Grrl Power #979 – Final boss?
Everybody come up with your own Succubus inspired salutations!
- May your next sexual partner have balls like white holes!
- Good lubrication to you!
- Happy Tantric Day!
- Etc.
(Zeromus.MP3) I don’t care if you like JPRGs or not, Nobuo Uematsu is a master composer on par with John Williams and Hanz Zimmer. I actually don’t care for JRPGs these days myself, but I’m glad I got to play FF2(/4) FF6 and Chrono Trigger before I came to that conclusion, because they’re some of my favorite games of all time. That has a ton to do with the music, I grant. FF6 has an opera in it. AN OPERA. With 4 audio channels on the SNES, Uematsu wrote an Opera. “Oh my hero…” I lost interest right at FF7, which kind of killed it for me. I guess I liked the superdeformed sprites sweating it out when they were down to 20% health and all that. Also I didn’t care that Aerith got killed because I hadn’t had her in my party since I got Tifa, so when she died I was like, “Oh, right, that was some chick I met earlier, wasn’t it?” Also the music wasn’t as good IMO.
Tamer: Enhancer 2 – Progress Update:
Finished the chapter which was the last chapter but is no longer the last chapter. Wrote about 2,000 words of the actual last chapter, unless I decide there needs to be a quick wind up after this chapter. I know I’ve been talking about this mythical last chapter since I started these, but I don’t know what to tell you. I just write until it feels done. Well, okay, not so much with the first book. I had a bunch of stuff written after the fade to black it ended on, but didn’t want to get into any of that and leave a bunch of dangling stuff at the end of the book, like “I guess I should get started on making some bows.” The End
That’s not cool.
September’s vote incentive is up! It’s been over a year since Max was featured in one of these, so I figured it was time to revisit.
If you just popped by to see it right when it went up, you might have missed the update. Her nipples were a touch high in the first version, and if you poke through the comments there, you can see the reference I used, only that model’s boobs were about 3 cup sizes smaller. Anyway, I flew her nipples south for the winter and updated the relevant pics.
Nude version is up at Patreon.
Double res version will be posted over at Patreon. Feel free to contribute as much as you like.
SuperheroThey're super, thanks for asking!
Meatspace ComicSeriously these are awesome. Check 'em out!
Not UpdatingNo longer updating or only updates sporadically, but definitely worth reading.
SeriouslySeriously you guys. If you like Grrl Power the check these out.
"Mature"Mature subject matter and occasionally something explicit but usually safe. Can't guarantee the ads are safe though.
Dongs Ahoy!Full frontal and backal. Lots of skin, sex on some or all pages, explicit or otherwise.
Oh, as for the Succubus inspired wishes, lets go with the classics. :-)
“May you lust after your lovers, whose genitals are like those of donkeys and whose emissions are like that of horses” Ezekiel 23:20 (slightly paraphrased)
You sir is an absolute legend for knowing that quote.
Which gives an impressive description of the Egyptians of those days.
For the rest… I doubt Xuriel would like or agree with the writer.
Who, judging by his writings, was a hateful, violent, hypocritical prophet/priest.
I do not know if he wrote his texts because of his deportation to Babylon, brain damage caused by being hit on the head in the process or just eating the wrong shrooms, but when you hear voices and ascribe it to god speaking to you, then you are either crazy or making up excuses for your asocial actions.
… maybe I should give the bible another shot…
If you’re into torture porn, the Bible is the most amazing thing ever! Also smut, and genocide, and slavery, and alittle bit of “you should be nice to each other” although that last part is backed up with “…or I’ll set you on fire” which adds a splash of irony to the message.
Works really well with recreational drugs.
If you’re into relatively straight porn, I recommend the Song Of Solomon. Ezekiel is some pretty screwed-up kinky stuff, TBH.
I think people are forgetting behind that comic book nerd meme-spouting persona there is a very sharp tactical mind. She had been watching this whole time even when talking to Daphne and Dabbler. She already has two plans minimum. And maybe a few contingencies should something go a wry during said plans.
