Grrl Power #548 – The sky has one star – according to Sydney’s Yelp review
Is there a vampire movie from the last 20 years that doesn’t have a fast forward sunset in it? I haven’t seen the Twilight movies so they don’t count. As proper vampire lore anyway.
The most unrealistic thing about this page is that Jabberwokky doesn’t have tattoos all over her arms and legs. She has that sternum eagle… or, uh, cleavage eagle? Cleagle? Although I guess, looking at that page again, she didn’t have tats on her legs at least. I assumed she had them on her arms but used her jacket to cover them up to save time with the art.
I had fun trying to come up with the name of Sandy’s course. For the joke to work it had to be the most boring thing I could come up with – so apologies to people who are technical writing fans I guess. I started off with something involving accounting, but I couldn’t think of a way to make and accounting course superhero related. Maybe some kind of Super Forensic Accounting, but I don’t think they’d be teaching that on Sydney’s first week. If there were Batman type “supers” taking the classes, then yes, but the Thors and Hulks can opt out in favor of some sort of “To Smash or not To Smash: When to exercise restraint” class.
Double res version will be posted over at Patreon. $1 and up, but feel free to contribute as much as you like.
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Dongs Ahoy!Full frontal and backal. Lots of skin, sex on some or all pages, explicit or otherwise.
Time moves for no Halo.
No, no, Halo. That’s not how you do it!
You simply say in an narrator-y type of voice, “Later that evening…”
Of course, the trick is in saying it so your speech balloon becomes all rectangular and orange-colored…
I wonder if Varia is a furry, aside from her gestalt with Jabberwokky.
Don’t let Dabbler see. Or maybe do…
I doubt it. We likely would have seen her stroking her tail and getting all starry eyed over it.
But maybe.
I suspect Dave Barrak is a furry fan.
Are you sure? He does not seem the type, when you check out his photo.
*groan*
Actually, this kind of raises a question about Varia- are the powers that she gets “sticky” at all? What I mean is, can she get them to hang around for any length of time after losing physical contact? In panel 4 there she goes back to normal pretty quick but I wasn’t sure if that’s unintentional or because she was willingly suppressing the effect.
Being able to get powers from touching other people is cook and would work pretty well for anyone who could just hang back and blast the enemies with energy beams, but it seems like having to maintain constant contact would quickly rule out most of the melee-oriented heroes. Unless it was with someone like Math or maybe Achilles and they could use each other like weapons.
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GrievousHarmWithABody
*cool, not cook. Dammit I either need to proofread my comments better or this needs an edit function.
Why not both? Happens for the best of us, even when proofreading.
She seems to revert as soon as she loses contact. When she and Halo held hands, the orbs circled both, but as soon as they let go, the orbs returned to Halo.
Sydney’s thought of carrying some skin or hair still has merit, if Varia can get her powers to work that way.
I wonder if this means that if the two are in contact, with the orbs circling overhead, if a four orb usage can happen. Piggyback moment.
I keep thinking about that, too. Flower didn’t say anything about it having to be her hands- she and Sydney could link arms at the elbow and use four.
Oh hey I wonder what would happen if Varia was holding Sydney’s hand, but WHILE SHE GAINED A LEVEL UP POINT. Would both Halo and Flower get a point to spend, but after letting go, both points are kept by Sydney?
And about Varia- since she said Maxima (does she have a superhero name?) has ‘screwy skin’ so it makes sense that if she learns (probably will) about aliens, vampires, and more importantly, sapient artifacts- she couldn’t gain a power from, say… Icon.
While I’m thinking about it- what happened to all those unconscious/dead supers at the halfhead warehouse?
Recovered and provided medical aid by arc and the council before the council processed them for outstanding crimes and attempted to reintegrate innocent ones
I keep wanting to Spoonerize your name to PuppetMuncher
So when did you first develop the urge to ‘spoon’ with Muppets, and to ‘munch them’?
honestly? Miss Piggy.
I recall Roger Moore saying something to the effect that ‘being invited to act opposite Miss Piggy was one of the high points of my career, as great an accolade as any award’.
Been thinking about Varia’s powers and Halo’s orbs. We have seen the Orbs suppress Sydney’s vertigo, I’m thinking they suppress or change other things about her.
The fact that Varia didn’t receive any type of power or ability outside the Orbs starting to circle both of them might mean that the orbs are affecting or overriding or blocking or changing some things about Sydney.
If I was Max, I’d order Sydney to go in for a full physical right down to her DNA once a week for several weeks. To see if the Orbs are having any actual subtle physical effect on her.
If not, then the orbs might just be shielding her from certain outside influences.
Shame they don’t shield her from Dabbles’ influence :P
The premise of this comic is that Sydney doesn’t manifest any physical traits of a Super.
Boom, Third. And, uh, furry Varia, huh?
Jabberwocky seems to channel animal spirits or something similar…probably had an impact on Varia’s gestalt powers.
