Grrl Power #942 – My boyfriend is a marine… lifeform
Fortunately, wet Woofs smell like caramelized honey and campfires. That would actually be super weird, if whenever he got wet it smelled like something was on fire.
Yes, Detla’s mask can do expressions. Or at least match what her eyes are doing. It’s space tech, don’t question it.
When all the super ladies are having a girls’ night and talking about their boyfriends, you got to figure quite a few of them are probably dating fairly impressive guys, right? Anvil went on a date with a basketball player (off camera), Harem is “dating” a maybe-supervillain maybe-philanthropist billionaire, (who, granted, might be trying to score with her boss) (I’ll just link this related page because I like it), at least one of them is probably dating an actor, but while they’re all extolling their paramours’ virtues, Sydney can just sit there and smile, then finally say “My boyfriend can stay underwater for an hour.”
Then someone else can point out that her boyfriend is actively in a reverse harem with a blue-skinned space babe and has also schtooped Dabbler. Sydney knows all of this of course, but pointing it out is a good way to get added to The List.
Then Heatwave can leave the room, walk to the other lounge, then return dragging Mr. Amorphous’s tongue with her, arch an eyebrow, then release it with a wet snap.
The new vote incentive is up! Some of you got sort of invested in Lapha and Garamm, so her she is testing out her new duds. I don’t know if or when they’ll show up in the comic again, )(probably more a question of ‘if’) but we’ll have to see if she got any other options besides the tail. Personally I’d go for retractable, venomous fangs, but presumably if you get those, you also have to get a special upgraded pancreas or liver or something, in case you accidentally bite the inside of your own cheek with your fang. As usual, there are a few variants over at Patreon, and as is becoming more common, a little follow-on comic.
Double res version will be posted over at Patreon. Feel free to contribute as much as you like!
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I just want a reminder of this that doesn’t get lost below a huge discussion.
https://jcc10.gitlab.io/GrrlPowerSkilltree/
While I am curious what nodes on most (especially the com ball) added what.
One important thing to note is the flight orb, and what it implies about the species that made the orbs. Once the speed maxed out it started the new side chain for the wormhole…the first node of which was the Aetherium Causeway….which was enough for Cora to decude because of the size of the orb and the incredible power it normally takes to open an Aetherium causeway, even for 3rd tiers *we assume*, that the orbs may be Nth tech.
this also means that this super advanced ultra difficult to use special wormhole…is the BASIC wormhole to the orbs’ creator(s). and there are five nodes after it. Maybe new charts for better control of where to go…dimension travel, timeline travel, able to access a reality harmonics flip book and pic between different multiverse branch clusters *different sets of timelines with different enough histories…AKA alternate realities not just timelines (like when marvel and Dc go to each other’s multiverses for example*,
although even among those this orb probably starts with a very advanced version of them, like its not just dimension travel, but no high energy required, doesn’t attract in-betweener entities to the portal (no cross-trek through Hell for example, just bypass all that) like the Aetherum Causeway bypasses all the gravity and sub-space hurdles regular gates and jump points have to deal with…Star Gate through a sun preventing travel…nah, its an insta-portal, screw all that mess.
The Mighty Halo needs to visit The Astraverse eventually.
It’s only fair.
I was thinking it as a one time thing.
———
The ‘Delta sees the skill tree’ was handled.
Sometimes the simple solution is the best.
She needs to recover her Maxima MLP thingy.
Yes, she so needs to do that!
Just… don’t let Dabbler meet Chakra! The universe may implode! (Not kidding!)
I thought Dave already did that? or was that a Fan art
ok this is going to bug me.
A comic book fan and store owner in a comic book world?
She’d pick up comic books and related paraphernalia.
The DVD box set of The Sentinels. The Event documentaries.
Whitter Base: Death of Heroes.
Also…Astra and The Young Sentinels: Season 2, Episodes 8 and 9. “Grrl Power”.
You know those overpriced infocational children’s books at Walmart?
{What was The Titanic? Who was Rosa Parks?}
Now imagine their counterparts in the Astraverse.
The mask has electronics in it. Yet, unlike Dabbler’s cybernetic eye, Detla could see the skill tree.
Interesting inconsistency. Wonder if it means anything?
Technology isnt limited to electronics. In saying that, the human nervous system is basicaly also electrical.
Maybe its more to do with the sensors versus what the “projection” is made of.
Maybe all Delta sees are the orbs in a fixed postion floating behind Sydney.
She could just have an overlap like google glass or Iron-man’s read outs, where its just a lens you can see out normally with camera assistance adding combat data and other intel look up.
So she could be seeing the skill tree (no word on if she wouldn’t even recognize it as that as skill trees aren’t a universal concept), but her mask isn’t giving her any extra data like a label saying “holographic display” which in and of its self would be suspicious to her that she is seeing something her goggles aren’t displaying any data on.
OOOOorrrrrr…..
