Comics Discussion => Flipside Discussion => Topic started by: Brion Foulke on May 12, 2013, 01:06:26 pm

Title: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: Brion Foulke on May 12, 2013, 01:06:26 pm
This is the thread for discussing Chapter 37: Three Paths.
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: maddhopps on May 13, 2013, 02:41:44 pm
My immediate speculation would be that the purpose of transforming Suspiria was to use it as a distraction in order to kidnap Maytag, but there is probably more to it then that.
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: sunphoenix on May 14, 2013, 06:39:46 am
She looks like she thinks she's naked or.. afraid of being molested... {snort!}

Just something I noticed.. that 'looks afraid of sex' - posture she has on the second page... lol!
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: Kiran on May 17, 2013, 12:54:07 am
Doesn't this whole situation set Polly's death flag kinda high?
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: Stargoat on May 17, 2013, 08:39:00 am
She should train in the Hyberbolic Time Chamber.  (BTW - this is the solution to most of life's problems.)
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: Enkida on May 21, 2013, 06:25:11 am
If they have to split the marks, Bernadette has to fight, too. I wonder if the "child style" mystery will finally be explained here.  I'm eager to see Bern's swordplay improving in any regard :)
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: Stargoat on May 21, 2013, 08:22:19 am
I anticipate Bern's Daddy is going to help out here.  It would be really lousy if he did not do so.  Even a man sick unto death can bear up for two days.
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: Kanazaka on June 09, 2013, 01:29:33 pm
Regarding the most recent page (and panel):  Really, Polly?  "Cocksucker" seems a bit OOC, though I'll admit it's funny  ;D.  Wow.
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: sunphoenix on June 16, 2013, 08:29:33 am
Meh, they've used colloquial terms before... I think I've seen bastard somewhere.. if you break it down its just a turn of phrase not to out of genre... many terms are derivations of other words.  I'm sure You'll get that a lot in semi-offensive terminology.

But on to Crest, "but she's lying to you...!"

GET. OVER. IT!  People lie ALL The Time!  Doesn't make it right... but it IS human nature to only portray yourself as you would have others see you!  That is not necessarily a bad or dishonest thing merely a way to try to adjust and make oneself acceptable to society regardless of your personal feelings about societies opinions or views on what is 'acceptable' behavior.

I have a secret... I HATE Neck ties!  I'd NEVER wear one if I had things my way.  I feel they are stupid and holdovers from a fashion idea that was no more valid or less valid than natives of Africa wearing grass skirts.  But... I still put one on when i'm going to a job interview...EVEN though I secretly hate them and would not wear it if I had any other option... all because.... I want to project a certain image even though it is not who I really am or how I really feel about suits and ties.

Is that lying?  From a certain point of view yes.  But is it dishonest or prove I'm unworthy of trust?  No.
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: weirdguy on June 22, 2013, 12:51:34 pm
suspiria either needs to find a new dramatic looking outfit or just go au naturale. nobody's really that intimidating in underwear.
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: Stargoat on June 25, 2013, 07:04:30 am
Clever girl, Maytag.  Never eat fairy food.
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: sunphoenix on June 25, 2013, 07:07:39 am
Yeah but some are enticed...hehe...

Unfortunately.. I think if she keeps growing spikes as it seems she is still doing... any intimacy would be ...short-lived by her partner... {probably the best end for Crest anyways... he's not becoming one of my favorite characters... he whines Too much... and needs to grow up}.

As for Maytag, good call little schemer!  DON'T EAT ANYTHING they give you until you have some idea WHAT they want to try to do to you FIRST!!!!
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: weirdguy on June 27, 2013, 12:58:49 am
I'd like to note that while they have been bullshitting a lot, I think he takes his food seriously enough that he won't actually do anything bad to the food

also, I will agree with Maytag that the Thin Man has been stretching this story arc for too long and he should get to the point already
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: Gillsing on June 27, 2013, 04:36:19 am
Magic works by sending a magic request to the artificial intelligence that is simulating the world. A properly made request will then be fulfilled, while improperly made requests do not get fulfilled, or may have unintended side effects. Slim Dude, that is sooo freaky. The world isn't real?! :o
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: 9_6 on June 28, 2013, 08:12:03 am
If fullmetal alchemist taught me anything, it is that magic works because nazis.
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: Shay on June 29, 2013, 11:32:07 am
Ooh, this is getting interesting.

I wonder if it has anything to do with the 'dreaming/meditating to get new spells' thing?

Somehow, I don't expect this to be horrifying, like magic eats souls, or something. I mean... that one guy who was with Danzig was using the magic flower...thing. If the truth were horrible, I would expect no one who knew the truth would continue using magic. But if the truth is complicated and hard to understand...