Hmm… Which ‘style’ is Jabberwokky using, and does that affect Varia? Because, if ‘Cheeter style’ makes Varia go werecheeter, and ‘Pangolin style’ makes her go werepangolin…
Can they get Jabz a mystic artifact that makes people without an Archon choker/mic hear a random style instead of necessarily the one she says? Or, at least, one with a silencing spell
Cheetah is a very fast cat from Africa. Cheater is the guy I am looking for during exams while everybody who actually studied has a good chance at getting a decent mark. As for the silence spell, talk with Gwen or Dabbler.
Says you.
Well, for Varia a ‘cheatah’ may also be that guy trying to get a look at your test paper.
+1
Not complaining.
Extended battle field damage analysis accounting 101. Or Should I use this as a backstop?
Creative Accounting Practices for After-Action Damage Assessment and Accurate Mission Expense Reports
How about “Collateral Damage Estimation Using Bunny/Orphan Casualty Counts”?
Expediated zoning permission and Bureaucratic navigation for establishment of civilian-friendly altercation environs mid-encounter, part 1 (Northeast states)
Concise Financial Budgeting for Multiple Mission Scenarios with Minimizing Travel and Collateral Damage Expenses (Abridged)
But they’re not even in the Northeast…
Center Of West States has an unfortunate acronym though.
I thought they were in one of those 5 states that meet in a single five-corner border. I saw on the Simpdon’s, it must be true.
Ah, yes. The five corners region. That narrows it down to North Tacoma, South Tacoma, Calisota, Moosylvania, and Podunk.
Of = Or
I wonder if what Varia turns into is related to whatever Jabberwokky is channeling at that moment or if it is this one form only?
Would be cool. But as it seems Jabberwokky’s powers are magic related, unlikely.
Also, don’t forget that Gestalt doesn’t have that “flair for the dramatic” in that fashion. The powers of who she’s touching seem to have little-to-no bearing on the power she obtains.
I think they do have a fairly significant degree of impact on her gestalt power, it’s just difficult to predict since she usually doesn’t get the same power, but it is often related in some way. I’d even suggest she might be tapping into whatever the ‘truth’ of their power is, regardless of however they manifest it. We also know that related people tend to have related powers, but not necessarily.
I seem to recall that with a fire person she got super speed or something like that, which is the basis of her claim that the power is unrelated, but I beg to differ. Speed and fire are actually fairly closely linked as heat is just atomic acceleration between molecules.
In Halo’s case, we only know that the orbs orbited both of them, we assume that she would be able to use them too. I think this is because she is tapping into why Halo can control them.
I mentioned this in the reply to Ultra James but Varia claimed that the power she gets is related. And she got ice or freezing powers from touching Heatwave, which relates to her heating powers in that they both are a temperature changing ability, just in opposite directions.
The one that wasn’t clear was the form she took when touching Ren. His power is described as ‘super adrenaline’. My guess is that her ‘lightning golem’ form is related to how he apparently is able to process information super fast and react to it. So not so much a lightning golem as maybe a biological super computer/cyborg?
(And yes, I know that ‘biological cyborg’ is either an oxymoron or redundant as the term cyborg already implies an organic part but I didn’t know what else to call it.)
Biotechnology such as in Star Trek brain tissue being used in ship systems. Whole spacecraft in some sci fi are organic or even a species. It’s plausible that technology can be organic.
Cybiorg?
I highly recommend Mayflies by K O’Donnell.
brain of deceased human is used as computer to control functions of generation starship. Everything’s fine until the brain’s original owner wakes up. Timeline of book spans centuries.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1335295.Mayflies
Another one in the “organic tech” category is obviously The Ship Who Sang series by Anne McCaffrey. The parents of babies with severe physical disabilities — but fully developed and exceptionally talented brains — may allow them to become “shell people” rather than be euthanized. Physical growth is stunted, the body is encapsulated in a titanium life-support shell with computer connections, and the person is raised for “one of a number of curious professions”. As such, their offspring would suffer no pain, live a comfortable existence in a metal shell for several centuries, performing unusual service for Central Worlds.” They are employed as the “brains” of spacecraft (“brainships”), hospitals, industrial plants, mining planets, and so on, even cities – in the books, primarily spaceships and cities.
There’s another series that I can’t remember the name of, but telepaths were rare and so valuable that upon death their brains were removed and kept alive in a life support system to act as a starship’s communications system (FTL travel was possible, but without telepaths, FTL communications were not.) I distinctly remember when the protagonists’ starship crashed: “Are you alright?” “If I had a head, I’d have a headache.”
Unfortunately, not even TV Tropes’ page for Brain in a Jar mentions this series. (Maybe someone else here remembers it.) But the Brain in a Jar page is a good starting point for finding examples of biotech in fiction.
Nevah! I shall not risk brain rot!.
Get thee behind … actually just stay more than one spear’s throw distance from me. And include any spear distance enhancing aids, and circumstantial advantages, in that calculation!
He thinks fast, she moves fast?
Actually, Varia herself said the opposite of that. A power she gets from another super often has something to do with theirs. Not always though, or not in an obviously clear way at least.
accounting + superhero-ing? Sounds like a reference to Love and Capes to me :)
It’s a necessity, since they’re all probably making millions per month.