Delta’s glasses aren’t cameras. They’re shape-altering augmented lenses, much like Sydney’s glasses but lower tech (implying her species doesn’t get up to the cloud district fracture station that often.)
I don’t think the ‘Detla sees the skill tree’ situation was handled in the best way possible. But it was handled in a way that was not as horrible as some of the attempts to be subtle about it could’ve been, and one that was consistent with how military officers are trained to do when there isn’t a clear other path that’s better.
I would have just passed it off as a mating display
This cold have been written differently I feel. Saying ‘it’s classified’ just doesn’t work. There should have been another page filled with ‘Wait..! You can see my skill tree?? How!?’. Then Delta could explain why she could see what others could not, and then Maxim could bring her ‘It’s classified’ line.
Everyone there can see it right now. It’s invisible to magical or technological detection, for whatever reason, but plainly visible to somebody just standing around.
Everyone can see the orbs but not the skill tree they are creating. This was covered earlier on when it first happened. In order for everyone to see what Sydney saw she had to describe the details to Dabbler while she sketched a rough image draft on a whiteboard. You’ll also note that Delta said ‘what is that’ and not ‘what are those’ indicating that she too is seeing the tree the orbs have created. So I’m curious as to what’s going on with this.
They can see the skill tree, Dabbler saw it and later the two were trying to recreate what they saw from memory as she couldn’t open it manually after words. It is just machines that can’t see the skill tree.
“Teamups and Crossovers” is canon in the Wearing the Cape books, where Astra goes reality-hopping. Her visit to the world of ARCHON is covered there.
Sure but too much magic turns the whole thing into a deus ex machina (not him, the lit thing).
I’m thinking finding the function of the unknown orb is important, so probably that single node on that one – or its interaction with the Shield Orb or Life Support Orb.
Otherwise, the Life Support / Shield Orb connection could add a function to let oxygen/carbon dioxide through the shield automatically, removing one of Sydney’s weaknesses.
The unstarted chain on the Life Support node would provide a whole new ability – maybe healing? – adding tactical options.
And if nothing else, more slices of the center pie node is probably better.
What might be more useful is the ability to convert CO2 back to a breathable atmosphere. And less likely to weaken her defenses.
What if the unknown orb is the Shift Key?
Alt?
CTRL?
It strikes me that one potential for the unknown orb is some form of translator. One line could be understanding other languages – with more upgrades either adding forms (reading vs hearing, etc) or ability to translate idioms, tone, etc. The other could be the same for speaking/writing. Connections to the other orbs could increase her understanding of how those orbs work – so for the flight orb, it could help her understand the starmap, that sort of thing.
I am disappointed that the Lighthook Orb does not have a slash alternate name given by Sydney… as in the Hent-orb.
She probably still thinks of it as the Molestorb in the privacy of her mind (where telepaths fear to intrude).
It’s Sydney. Where in her mind would be a safe place for a telepath to try to start to hook in to follow a thought?
Oh look a lone pebble of a thought.
Too late the telepath (mentally) looks up and sees the avalanche of thoughts following that one pebble.
It would not be pretty.
That should be a future comic in passing.
“We need to invade ARC and get inside w/o alarms going off so we can get a comprehensive list of supers, super powers, spells etc etc…”
“Who’s the easiest target. We’ll send Mind Ripper to stroll through her brain and grab codes and safe routes for us. Then we wait till they deploy and go in and do our thing. Then leave no one the wiser!”
We see Mind Ripper in the background in some trees with another figure, his fingers on the sides of his temples. “Your mind to my mind~~shut up I know it’s from Star Trek, it works. Okay?”
Then He goes stiff and twitches and foams at mouth and collapses. Noise half like a giggle, half in horror leaks from his lips. Partner looks up and sees the trio enter the store unaware that Sydney was attacked. Or are they pretending. Shadow grabs Mind Ripper and flees into the tree’s shadow before ARC descends upon them.
Inside store Sydney “I suddenly am remembering all the Star Trek Quotes I forgot for some reason. Anyway, signing table is over there. No torching fans or the store. Please. Drinks in the Igloo under the table. Panic button is under the table too. Also please check before you sit that there’s no one under the table.”
“Has that happened before?”
“Yes. It did…not end well.”
Joel “The paperwork for the insurance…”
Sydney “He was trying to take upskirt pictures. He’s lucky he lived!” /end scene
Okay, that does need an update, but that’s almost entirely my fault.
The first point of the “FTL” tree should be filled in. Not sure how I forgot to do that.
The ring around the center pie wedge thing in the middle should have an point which corresponds to the pip in the center. Sydney didn’t spend a point in the middle, she spent the point on the ring surrounding it, which lit up the bit in the middle. That’s the only part of the skilltree that acts like that, so it is a little confusing.
