Grrl Power #423 – A priest, rabbi, & hyperactive nerd walk into an OB/GYN…
Not Sydney’s finest hour. But also kind of weirdly selfless. I’ve said it before, but Sydney is a little culturally sheltered. Not that she’s never seen a bindi before, (though she might stumble a little describing actually what it is and what it means) but her snap judgement was clearly… well, too snappy. But maybe that’s what you want in a bodyguard… who you never hired and aggravates to violence every time she’s around. In any case, shame on Sydney for not knowing that snipers using laser sights is entirely a Hollywood creation.
Asking anyone “you’ll never guess what my gynecologist/proctologist told me” is the perfect setup for any number of jokes. Really it’s on them if they don’t have a killer reply locked and loaded.
Patreon supporters can view this page at twice the size! (as soon as I wake up and post it then immediately go back to sleep since Patreon doesn’t have a way to schedule posts yet.) $1 and up, but feel free to contribute as much as you like :)
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.
It MIGHT have been a sniper…..
No. Just no. Bullets over any amount of range don’t travel in a straight line. That’s why you have a spotter. (hom many tropes did that kill?) Laser’s aren’t effected by the same forces in the same way.
But what if the sniper is using a laser rifle?
But yeah, doesn’t make too much sense. Although a laser rifle would probably be possible given Dabbler can apparently invent such complex things as tickle lasers, a laser that hurts stuff should be within possibility.
Which isn’t to say that laser sights aren’t useful in close range, but for distances of more than about 200m they’re pretty much useless
So the 10mw red laser ends up just being the targeting device for the 10KW laser (some super came up with pick your lore) the sniper uses. /And yes they always have to shift after firing
They are in a building, and the shot is coming from a vent.
Problem solved.
But are very useful for guided bullets, gyroget munitions and rockets.
Oh, hang on, sorry some of those are still classified, forget I mentioned that!
*clasps paws over muzzle*
Actually there has been some research done into sniper ammunition using a proximity fuse or time fuse. The idea being that it would allow the sniper to shoot a bullet through a window and it will explode just inside, sending a burst of shrapnel into whoever is covering behind the wall. Each bullet would have the time delay programmed automatically using a range finder built into the sight system, with an offset set by the sniper depending on if it’s to detonate in front of or behind the POA.
Guided bullets has also been investigated, but AFAIK the cost was rather excessive. Haven’t heard about any serious attempts at creating a seeking bullet though…
Tech is both wonderful and scary. There is a rifle that takes all the “fun” out of sniping. It’s very expensive, but it is available today, and theoretically it could be equipped with a laser sight…
Using a laser range finder, gyros, hall-effect direction sensors, and GPS it will calculate and adjust the sight for bullet drop and coriolis effect. They even use data from a weather station to determine wind direction and strength and dials in compensation for that. So you take aim carefully and touch the trigger to lock the range and target, wait for the beep signaling that the computations are done and press the trigger, and nothing happens… And this is where it gets bizarre.
The rifle will not fire until a image recognition software determines that you are aiming at exactly the same spot you used for the calibration. The target info can be displayed to let you see exactly where you were aiming when you locked it in. If you’re not happy with the exact aim just release the trigger and try again. If the target is moving the software will attempt to keep tracking, so if you were aiming at a person that’s sitting down and the target got in it’s head to scoot over in the couch the image recognition software will track the target and fire when the rifle is aimed at it again. However if the target suddenly turns it’s back on you the software won’t recognize the target area. That’s when you switch to semi manual mode and get to pull the trigger yourself. But even then you get the benefit of automatic compensation for range, inclination, coriolis, and wind…
Note that you still are at the mercy of physics, so the ammunition used is critical. Over extreme ranges there will also be differences in the wind speed and direction over the length of the bullets path. So even with all the bells and whistles it’s still possible to miss. An average shooter with one of these will be more accurate than most specialist snipers, and quicker to calculate the dope.
I’ve seen videos where they used one of these for hunting, and it was both impressive and scary. Impressive that the tech works, scary that it’s available to anyone with enough money.
Saw this a few years ago in a video from a big computer expo. I alternated between thinking it was super cool and that it was unfair.
I find that it helps if you tell yourself that it’s just a natural by-product of the local Tech Level going up.
You want to “Fun” snipe, use a Sharps rifle at 1000 yards with a rainbow trajectory. THAT takes skill and people used to do that 100+ years ago.
Share? I’d love to see those vids.
I’ve done a lot of hunting (disclaimer, I am a failed hunter), and I’d really like to see how someone beats all the skill and knowledge with a technological advantage. That’s not to say that the tech advantage might not be significant. It sure can, tech advances all the time. I’d just like to see the video where the greenhorn with no hunting skills managed to make a kill without a skilled person telling him where to point his sweet tech rifle, while the unskilled person without a sweet tech rifle fails to make a kill just using his own skills.