She also has very extreme differences in power. She can fight using the whip and do considerable damage (she did shatter the bones in one guys side during the dinner fight) but her sheild has withstood attacks that could wipe out cities (and has since been upgraded), her flight speed is higher than max, and her ranged attack leveled a space fleet and one shot civilization ending kaiju’s.
IE: She can either play chess with him and have fun, or END HIM.
Plus, while I wouldn’t quite say that they’re friends since their interactions are limited, they very much don’t hate each other and have a mutual respect, so its not likely to get all that far. Frankly, he’s likely going to drain himself on her shield.
That’s what Dabbler said.
for when “that’s what she said” just isn’t lewd enough: Dabbler.
I wonder if Sydney still has the ”That’s What I Said” teeshirt?
I’m fairly sure her shield is now at Star Trek (Original) levels at minimum, possibly higher. Pretty good for an individual shield.
Most importantly, however, is that between the two of them they can evade, dodge and in case of Sydney block etc until he starts losing energy, while sabotaging him in relatively non-violent ways if he tries to either leave or cause enough violence by himself to keep himself charged (tripping him up, choking, etc)
I don’t think her top speed in flight is better than Max’s, but does portaling to a new location and skipping the race entirely count as a win?
Actually, since her last speed update on the Alari planet, it’s been hinted that her new top speed (Mach 16!) IS higher than Max’s.
Let’s also remember that:
a. Sydney came up with the plan to defeat him the first time
b. Kevin is fully aware of the previous fact
c. Kevin is also aware of how powerful her shield is
Presumably Sydney can just sit in her bubble, doing nothing, and Vehemence will just burn energy hitting her shield to no effect?
Possibly even more so with the shield.
Vehemence’s powers seem to be magic based, and the orbs have shown they were designed around a focus on magic to some degree, the shield blocking the aggro aura, true sight even picking up on the aggro aura range and identifying and labeling magic objects.
I wouldn’t be surprised if next page reveals they discovered the shield has a secondary effect in regards to magic being used against it, mana drain.
So he hits the shield, the shield doesn’t just block him but also drains away his power bit by bit.
at least that is the theory I am going with unless proven otherwise.
He doesn’t need to hit the shield. She can’t do anything while inside it. Just put a boulder on top of it and walk away, what’s she gonna do drop it and immediately die?
Pretty sure she can attack from inside the shield, I think she did it in space against the alien ships.
IIRC, one of her upgrades allows her to fire through the shield without dropping it. Said beam has also been upgraded to death ray status now.
The PPO firing point has always originated outside (or at least at the surface) of the shield, as seen at the warehouse battle; the aperture is just UI, not a hole in the shield. Likewise the lighthook manifests only outside the shield (at least for now).
For one thing, as others have pointed out, she can attack from within it. For another, a boulder on top of the shield wouldn’t work. She can fly and bubble at the same time, among all of her other options – bubble and teleport, bubble and laser, bubble and lighthook, change bubble size to dislodge rock, etc.
Vehemence could simply try to escape rather than attack her, but given that Maxima is shown here being much, much faster than him, that would probably result in whatever suppression mechanism (hypnosis, etc.) they had planned being implemented.
Anyone else think Sydney was doing an impression of Banba from the dub of “Burn-Up!”?
“Hullo!”
Mrs. Doubtfire. (With the Robin Williams phony accent.)
Nothing to do with the comic itself, but if you haven’t heard it already, Dave, the community over at OCRemix.org did a whole album of remixes from FF6. One of my favourite tracks is “The Nightmare Oath,” which is a *METAL OPERA REMIX* of the opera scene — lyrics and all — which slaps so hard it echoes back in time to cause the big bang.