The only part that’s not my fault is the PPO skill… starfish thing. The Wiki has an extra point on it. The only two unlocked on the PPO are the default cutting beam and the rapid fire, both of which are on the same line.
There will be a clean, updated shot of the skill tree in a few pages.
it also doesn’t have the teleport function of the comm orb labeled
you know, you could just call yourself Anna Nymity. Thanks for linking the Skill tree thing didn’t know it was available.
This:
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-181-power-up/
Just noticed that each orb has a separate O==(o) double linked double ringed node, and the only one active is the ‘Air’ Orb’s which makes me think it’s an Automatic Node – Recalling in water she held that orb needing air, and got surrounded by a bubble of air without selecting anything.
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-541-bubble-untrouble/
The PPO’s Automatic Node could decide which beam size, power level etc is appropriate for a given target aka ‘Kill Mode’ or ‘Stun Mode’ whilst just being held, useful in a “but they shot first” scenario where picking and choosing can cause a ‘squid’s’ worth of delay.
I mean Automatic as in reactive but not an AI sense, which I suspect the inner core double ring to indicate, however that would be limited to the node options unlocked.
My bigger suspicion is that once interlinked points are connected the corresponding orbs would work together, meaning at full interlink unlock 1 or no hands (AI mode unlocked) could control at least the basic functions of every orb.
Basic including such options as: hover (Fly), (basic) Shield & Air – Yellow Alert mode.
Wouldn’t the second branch of the flight ball be the phobia suppress nodes? Instead more speed as it seems that the first branch goes to speed to teleport wouldn’t the second tree specialize something else. If the first node of the second branch is suppress vertigo or something of the like the second node could be enhanced dynamic vision. Even if she can go mark 4 or higher she would need training to keep from blacking out.
Wow! That is exactly the tool that I need for a project of my own. Is there a way that I can make my own skilltree-style interactive maps?
Thank you! Now to try to remember which recent page had someone asking about the Orbs, who I would have pointed to this if I still had its bookmark at the time…
So the orb that made air, we now know what its purpose is other than just making air? Its life support?
It might be able to produce other gasses if it were updated.
A directional stream of CO2 or Argon would be good for putting out fires.
Google, what’s the noble gas just before Radon? [Xenon] Thanks!
Xenon would sink to the floor to put out a fire and also allow Sydney to
do a Darth Vader voice. “No. I am your father!”
Wait… what?
https://jcc10.gitlab.io/GrrlPowerSkilltree/?node=UK
In referencing to the unknown orb…
[quote]
Thoughts:
Probably some form of computer.
[/quote]
In reference to the one unlocked slot on the unknown orb:
[quote]
Thoughts:
Could this unlock a screen or HUD?
[/quote]
I can say personally the combination of caramelized honey and camp fire actually makes me gag…honestly burnt wood/smoky with most anything sweet hits my gag reflex for some reason.
that said, have to love true-amphibious species, very rare to see one with fur. Usually its slick skin, scales, or a shapeshifter (with one or both the above in their natural state granted).
actually expanding on the true-amphibious part…
I have imagined such species to have very advanced filtration and oxygenation systems for artificial bodies of water.
Humans on the other hand are “splashers”, like to play in water but can’t live in it really…so have a tendency to do certain things to their water that they play in that while it keeps it clean of microbes and stagnation…is also very hostile to anything that might try to live in it.
In short…isn’t the pool chlorinated?
So unless he has something special for that, this should be like Monster Musume where the mermaid made the mistake of breathing while underwater in a pool while trying to race the lamia.
Speaking from a biological standpoint, you could actually say the same thing about Earth.
“Isn’t the atmosphere oxygenated?”
We’ve evolved to actually require oxygen to survive, but oxygen’s a highly reactive element which caused major extinction event when biological processes started introducing it to Earth’s atmosphere in the reactive form.
Technically creatures like Otters and Voles can be considered Amphibious as they live both on land and in/on the water.
So it could just be that Frix’s species has the ability to hold their breath for a really long time due to a highly evolve diving reflex. Or have some system to oxygenate their blood while under water that doesn’t involve gills.
Humans also have a diving reflex, along with Dolphins, Seals, Otters, Whales, etc, which infers a stronger connection to the water in our human ancestry.
I think to be considered amphibious a species needs to actually be able to breath underwater and in the Air.
not just hold their breath a long time like otters.
Hurumph! Whales and other cetaceans have to return to the surface to breathe and spend zero time on land, they are fully aquatic and still breathe air.
Just because you think something should be required for something else to be considered true by people who aren’t you doesn’t mean it’s that way.
Amphibious and aquatic are about where time is spent, not about how breathing works.