Did a quick search but didn’t find any of the hunting videos. This however is the URL of TrackingPoint, the company making the rifles: https://tracking-point.com/
Looking at that site it seems they’ve made a simpler model aimed at the military since I last heard about them. This rifle is way less expensive, but retains most of the functions. Things they seem to have stripped are the coriolis compensation and possibly the inclination sensor as neither of these are mentioned in the specs. As this cheaper rifle is chambered for 5.56mm NATO I guess coriolis isn’t that much of a problem at the relatively short ranges.
The rifles I remember them selling were chambered for .300 Winchester or .338 Lapua, and were said to be effective up to about 1400 yards, at which point coriolis and spin drift are going to make a noticeable difference.
Here is a 3 year old article about the tech: https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/tracking-point-smart-rifle-sniper/
just as scopes can be adjusted for bullet drop and other effects so can lasers. That said most aren’t adjustable. And ideally one would use an infra-red or ultra-violet laser that would only be visible to some one looking through a scope with a special filter on it.
But, and this is important. Most sniper shots against an indoor target would be made from a neighboring building as the buildings themselves increase the effective distance in relation to retaliatory efforts by security forces. The distance security forces have to travel to get from the location of the target to the shooter’s location is not just the distance between buildings but also the distance down one and up the other. So the line-of-sight range would often only be a few dozen yards or so while the effective distance for security could be a quarter mile or more. Bullet drop, wind, and coriolis effects are all negligible but the sniper would still have plenty of time to pack up and gtfo.
Obviously the ability of supers to fly puts all sorts of monkey wrenches in that. But it’s possible the sniper hadn’t yet gotten the memo on that.
It’s not that security forces usually have to cover that distance to the sniper. Perfectly fine response to long-range shooter it artillery shell to the face. Well, at least in an open conflict. In urban/terrorist warfare it’s another story.
Actually, they ARE effected in the same way, it’s just at about 298 million meters per second they don’t have a long time to drop before they get to the target….
Yeah I guess light effected by gravity too.
Actiually, lasers and bullets AREN’T affected the same way at all.
That’s one reason why the once-popular notion of using great big lasers to kill incoming ballistic missiles hit something of a snag – researchers found that high-powered lasers are prone to being distorted by variations in the atmosphere (density, composition, etc.). Kind of the same things that cause stars to twinkle and the Moon to appear bigger at the horizon.
For a small simple laser designator operating over a mile or less, this factor is so small as to be almost undetectable. But, for something massive trying to hit an impossibly small and fast target over a distance of umpteen miles, the task is pretty much impossible with current (and foreseeable) levels of technology.
I love this comic, not just for the characters, which are great, but because of the conversations I read from our fanbase.
A lot of things in the atmosphere cause the disruption in a laser’s beam. Water defracts it, while dust particles will get in the beam and block it. Try using a laser in the rain or under water, and all you get is a pretty light show.
Ahh the good ol Laser sight sniper…. hollywood you have a lot to answer for…..
Aside from the accuracy issues mentioned earlier, why would you give away both your own position and give away that your aiming for them??
As for a laser rifle, why use a visible light laser??
For some cops I’ve known they had laser sights for 2 reason 1) accuracy in low light and 2) intimidation.
You know I’m really starting to think the Doctor has super strength here.
Since she’s got healing powers, she can probably exercise more than a normal human, repair her muscles faster than normal recovery, and basically have athlete-level strength easier than most?
She’s also got the “zero patience left for Sydney’s antics” thing going for her…
She might have the ‘heal everyone else but me’ type of healing ie not self-healing
More likely, it’s simply Sydney is extremely light, plus Doc Pravat was using Sydney’s momentum to re-direct her flight path
Hard to say. Unfortunately we havent seen the good doctor in classic skimpy superheroine clothes yet but she looks kinda fit. And this is a universe where all super beings except poor Sydney are sexy and muscled.
True on the muscles, but I disagree on sexiness. I prefer nerds to jerks and would take Sydney over anyone else in the comic.
Sydney is certanly charming in her own way.
I might be wrong, but I think Ro Jaws was referring to them as ‘sexy’ in the sense that ‘most people (in the comic) believe this to be the stereotypical standard of beauty’-type-sexy
Kinda like how runway models and porn-stars are supposedly ‘sexy’, but the vast majority of both categories seem to be either blatantly unrealistic compared to most people, or at the very least are pushing the boundaries of ‘standard deviation’ to their limits.
I would disagree on the porn stars thing. The stereotypical porn star image is blond with big fake boobs, but if you look at the top porn stars of the last 30 years or so and you will see that that is not true at all. Sasha Grey for example is a brunette with small natural breasts. That pattern is more the norm with other stars like Jenna Haze. Just look at the Wikipedia page for AVN Award for female performer of the year and look at the pictures and you will see that blonds with big fake tits are the exception rather than the rule.
