys could dodge the blaster bolts (Busted) or a Jedi could block them with his light sabre (Busted, but their Jedi only had really fast human-level reaction speed)
they “busted” the force push too?
spider sense works fine on robots- he’s fought and beat doc ock’s arms for years (they can fight without doc on their own)
it’s hot women he’s attracted to they have problems with/ (or sometimes people he trusts, note the original jackal story)
as to force vs super powers…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd3esamc2Rs
Actually I wrote a character that had precognition, but just for 3 seconds. She couldn’t predict murders, she couldn’t put money on the stocks. But she could see her future for 3 seconds. She became an assassin. I emphasized to the players that they just couldn’t hit her in an out and out fight. They couldn’t even snipe her from a distance.
Eventually they had to beat her by using an area affect that took out the building they were fighting her in. So fighting her became an escape scenario rather than an out and out fight.
I can see Sydney trying to stay awake during Arianna’s media prep course…!
Sydney:Did you*yawn*talk to those reporters hanging around both my apartment and business?
Arianna:Yes I did!
Sydney:Did you file a restraining order or some legal document against them?
Arianna:No I can’t…
Sydney:Why not?
Arianna:I learned the hard way that sometimes a restraining order and/or any other legal document can also be used against you.
Flashback to an Archon press conference and Arianna and the others are shocked to see a bunch of empty seats. Arianna breaks out in a nervous sweat as Maxima gives her a very cold stare….
One problem with that flashback: the one ‘yesterday’ was the first press conference for Archon, but otherwise, can see that happening :D
I NEVER specified which press conference,maybe during the early days of Archon perhaps???
This is the early days of Archon ;)
But yeah I’m sure she’s worked for other government agencies before.
Yup, this is the second or third ‘official’ day of Archon, but like said, could totally see something like this happening to Ari at one of her previous jobs
With the salaries whey are willing to pay, if she didn’t have that kind of prior experience I’d be surprised. And while I know we’ve only heard about the pay for supers you don’t have an organization with that kind of pay disparity without facing other issues that are probably more easily solved by just keeping the pay schedule somewhat reasonable. The General is going to be making more than Maxima, for example, and he is a mundane while she is the most powerful super known so far.
love the vote incentive,, but let me see if i get the characters right
anvil/han solo
harem as leia and slave leia
dabbler as aayla secura
maxima as c3p0
sidney as a jedi
and leon as,,,,, dont know,, he has a bandolier like chewy tough
No, Maxi is SeeThruMe :P
Still feel Harem should have been Padme in her ripped white outfit, she could also go as five different Clone Troopers :P
Weren’t the clones all male?
Internet rule 75:
There is always a female version of a male character, no exceptions.
i thought that was rule 63?
Apparently it is both 63 and/or 75 depending on where you look, the rules of the Internet at rather inconsistent one you get past of the first 40 or so…
This has shattered my belief that everything on the Internet is true…
that’s because the original rule was number 34, from a british comic strip. Other people tried to fill in the rest with varying degrees.
Yeah only rule 34 is static, every other rule people just made their own ones up (well many are on most lists but the numbers are all over the place).
Yes, but Harem is, sort of technically, clones of Daphne
O sleep, O gentle sleep, Nature’s soft nurse, how have I frightened thee, that thou no more will weigh my eyelids down, and steep my senses in forgetfulness?
I found this page rather ironic seeing as this is how last night was like (as it first day back to work this morning after several days off due to the holiday season) minus the Dabbler sex noises unfortunately. Seriously Syd should listen to the noises from her room as the rhythms could get her off to sleep.
Could get her off….. to sleep.
ah random super powers…
you know how something can be “so cute it gives diabetes”?
imagine a little girl with an ability to make that literal.
Thank you for that, just added a new webic to the list :(
Seriously, what ARE her bangs made out of? Are they some kind of fine latex cosplay she superglued to her head? Are they a side effect of the orbs, acting as antenna to transmit her thoughts to the creators for monitoring? Are they alive? Are they alien parasite bangs?
Do they have their own hopes and dreams? Are they plotting our deaths? Are they going to secede from her head and set up an independent State of Bangs? (Shameless Doctor Who paraphrase, I know, shut up.)
Does she hairspray them in place in the morning and combine them with her glasses to help protect her eyes from ninja stars? Are they a natural Sydney defense like frilled lizards neck thingy?
I think Sydney herself DOES have several secondary powers, and always has. I’m not sure how “bulletproof bangs” can be made useful compared to “teargas vomit” and “mind numbing invective”, but given it’s Sydney I’m sure she’ll surprise us.
“…Sydney herself DOES have several secondary powers…”
Well, we’ve already seen several times that Sydney’s made use of her “Heat-Resistant Taste Buds”…
Sydney has anime bangs. They obey their own genre rules, such as transparency on demand, which are different to the rules most of the cast follow.