Just to be clear, I’ve certainly gone down that same road before. Other people who don’t know me have *no* respect for the way I think, and consider all sorts of things I think they shouldn’t be able to. This is true even though I’ve learned a lot about the ways that other people think, because there’s seven billion people on the planet, and all of the ones I’ve gotten to know to any real extent are definitely different from all of the other ones I’ve gotten to know to any real extent, so it seems safe to assume that we’re all different. No matter how much I tell myself I’ve corrected all of my assumptions about what other people can and cannot think, the world seems still capable of finding some who think differently than I thought people could think. The sheer number of assumptions that I make are so great that it would be intractable to find them all with the way my mind works, *even* if it were organized in such a way that facilitated such methodical restructuring.
What I *have* managed to do, at least, is catch myself most of the time I’m typing something up that indicates I understand how other people think. Such as fixing all the places where I’ve written stuff about how your mind works, because I don’t know how *your* mind works.
Similarly, when I say about amphibious and aquatic being about where time is spent, I’m not getting that from dictionary definitions, but looking at lists of categorized animals, and seeing things like whales on the aquatic list, and seals on the amphibious list. There’s also the prehistoric fish that was the first creature to walk on land, which was considered amphibious, despite the fact that it couldn’t breathe air.
As some people pointed out in a…less-than-diplomatic way: “amphibious” in this context simply means “Having the ability to live both on land and in water”. A creature able to breathe underwater as well as on land would almost certainly be considered an amphibious one. However that also holds true for a creature that is adapted for live both on land and in water but needs to be above water to breathe. Like, say, a beaver.
It’s also important to note that we’re using “amphibious” as an adjective here, not as a classification. While all amphibians are amphibious, not all amphibious creatures are amphibians.
Sonuva… second-to-last sentence, first paragraph: “adapted for live” should OBVIOUSLY be “adapted for life”. I made a change to my wording and forgot to change a word.
Frogs are amphibious, and are not able to breath underwater!
Likewise dolphins are aquatic creatures, and can’t breath underwater either.
Detla out here, unknowingly staring into the 4th wall.
I’ll just throw out there that not all campfire smoke is equal. Depending on the wood type, degree of humidity and some other random factors they can vary quite differently.
He gnaws on mesquite trees when no one is looking, if that helps.
No, not all campfire smoke is created equal.
There’s 99% of everything that’s not dangerous at all to burn, but then there’s that last 1%….
Everybody knows not to burn things like poison Ivy. That smoke is like a chemical weapon.
If people don’t know what possumwood looks like, that’s something you don’t want to throw in a fire either. Aside from the smoke being a significant toxin, there’s risk of an explosion.
And It happens every so often that someone accidentally builds a campfire using oleander wood.
With oleander, it’s so quick and quiet that nobody ever finds the bodies until the park Rangers notice they never came back and send someone to look for them.
And then there is the greenish power pole lying beside the road… Copper Chrome Arsenate. You would probably not be surprised how many people want to cut that down to fire-place size.
Well now I’m curious. There seem to be at least three different plants that are known as possum wood. Locally, it refers to the persimmon tree. The hardest I ever saw my dad laugh was the time as a child I tried to taste a green persimmon. it will pucker you up to the point where you almost can’t spit it out. That said, I’ve never heard of anyone having difficulty burning the wood.
Possumwood as I know it is a tree that’s covered with… I dunno if you’d call them thorns, but they’re bumps anyway, and sometimes pointy on the ends – that’s just the way its bark grows. The sap is toxic, with neurological effects; some First Peoples used it to make poison arrows. Prolonged skin contact with freshly-cut wood can cause cognitive impairment (and NOT the fun kind….) and paralysis in the contacted area.
And finally, when its annual fruit is ripe, it detonates, spreading the seeds up to 50 yards away. And yes, it can be fatal to be right next to one when that happens. Anyway, the fruit is covered with the same lumpy/thorny bark as the tree, and looks like just a bulge at the end of a branch, so it’s easy to not realize that it isn’t just more wood. And if you throw an ALMOST-ripe fruit into the fire…. yeah, that happens, and you get burning chunks of shrapnel.
Now, I know persimmon trees, and yes, I’ve had that ultra-sour experience with unripe persimmons too. But Possumwood is something else. It’s a feckin’ horrible weed as far as I’m concerned.
We have yew trees in Florida, as well as poison sumac, p. ivy, and p. oak, oleander, belladonna, sage brush, creosote, mango, carolina jasmine, and I am sure there are others. Lots of fun poisons for the unwary scavenger.
Possumwood. The species is Hura Crepitans, and Wikipedia tells me it’s better known as the Sandbox tree. AKA the Dynamite Tree. In the US, it lives in Florida, and recently some of them have moved into Texas.
Apparently extracts and distillates of various parts of it have a lot of medicinal uses, and the wood, once dried of the toxic sap, is light and durable, so… I guess it’s not quite really a horrible weed. It’s a horrible but potentially useful plant instead.
Hmm, interesting. You never know what you will find out in the comments section. I guess it is just a case of convergent naming.
I like the vote incentive. Is she wearing 5th Element medical “attire”?
Multipass!!!