Small-titted brunettes may be the reality, but beach-ball blondes are still the image most people automatically think of when told to think of porn stars (at least female stars)
The supposed image (and do you have a source?) is not necessarily the standard. Most porn starlettes are B-cups.
She’s got super powers. If I recall correctly, at some point it was stated that a perfect physique and extraordinary strength/endurance is standard amongst superhumans in this universe; Harem’s got something along the lines of sixteen times normal strength when there’s just one, but even with all five each one’s beyond normal by a significant margin; double, I think? Sydney doesn’t come equipped with that sort of thing since she’s not technically superpowered, at least not innately – she’s just bonded to the orbs which serve a similar function.
No, Harem was only as good as a fit 19 year old at base, and it doubles each time she removes a body so that’s how you get about 16x with four bodies removed. And it was an idealized physique and height not a perfect physique.
While extraordinary strength and endurance may be a trait of supers it’s never been stated as far as I know, although the idealized appearance would likely make it easier to get unusually fit it doesn’t seem to inherently grant fitness. I’d expect it to be perfectly possible for there to be supers who just don’t exercise so are merely naturally good looking humans as far as their physical body goes.
Or it could just be that Dave likes to draw people sexy except for Halo because it’s funnier if she is jelly of all the ripped and sexy women.
Look at those second and third images I linked, taken from the comic, it’s acknowledged in world that supers are universally idealized and that Sydney is not. I’m sure humor is part of it but this seems like a case of the actual setting’s rules being setup to make it work and humor being a consequence, not a cause.
Wasn’t it also that paranormal super females also have huge boobs? The doc doesn’t have a DD cup which makes me wonder why she doesn’t. The reasons I’ve come up with:
a) She’s altered herself so she doesn’t have huge boobs.
b) She’s not human and is only masking an appearance of humanity like many other aliens. Which would enable her to treat Dabbler.
c) She is using healing magic.
I’ve taken off the list that she is using high tech since that would imply that she doesn’t have healing powers.
Pretty sure any larger breast size falls under the hyper-idealized appearance clause. There’s also the possibility that she gained her super powers from an artifact such as Halo did, I’d say Maxima too except Maxima seems to be made of exceptions. We’ve seen it’s possible to have varying levels of the idealized appearance thing too based off the various villains at the fight, it’s possible they’re just on the low end, the superhuman equivalent of a 2/10 or something.
Maxima’s genetics were changed by that stuff is the thing. Like any sort of mutant hero. Sydney falls into the Green Lantern type of hero, she’s a normal example of her species who is capable of using some powerful item.
There is a difference in the esthetics of beauty from culture to culture.
it was shown in the super olympics image an idealized form of a lady with small chest (sleek trim body ideal)
Indeed it seems like all super powered females except Halo have big boobs. It could be that dr Chevy hides her large breasts to look more professional and don’t distract patients.
That’s because Sydney isn’t super powered, her balls are
And yours are not.
How can you be sure of that?
My theory is that Sydney is the only exception to the rule of the most common superpower among females. That way Dave can draw as many busty women as he wants and also make some jokes about it using the small chested Sydney.
Sydney isn’t an ‘exception to the rule’, Sydney is not even part of the rule: Sydney. has. no. super. powers! She is a normal (well, relatively normal) human, just like Peggy, but without the training or the skill :P
@Guesticus: that is EXACTLY the point… she IS part of the the rule: she’s a SUPERHERO isn’t she?
therefore she IS the exception to the rule for a few reasons…. so far all of the female Superheroes we’ve seen DO have the “most common superpower” EXCEPT for Sydney (exception#1)… also, all the others we’ve seen so far have genetics to blame, BUT she IS a superhero just like Batman, or Iron Man is… it’s the “stuff” they use as the basis for their “superherodom” NOT genetics. (exception#2)… also, since she seems to be the ONLY super that DOESN’T have genetics to blame, and (so far as we know) depending on how Magic is based, ie. do you have to be genetically attuned to even GET magic powers? whether or not training is involved, just means that you can do more “stuff” with the magic you already have, but if you don’t have the genes… no amount of training will get you squat… so yet again, a third exception to the rule, as she doesn’t have that side either because Gwen figured that out in her scan prior to her interview, and that the Orbs “seem” to be tech-based rather than magic-based (though I’m not discounting either the “any sufficiently advanced tech is indistinguishable from magic” or its converse: “any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science” clauses, yet either)
@scantrontb
You are confusing the issue here. Sydney is a Super Hero by trade. She is not a Super Human, what’s also known as a Super…
The “All Supers has perfect bodies” rule concerns Super Humans, and not only Super Heroes.
As for magic, it doesn’t seem you have to be a super human to tap into magic. I don’t think we’ve seen enough of Gwen to know about her, but Zephan doesn’t look like he has the sculpted body of a Greek god. It is however likely that some supers do have an affinity for magic that allows them easier access to spells or power, possibly both.