That’s what Mr. Shrapnel is for, remember?
You mean Sydney’s “My Little Pony”.
Well, “involving only names and dates” would be annoying, but I had a superhero fangirl turned superhero whose knowledge of superhero history almost never failed so that almost anytime my brother mentioned a name that had any sort of past in the setting my character knew about them.
Are you saying you personally know Sydney?
Or Gwenpool?
Champions RPG, 5th edition, I think at the time…maybe 4th.
Sounds like what Sydney would play.
So, does her hair smell nice?
Sadly, given her alien-human heritage triggered as a survival reaction getting immersed in toxic waste, she was heavily scarred and spent most of her time in hoodies and wearing scarfs to cover her face.
Aww, so sad! I hope you managed to encourage her to integrate more in society? Was she able to get reconstructive surgery?
Eventually, most of the scaring healed, though her hands remained claw-like and she had difficulty with fine manipulation issues, had a speech to text thing for when she did computer stuff.
But yeah, she acted fairly cheerful a bit but early had a propensity for emotional breakdowns if her powers misbehaved…which some were under GM control to start (once he had her teleport into a bank vault just as she was about to lay the finishing punch on someone, another time her X-Ray vision triggered during a stealth mission and she lost sight of all the walls.)…but most of the emotional issues got eased out by end of campaign.
Heh. I never have been keen on giving a GM an invitation to be evil, they have enough capability to do that without my helping them.
Mine just brought very extreme dice. Every other roll is either a 1 or a 20.
If Dabbler’s spell on Jabberwocky isn’t wearing off, does that count as an injury? A disability?
Will Arc-SWAT be legally responsible? Dabbler?
Could it be considered an excessive use of force? An accident?
It counts as “damages” and, while accidental, Dabbler can be held accountable.
Psychological damages of a magical nature are likely covered in the ARCHON medical coverage.
Not after the GOP health plan. Then it counts as a pre-existent condition and Archon loses coverage.
They probably have their own specific plan like the rest of the military does.
Yup. “Don’t get killed, or loose any extremities. The Super Doc can fix just about any other injury.”
“We’ve scanned her brain and the results show nothing.”
(Than you Mr. Beara.)
Unless SuperDoc is magical, I don’t see how regeneration/accelerated healing would apply.
Dunk Jabb in a tub of magic absorbent fluid and let her soak?
If the brain damage is a result of injury, then regenerating the damage will restore functionality. Including memory, as they are laid down through organic means.
A destroyed brain though would count as a lost extremity. Logan or Pixel level regeneration might fix that, but I think it would be beyond the Super Doc’s capability.
Which, yes, I did exaggerate, for comedic purposes. But restoring brain injury is actually within her potential capability. It would just take a long time.
What I meant was the spell affecting Jabb’s mind probably won’t respond to SuperDoc’s special healing attributes.
Does Dabbler even HAVE a general purpose magic nullifying procedure?
Something like Zecora’s hot tub?
Indeed, all the doc does is speed up the body’s natural healing. This is a magical or supernatural or super-powered attack, and one of a mental/emotional nature. Very different kettles of fishies.
There are no general purpose super powered nullifiers in this setting. That may not extend to magic though. We will have to wait and see.
No, she can’t be, actually. She used it in an official Archon fight while being on the defensive. Her case is pretty much 100% air tight. Sucks for Jazza to have to deal with the repercussions, but that’s the (very small) price she has to pay for her fuck-up (vehemic shenanigans be damned).
Good point.
…Nope, any injuries suffered in the commission of a felony (mass assault +battery on Federal Law officers aka the steakhouse brawl)are indemnified – Jazza cannot sue Archon for any damages done to her by Math or Dabbler …
Does it also mean that Jabberwokky didn’t join Archon willingly because she’s in an altered state of consciousness?
… No, consider it this way: person A attacks officer B, suffers ptsd from fight. person A is offered a plea deal and officer B is not in the room or in eyesight during the negotiations. A takes the deal, shows up to comply+ sees officer B in the room- immediately gets spectacularly sick. That doesn’t invalidate the deal even if A gets sick every time officer B is near…
I like Varia’s ‘I have a freaking tail?’ look there.
Imagine if you will having a sudden furry appendage force its way out of _your_ pants, taking the shirt with it. Its like having a fuzzy fart rip out with a side of visuals. The way she is tucking her shirt in on her way back inside suggests she is quietly verifying her panties are still intact.
She is also most definitely muttering something “We shall nevah speak of this again…”
:-D
Verhaly.
is it me, or does varia lose quite a bit of her most common superpower when she goes all fuzzy cuddly?
Well, it depends if you ever wanted to have a tail. I can ASSURE YOU that many would be ecstatic with the result.
*wags tail elegantly*
A really long, strong, prehensile one would be nice.
*looks admiringly at Halo*
Reminds me of a page in “TMI”: one of the characters (who normally has a tail) changed form and donned an outfit that turned out to be ‘cursed’ forcing her to remain in her ‘human’ form, eventually she managed to force the change, but forgot she was now wearing undies, result? self-inflicted atomic wedgie!!