First time I was tempted enough to click purely for the vote incentive…. and it’s just a generic sexualized boobs/butt with purple skin and a tail tacked on. >_>
Image 4 out of 5 in the Patreon is excellent!
I’ll take your word for it. I’d just like to know if it’s excellent for utterly alien yet coherent physiology, or just boobs.
I am thinking her outfit is made of duct tape.
Adhesive bandages, but close enough.
Yeah, if I were a space ninja who never took off my high tech mask, it would absolutely have multi-directional imaging.
Sure, she can’t see them in a camera, but that’s a big data point in itself.
I can’t explain to my colleagues what I’m laughing about.
SHOW! don’t tell!…
Unfortunately I work with people without a sense of humor, especially crude and lewd humor like this.
unless its just for a gag, did this just officially indicate Detla’s mask can emote?
*I know in the past an emoting mask without explanation was common in comics and animation, but post Deconstructionist era most comics and animation with them explain it as a mechanical function (like Spider-man’s mask in the MCU)
The mask may be an ultra-flexible material that has been stuck onto her skin and eyelids…
An emoting mask would be very helpful for communicating face to face.
Especially one that can lie.
Bayushi-O-Kami-Sama is entertained.
An hour is impressive, a blue whale manages perhaps 20 minutes, an otter 8 minutes.
if he is truly amphibious (definition of the word not necessarily any of the members of the animal group named after the word) then he may be able to breathe underwater as well as on land…how he can do that in a chlorinated pool is another question however.
Maybe the pool is UV filtered or some other high tech technique.
It wouldn’t surprise me of they have a super janitor on the team. With all the strange creatures visiting this building it’s probably wise to be extra hygienic.
If I’m ever in a position to Patreon a cameo, it may well be used to let ‘Haz’ Matt graduate from half-joking commentary fuel to an actual canon position.
Considering Archon’s charter, it seems to me that they probably considered it likely at some point that they would need to provide emergency accommodations to an alien who couldn’t breathe air but could breathe our water. Since money apparently isn’t an object for them, it would’ve been considered worth the expense to go with a non-chlorine solution to keeping the pool clean.
Salinated pools are a thing, you know.
Not all of ’em are chlorinated.
So are “natural swimming pools.” These stay clean using a high flow rate through a planted area.
or they could just use strong filters and shocking the pool, heck with the supers on staff shocking the pool could be a training method.
Maybe he breathes through his fur. If you shave him, he might asphyxiate when under water.
Imagine hollow fur, like a polar bear, that is too tight for water, with its high surface tension, to enter, but lets oxygen soak through the massively increased surface area.
Soap might be his Achilles Heel.
As to the hollow hair: A coastie friend told me that their ice breakers would sometimes be followed by polar bears either looking for a garbage treat or just appreciative of the hole in the ice.
He said sometimes the hollow fur would get sort of infected by algae that found the living conditions congenial, in which case the crew would be slowly making their way through a solid white landscape followed by pale green polar bears.
I don’t know if this tale is true but I like to think so.
Don’t know if the story is true, but the algae growing in their fur turning it green is true.
An hour is only impressive for something that’s holding its breath. If he’s amphibious he can extract oxygen from the water. How long an amphibian can remain underwater depends on its age and lifespan.
More amusing is Xuriel entertaining herself with The Amazing Prude’s sex life.
And size. It’s a lot harder to extract oxygen from the water than air and the larger a lifeform is the larger the surface area it needs to extract oxygen from either. Small amphibians like frogs, toads, salamanders, newts and caecilians can extract enough oxygen through their skin to stay underwater. but larger ones, like axolotls which can grow up to 12 inches, have external gills. Something with Frix’s size and metabolic rate would need a very large oxygen extracting surface area.
i.e. Wrinkly skin. If he stays under water for very long he should come out looking like a Charpei.
Yeah but whales and otters are mammals which need to breath air. Amphibious means he can breath water.
No, Amphibious means “able to live on land or in the water.”
Amphibians in general are air-breathers. They still fit the bill. As do like 90% of other animals described as such.
I stand corrected.
More importantly, Achilles was surprised by someone staying underwater for an hour.
Achilles is rarely surprised by anything. This raises the question, can he drown?
Drown? That would be damage to him, so probably not.
Would it be PLEASANT? Probably not.
Yeah, this reminds me of several rather unpleasant experiences I had growing up. I’m certainly neither aquatic nor amphibian, but I’ve definitely discovered I can breathe water.
No, I can’t get oxygen out of it, but I can take it into my lungs and expel it from them. It’s also quite unpleasant. It quite literally feels like drowning to me. I’m sure Achilles could survive doing that for longer than the several seconds I did it each time, but I’m not going to make any guesses of exactly how pleasant he finds it. I could see his body reacting to it like most of ours would, because apart from his super power, he’s basically human. I could also see him having managed to train his reflexes to be calm and getting them to not panic over it, since, you know, he had to do a lot of breathing water that time he took a ride on the Titanic, or some other ocean going vessel that sank with insufficient lifeboats.