Thank you Captain
Yes, Sydney is a Super Hero, but she is not a Super Human
Also keep in mind Dr Chevy is a very short, slender female with a large, baggy lab coat on. Assuming she is merely using a normal bra (and not a push up), even large breasts would be swallowed up. Check panel 9 – her boobs are impressive!
I’ve been told tapping down huge boobs or wearing bras too small are very uncomfortable and restrictive according to friends with big boobs (The two I know never told me their bra cup size but its larger than DD). I doubt she’d be doing all that motion if she was taped down that securely.
The doctor is not that short either. If you look at the last frame in the previous comic she looks as tall as or taller than Harem.
Note: I am not really trying to argue here though it may seem like it. Dave B. is pretty good at keeping internal consistency and I am just wondering what he’s thinking. She seems to me more like a normal female in form.
You do realise that large natural breasts are very ‘squishy’, and Doc Pravat could be wearing a bra to reduce, rather than enhance, their size
why does “cheva’s” strength keep surprising people? She’s a doctor, super strength comes with the job :P
Would not be surprised if she is not a student of a “soft” martial art, like judo or such.
Considering the type of patients she have when working in this place I say some judo training is a good idea.
Good thing laser sights don’t work like that in reality. Or bad. Depends on what person is holding the gun, I suppose.
I suspect you are thinking about range finders or non visible markers which you can’t see with the naked eye. Pistol laser sights and some rifles ones work in the visible spectrum and have the little dot makes it easy to target stuff since the sight should be zeroed to the bore of the weapon in question. It isn’t designed for long range shooting though close in work mostly 5 to 40 feet.
There are infra-red laser sights, but those can only be seen with night-vision goggles.
Yeah then again I have never confused a red laser designator with a piece of jewelry, or a dab of paint, or a tattoo. All of which I’ve seen on Indian women in the IT industry and other high tech firms.
A laser dot gets your attention primarily because of its movement.
Then again you are not Halo who is a serious case of ADHD and too much imagination.
A shame she didn’t grab her shield ball like Max mentioned on day 1.
Better question is how she paints that bindi on perfectly round and centered. That seems incredibly tricky
A little thing called a ‘mirror’, and years of practice
If they ever find out that one of the orbs can give super speed, this will be evidence A that they should never let her know about it.
panel 5, missing word: “Will two be quiet” should be “Will you two be quiet”
(keep up the amusing work)
Spelling
‘Keep up the amusing work’
‘Keep up the amazing work’
(Couldn’t resist)
No, ‘amusing’ works, because the antics of Sydney is amusing to watch :D
Hey, I don’t know what exactly that little red spot (that is apparently called a bindi?) signifies either. All I know is that some sort of cultural thing from India. Not exactly thick on the ground here in Scandinavia.
Someone from Bengal once told me it’s just decoration. Because people there think a dot here is beautiful. Like an earring or something.
Then again India is not that small. So there can easily be regional differences.
It’s a religious mark for Hindu women.
If I recall properly, the dot of make-up above the bridge of the nose represents the third eye, which is supposed to let you see into your own soul, while your regular eyes look outward to see what is around you. It may be symbolic of one of the Hindu gods.
The name I have heard for it is the tilaka. A search for “bindi” gets me Bindi Irwin, the now-teenaged daughter of the late Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin; not the same thing.
What search engine were did you use? Both Google and Bing bring up the dot as the first suggestion when searching for “bindi” (although both do mention Ms. Irwin later on). As far as I can tell the main differences between the two are:
1) the bindi is only worn on the forehead and the tilaka (or tilak) can be worn on other parts of the body;
2) the former is a dot while the latter is a vertical mark; and,
3) the former is more or less universal depending on fashion while the latter usually indicates a person’s sectarian affiliation.
Then again, I’m not Hindu, so my answer shouldn’t in any way be considered authoritative.
Perhaps some people wear a tiny Bindi Irwin on their forehead as a bindi for religious significance.
She is not that small anymore.
Guess Daphne forgot how contagious her laugh is, Faulk’s secretary would have told her that (she still wants a new phone)
Assuming you mean Sandy, that’s Arianna’s aide, not Faulk’s
New she was someone’s aide, but she wasn’t listed in the Cast page (checked that first) and couldn’t remember her name :(
Yea, we should get a wiki or something for the characters. Something us bored fans can maintain (so DaveB can focus on more important things)
And some god damn FANFICTIONS!
I mean come on people, I’ve seem more done with less!
A quick Google search reveals that, yes, we do have a wiki.
https://grrl-power.wikia.com/wiki/Grrl_Power_Wiki
Would anyone use a laser dot, in the same way Max has a gun, to put fear in to someone that can see it? Let them know that somewhere a sniper is watching them.
A laser dot could be used as a weapon. Painting them as a target for a cat attack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9lCTPF8vD8
HULLO!
