Grrl Power #843 – The run away PA
Deus doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who would engage the services of a dominatrix, but as they say, variety is the raised welt on the backside of life.
So, I’ve figured out why I like Lorlara so much. It’s not that complicated, really. Lorlara is basically Sydney – if Sydney was some sort of party line authoritarian. I just like writing over the top characters, and it’s been a while since Sydney has done anything really nuts. Okay, she’s done plenty since that incident, but that remains kind of peak Sydney I think.
Yes, obviously they’re going to meet at some point.
Edit: Forgot to mention, Maxima’s expressions on this page were modeled after Julia Louis Dreyfus trying not to laugh at Jerry Stiller.
I forgot to mention, but Michael-Scott Earle is running a new kickstarter, this time for the second book in his Monster Empire series.
Fun fact, he published book 1 about a week before his Amazon kerfuffle. I bought it, but didn’t read it right away – I think I was in the middle of a different series at the time or something, and then when the ban hit, I decided not read it, because I don’t like getting invested in something if I know there’s only a tiny bit of it out there. It’s like a tease. I tend not to buy novels until there’s at least three in a series, but that also sometimes depends on the author and how prolific they are.
Anyway, I haven’t read the first one. I’ll probably start it a day or two before the second book comes out. I assume it will be good.
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Ok, this made me laugh out load…
loud*
Your comment is laudible, I bet a load of us laughed out loud at that.
Maybe some laughed so hard they made a load in their pants.
SHAAAAAME.
SHAME!
Yes, this could be fun.
I sense Max is really beginning to warm up to her. This is how beautiful friendships are founded.
She’d have a good initial impression of anyone who embarrasses Dues like that :)
Should’ve gone with the exposed yabbo outfit.
It occurs to me – Alari probably shouldn’t have backed seats. When you have wings, backed seats could be extraordinarily uncomfortable. And when your wings cut through most solid matter, it probably causes a lot of property damage. They probably sit on stools, mostly.
Or they lean forward a lot. Which explains Lorlara’s posture in this comic.
And makes the readers very happy.
It was only Sci-frights’ wings that cut through flesh, and fairly sure they are retractable
Yes, clearly, although not all the way? They may not consciously retract, but shrink when the Alar’s energy is low (Sciona is exhausted in the linked comic…). It’s also been suggested that an Alar’s wingspan may be based on age or social status, so their wings may also shrink when they feel humiliated or powerless. Sciona, having lived alone on Earth for so long, would consider herself an alpha by default, which may make her wings especially powerful.
I’m pretty sure the blade wings were unique to Sciona and her scary blood magic.
Not really, some of the refugees on the Fracture had wings.
Yeah, and so does Lorlara, we can see them here, but that doesn’t mean they have the same destructive capacity.
It’s not the EXISTENCE of the wings I’m talking about. It’s their ability to cut through hair or steel with force and precision. That ability is something we haven’t seen in the average Alari. Near as we can tell, Sciona may be the ONLY Alari who can make her wings do that.
I’d be surprised if it were unique to Sciona – energy wings would naturally lend themselves to cutting, although perhaps not with the force Sciona used to sever steel and concrete. They may normally use them on things like hair or plant materials – the Alari never had to invent scissors.
OTOH, there may be a SOCIAL more against using your wings for such purposes. Sciona may have abandoned such mores while outcast on Earth, but Lorlara and the ship Alari would still follow it.
According to DaveB, wings are actually an INDICATOR of social status… which suggests that there’s some hardwired biological social hierarchy thing going on with them, and that those who manage to climb rank actually get wing upgrades, while those who fall from grace lose wing perks.
He’s also said that MOST Alari aren’t much more capable than the average human, even WITH wings, which indicates that most Alari probably don’t have the ability to muster enough wattage to use their wings like lightsabers. Maybe it’s something reserved for the nobility… or maybe it’s a biomanipulation Sciona executed through her blood magic.
It may be the other way around. The more wing you have, the higher your status. Like a caste system. Get born with wings and you’re automatically of a higher social standing than one born without.
Possibly also due to her body reformation via evil artifact. Who’s to say the bigger boobs weren’t just an after thought, and she had a list of more practical design improvements firmly in mind from the onset?
She’s the only one we’ve ever seen pull that trick, and even then only after the artifact was used, so that’s a distinct possibility.
In panel 8, I almost feel like Max is looking to camera while trying not to laugh, but I don’t know if she’s strong enough to break the fourth wall.
Panel 7, looking at Deus. Panel 8, looking at Lorlara [and us on the other side of the 4th wall] Panel 9…..priceless!
She’s definitely trying not to laugh. I think this is probably one of the very few times she’s seen Deus genuinely uncomfortable, or actually embarrassed. If that got onto YouTube, he’d probably try and buy the whole platform, just to get rid of the video.
Seeing Max trying not to laugh made it a magnitude mode difficult not to laugh :D
mode->more
It almost looks like she’s literally biting her tongue or cheek, and that makes me question. Is that effective for her? Can she bite herself hard enough to overcome her own invulnerability? Basically, if she bites her tongue to keep from laughing, would it hurt?