Beautiful imagery.
Halo, a tip for you. Next time try that with the brown orb in your hand.
OK it might cause the Earth to spin so fast all the Australians fall off, but they have safety ropes and stuff. And that would happen at the firing range just as easily as here.
That’s what I was thinking – here she’s trying out a potential superpower, but with all 7 orbs circling her head.
SPLAT!
Sudden thought struck me. Remaining mystery orb unhides the other 7 orbs that have been circling her head 6 inches above the 7 we can see…
But that’s too mulch like wishing for more wishes.
Indeed. Plus nothing in the skill tree even hinted at that. We would expect the structure of the brown orb’s nodes to be very different, if that were the case, for instance greyed out lines leading to other greyed out orbs, each with their own skill trees.
Disagree with gusto. The spheregrid definitely suggests it. My desktop is the updated (not the PPO upgrade though) tree, and so I edited it and stuffed it on DeviantArt so you could see my comments. I’ll remove it if Dave tells me to:
https://viirin.deviantart.com/art/Suggs-695139021?ga_submit_new=10%3A1501175388
P.S. Couldn’t figure out where my file of the updated one was so I just used the OG.
What 3D shape has a heptagon cross section? Mathematically how many more points (spheres) might there be?
Given the upgrade screen the number out won’t change though swapping sets to a different cross section is possible.
I took into account those points you highlighted. We know that the orb can be upgraded beyond those skills we have seen highlighted on the tree. The significant thing is that nothing you circled emanates from the brown orb. Hence the conclusion I came to.
Take the flyball as an example, it is very likely that the multiple points already filled in represent increases in flight speed, accounting for Halo’s impressive top speed. We have not had people speculating that adding points to the truesight orb would increase flight speed, nor for the PPO, as examples.
Likewise the connecting lines, between skill points indicate that you need to build up prerequisites before you can take higher skills. Had the skill tree been almost blank, when Sydney first opened it up, she could not have just put a point in “800 mph flight speed”, fist she would have had to fill in all of the lesser ones, like “100 mph, 200 mph and so on”.
Of course these have already been filled in so I am only illustrating my line of reasoning. Sydney is already at the “400 mph” and only has one more point in that line. But we can reasonably assume that it will be something like “500 / 600 / 800 mph” given the progression.
Likewise if filling in a point on the brown orb does unlock the open-ended grey line, on the flyball, why is there not a line connecting the two?
Not that this precludes the suggestion. I am just pointing out that there is nothing hinting that the brown ball does this. It could be like the control or alt key on a keyboard, which completely changes the functionality of the skill tree. Showing an entirely different set of skills and orbs, when activated.
And a way that would keep it interestingly balanced is if switching modes replaced all of the existing orbs with the new set (most of which would presumably be untrained skills, until Halo discovered their powers), obviously only until Halo grasped the power ball and changed them back again.
So the next set might be all in shades of grey. Perhaps the next skill point, on its tree, would make them all metallic colours, like copper, silver and gold. And the next would replace them with a selection of orbiting fruit. Oooh, then stars of various types.
We gets to think up multiple new sets of orb powers.
The fruit ones would all have to be plant based or themed powers. Maybe with a luck orb too (the fruit machine orb)? Maybe there will be a furry set too?
Dragonballs. Devil Fruits. Lucky Charm Marshmallows.
Totally un-attributed orbs that get a spec once the first user decides it and spends a point (or just decides it and the tree is automated).
So Sydney may have been better off trying to make the orb summon or create Wolverine? Rather than testing it underwater. Instead the orb of ultimate variability and wishes has now been specialised in rather a mundane option.
Then wish for more genies!
Be sure to specify ‘helpful friendly sexy female genies’.
I don’t know. Major Anderson might be able to tell you all the ways that could go wrong…
Not to mention Major Healy (keeps getting foiled when he tries to get a wish granted)
I will have you know, the people from Down Under have exceptionally powerful toes to grip the Earth so we don’t fall off.
Please continue. Especially, please explain how drop bears fall up towards people on the ground instead of down into the sky.
And how kangaroos work.
Clearly kangaroos must be clockwork. For the tourist industry.
Thanks ChrisL that had always been a bit of a mystery for me. Seems to be a bit of a sensitive subject with Ausies.
Drop bears are a misnomer. They have simply learnt how to jump while inverted.
*writes note to self*
Hire gnomes if hunting dropbears.
What kind of furry creature did Varia turn into?
Probably an anthropomorphic version of whichever fighting style Jabberwocky has her powers set on. Fox, maybe, or some kind of feline. If she switches her power set to some other animal style, Varia’s gestalt form would switch, too.
Unlikely. Her power seems to draw its manifestation from the person, not whatever they are channeling at the time. Jabberwocky’s superpower is to tap into a magic energy and imbue it into her body in various configurations. She views this as various animal spirits, likely because of something deeper about Jabber herself rather than anything about the nature of the magic she channels. As such, what Varia is accessing is not a power from the magic, but something in Jabber that exists whether she has the magic or not.