You answered your own question: yes, they would, it’s called the ‘intimidation factor’: there is no point having a sniper ready to take someone out if they don’t know there is a sniper ready to take them out
Doesn’t answer if someone actually would use it though. There are enough people out there with laser pointers to know that the most likely source is someone’s keyring.
W-e-l-l, if the person you’re facing COULD have a sniper in the area, you will at least take that possibility seriously.
Yes, yes it does, but, if you are facing a cop or a super and they tell you they have a sniper trained on you, would you be willing to call their bluff? o-O
Yes, you could tell them you have a sniper waiting to take them out. But would having them shine a laser pointer at them be of any use to reinforce the idea? It would only work on people who didn’t know that snipers don’t really use them and didn’t know you were serious about shooting them.
In general, snipers don’t give out warnings. You have an armed hostage situation going on, you want to make sure you can take the enemy out before they start ducking for cover.
Surprisingly, the number of people who believe snipers come with laser pointers is the majority, and it doesn’t have to be a long-range sniper, NCIS last night had gunmen using laser pointers when they shot up a farm house and then sped off when the occupants returned fire
“there is no point having a sniper ready to take someone out if they don’t know there is a sniper ready to take them out”
How about killing them without warning? That’s pretty much what a sniper does.
What if the intent was to take them alive? Knew someone would bring up the ‘no warning’ angle
Or a Dog attack. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2jViqMnnK4
I read a story once where a cop (off-duty, but intervening in a bit of violence on the sidewalk) used the laser sight on his firearm to increase the intimidation factor and persuade the apparent perpetrator to drop his club.
But the firearm was already out in plain view and pointing at the guy. The laser sight simply made the existing threat more specific.
In the world Halo lives in there are probably several types of super cats around so that could indeed be a very effective weapon.
Yes. The army often uses them exactly for that purpose where they want someone to give up rather than fight. Most combat lasers are used in infrared frequencies (ie. invisible to the naked eye) but visible to the shooter through Night vision goggles or a scope though, and the only ones I’ve ever heard used by snipers are for estimating range, not aiming.
There is also a big difference in how the military and the police uses snipers. When a military sniper is deployed someone is supposed to die for the mission to be a success. When a police sniper is deployed the optimal result is that no shots are fired and no one dies.
To be fair, Sydney *has* been playing non-stop Counterstrike for much of the day.
Excellent point. Switching off (or at least shifting to a lower gear) is something that Sydney often struggles with, after all.
Takes her time to get ‘started’, and even longer to get her to stop (unless she literally stops due to collapsing from exhaustion)
… does Doc Chevy have minor grade super strength as well? Seems like she throws people around pretty easily and often.
Some degree of super strength might be useful, even if it’s only for keeping mildly unruly patients in check, or in this case, setting bone that might be a lot more resillent than usual. It might even include a re-fracture to get things in the right place.
unruly patients and re-setting dislocated shoulders, or lifting bariatric patients. Actually a super strong nurse would be in demand, a lot.
Orthopedic surgeons have been described as, “Strong as an ox and twice as clever.”
And don’t go hand-to-hand with a chiropractor or massage therapist.
Well, some Chevy’s can put out around 400 hp.
The Doc has tabs on her collar, has it ever been mentioned if she is military? Or am I getting some purely decorational thingys wrong?
If military it’s not beyond the bounds of reason she is fairly well trained in hand to hand and swatting a flying Sydney wouldn’t be overly difficult.
Ooo, hadn’t noticed the LT bars, that combined with the blue shirt and the little black tie thing under the collar points to her being Air Force
You’re right actually. She’s a military doc. I’ve spent most of my life on military bases and seen a lot of military doctors as such. Not sure what branch that’s for, but the doc’s don’t have a lot of variant in uniform and skirts are part of the optional women’s uniforms if you do see them. Rank wise, I do believe that’s Army captain though.
It could be any branch, actually, but yes, 2 silver bars indicates she’s a Captain. As Dave talked about in the comments a few pages back (too lazy to find and link). I think the branch of the military she’s in would be Archon.
I was talking about prior to Archon. As noted, most of the individuals were already enlisted prior to the foundation of Archon.
Hmm, always believed two silver bars were a Lieutenant (maybe even a 2nd Lieutenant)
One copper bar is 2nd Lieutenant, one silver Lieutenant and two silver is captain.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranks_and_insignia_of_NATO_armies_officers
I wonder what Harem and Sydney will do now to get that doc steamed up…?
Maybe start calling her Dr.Ford,or Dr.Dodge,or anything automotive!?!?
Calling her Dr. Dodge after what she just did to Sydney?
Should be more like Dr. Ram…
How about….
Dr.Cadillac,Dr.Pontiac,Dr.AMC,Dr.Jeep,Dr.Chrysler,Dr.Hudson,Dr.Kaiser,Dr.Stutz Bearcat,Dr.Pope Toledo, Dr.Auburn,or Dr.Tucker???