Good to see that Maxima is enjoying her ‘date’ with Deus more than she expected… I guess she wasn’t expecting the pleasure of watching Deus humiliated by a misbehaving employee.
But that last remark is the kicker… just in case Deus had any intention of sending Lorlara somewhere where she can do less damage, Maxima has just blocked him. Brilliant move.
Yes, and you can just see how pleased he was by that :D
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-347-you-could-buy-that-of-course-of-course/
…Just Sayin’
No, that’s a perfectly rational response to suddenly being paid that much money.
Lorlara isn’t evil. She’s just very, very enthusiastic about her job, and doesn’t really understand Deus’ position.
And yeah, she and Sydney should get along nicely… Well, nicely for them, but not for anyone else in hearing distance…
Evil is a social construct. Alari society does not appear to have that concept, so sure.
Evil is causing unnecessary harm to others for personal pleasure or profit. Most Alari aren’t evil, but I suspect that for the Alari aristocracy, it was a way of life and the way they stayed in power.
My cats play with mice. Which causes harm to the mice yet is pleasurable to the cats. When they were kittens mind this was a necessary harm, as they needed to learn to hunt. Once they are adult though, they just do it for the lols.
Are my cats evil?
Think very carefully before answering this.
*emitting low growl*
Yes, but that may be why you love them.
Alternately, this may just be an effort to yank your chain.
My dogs (girl + boy) chase cats. Which causes distress to the cats, and their owners. When they were puppies, this did not happen. But now they are adults, it just happens, perhaps they do it for the lolz.
Are my dogs evil?
#offers meaty snack#
Cats don’t have the self-awareness or critical thinking skills to stop being that way. Evil requires a measure of choice in the matter. Otherwise, we call it “instinct.” Or “Pavlovian responses.”
Oh! They’re just like us!
“Servant! You will bring me all the cat treats!”
translation; “yowl!”
“Evil is a social construct. Alari society does not appear to have that concept” – Yorp
Not on the same reference axes that (most) Human societies use, at least. I’m sure there’s a morality concept of some sort in Alari society, but probably oriented around the needs of the House. The ‘headline’ version would be that acting in the interests of your House is ‘Good’, while betraying their interests in favour of another House is ‘Evil’ (but possibly mitigated if the ‘betrayal’ is a step in achieving a greater common benefit). And of course, being a militant society is not incompatible with having strong views about how to go about it – the Alari equivalent of the Humans’ Geneva Conventions.
Oh I would love to see how Sydney reacts to her!
In this case its more of a difference in social hierarchy norms which she is still trying to get a grasp on.
I think Lolara understands Deus’ position perfectly. He is the defacto dictator of an entire nation, on top of being a self-made billionaire. Where Lolara fails is in understanding the cultural nuances.
Deus has no need to shout orders at the staff, he owns the damn restaurant. If the manager on duty hasn’t already instructed the entire staff to make sure that their table receives excellent food and service, over and above the excellent food and service you should expect from a high end restaurant, then that manager is in the wrong line of work.
Well, we learned a few things this time! Like something about the relationship of Vale and Deus….. And that Lorlara does have an indoor voice [when she remembers to use it]. And that Lorlara apparently is fond of bacon! And I must admit that Max does look fairly amused at the employee relations issues that Deus is having.
She does bring the fun back, it’s true. How long has it been since Sidney really acted out? She’s been getting very serious and mature lately.
At least Lorlara has learned what is the best food item Earth has to offer. All the bacon indeed.
Jim Gaffigan has a fantastic bit on bacon.
That last panel really made me laugh. Max is loving this SO much, and she’ll have one heck of a story to tell Anvil later.
You just know that Maxima’s thinking “Oh, this is adorable.” after all she went through with Sydney.
To quote TFS’s Helling Abridged–“Good God, it’s strange seeing this from the outside.”
as someone who recently ordered a “shiny black suit of the cat” this made me really laugh.
I hope you have the fitting table too.
I cannot see Deus being into dominatrix play. So this is either a oddball reference to Vale, or Deus is attempting to build his own Emma Peal. He DOES have a history of collecting unusual weapons and Mrs. Peal certainly qualifies as one…
he has a heavy piece of bondage gear in his office. He’s definitely into BDSM.
I admit, I wasn’t really sold on Lorlara before, but seeing her push Deus into breaking his smug character and facepalming is definitely a few points in her favor.
Oh God I laughed so much when I read this!
“Scoring for the other team.” That’s the term that went through my head while reading this.
I must say Maxima is by all appearances enjoying her time out today. It’s funny when you have a situation where you can say something like that and honestly mean that because the person is causing such an embarrassing scene
Lorlara is just so intense I have to laugh.
i guess seeing how lorlara can make deus facepalm scored her some brownie points with maxima…. ;)
Huh, never noticed it before but Lorlara is armed, I wonder if thats an Alari custom or a Deus one?