Although Halo is kind of an exception, rather than the rule, do not forget that (for the astute readers) Varia appeared to gain joint custody of the orbs. Over and above everything else though they are an external super power, so different rules might apply.
But then we have the Harem gestalt, where Varia gains the ability to piggy-back with Harem.
So both of those examples are pointing at powers have some influence over the result of the gestalt.
On the other paw though Varia can even form getalts with people with no powers. So things are complex with her. I think the various options discussed remain open.
In the ‘boobs!’ page we see that JW has a tiger tattoo on her back. It may be a variation on that. https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1432
Good catch. There does appear to be a subtle stripeage going on on her arm, and elsewhere.
*gives monitor a wipe*
I think Varia would need to take off her clothes for us to tell if she had the more distinctive dark body stripes, we would expect of tigers.
Failing that, maybe Fox?
We can probably ignore the hair, as that has remained similar to Varia’s own normal style and we know (from the were Bunny and Dave’s comments) that weres can choose whether to keep their hair, when transformed, or go for the animal fur.
I think Clover (the were-honey badger) was more fur than hair, off the top of my head.
*rubs fur on head*
So if anyone knows an animal matching the whole look fine, that is probably what it is. But also compare her without that hair, to look for likely matches.
One of the adaptations that enable badgers’ notgivvaphukage is that they each have approximately weighdahek more fur than they normally need. So that if, say, a puma sinks its teeth into badger’s back, she’ll likely miss grabbing any useful bones, allowing badger to turn around inside his own fur and attack puma with teeth and all four sets of claws. Highly effective way to surprise attack the predator that thinks it just got an easy meal.
saw a docu of badger, in winter, just boldly walk up to three wolves with a kill they’d stolen fair and square from a mountain lion and start eating the kill. each of the other four predators outsized badger, and none even snarled at it. Badger DNGAF enough even to look at them while it settled down to the meal.
… Two separate documentaries – in the 1st, a wolverine got into it with a grizzly bear over a dead moose; the bear went hungry. in the 2nd, a pride of lions “caught” a honey badger – they did kill it several hours later, but they all looked the worst for it…
Took an entire pride to defeat a single honey badger, by that time, it was pure spite
Given her reaction to other were-creatures, Sydney is going to curse a blue streak when she finds out she missed that.
Sonic is not deserving of her hatred.
Heh.
I agree Dylan, Sydney would have her grooming brush out the instant she saw that transformation. Ever since she saw Pixel I bet her utility belt will have been changed. Arts and crafts out, brush in. ;-)
And the ribbons for the hair, and the tail, and ‘other’ places
Oh, Sandy has good reason for being sure that you don’t want to miss it.
If you do miss the rest of it, you have to do it all. over. again.
The boring accountancy themed course is easy. “Claiming Expenses 101”
Gentle rain
Falls on me
All life folds back
Into the sea
We contemplate eternity
Beneath the vast indifference of heaven
–Warren Zevon
Watch the sky, there is the proof of your transcience,
the stars that saw the birth of our ancestors
shall watch our descendants last steps on earth
So, unnoticed we will pass away,
like a flickering in the perpetual chaos
-At the Gates – The Break of Autumn
Like sands through the hourglass
So are the days of our lives
-Socrates
Oh, pilot of the storm who leaves no trace
like thoughts inside a dream
Take heed of the path that led me to that place
yellow desert stream.
-Led Zeppelin. (but I didn’t need to tell you that, did I?)
“By all means marry. If you get a good wife, you’ll become happy. If you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.” – Socrates
Miss watching that show, back when Harley Quinn was just another dream character :D
Considering the typical infrequency of new recruits, not all of the classes that Halo is given need to be 101 classes. It just needs to not be things that would have pre-reqs Sydney doesn’t have.
Good thing Sydney didn’t see Varia in cat form! I think she’d be even worse with the “kitty” than she was with the werewolf!
MJasonAW3 doesn’t know what he’s talking about! Sydney is becoming the very model of “keeping it together”! (Ah, who am I trying to kid? She’d flip right the heck out!)
BTW; MJasonAW3 is my evil twin…
Lawful Evil and Neutral Evil?
So we would have the goonish cat repeler crafted by Sarah cross to grrlverse?
Of course you can have an accounting class. It just needs to describe what to do with Bill/Chad from Accounting.
Are we hanging Chad? Sorry, wrong guy. He is with Elections.
Maybe not, but someone’s got to do something with that deliquent Bill.
Have him play his sax while not smoking a cigar while an intern drycleans a blue dress
Or force him to marry a harpy
I have attended a gypsy wedding reception, on the bank of a river, where the saxophonist chain-smoked throughout his set. Puffing away, right up until he had to play his piece, such that you could actually see smoke puffing out the end of his instrument.
Not in a stylish ‘smoke rings performance’ just a severe addict. It blew the mind of the former professional musician I was there with. He could not believe that someone earning a living with a wind instrument would abuse both their role and their capability that way.