The last few are names of obscure automotive companies that are no longer in business.
How about Dr. Cat.
Who manufactures that model of car? o_O
Forget car, that’s a bulldozer!
Knew about the range of ‘dozers, just got thrown as everyone else had been talking about cars
She married a guy with the last name Baker. His first name is Stewart, but he goes by Stew. And of course his middle initial is D.
Haha, Sydney in that last panel is adorable.
Yes. My first thought was that the orbs resemble those stars/birds that spin round cartoon characters’ heads when they get knocked down.
I’ve gone to see Video Games Live twice with my brother and mother. It is a wonderful show. Curious who else in the super bunch will go along.
Maxi, definitely, although, she will pretend to do it reluctantly but she has secretly been wanting to go for years but didn’t have an excuse to go without revealing her nerditude :D
Now, she has the excuse ‘to keep an eye on Sydney’ :P
“And our next song is from Final Fantasy…” And then the crowd started yelling 6 and 7 back and forth (I prefer Dancing Mad to One winged angel, personally).
The guy who was playing guitar hero on stage looked totally pumped.
It was actually my first concert. Loved it and have bought all 5 cd’s. Still wish I could see them live again.
Sydney embracing her new fashion
Usually she has to get drunk before she starts wearing a garbage can on her head.
Sydney missed one significant detail – she should have activated her shield just when she was close. Of course the effect would not have been significantly different, but in case of a real attack, that would have protected them both and prevented possible overpenetration issues.
I don’t think Sydney thought much about the details there
Yes, I found it interesting that her first instinct was “I’ll take the bullet for you, person I only met earlier today!” and not “I’ll protect us all with the shield orb”.
She met her back on day 1 after her “Noodle Incident“. Yeah, the last couple of days have not endeared Sydney to the doctor yet.
And if she calculated wrong, the doctor would find out what it’s like to be bodyslammed by a flying forcefield that just happened to contain Sydney
That was an awesome joke. *writes it down* I’m going to remember that one. I hope someone sets me up for it soon.
Oooookay.
Way to much info there.
Okay, I’ll never know how my roomie slept through my laughing hard enough to shake the house.
I will neither confirm nor deny whether this situation has happened to me in real life. I will say, at one time or another, my drinking crew consisted of active duty military, veterans, and security professionals … more than a few of whom are of desi background.
You decide.
Short on sleep, wired on caffeine and sugar. Naturally ADHD. Sydney should really be sent home for the day to rest and collect herself. Way too much has happened to her in the past 72 hours and she’s bound for a serious mental slip, if she doesn’t have time to go over all that has happened.
The standard indoctrination procedure is to push the recruit as far as possible. Both to see what happens personality-wise and to to give the newbie an idea that they are capable of much more than they normally expect. But then again, most recruits don’t have access to laser death rays while being physically and psychologically stressed.
If it gets worse for Sydney then her ARC career would be over before it has a chance to start.
If it comes down to it,would Maxima be presiding at Sydney’s court martial???
Or giving a eulogy at her military funeral?
Like Maxima with her gun, the only way this doc gets away with punching patients is because she can heal their injuries straightaway.
Sydney should probably practice grabbing the Shield Orb so it becomes reflex when confronted by dangerous situations. Like an invisible sniper inside a closed room. A particularly incompetent invisible sniper using a visible laser sight.
But using the shield orb would violate the rule of funny, no matter how good an idea it is.
Also the (small) possibility that a mistimed / inaccurate shield raising could make the situation much much worse.
What if the bad guy lobs a grenade, or the super you’re covering has some explosive power that they are about to use? A mistake as simple as bad timing could mean that the resulting BOOM! happens INSIDE the Shield bubble, and that would be bad.
Not to mention slicing the person you are attempting to save in half
You would HOPE that the shield was built with a safety feature and it would spawn on one side or the other of a living thing, or possibly any object… but I wouldn’t want to be the one to test it.
Fairly sure we saw it pass through a table during the Restaurant Rumble
Some angles are ambiguous, but every time it is clear, you can see that the shield deforms to accommodate objects and the ground. The best example of Dave’s intent is that Harem got scooped up, outside of Sydney’s shop. As opposed to having her feet cut off,
I love this setup. They’re going to the symphony! I can’t wait to see how everything goes sideways.
I’m thinking that it’s too bad it’s not an opera. They might meet some interesting people there (although the overall effect might be the same even without them).
Like Aya Brea?
I would love to see someone take Sydney to a Wagner opera and in the middle have her start singing ‘Kill the wabbit. Kill the wabbit.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGhQ2BDt4VE
Something tells me that doctor’s day isn’t gonna get better any time soon.
At least not until Sydney leaves her office, you mean?
When the doc is done with the bones, she better get started on that burn.
If it’s the Zelda one, I’ve heard from my lucky as balls nerd friend who went to it that it’s a legitimate good show.