There’s also the late-70’s style rock opera The Impressario on the same album, which seamlessly meshes riffs from Queen into the full opera sequence. Just imagine the full Bohemian Rhapsody chorus singing “I’m the darkness…you’re the starlight…”
There’s an older compilation on ocremix for FF4 called Echoes of Light, Something Something Betrayal Fancy Name. It has no fewer than three Zeromus remixes, including one where Zeromus sings like the Phantom of the Opera. That’s some of my favorite cringe music. For this fight scene though, I’m picturing Zeromus the Serialist as the track. It’s on YouTube if you want to google it.
Yes, yes, yes!!
The Impresario is flat-out amazing. Created by Tommy Pedrini and Jake Kaufman ( composer for Shovel Night, Shantae, etc.), I cannot recommend it enough. It’s a cover that innovates on the original without disregarding the original 1994 source material.
linked here – https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7xFhULStbkQ
“Here’s to the Big Bang!”
—
Meanwhile: This is a training exercise – Sydney can use more experience dealing with smart bruisers, V enjoys fighting – so of course she gets her turn. It’s highly likely Archon has talked over strategies way before this exercise, they seem super organized.
Leaving open the question of “What if I don’t want to stop?” contributes a little dramatic tension. This is fundamentally a relationship/friendship humor comic, but it does help to have a plot.
She also needs more training in non-lethal attacks (apart from the Molestorb, does she have any?)
I think it’s about training her attacks that are probably very lethal to most things that aren’t vehemence.
Except, those will just make him stronger
Depends if regenerating half his body would cost him more than he gets from it.
And she nearly killed somebody with that orb, back at the big brawl, anyway…
The molestorb is a really good non-lethal attack though. Decent range, good power, great versatility, harmless restraining options.
Except that he was able to effortlessly throw off the molestorb pretty easily in their first confrontation. She hasn’t upgraded it and it only has a maximum strength of around 15 ton lifting capacity. Kevin is way beyond that level at this point
I mean, who else has non-lethal options against Vehemence at this level? This isn’t that much of an indictment. The lighthook is already one of the best non-lethal weapons in the series.
Keep in mind I was responding to Guesticules, who said she needed training in non-lethal attacks.
Dang, I’m just waiting to see one at Wal-Mart, now!
“The real treasure was the friends we tried to maim along the way.”
Has Sydney tried teleporting herself out of the shield once its up?
Not specifically. But she has teleported with the shield while it’s up.
“Get Bent!”
“Thanks, you too!”
Oh bloody hell now I really want it to be Thursday.
He doesn’t stand a chance.
I highly doubt that that’s the real Sydney standing there.
Count her balls
Rude!
“May all your holes stay wet!”
“May you be hard if you have it or wet if you don’t”
When it gets hard it still wants to get wet.
If you’ve never noticed that the clitoris and nipples are also erectile tissue, and then I enjoin you to pay more attention and spend more effort on finding out. Your attention and effort will be richly rewarded. Otherwise, I must extend my condolences to your lovers.
“Say hullo to my leetle friend!”
“Max! You called me your ‘friend’!!)
Many your partners be many and your juices ever flowing!
Will she use her feared tongue-fu or her capsaicin breath?
Or she’ll use the “big puppy eyes” attack. There’s no defense against that.
There’s “stoic boss”.
It’s an environmental/at will power currently only shown by Maxima, which allows for the resistance of visual semi-psychic attacks like Dabbler’s lust aura, Dabbler’s hypno boobs and Sydney’s puppy dog eyes, but is on itself also mind effecting.
i love the smile that Max has when she mentions that he has to fight Sydney. Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did that so he can fight her, cause why not? Go up against the woman who brought him down. Tbh, I feel he’s playing it up.
Ni, I could not agree more. Of all the things to enjoy in this particular comic, that’s the tiny part that really had me laughing the most.
Talking about someone pulling new powers out of their arse: have you met Sydney?
Sydney doesn’t pull powers out of her arse. She gains them(by working for it) and discovers them(by testing, or at inopportune moments.
Sydney gains her powers by grinding and leveling up.
Oh my god. Grrl Power! is a LitRPG!