I don’t know it it is part of conforming to the ‘ideal super’ form, but I have noticed the legs of Dave’s women supers seem to be overly long in proportion to the rest of their bodies.
Theres a Bayonetta joke here somewhere…
No he just made them long enough to go all the way up. I will see myself out for the hot shots reference
Any shorter and their feet would not reach the ground.
Be careful, everyone else could be aware of the fast forward and you’ll be taking the class at night instead.
Actual name of the alternate course: “To Smash or Not To Smash”: How to avoid criminal charges of “Excessive use of Force”.
*Sky fast forwards*
Syd: Finally
Syd turns round to find Max and several others standing behind her looking concerned.
Max: Are you ok? You seemed to be standing there in a catatonic state for several hours.
Syd: And you all just stood there and watched? Didn’t anyone think to call the doctor?
Max: We did, but, erm, I had 7:30pm in the sweep.
“We called the doctor… but your Shield was up.”
Gee Sydney, you feel like time is just crawling by while you are waiting for the next exciting thing to happen.
Welcome to the club.
I brought the punch!
Is it a FALCON punch?
(Ya know… since JW does animal style attacks, we need to find out if that is actually one of her moves)
I was seriously going to write that, so I’m glad you did.
Sydney just talk to Krona and se if she can “speed” things up.
and thus she missed out on a cool power discovery by not holding the proper orb pair while asking for it.
Wait the class is alternating using her code and real name so she is in all five days? Brilliant!
Also
Remedial Class Sat: Halo, Sydney
*laughs out loud, coughing almond butter toast all over the keyboard*
LOLCABTAOK?
Laughs Out Loud, Inside Head, And Extends Acronym To Ensure It Is Not Politically Incorrect.
You forgot the weekend sessions for the comic shop owners on the team.
For a class in writing AAR, I too would be wanting the day to end.
If you wish to avoid writing those things, simply put down the absolute truth on a couple of them. After that, someone else – often a person who was not present when the issue actually occurred – will get to write the AAR.
I admit it- I didn’t get the Yelp joke at first. I was trying to figure out what she was implying about the sun, or if maybe it had something to do with living in an urban area and not seeing many of the stars at night because of light-pollution.
Boring has no bearing on subject choice, only execution. Spice And Wolf is my favorite go to for this: an anime that spends 4/5 of the time talking about medieval commerce and it is one of the more entertaining stories I’ve watched in years.
Most here want to see more “Sydney Smash!” pages. I’d love to see an Arianna spin-off series where there is no superheroing, just the work that goes behind the scenes of making ARC work, like Studio 60 inside the Justice League Watchtower.
Actually…..The sheer amount of questionable legalities that shed have to deal with in that spinoff would be pretty interesting-Like a she hulk comic only not lame =)
How appropriate: By day, only one star is visible from Earth with the naked, non-superhuman eye.
Let’s avoid “Cleagle.” It evokes the KKK.
Haven’t seen this way myself, but while visiting the Brazos Bend observatory in Texas, was told by an astronomer that under right conditions, Jupiter is naked-eye visible during normal non-dusk daylight.
All that aside, Jupiter isn’t a star either.
*puts a block of fire lighters into a glass bottle, lights it, and hurls it through a wormhole, towards Jupiter*
Hah! We will see about that!
just drop a few more rocks into it, it can become a star. It already radiates more energy than it receives.
Is Jupiter even the right fuel mixture?
Stars can burn almost anything as fuel, iron being a notable exception. The trick is lighting it off.
Mainly hydrogen and you saw me adding air.
Mind you suns sustain their energy output from a nuclear reaction, rather than simple burning. Bu you can do a lot with wormholes, like put Garbler’s suggestion into effect. Looks more impressive if you kickstart it with a fireball though.
From the background, I thought Sydney was using her new found power to send out steam in the sky. Was very confused by that and the text as they were not related. Woops!
Jabberwocky’s thighs look too thick and too long to me.
Elephant Style?
I think it’s in range of human norm (think cyclist) and her shorts exaggerate it too.
Maybe, for thickness, but they are still too long.
Yet it is interesting that you are not thinking the same about Varia? Given that her legs are even longer! Whilst she is…. say four inches taller… her belt and hips are a couple of inches higher than Jabberokky’s. Meaning that her legs are approximately two inches longer.
My brother is a couple of inches taller than me, yet has identical trouser measurements to me. So I know that a variability of a couple of inches in leg length versus upper body length happens even with siblings.
So the two characters are within normal variability when compared to each other, Their legs disappear from view at the same point, and we know they are standing next to one another, so it is not a perspective issue.
Whilst one of them looks OK (enough for you not to comment), yet the other does not seem to pass for human? In terms of leg length, that is.
Varia is wearing pants. That makes it less obvious. Whether or not the thigh lengths are anatomically correct, I did state it as an opinion. The knees still look too low, to me, on her legs. The proportions seem wrong, again, to me. Now, if somebody with a Ph.D. in human anatomy wishes to chime in, that would help lots.
Heh, I must admit that they do look off. Very unusually for Dave mind. Yet Varia is not triggering that for me either. So an interesting curiosity still.
