davebarrack
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Grrl Power #935 - Delta mask
🕑 Added 2021-04-12 10:01:01 +0000 UTCThanks so much for your support! Like, seriously, you guys.
To view the full-size version... left-click, right-click, new tab. You guys have it figured out by now. Oh, also you can left click then use the scroll wheel to zoom in and click and drag the image. I just figured that one out myself.
I was going to go on a tangent about various systems of law enforcement on today's page, but Achilles's "Good enough for me" isn't going to be the end of the "Aren't you under arrest" issue, so I'll save that discussion for a near future page.
Instead, I'll talk about being careful what you name incidental characters if you have a habit of promoting them to tertiary status. All of the mercenaries names were: Detla, Agmoe, Madlab, Ips, Teza, Tabe, Crimoon, Lapha, and Garamm. Their names are all jumbled up Greek alphabet letters (except for Garamm because I'm a dumbass and for some reason thought Gamma had an "r" in it? Maybe it was late when I wrote the first page his name appeared on.) Sometimes alien/fantasy names come easy to me, but usually I'm sitting around for five minutes and all I can think of are words like Glib-flnr, Gubbus, Ralnvimborb, Flob Zilm, etc. I was having trouble with the merc's names so I went the Greek Jumble route. Partially to amuse myself, but knew it would've been fun if someone figured it out, not realizing I had fucked up Garamm's name at the time. (Just add a 10% dumbass factor in the future when you think you see patterns in the comic.)
I kind of like the name Crimoon, same with Madlab and Agmoe. Lapha's name is fine, as is Garamm's, I guess. Detla... eh. It's okay. It's not Glib-flnr, but it could be something a little cooler like Zandriel or Warsyl.
More relevant to this page, I have to wonder how societies that wear masks work. I actually didn't get the idea for this from the Mandalorian, it was way back from the 2001 Justice League cartoon. Hawkgirl never took off her mask in the first two seasons, and even jammed it back on her head once when someone knocked on her door. But then the next two seasons, and everything else I've ever seen an iteration of Hawkgirl in, she barely ever wears her helmet, so I guess it was just a quirk of those first two seasons. Probably no one got around to designing her face with the helmet off. (Honestly with the simplified art style they used, all the women looked identical. The series had anime face syndrome, where characters were only identifiable by their hair and costume.)
Anyway, in a society where everyone wears masks, I guess you'd have to rely a lot more heavily on fingerprints or something. That, or everyone would have to have some unique feature on their mask, and you'd have to heavily rely on social mores that people wouldn't switch masks or duplicate someone else's. Also, you'd run into a problem once your population hit a certain level where you'd just run out of unique mask designs, and someone would have to wear a mask with a mark right in the middle that looked like a coiled turd.
Even besides the mask issue, if a race all looked basically the same, in ways that their brains weren't specialized to differentiate, like if Starship Trooper Bugs evolved to the point of independent sapience and started up a society that was less based on obedience to a queen and a lot of tunnel digging and instead started inventing cars and TV and stuff, but they can't visually distinguish each other because it's all based on scents, would their driver's licences have scratch and sniff patches on them? Would their TV's be smell-0-visions? Or would that evolutionary path lead them to only invent radios and no one bothers with TVs because they can't figure out the tele-scents angle?
Comments
cittran genericlastname
In his case Achilles literally can't get hurt. At all. Ever. So anything that could personally inflict damage on him isn't a problem. And if she tries to do something that actually hurts someone else, or tries to do something like imprison him...well that's what the rest of the team is for. Achilles has never been the sharpest of the bunch. (So I agree, but it's still within character for him to act this way.)
akrasia
I'm thinking Achilles really should have asked more questions before agreeing with this deal. Like, what if graduating requires her to defeat him? Why would he 'train' with someone he doesn't know well enough to know what she will DO with what she learns? Does this mentor status obligate him to do anything but train her? With Detla's people, how DOES the 'master' benefit?
Zip Zop
His hair is wet, which makes it darker.
Clell Harmon
Achilles seems to be a bit off model in the last couple of pages. His hair has gone to a mousey brown from Blond and his features aren't a model perfect as they were in his 'Not A Scratch' pose from however many pages ago it was. Is his model being changed, or does he have to concentrate on his 'public face' to maintain it?