Like, at all times a good servant must be prepared to defend her master, can’t do that without a decent blade (although the light wings they have seem pretty choppy) on your person.
Might be a ceremonial dagger denoting title or station. Earth has similar traditions. If you know what to look for you’d know what she determined her title to be. Also a good blade is handy for many things. In some cultures it was also your table knife because good knives were too valuable to leave laying around.
Gibbs’ rule #9 … never go anywhere without a knife
Dave, this comic is fucking Awesome. Hit this one out of the park, buddy!
THIS COMIC IS HILARIOUS!
Who are those other people? I’d assumed Deus would be a ‘book the entire restaurant’ kind of guy. He owns it, after all.
What is the point of ‘dating’ one of the most eligible women on the planet and not having any witnesses? Given that he knew Max would be very unlikely to let the evening progress to his preferred conclusion, ‘being seen’ was probably one of the joys he was anticipating.
This is a 5-star restaurant. One does NOT “book the entire restaurant” on an afternoon’s notice. Even if you’re the owner; ESPECIALLY if you’re the owner – because it WON’T BE a 5-star restaurant for long if you do this kind of thing… you don’t get 5-stars just from the food (though it IS the most important), it also comes from decor, behavior and attentiveness of the staff… the whole ambiance.
It’s almost as hard to keep a 5-star rating over long periods as it is to get it in the first place. And it’s REALLY hard to get it back if you lose it!
Deus says: She reminds me of Miss Scoville,by the way,how is her training coming along?
Maxima replies: Oh Sydney making some progress,but it has been recommended that she put on KP duty during her training.
(If have an alternate version,by all means post away…)
Oooh yeah!
He he. This dinner is going much better for Max than Deus. And Max thought that interplanetary politics would not be fun!
Oh, Maxima is really enjoying this. Watching Deus squirm as Lorlara is just being herself.
Maxima should recruit Lorlara ASAP!
No, Lorlara is perfect where she is.
Well, a night out with some of the ARC girls and Lorlara could be fun.
I think it might be a bit before the next girls’ night, given how poorly the last one went…
A night in would be more ‘fun’, specially if Dabbles brings her ‘tickle gun’ ;)
Lorlara’s dagger might be for taking her life to atone for errors
I love how the artwork has steadily improved in this comic over the years.
Lorlara’s hands. That is some beautiful detail on those hands
Lorlara definitely gives a new definition to “Manic Pixie Girl”. :D
I can’t wait till she meets Sydney
My first thought on Sydney’s reaction to meeting Lorlara would be to take one look and say ‘excuse me for a second’. She then reappears wearing the faerie wings she got on the space station.
The response from Lorlara would be either
“I congratulate you on your decision to join the winged aristocracy in ruling over the puny Earth creatures!”
“How dare you insult my cultural heritage with your mockery of my kind! I challenge you to a duel to the death!”
I would love to see Lorlara’s approach to “Dictation”! Would she even understand the concept of sexual harassment? Or would this be an expected part of her duties? How would she approach it. And if Deus complemented her on her body would she immediately shed her clothes so he could see it better? So many ways this could go hilariously wrong.
I don’t know, it might lead to immediate… castigation.
A lot of that depends on aspects of their social culture we do not yet know about.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen trying not to laugh face done so well. I wouldn’t know where to begin on drawing something like that.
I vote that Lorlara be in the next vote incentive
I believe Deus may have made a tactical error in bringing her along.
When I first read the 7th pannel, I thought, it was Deus holding the whip, but apparently, according to the text underneigth, Deus is a masochist. While not unheard of, not really a common characteristic in Dominants.
…but then again, it is not that uncommon for powerful people with a lot of responsibilities to find catharsis with a few moments deprived of authority under the flogger of a professional Dominant…
Ya know, it just occurred to me…
Lorlara is NERVOUS.
She’s in a (for her) unusual social situation, where she doesn’t know how to properly act. She’s with her boss (slash House Lord?), and DESPERATELY doesn’t want to screw up in front of him – which means, of course, that she ABSOLUTELY WILL screw up in front of him! When she does, she flails about, trying to find some reaction that will save her face – and digs herself in even deeper! In the end, Maxima, her rival, throws her a lifeline, which only humiliates her even further, and who knows how she’ll respond to that!
Good writing, DaveB. I’m immensely entertained.
Nice analysis. If true, then it really shows how much Lorlara and Sydney are alike…
The fact that the source material is deep enough that analysis this detailed is possible reflects well on both of them.
From what I’ve heard about movers and shakers he actually sounds like THE type to employ a dominatrix.
People in high positions of power tend to enjoy playing the ‘sub’ role in BDSM as a sort of release-valve from the pressures of being high-end decision makers in their daily lives.
Gasp! You’ve brought in…
Nega Sydney
Dun dun DUNNNNN!!!!
I tip my cartoonist bowler hat to you kind sir.
Try to picture Lorlara in possession of Syd’s orbs.