Just curious, have you heard about Liquid Breathing technology?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_breathing
Particularly the Space Travel section is interesting…
Yes. it has promise, but is VERY unpleasant from what I have heard talking to a couple of deep sea divers met once.
I first saw mention of it in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Abyss and it freaked me out just watching.
Doing it? Unless it is literally the ONLY choice between life and horrible death, it is NOT happening!!!!
I read about it in a book about 40 years ago.
In the beginning it feels like drowning, breathing is harder and the oxygen exchange is less effective and and ending it (expelling the water from your lungs) is also not fun.
Based on how it was depicted in “The Abyss” id didn’t seem they got much better.
Achilles can’t drown.
Drowning is a form of death by suffocation, even if one was to try to argue that it’s not ‘injury.’
According to the FAQ: “Achilles can’t be poisoned, SUFFOCATED, starved, irradiated, crushed, cut, pierced, burned, frozen or injured by any method yet discovered.”
Even if it can’t hurt him, it likely would not be pleasant whether he can feel it or not.
Even that’s not likely given what we’ve seen of him. He literally doesnt seem to feel any discomfort at all from that stuff happening. He seems to take getting buried by buildings and mountains in a relatively blase manner as well.
A “Cuvier’s beaked whale” was recently documented doing a nearly 4 hours dive. Being amphibious helps explain his blue-grey counter-shading, though: camouflage for under-water on a bright-sky world. He certainly has the physique of a Marine.
Considering that pool is designed for depth training as well, I rather have to wonder how deep he can go comfortably. That also being said, does he have any issues with salt water given that fresh water isn’t an issue so far.
It’s been super long since we got a reference to The List. I’d forgotten how badly I wanted it.
This shouldn’t have been a response. Please delete; I’ve reposted separately.
Dobhar-chu perhaps? Does Fritz have an Irish accent by any chance?
There is a non-zero statistical probability of that.
The Irish are friggin everywhere, including space. (I’m convinced Cora’s human genes are from Galway)
Cora’s surname of Zylstra would suggest Dutch extraction, but that only tells us where one strand of her ancestry left Earth. Nothing to say that there weren’t some Galwegians in the mix – plenty of good seafarers from those parts, which may have seen it favoured in the days that recruiting from Earth was the done thing.
Actually, maybe not now that I think about it. Frix is pretty friendly… in more ways than one. The dobhar chu (Irish folklore) are extremely aggressive. They take a form like a monster dog crossed with an otter. Around 7 feet long. AKA: Water Hound, Hound of Deep, or Irish crocodile. They eat humans and are very very fast swimmers. Mess with their mate, and you may meet your fate.
h-uh, and here I thought Kenya’s basketball date wasn’t that impressive, since he was “only six five”?
Wilt Chamberlain, was 7′ 2″. Kareem Abdul Jabar, was 7′ 4″.
I know Frix is tall, but it looks like he is a bit oversized coming out of that pool. I don’t think he was that tall when Sydney first met him on Cora’s ship.
Also, Max could have accidentally broken Detla’s neck with that move. Though I assume she wouldn’t have done it if she didn’t have control over her own strength. Turning someone’s head doesn’t keep something a secret. Max would need to kick them off of the pool area.
Also, when are we going to actually see Sydney choose her next node on the skill tree? I doubt Max can keep this a secret from everyone there.
Suffering as I am from a impinged nerve & possibly carpal tunnel & all the expensive massages & anti-inflamitory cream to soothe, just as I was making progress…..this week has decided to go back to week two of the pain levels. I felt for Detla’s neck as Max twisted it.
Looking at the Who’s Who, you can really tell who the new characters are. ☺
After making that face while she said “amphibious” anyone would have picked up on it, let alone a succubus who would have detected a telling spike in her porno sense from sydney’s direction while she was saying it.
You forgot: “She would know *exactly* what Sydney was talking about, since she’s enjoyed that particular service/feature herself in the past.” ….
That bit of tongue is a Succubus Hint… ;)
“Hint?”
That was an explicit declaration.
Yeah, well, some of us are clueless when it comes to that stuff. I’ve at least worked out what people mean by that one, even if I don’t really get it at all.
Oh sweet, innocent Max, Detla’s species wear a mask with two obvious eyes to fit it. Why would you assume she only sees forward? If the entire mask is transparent TO THEM, she could have eyes all the way around.
Fit IN
Stupid autocorrupt
That’s why, I don’t use it!
Yep. Bit like Geordie’s visor in Star Trek TNG – basically a full sensor suite connected to his brain.
The eyes in Detla’s mask could easily just be for show, or at least not the full story.
Pannel 3 out of context does it look like Frix is naked to anyone else?
(Looks again.) You know what… imagine he got shaved down there and Halo’s neck is his junk and… yeah kind.