Maybe Sydney should have used Dabbles’ ‘example’ to help her relieve the stress to enable her to get some sleep
There was one other potential tactic for fighting Jedi’s that I never saw used once it was ‘explained’ in the first trilogy. Since ‘the force’ is basically a bacterial infection, shooting a Jedi with a dart filled with a wide spectrum antibiotic would render him defenseless in a matter of hours, possibly permanently.
Mmm… maybe not. If the midichlorians live in symbiosis with us, the closest parallel would be mitochondria, not bacteria. Mitochondria exist in every cell of our bodies; they are the “powerhouse of the cell” because they generate most of the cell’s supply of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), used as a source of chemical energy. They’re also involved in other tasks, such as signaling, cellular differentiation, and cell death, as well as maintaining control of the cell cycle and cell growth.
But the really interesting thing is… they have their own genome. Their DNA has been sequenced, and it does have several similarities to bacterial DNA, which strongly implies that it started out as a bacteria, and eventually ended up existing in symbiosis with us. But antibiotics wouldn’t work against it, because “it’s moved indoors”, so to speak.
Are you saying Robot Chicken got it wrong? They actually had Mark Hamill in the episode :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4wOzbqgfIY
Ever played Parasite Eve? It’s basically this, only they go rogue and take over people’s bodies. Hence the parasite part.
Excellent game highly recommended.
I had a lot of fun with Parasite Eve and Parasite Eve 2 back in the day. It is an excellent game, yes… as long as I turn off my knowledge of biology. ;)
Mitochondria can’t become self-aware; they’re just too simple to do so. Also, the concept of “genetic memory” that Parasite Eve would require, has long since been completely debunked. It still shows up in science fiction… Assassin’s Creed, Parasite Eve, Warhammer 40k, the Palladium game Splicers where Carnivore-based Host Armor can have a “Butcher’s Gland”, etc., but genetic memory IRL has been disproven.
(The development team for Parasite Eve and Assassin’s Creed have admitted that they knew that genetic memory does not exist, but they needed some Applied Phlebotinum for the story to work.)
There’s evidence that some level of memory can be inherited. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/fear-can-be-inherited Of course there’s a big difference between inhereting a simple emotion (Fear in this case) and a set of complex information. One could also argue that instinct is a form of inherited memory.
That particular property may also be referred to as “hardwired instinctual behavior.”
AFAIC, ‘midichlorians’ were erased with the canon erasure Disney made for Ep VII.
And ‘midichlorians’ are NOT a parallel to mitochondria, they are a BLATANT RIPOFF of mitochondria. Stupidest thing in Ep I, a movie filled with stupid things.
Midichlorians would be a really horrible answer to a question nobody was asking… except they also fail to answer the question, they only move it (how do these guys have the ability to violate the laws of physics? Oh, midichlorians give them the ability… now how do midichlorians have the ability to do that?) and draw attention to it. Another webcomic’s comment on the subject.
In cannon, jedi and sith are both somewhat midtier superhumans basically enhanced speed, reaction ability and the ability to go without air for an extended period. The majority of their abilities comes from the telekinesis and short term predictive abilities (which seems to require conscious use, as it was clearly possible for some clones to take jedi entirely by surprise). The sith have additional abilities, force choke and lightning (You have to assume that jedi can’t use these abilities, as force choke could just be a subtle use of force push).
In the expanded universe, the abilities of force users fall into three catagories: Control, sense, and alter. Control is the self modification, force users can have superhuman strength, senses, healing, and even cloaking. Sense was the danger sense and visions power. Alter’s meaning is obvious, but is the most canonically unsupported. Besides being able to push, pull and lightning, and suggestion, force users could drive people mad, make them confuse enemies and allies, and even put up force fields (this last one is cannon, as the tv show had somebody use it).
Either way, what really makes the jedi and sith powerful is the vaguer sorcery lightly touched upon in the movies, tv show, and other sources. Non-battle abilities which are still very significant in the world of supers. The ability to become semi-omniscient ghosts is cannon. In TOR, the sith have an alternative which lets them transfer minds between bodies. Physical body alterations are performed by the Dathomir witches in the tv show.
And now a callout to the old D6 Star Wars RPG!
This place is getting old-school nerded-up. Nice. :D
“…and even put up force fields…
I think a better way to describe it would be how it was explained in the Star Wars RPG game; it was categorized as Alter: Absorb/Disapate Energy. With it, a Jedi (or Sith) could appear to block blaster shots with their bare hands, or even use an ordinary wooden staff to block a lightsaber.
Sydney is wondering in panel four if any of her team mates has a power that will help her get to sleep. If she spends the rest of the night going from one room to another, waking everybody up to ask if they can help her sleep, one or the other of them is going to try to introduce her to the Looney Tunes version of the sleeping pill.
I think she might ought to see if she can get a glass of warm milk instead.