Evgeny Sandu
Fine for him, right?
Zip Zop
You can't really learn achiles fighting method, can you? since it so heavily relies on his ability.
Lee T Boswell
I'm actually glad to see Achilles getting some sort of story line. He's been a joke character, but he's also one of the few that will be in things for the long haul. Additionally, has he made that connection, and started putting money away for the long term investment game? Or is he still hyper focused on the present? Another point about him here is how he understands the warrior mindset, but isn't totally innured in it. And, I wonder if he really did gain his invulnerability and unaging in the 80s. There are other periods in history when that sort of haircut was possible.
AlpineBob
He really ought to check with Maxima first that its OK for her to be wandering around, visitor pass or no. Then again, she was apparently released from custody, as no alarms are blaring and she got directions to his rooms, so she seems to have convinced <i>somebody</i> of her case... I'm almost surprised they didn't set her up with a visitor pass before they released her. Maybe, given her plans, they decided to wait until Achilles agreed to take her on. But, given her lack of resources, it would be kind of cruel to kick her onto the street if he said no. Unless the tour ship is still on-planet... So, I guess he should be heading to Dabbler and/or Cora to get verification that her "human costume" is more than skin deep. Or maybe he doesn't care. Hmmm.
James Cooper
One has to wonder, society wise,how does a culture form to wear masks? Clothing originally was more to protect from the elements and such cause we are soft pinklings, but does that mean on her world one need a form of eye protection to go out in the sun? Was her race cave dwellers or nocturnal? Was there a multitude of storms that require eye/face protection? Or did it start as a forgotten military base on a remote world and after generations it went from uniform requirement to socially norm?
Bowoodstock
I think it's a matter of becoming less reliant on the power of her blade. Achy could absolutely teach her things about immobilizing opponents, as he did to her.
Thomas Dorner
The majority of THIS world is already using systems based on the power of ten to measure distances and weights ... ;-) PS: ... even in the old empire. (OK, maybe that's the next thing they reverse after the Brexit. ;-)
Brian Mann
"You keep using that word. I think it means what you think it means."
Erin Palette
I came here to say this.
C R
Awesome that this world has gotten rid of inches being 12 to the foot. It makes so much more sense!
Ascender
Well, I'd love to comment on the page, but I'll instead have to comment that the page won't load, as Patreon seems to be having some kind of issue with the mobile app. Again.
Immortal_Knight
Okay but what techniques is she gonna try and master lol?
Bowoodstock
Ah, this does kind of make sense. She's probably kicking herself for the fact of "Oh, I got so used to my blade that can cut anything, that when I ran into something it couldn't cut, I was defeated. Better fix that"
Vernon E. Parker III
Great new page, keep up the great work.
CSquared
A mask (or similar) actually BEING the person it represents, and serious confusion coming from someone else using the same one, is actually the plot of a whole Discworld book. Every member of the Fools' Guild has unique facepaint, so when one is found dead, but was seen alive at the same time, it gets confusing.
Rob Wright
What is the point of the hight chart if they are wearing 4 inch heels ?
Justaguy
Depends on how far back you go. Back in the 80s it was to protect their civilian identities as the archaeologist couple the Carters. :P
Justaguy
The masks are DNA locked augmented reality tools? With a HUD that displays the name of the person you're talking to and depending on social situation some basic information?
Justaguy
But Garamm is just Ga'Amm with an alien stutter right?
Kizik Ucalegon
I could see a society where there's a QR code on each mask in some kind of ink or paint that only shows up on infrared or ultraviolet or something. Usually invisible, but cameras and authorities could pick up on it. Opens up all kinds of surveillance questions since it simultaneously replaces and massively simplifies facial recognition, but a society based on everyone having a unique mask might be more alright with that than we are. Could always put the barcode on an easily obscured part of the mask, but it's there if you need to ID yourself.
Thomas Dorner
Nice camera angles. Btw. I'm usually not using imperial metrics, but aren't there 12 inch to a foot? (last panel)
Stan
Wasn't the Hawkgirl mask thing more about her being an officer in the Thanagarian intelligence service? Then after the failed invasion she took off the mask (rank symbol?) and didn't put it back on.
Damaged
"Thanks so much for your support!" No. Thank you for making something worth supporting. Keep up the great work!