That’s not how biology works at all.
On Earth!!
Now, if only Earth artists realized that. XD
Topless, yes, but can’t see anything below what would be breast level if he weren’t flat. :p
It’s been super long since we got a reference to The List. I’d forgotten how badly I wanted it.
Panel 3 cracks me up so much! With Sydney’s shirt vaguely matching Frix’s fur, her tilting her head @ an awkward angle, it looks like he shaved his manhood and letting his freak flag fly.
YES!
Um, no. My cursed male puppet body looks absolutely nothing like that, shaved or not.
Ok… I looked at the vote incentive and noticed she was wearing Leeloo’s outfit from “the Fifth Element”…
Then I thought of Leeloo from that movie…
Now I REALLY want a movie poster for “Leeloo and Stitch.”
(I know. I’m still working on my first cup of coffee…)
Take my imaginary upvote!
https://64.media.tumblr.com/c4f9eed38576484d6d23a4ccf06fcdf3/tumblr_nqbxmp7Eb91tdtz92o1_400.png
https://i.etsystatic.com/5727799/r/il/60ad1b/1624547091/il_570xN.1624547091_by97.jpg
there you go, 2 to choose from
My boyfriend is a marine… spelunker. FIFY.
Where is the comic that describes Frix having been with Dabbler?
I’m going to assume it’s pre-Earth arrival for Dabs.
Here: https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-730-add-it-to-the-database/
Based on that vote initiative Garamm did more than spend a few space buck to give her a tail.
Cause that doesn’t look like something that would be classified as just the “basic-ass model” she was talking about.
Just because that’s considered the peak of cosmetic surgery here on Earth doesn’t mean humanoid alterations are the limit. I know if I ever went for body modification I’d want way more than just some padding in my boobs and butt. I’d go for wings, more limbs, overall badass aesthetic…anything less just wouldn’t be worth it for me. XD
Offcourse there could be many non-visual upgrades possible but I am just comparing it to her earlier devoured body.
And as explained earlier, more limbs isn’t always beneficial. A single tail is already a bit to consider with wardrobe but multiple arms, let alone even wings. Also Wings will most likely not be as beneficial to have as you think if you not born with them. Then comes the aspect of various planet conditions. Wings might not work on many planets because either the air density is too low to generate sufficient lift or the gravity pull could be too high. Or the gravity pull is so low that the need for wings is almost void.
I know it would take me some time to learn how to use all those limbs. Especially the wings, since I’d want to be able to fly unassisted. If I wanted something that would work in any environment, I’d be better off making an armored shell, and skipping any biological parts altogether. I was just stating what I would like, regardless of the practicality. XD
For me, if we had the requisite tech, and it wasn’t priced beyond the reach of we filthy poors, I’d be going for my avatar from FFXIV:
https://img2.finalfantasyxiv.com/f/6586abe96ec32e1896a9f325c494ecbb_2e97c13fdd593d15d543093f8a37b6f0fl0_640x873.jpg?1620394442
…plus some Upgrades. Eyes with a broader spectrum, reinforced bones, muscles with some extra proteins borrowed from fleas & spiders, for that absurd jump & strength…olfactory engancement, too. Greater neuroconductivity, for faster reflexes, and enhanced plasticity, to make learning faster & easier.
And reposition some teeth, so I don’t bite my tongue anymore! X’D
Hmm…some controllable bioluminescence would be cool, too. Hair, eyes, custom dermal pigmentation. Definitely better filtration organs, and an adjustable metabolic process: be able absorb only the amount of calories from food that you want.
Hmm…
BioPunk doesn’t get as much attention as CyberPunk, but there are lots of possibilities. And, of course, combining the two gives you exponentially more options to play with.
Now I want these too. XD
Thinking the whole thing over a bit more, main thing I’d probably wear would be muscle shirts, because the large arm holes would give room for the additional limbs along my torso. Plus maybe one of those bras that straps over the shoulders and under the top set of arms, because if I’m going to be showing off my torso I’d rather my breasts not be quite so underdeveloped anymore lol. I’d want a scorpion tail as well, so I probably wouldn’t be able to wear pants or any non-custom lower garments very well anymore. I’d need to make my own or go without…and then I’d feel more comfortable if I could just swap my sex again. Oh well. XD
I’m not sure if I should mention what Sydney’s head looking at Frix upside-down looks like upon a quick glance, given where it appears in relation to Frix.
I mean after a few seconds you realize it’s Sydney’s head and rather long neck but still, without panel 4 it would have taken me longer to realize it. :)
I love how happy Sydney looks in panel 4.
Frix is good for her. ^_^
If Woof’s are amphibious, does his fur double as a set of gills? Or auxiliary gills, with lungs with gill-structures?
…
That should give enough surface area for gas exchange, but would also make it so that he would be pumping blood THROUGH the hairs – or had an intermediary gas-exchange fluid between the blood and ‘hair’ to compartmentalize damage?