I wonder how long it takes for a time-stopped Harem to get caught up on missing memories after her re-materialization. The last thing she remembers is being in a combat situation surrounded by enemies. She is the one I would be worried about striking out at people around her when she appears.
Harem has a GROUP MIND shared amongst all her versions, not a separate mind for each. So what you suggest simply aint gonna happen.
I’m pretty sure that specific detail has already been mentioned a few dozen times..
It still takes time for the individual memories to get sent to the other bodies, it is not instantaneous (and also note, Berry wasn’t simply sleeping, she was in un-space)
Pretty sure I remember seeing Dave say somewhere that all Harem’s brains are quantum entangled. That means that there is zero transmission lag between brains and that complex thoughts are probably split up between brains seamlessly. Processing is mostly done locally, which would allow her to carry on multiple conversations at once, and some less important memories especially those relating to a specific body may be stored locally, but despite having up to five bodies she is a single person.
Problem with that: walking down two different streets, or one walking down a street and another doing, well, anything else that requires the use of her eyes
Only specific parts of her brain are quantum entangled. She has five brains and one mind. So yeah, Strawberry doesn’t even have missing memories, because the mind that controls her brain has been around.
They all share information nearly instantaneously (like mircroseconds), so probably during the actual materialization of the body in question. Remember she’s developing her own form of close combat that uses her multi-body capability as well as her increased strength when she has fewer bodies. Although that does make me wonder, can she materialize a body say running or punching if it was like sitting before it was put into “storage”?
A question that just popped up in my head has to do with memory and skills. Say that one Harem body went through the marksmanship training. Would the other four bodies have the “muscle memory” as well? Also, say that body gets killed. What happens to the memories that were “stored” specifically in that braincase? Have they been backed up in her other brains, like a RAID array, or would those violin lessons be forever gone?
She doesn’t know what happens when a body is killed, forgetting stuff is unlikely or vanishing four of her bodies for the 16x strength boost would presumably vanish 80% of her memories which could be devastating.
Anything actually based off the physical body is bound to the body though, so yes “muscle memory” wouldn’t be inherently transferred between bodies.
IIRC, what’s known as “Muscle” memory is actually a trick the brain has, the more you do a task (punching, driving a certain route to work, etc), the easier the neurons involved conduct the electrical charge of neural impulses in DOING that task.
I have to agree with Xavion. Suppose one of Harem’s bodies trained to bench-press 300 lbs. All of her bodies would remember the training, but only one body would have the physical development to do it. The deviant art poster showed they have different tattoos, so I’m guessing that muscle development would stay localized as well.
What one body learns, the others also “knows”, but the point about ‘muscle memory’ is a very good one.
If (hypothetically) I swapped bodies with a world-class violinist, the violinist would still have his knowledge, but would be stuck in a body whose musculature would still have to learn how to be a violinist. And I would be in a body that might “instinctively” know how to play the violun, but I wouldn’t have a clue as to how.
In Harem’s case, given she is young and her skill acquisition seems to have been very eclectic so far, I’m guessing the matter of ‘muscle memory’ simply has not been a noticeable thing for her as yet. In a few years, after she has studied some skills IN DEPTH, we might get a better idea.
Is it me, or is Daphne looking really butch in this strip?
I suppose that would depend on your definition of “butch”.
butch, as in a lot more muscular – as in heavily muscular.
I know they are hyper-idealised bodies, but the 5 part Daphne, is as far as I’m aware, the closest to the “normal human” build out of all of them.
I think she is looking very “sporty” at the moment.
I read this plot – https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_the_Spheres_(The_Outer_Limits) – and was immediately reminded of Max. It should be perfectly PC, by the way…
I suspect that part of the issue for Sydney is that, having been so sheltered, she expects people who are a little bit different from her (say, from a non-monotheistic religion, or from a different ethnic group in general) are going to be truly exotic.
So if the doctor had been wearing a colorful sari, Sydney would’ve immediately known what the bindi was, because she’d have a mental image of “Hindu woman” that includes both. Since the doctor is in standard medical kit, though, Sydney’s extreme hyperactive imagination is prone to completely misinterpreting the one key visual indicator of the doctor’s faith and culture.
You’ll find the same sort of situational blindness in people who are surprised when someone obviously from an Asian country speaks English, possibly better than the Westerner who is so shocked.
Okay, I’m tired of this bullshit.
WHERE ARE ALL THE GRRLPOWER FANFICTIONS!
Waiting for you to write them, of course.
Touche, But where do I post them?
FF.net?
Curse the lack of an edit function!
Or post comments on here, Facebook and Twitter to ask the author?
I don’t suppose the good doctor has a relative that moved to New York back in the ’90s and opened a soup-only food stand?
Syd really should have gone for her shield orb.