Actually, guys, Sandy’s got a point.
You may not -like- it, but you don’t want to -miss- it.
Because you have 2 options:
Understanding “Technical Writing for Concise after Action Reporting”
or not understanding “Technical Writing for Concise after Action Reporting”
Those in the latter category spend an evening after action on paperwork writing their report.
Those in the former category spend 10 minutes on the paperwork and then chillin’ in the pool.
+1
Wrote a “solution” report on doing a software bug fix many years ago that needed to be overly-concise. Unfortunately, the bug involved multiple systems, a race condition, and misc. bitflip type actions. The “concise” description ran to 3 pages, best I could do at the time. My supervisor sent it back several times saying “make it shorter”. In hindsight, his audience was management; I was writing for the next programmer to tangle with other aspects of same shared memory interface.
In frustration, I finally turned in this text: “It was broke. I fixed it.” He had a sense of humor about it.
We ultimately agreed on solution descriptions.
We ultimately agreed on TWO solution descriptions.
I’m just waiting for a battle where Sydney goes “Mew VS Mewtwo Bubble Battle” on her opponent. Seriously her flight and sheild orbs seem to be her most powerful right now. If she doesn’t have to be concerned about being non–lethal, she could bubble up in her sheild, fly a few hundred yards away, turn around, launch herself at and ram her target for a hit that would be up there with what Maxima can dish out.
She still hasn’t experimented enough with the flight/shield combo to confidently know if has internal inertial dampeners. Her bubble hitting something at Mach speed could likely end up with anything from a concussion to ‘somebody get a mop’.
I’m now imagining Sydney killing a lycanthrope/vampire/other disease-based super in the sky, thinking that it would be such a fine mist over such a wide distance, that any threat is negated. Then learning that it’s worse than the end of Cabin Fever.
Yeah shields and flight do appear to be the most user friendly of her powers she doesnt even need to hit someone with a carcrashs worth of speed either since she can just “fly down” into them and keep them pinned to the ground until things are sorted =).
We have no indicator that Sydney’s shield has an airbag, or any comparable feature. Especially bearing in mind that her means of flight is to alter gravity so that she falls horizontal to the ground. Being slammed at 400 mph into the side of her shield will do her as much damage as her opponent, unless she does have something like that.
This is very much a power stunt Sydney should either test very carefully or try at slow speeds and gradually work up. So that she can stop before reaching a point that it is dangerous for herself.
Plus bear in mind that the shield might have an effect like a crumple zone, to protect both occupants and innocent civilians, from accidental impacts. We do see the shield deform when objects are in the way (like a table).
One point against that is the sign that had a bit knocked off. But that was for a funny gag, so I take that with a pinch of salt, when determining canon, for serious purposes, like combat.
Finally squishing people with the shield would be gruesome for the readers, Sydney and the general public that they serve. Having blood and guts splattered all over a police shield is an incredibly negative piece of public relations.
Even if the public went ‘Yay – dead villain!” I doubt that Sydney would like that tactic one bit. She was extremely unhappy with Maxima ripping Vehemence’s arm off, even in a life-or-death fight. In addition to being visually queasy, she was most unhappy at having played a part in the act.
The pinning being a good alternative, I meant to conclude with.
There are plenty of targets in this world that would NOT blood-splat from a hit like that. Giant robots, Maxima, Veamence, Achillies, whoever that girl that could inhabit stone was, ect. But yes, this is a move that Sydney would need to know when NOT to use, such as when she whipped that one guy into the ground and sent him to the hospital. She needs training.
The point about whether or not Syndey has internal dampers to protect HER from that kind of damage is a good point though. She’d need them just to preform tight turns at supersonic speeds. That hasn’t been specifically shown in the comic, but I would like to point to the flight through the Grand Canyon, and the “circituous route” to the twilight council as evidence that she does.
Re the last, the Grand Canyon was high speed flight with plenty of room for gradual turns, as far as I recall. Barring the climb at the beginning which clearly would not have been at maximum speed.
Whereas the New York flight clearly could not have been supersonic, nor was there enough debris being blown up from the ground to even give the impression that it was even as fast as a car journey. So I think we are still awaiting something definitive, on that one.
Well im largely running on the assumption that Sydneys powers continue to be as user friendly/idiotproof as they have proven to be so far.Syd really lucked out when she found the orbs since in terms of risk to their wielder they treat her less like a monkey finding a pistol without a safetycatch and more like a monkey finding an especially benevolent AI that happens to simulate superpowers.
Truth told though im sure her orbs dont care how much damage she does to anyone else they definately have a bajillion safetys built in to keep her safe from herself.
On a sidenote this also links to why i occassionally give Halo a hard time in the comments-She from time to time tends to show an arrogant streak when it comes to her powers which narks me off some since its much akin to me insulting martial artists and saying that im better/more badass than them just because i happen to own a gun.
True.
And I dislike her arrogance too. It is every much a character flaw, if not as extreme as Maxima’s anger.