Well, Sydney is, at least. She has mentioned before that she HATES grinding, but will do it if survival depends on it (the space arc).
He has no idea how much Sydney has gone through. Hoo boyh.
O.o… not a fan of FF7? Right, that’s grrlpower offa my list…
Seriously though.
Draco and Maria is the Opera title, also called Darkness and Starlight (See Black Mages rendition (also Uematsu-san)), FF6 was amazing (Tina, Cayanne, Kids run through the City, and Dancing Mad). However I preferred FF7 (I really like Main Theme, Ahead on our Way, Judgement Day and JENOVA) and its music as well as FF9, which got its own Cocacola commercial (they licensed Melodies of Life for the jingle) (Dali, Slew of Love Letters, Cleyra, You are not Alone…). Most interesting for me from FF7 was the Materia system… so much potential there.
Uematsu is frequently under credited, but he has made the ClassicFM hall of fame and Final Fantasy consistently ranks in the top 100. His Chrono Trigger work though wasn’t considered to be the best, but in fairness he was called in at the last minute to finish up for the previous composer who took ill I believe. I think some of the music was also directly lifted from Final Fantasy with just a few tweaks to make it sound different enough.
1: Vehemence is being STUPID right now, when he should have been playing the long con at the very least (if not simply realizing that he’s better off trying to join the team).
2: I TOTALLY agree. Final Fantasy 5 had the best gameplay, and Final Fantasy 6 had the best story. Simply amazing. But as a Kefka cosplayer put it, “The MOMMA’S BOY gets posters. The MOMMA’S BOY gets a movie about him.”
https://youtu.be/2TRGt6QpMv8
“Ok.”
*tears a boulder out of the ground and puts it on top of the shield.*
“You can either give up or you can get crushed the moment you drop their shield. I’ll wait.”
She can a) cut her way out with the PPO, which fires from OUTSIDE the shield, or b) use the lighthook to teleport herself and the shield.
If the shield’s up when she starts, being crushed under rubble is even less trouble for her than it is for ACHILLES.
c) Lift if off with the molestorb
d) fly away so the boulder falls off
e) stop him from doing it with the molestorb
f) stop him from doing it with the PPO
g) fly out of his range when he tries to do it
h) teleport out of his range when he tries to do it
Her molestorb can only lift, what was it… 15 tons? From the look of it, Vehemence can lift rocks that are WAY heavier than that. Also, stopping him with the molestorb won’t work for the same reason: he’s far too strong by now. Flying away so the boulder falls of… might work; no idea whether the flight orb has a weight limit. (Though it probably does.)
He could probably bury her under enough rocks to overwhelm the lighthook and possibly the flyball, but she could still cut her way out with the PPO (not recommended with spectators / in populated states) or nudge the lightbee out through the cracks and teleport into the open.
I’m getting very curious what rules of engagement she’s been given.
Honestly, other than a reminder to try and corral him toward unpopulated zones if he tries to flee, I’m not sure she needs any. She’s proven a lot more squeamish about serious violence than her COs, and I don’t know whether knowing he can grow his limbs back more powerful actually makes her willing to use the PPO on Vehemence barring some serious risk to other human life.
She’s not inclined to pre-meditated violence, but once she get’s riled up she has a track history (the bank, the restaurant) of kicking people even after they’re down. And I doubt her flight-or-flight reset has cured that.
She doesn’t need to lift its whole weight to push it off the shield. And if she flies sideways, the flight orb doesn’t need to lift its weight either.
And stopping him from doing this stunt is much easier than defeating him.
“Hullo, have you heard the Good News? I have some pamphlets right here…”
Sydney’s got this.
(Probably. I mean, she does have the firepower to kill multiple kaiju, so… How does Vehemence like his arms? And legs? Can he torso-wiggle menacingly?)
He likes his arms and legs, but he likes the stronger limbs he regrows when he gets mutilated even better.
Taking off his head would probably work, but is a bit final.
“…why do I hear boss music?”