I love a good Sydney burn, but how does this one make sense? Isn’t Harem the most die hard lesbian of this place? That one would work better on Dabbler.
Harem is more of a whatever-sexual. Our maybe just “only a lesbian in collage” type. She likes to have alot of different experiences. So, limiting herself to one gender for sexual partners wouldn’t be in character.
Also, she IS the one who vorp’ed all the guys shirts off earlier.
Believe you maybe thinking of Peggy
But as Keneth said, Daphne is all about experiencing everything life has to offer, and with five bodies, why limit your sexual partners to just one gender, or even one species? o_O
Actually, even Peggy is bi. Remember her enjoying the shirtless guys?
Isn’t Harem the most die hard lesbian of this place?
Uh…no. I don’t know where you got that impression.
Harem is a try-sexual.
Maybe the doc would get two orderlies built like wrestlers but possessing the same IQ as Forrest Gump!
That’ll keep Harem and Sydney in line,or will it???
A random thought: I hav enoticed that the only service-specific uniforms we see members of Archon wear are variations of the dress uniform of USAF, is there a reason behind this?
Possibly the USAF is the base branch ARCHON came from
Max, Hiro, and General Faulk were all seconded from the air force.
So was Peggy, or was she ‘retired’ due to her injury?
Actually Dave never said which branch she is from.
But given that she is a sniper I would have to say she is army.
Especially given that she is a qualified chopper pilot to.
She also flies attack helicopters
Being a sniper may have been a side speciality, not one tied into her branch of the military, something she started when she was a kid and kept going with it (you will find that most {not all} snipers were already proficient with a rifle before enlisting)
The army operates helicopters too, so DR.REVENGE‘s proposal remains valid. Looking at the check list on this web page, present day army pilots are officers, and the role is open to women. So Peggy’s rank is consistent with the assumption.
In our world pilots would be too intensively trained to also have them become full-time snipers. So your counter-suggestion that Peggy was a markswoman before entering the military is a good one. Presumably being one of Olympic sportswoman standard.
However this is one of the areas where the GrrlPowerVerse might vary from our world. Peggy was obviously paired up with Maxima from early on in their careers. Given that Maxima can fly, it would be worthwhile to train her partner as both a helicopter pilot and a sniper.
Perhaps it was even a far-sighted suggestion of Colonel Faulk (before his promotion to General). Anticipating that technology might progress to the point where practical flying devices might be developed for individuals. Given that this year has seen the introduction of personal jet packs, such foresight would justify his present pay-grade.
In due course we might well see the introduction of flying snipers. Used sensibly, jet-packs can give great advantages. For instance allowing a sniper to quickly get to a roof-top vantage point. Being sure to only do so from an angle where they will not be exposed to enemy sighting or fire, needless to say.
Likewise snipers may find themselves in urgent need to bug out. For instance if artillery ranging fire indicates somebody has spotted their location. Flying out, in such circumstances, might be more preferable than trying to crawl unobserved, or leg it.
Archon has several flyers. It could be that each branch of the military has specialty supers that pair up with that branch. It is possible that the Navy has frogmen that are actual ‘frog-men’.
Max, Peggy and the General are all USAF so if they “founded” ARCHON it is possible they chose uniforms they were familiar with (With the changes that’s been noticed like being dark purple, etc) for this new branch’s. We know there’s at least one SEAL in this bunch, just not in the “Main” team
I see Chevy’s who’s who box states she has low patience with patients…
But with patient like these…
XD
The doctor doesn’t think she needs to be friends with her patients. I believe the old medical joke is ‘with friends like these, who needs enemas?’
They’re gonna need a new branch for Chevy after that: DOC SWAT!
“!” #SoManyOfThem
Just to break up the flow a little (and show she’s human), I’d like to see Sydney getting the Doc to crack up (perhaps at Harem or Max’s expense). I think she’s being used for the punchline just a hair too much.
I think laser sights may actually be used by SWAT teams and such for room to room assault, you can always tell where your gun is pointed and there is nothing like a red laser dot on the chest to insure cooperation. That being said, red laser light is extremely distinctive and could never be mistaken with any sort of red paint outside of rule of funny.
Heh. First cello. I’ve had a couple of superheroic characters that have played cello at first-chair competency. My favorite ‘everyone is getting together / first team event’ conversation went like this:
,q.Quintessence (‘Southern’ mystic, vodoun influences): “If you don’t mind my prying, what brings a fine Dark Lady such as yourself to these parts?”
“A cello, in point of fact,” the Dark Lady replies with a suddenly winsome smile, settling to the ground but wincing slightly as she does. “I heard a rumor that the Piatti-Prieto Strad was coming to auction at Christie’s, and I wanted to decide whether I should bid or not.” That said, she limps towards a chair, armless by preference, settling into it with a slight sigh of relief and arranging herself before resuming the conversation.
Like many superheroes, she had great wealth; unlike many, she kept it subtle. ;)
She