Any other theories?
Could even be that he doesn’t have to breathe as we understand it.
Given that the Woof is obviously adapted to at least a semi-aquatic lifestyle, it could be hyperoxygenation, or some very fancy anaerobic pathway, or…
The thing about Alien Biology is that quite a bit of it is bound to be..well… Not How We Do It…
Different evolutionary pressures, up to and including the local flora/fauna may well have pushed things in a way that from the viewpoint of molecular biology are perfectly viable, but simply hasn’t materialised in life on this planet.
Or only occurs in places where we definitely can’t live.. The critters around Black Smokers very definitely do not run on oxygen, and instead rely on chemotrophic symbionts.. With some *very* interesting adaptations on many levels..
Even here on Earth there’s many places that may well be alien planets, and very inhospitable ones at that, to us oxygen-breathing land-dweller generalists.
Being amphibious doesn’t equate to breathing underwater. It simply means being adapted to living and working in water and land both, for prolonged periods. Think horned wolfy space otter man, and you’re likely closer than fuzzy space frog man.
For some reason, that made me think of the Perry The Platypus theme song…
ok so is that second to last panel in Syd’s mind or dabbler’s
Or a flashback.
I guess Sydney got embarrassed about losing the breath-holding contest they were having. Dabbler just WANTS everyone to think that’s what happened.
Right … suuure … keep those happy thoughts in your head. ;-)
OMG. I just realized. I know, it’s been years and I should have realized sooner, but still…..OMG.
Grrl Power is a Gamer fic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hairy_frog The hairy frog (Trichobatrachus robustus) is also known as the horror frog or Wolverine frog. It is a Central African species of frog in the family Arthroleptidae. It is monotypic within the genus Trichobatrachus.[2][3] Its common name refers to the somewhat hair-like structures on the body and thighs of the breeding male.
These beasties are awesome! Weird how the ones I like are so often considered horrifying by other people, though.
They’re also called the Wolverine Frog because they deliberately burst their finger bones through their skin as makeshift claws in self-defense a’la Logan’s “snikt.”
Hehehe, I know. :p
Anyone else think Lapha and Garamm could have their own comic? I mean, yeah, I’m pretty sure Dave doesn’t have time to do a second comic based on some of his comments regarding this one, but there’s a solid foundation there anyway.
Definitely. I like them better than the protagonists, personally.
… and Detla never had a stiff neck again.
Great Max can do mine next.
Then me. Also my lower back.
Pannel 7, best visual pun showing that Dabler knows the answer . . .
Well Dabbler has been there, so she has an unfair prior knowledge advantage. As well as pornsense.
And she is sure revelling in it!
I’m sorry, but I can’t unsee it, but I keep seeing the Dingle Bop on Woof’s Plumbus
We’ll just pop you in this nice quiet room, with soft walls, so that you can keep that all to yourself.
For a long time.
Man. It’s been a while since The List got referenced huh?
It is a bit anticlimactic to add “the paperboy” after “gigantic space alien”.
So he’s a Merwoof?
A wolfish?
https://th.bing.com/th/id/R236793183c5672ffba1147ce7b297666?rik=VVD2W1pG7NX8Xw&riu=http%3a%2f%2fwww.funnydogsite.com%2fpictures%2fDog_Leather_Jacket.jpg&ehk=Xo66WRao0IA%2bMSaNt4VOzQDSz8tDX7gbVMjYueO8d4g%3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw LOL
Cannibish?
googled it expecting to find very little…found a lot more than I expected.
http://izzikat.indiemade.com/sites/izzikat.indiemade.com/files/imagecache/node-gallery-display/mm_5_mermaid_werewolf_clothed.jpg?th=bolt&bg=FFFFFF
Sidney, do you really think you can lie about your sex life to a horny succubus?
Dabbler will be pressing for the details later, when the commanding officer is not breathing down their necks. Or at least until Max is off duty and does not have to do the boss thing. She is probably curious too!
Is there any other kind of succubus? “Not horny” is an unlikely euphemism for “dead”.
Guess you missed the Succubus Nun way back.
Asexual succubus is also a trope. I personally like the succubi whose lives are about more than just sex much better.
Hey, if you are born with a really long flexible canine tongue, you really need to flaunt it!
*flibbert*
Love the knowing look on Maxima’s face in the last panel! Wonder if she’s gonna pay Sydney back for her ‘Criminal Fetish’ remark wa-a-ay back at the phony bank robbery… :lol: :;):
No because people don’t read Colonel until AFTER puberty.
It’s adorable how you think puberty makes people more mature. As opposed to less, which has been my experience.
So…
Panel three, with Frix bounding out of the water and Sydney tilting her head backwards to look at him.
I saw something… different… than that at first glance.
Don’t hate me.
Several of us saw the same thing :)