You don’t think that Halo has a playlist for any situation on her phone already?
Naturally, but the volume might be lacking; I think the gag work best with Max shooting a glare at the peanut gallery whom have pulled out stereos(or maybe Dabbler with a tech toy or spell). Somehow the second line to that effect was cut off of my first post.
Com-ball is also a boombox?
I’m guessing the combination of an impenetrable shield and an infinite supply of “I’m Henry the eighth I am” will be what does Kevin in.
She does have the firepower. But also he’s been twice established as just…not wanting to hurt her.
Maybe not in a way that overwhelms the high. Maybe not more than he wants freedom.
But this may count as another case of Maxima taking all the fun out of violence.
Final Fantasy went the way of D.C. Comics in the late 90s: trading out the fun and escapism for extra-gritty but equally implausible plotlines.
I saw a comic strip in which a supervillain flatly refused to fight any deceptively small heroes (e.g., Toph Beifong in the Avatar series). He stated that they always turned out to be “tanks”, i.e., people of incredible power who always ended up flattening their opponents. If Vehemence thinks he can take Halo, then let him prepare for the ass-whupping he is about to receive.
thepunchlineismacho.com
Funny thing is that’s actually the case occasionally in Real Life with Bodyguard teams. Big guy, small guy/girl.
The Big guiy is still, you know, big, so useful, but he’s also a distraction from the small one who knows how to take people apart twice their size and you’ll never see them coming because you’re focused on what you assume the bigger threat is.
Also never see them coming because they are so tiny you need to bend in half to look them in the eye :P
Unless they bend you in half so you don’t have to do it yourself.
The way it works is usually, the big one is there to keep you away from the one they’re protecting, or tackle you, or block you, or try to stop you nonlethally.
And the small one is there to shoot you dead if that doesn’t work.
yes, large is the deterrent, small is the detergent.
Health, wealth and happiness is a traditional Hogmanay toast.
Sydney being a gamer though, stealthy is probably more appreciated.
*sneaks up behind Faust and whispers, ‘Escort Mission’*
It’s like a gamer wet-willy but not as gross.
Love that demonic look and then “Hullo”. LOL
Nooooooooooooooo! I only just started playing FFVII remake. I like Aerith.
The makers had to do something with Aerith/Aeris the fans would never, not once, forgive them if they did anything but. Particularly after the film. Aerith had a surprising depth of character beneath the surface. Though it seems most only paid attention to the slightly ditzy flower girl impression.
“May your orgasms soak the fields like a summer rain”
“May the pleasures you receive make the heavens weep with jealousy.”
I will think up some more.
You know what I really want the next comic to be? More than anything?
Sydney squares up with him, maybe tosses down a little trash talk.
Vehemence looks her over, and….”Nope. Take me back to prison.”
Sydney’s stunned, Max goes along with it.
Sydney gets madder and madder, and Vehemence pretends to be more and more scared as she gets more and more riled up.
Tell me that that wouldn’t just be absolute perfection. :)
Ooh, yeah! That would be great!
Heh. And it opens up some very interesting dynamics too!
*paw print of approval*
It’s devious enough to be plausible, and clever enough (if anticlimactic) that it wouldn’t feel out of place to me. Perhaps even as a beat gag before he spins back around and unleashes.
Ah, the inverse-Kirk approach.
Nice.
“May you attract the affection of several attractive partners”; actually a curse, especially in monogamous societies
A curse I am willing to bear. To spare others, in my humble attempt to improve the quality of life for the rest of the world.
An Arabic guy actually got exiled from Saudi Arabia for that.
For being too handsome. Seriously.
Wow, I knew they didn’t like it if wonen looked more attractive thans others, but men.
The closed thing I knew to that actually happened in England was a pretty famous king(the one who had huis wifes executed. If I remember correctly Henry the Third) launched laws against having nicer calves(as in the human muscle) than him and have a public functionairy express homoerotic statements about him.