There is certain amount of justification though. Had Sydney wanted to just rely on her powers* she could have just bubbled up and used the tentacle to fight him. Math would have then been completely unable to harm her.
OK she is probably not fast enough, even with the tentacle, to harm him. But she could keep that up indefinitely until he either tired or made a mistake. Or, ,maybe he tied her tentacle in knots.
Yet she chose to use the orbs themselves as simple punching devices. Not much different (when accounting for the scaling) to you choosing to oppose the martial artist by using your gun as a club. That gives you an edge, but my money is on them.
The justifiable arrogance coming from the fact that Halo did win her first engagement with him, that way. He can bluster to the contrary all he likes, Sydney won that engagement, with a superb feint concealing her true strike.
It has been argued that was a ‘lucky fluke’ however we have since seen Halo demonstrate equally precise and coordinated attacks, in the life-or-death situation, where she was backstabbed.
Even untrained Sydney is using those orbs instinctively at a level comparable to a top martial artist! Is that just being granted by the orbs? Or is Sydney gifted at using them?
It will be interesting to see if Varia can replicate Sydney’s skill with the orbs.
* Like you standing at optimum firing range and shooting a martial artist
Thats the thing though.Wheres the proof that the orbs take any skill to use?-perhaps even a monkey could use the orbs just as adeptly as Sydney does simply because the orbs are designed to be completely idiotproof.
I heartily call B and an S on Syd instinctively being a 10th dan blackbelt at the mechanics of martial arts too-even most anime protagonists cant get away with that tripe so i refuse to believe a loony that cant even run a few laps without puking is Gokuing it up when the more realistic answer is that the orbs are doing all the work for her just by responding to what she wants.
That may well be the case.
However you are still comparing her to people who practice physical fighting. Sydney has not developed herself in that area at all. Yet, despite that she did manage to use tongue-fu to throw a bank robber. And outright defeat a mugger before that. Untrained and unfit though she is.
But that is not her strength, Halo fights with her mind. And does so well. She has found ways to defeat seemingly unstoppable foes. And even if the orbs are the ones supplying the precision, they are only responding to her orders. If she had not reacted, without hesitation, Shadow Boxer would have killed her before she could issue the orders.
And do not forget that an ultimate martial artist has seen enough potential in her to start giving Sydney tuition. That is not something that a supreme martial artist does lightly!
I think you are underestimating her.
I think we all know Hulk and Thor would fail “Smash or not to Smash” every time.
I am sure there are times we’ve all wished for a fast-forward to get out of a meeting.
Sydney, you know your powers over time don’t work if you’re not holding the orb.
It would have been funny if she HAD been holding the remaining unknown orb while doing that, and the sky had darkened.
At which point she goes from being a space ship to being a TARDIS. Annnd we’re back to breaking the universe,,, :D
No, going forward in time would not require TARDIS functionality. Spaceships often have stasis mode for the crew, (or time-warping to allow them to survive multiple lifetime long journeys without dieing of old age.) Either of those would fit the theme of a spaceship very well.
I just thought of something yucky. I’ve said before that the Probably-Room Orb has someone asleep in stasis- but what if they’re being decayed since there’s a new user, and their decay rate gives Sydney the points, and not anything she’s done?
More terrifying really,Timetravel in Sydneys hands would be a disaster waiting to happen XD
Panel 4 is where we see Dave’s attention to detail. See how Varia has to tuck in her shirt after she is de-tailed?
Well played.
It is a nice addition.
Do you have to tuck your shirt in 9 times? You present an interesting mental picture. Definite manga flavour.
Manta may taste better than Magic the Gathering or Switch cartridges but I still wouldn’t recommend eating it.
you should experiment with what happens when Varia touches sydney, since her powers are created by an artifact as opposed to being part of her (in theory)
Already shown; https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1751
Yup. Anyone not recognising the significance of this, should study the page carefully. It is not a null result.
I forget did anyone suggest that the power varia gets is determined by syds active held orbs? So varia got no power then but when she puts her hand on Syds shoulder while molestorb holds the pen for note taking everyone gets a surprise.
“Varia got no power…”
hehheh. look again.
Went back and looked at the page in question. That is certainly not a null result; I noticed that at the time. What I hadn’t paid attention to is that there are not only 4 other people in full view when the tested it, Peggy and Maxima enter the room while the sharing is still in effect.
Yet, somehow, no one noticed?
That is actually highly credible. The orbs are glowing, moving objects. They would attract the attention and be highly distracting. Spend more than a couple of minutes with that going on, in your field of view, whilst you are trying to pay attention to something else, and your brain automatically filters it out.
They literally would not notice. Put enough people in that situation and sooner or later there would be someone who did, for one reason or another. But with that relatively small number of people up close, and throwing in the diversion of them intensely observing both Varia and Sydney, so focusing their gaze down, and I have never had a problem with that.
Example IRL: people hang all kind of dangly crap from the rearview mirrors of their cars, then don’t notice movement from that direction. I’m sure people have died as a result.
Ooh. Shape-shifting
Technically, Vahriah does that everytime she touches most people (no visible change with Sydney or Harem)