Omar Borkan Al Gala
Is this where we learn what the red orb does?
That’s the PPO. The brown orb is the last remaining mystery orb.
The top google result, for ‘navy ship departments’ (running with Sydney’s own theory that the orbs simulate ship capabilities:
Obviously for a space ship we also need to add life-support (ergo the other, green, mystery orb’s role).
Gunnery would be PPO (red).
Navigation the Fly Ball (blue), albeit just being propulsion and interstellar navigation* with nodes unlocked to date.
Construction can be handled by the Tentacle (pink).
Communications is partially supplied by the truesight orb (yellow), when using the projected image.
So, using this line of thought, the remaining options would include:
Engineering
Repair (hull)
Medical
Sydney has suffered numerous injuries, including ones at times when it would be convenient to test her orbs. Which we have never seen Halo try to heal in comic, despite very many readers suggesting this as being likely. But I think Sydney is too smart to have never attempted this. As such I discount simple healing. I think Sydney will have made many attempts in the time prior to the comic starting, with no result. Thus explaining why we have never seen her trying it since.
However it could be medical, provided it deals with something other than minor injuries (for instance treating diseases). Or maybe it could have higher requirements to unlock than other orbs? Perhaps the demonstration of adequate medical knowledge, or training, before the orb will unlock. Maybe if Sydney looses a limb, she may be inspired by Vehemence’s own regeneration ability, to try and repair her own injury.
Let us hope that is not necessary though, as having a limb pulled off would be hugely traumatic for Halo!
As for repair, we have never seen any of the orbs damaged, plus this seems to be a fairly dull option.
Likewise for the engineering function. With all due respect to the vital functions that both of these departments provide on current day ships. But most far future ship equipment is likely to to be self-repairing (as opposed to needing some central repair facility). Plus neither of these last two provide exciting heroic functions.
Maybe it provides a comedic ship function though. Spoiler alert: The head!
Let us hope that things do not get bad enough for Halo to need that one either!
* Not that I can recall, off the top of my head, where the relevant node that unlocked this was actually located.
Nice analysis! All I could come up with was a poor repair/maintenance joke based around “bring me my brown pants!”
I don’t think intelligence has anything to do with it. I think Sydney is just too dramatic in response to pain to test healing out properly. (see: 435)
Enter THE BIG GUNS!
Can’t she use the shield and flight orb together as a makeshift battering ram? Going toward him at supersonic speed and hitting him would do some damage if not outright kill him, so maybe slow it down a bit. Or just hit him with the shield enough to get him airborne and then proceed to hit him from underneath, to basically get him in near orbit. He expends all his energy to try to save himself. Once he is really down on the power, Sidney can lasso him with the molestorb and bring him back down so he can breathe again
Holy crow, you go straight to Zeromus.MP3 too?! That has been my default boss monster song since like 1992!
Eh… I can see Maxima being a Battle 2 level threat, but Sydney isn’t quite Zeromus level. Atma Weapon battle from FF6 maybe.
(For someone who is a fan of Final Fantasy music but not really of Final Fantasy games anymore, I’d highly recommend you check two things out:
1: Distant Worlds: Music From Final Fantasy; a touring orchestral performance of selected tracks from the series, they’re kind of leaning into the FFVII Remake stuff right now but their repertoire includes stuff from up and down the library.
2: Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call; a rhythm game for the Nintendo 3DS spotlighting a lot of the best music from Final Fantasy and related series. Has a little bit of FF flavor sprinkled on top with characters running through areas from the games or fighting through waves of monsters in tune to your performance. Sadly does include some paid DLC tracks, but even if you refuse to purchase any the base experience has a lot of the highlights. (Not to be mistaken for Theatrhythm Final Fantasy no subtitle, to which it is a superior sequel.)
I dunno, I picture Sydney being more of a ‘Warlock Battle/Battle with Magus’ kinda girl. Just because Uematsu is good, don’t look down on Yasunori Mitsuda’s boss battle music from the period, either.