I hope Maytag asks how the Thin Man knows all this though. How do you possibly find out that magic doesn't exist? 
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: sunphoenix on June 29, 2013, 11:19:06 pm
I feel a X(A/N)th revelation coming on...
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: Hans on July 01, 2013, 10:49:05 pm
So it's technology. Very advanced technology. Advanced a lot beyond Arthur C. Clarke.
Things like levitation and teleportation are still magic. If the means are spiritual or technological. From the outside that is not a big shock.

Maybe if someones worldview is shattered. Everyone else replace one thing you don't understand with an other thing you don't understand.
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: ipatrol on July 03, 2013, 03:01:07 am
Is this like the whole midi-chordian thing? Oh brother, I feel a storm a' brewin'.
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: Shay on July 03, 2013, 11:55:14 am
Okay, the rules of magic are...

1. You have to meditate and train in order to use it, but anyone can use it after this training

2. You use a word to activate spells (unless you're Suspiria).

3. You gain these words (and thus new spells) by meditating/dreaming

4. You do certain tests to 'level up' as a sorcerer.

5. You have a pool of magic you can use, and when you level up you don't increase the pool, but your ability to use it effectively.

6. You sleep to regain that pool of magic.

So, for some reason, these machines have to work in such a way that all these rules remain true, because we've seen the effects of the rules.

So, you have to train to use the machines.... and using them exhausts you. But the meditating to obtain new spells? The machines commands are connected to some sort of... dreamspace?
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: weirdguy on July 03, 2013, 07:20:34 pm
I'm going to do my best to not make any midichlorian jokes but I can't guarantee that
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: Kanazaka on July 05, 2013, 03:24:18 pm
Corrected --
Is this like the whole midi-chlorian thing? Oh brother, I feel a storm a' brewin'.

Yeah, beat me to it.  I feel the same way.  On the other hand, this could all be just the Thin Man's ruse, to get Maytag to do what he wants.  It's too early to tell.
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: sunphoenix on July 06, 2013, 10:16:01 pm
Actually I think what the 'Thin Man' did was ask the question... "What is the source of magic...?" and painted a picture for the answer... and that is what he got.  Which would explain how certain things are being portrayed in the world.  There muct be some centrel computer or master nanite colony server that is controlling, programing and or creating this planet-wide nanite swarm.  But the question is why have the inhabitiants been keep in the dark about this...was that intentional... or have they merely forgotten?
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: weirdguy on July 08, 2013, 11:42:08 am
I will be disappointed if this situation hasn't escalated to a boss fight on the moon at the end.
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: Shay on July 10, 2013, 07:13:36 pm
I am curious as to how this involves Maytag. I find it really unlikely, for plot reasons, that she would accept all this as true and then just... do nothing about it. That would make for a strange story, where we find out the truth and then.... nothing happens, Maytag goes back and finishes her competition, it's just a fun fact she learned about the world.

But for character reasons, why does this concern her? She's not the 'save the world' type. She's the entertainer type. Right now, I suspect she's more interested in getting back to the competition than getting involved in some sort of mission to reveal the truth about the world through experiments and overthrowing conspiracy governments/people. I mean... I just can't imagine her abandoning all her friends and goals to willingly go romping about with these guys on some bizarre journey, you know? Where's the motive? She's not that altruistic.

I suspect that she will be roped into helping these guys unwillingly somehow.

Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: Gillsing on July 15, 2013, 02:38:15 pm
Maytag read a lot of books when she was a kid, so she might be curious enough to want to know more. Especially if he can offer her something worthwhile. Maybe he can turn her into a telepathic broadcaster, so that she won't need to hand out magic stones to everyone who wants to listen to her talk? Or something like that. You can do a lot with the Qualia, no matter what your goals might be. The other girls who were experimented on didn't seem very altruistic either. (Let's just hope that Maytag doesn't force everyone to listen to her talk, whether they want to or not. Because that would be evil.)
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: Lord Stone on July 15, 2013, 03:11:52 pm
I am guessing the Thin Man is working either towards talking her into becoming a test subject (without resistance) or maybe he is trying to talk her into becoming an ally (there have been signs that he is specifically interested in her). This whole exposition is just a step towards him making her an offer she cannot refuse.

I do find the answer on this last page narrowminded though... If the question is "Who created the qualia?" and there is neither an answer nor a rumination period, couldn't that mean that the question is incorrect? If they were not created, there would be no answer to that question. Or nobody created them, which in the form of a painting would still show nothing. I do expect the answer to become clearer with the next few pages though, but just saying that with the exposition we have seen so far Maytag's conclusion is definitely not the only option, and isn't even the most likely option either.

I also kinda hope that he's wrong. Not so much because I do not like the qualia concept or magic as technology... but because I hate all-knowing NPCs that have it all figured out and are being smug about it... like the Thin Man is doing now.
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: sunphoenix on July 16, 2013, 04:15:11 pm
Hmmm.. I don't agree with that.  I think if it is taken for granted that the qualia are machines.. then it stands to reason that they were 'built' by something...even if they built themselves.  Though you might have a point on the idea that perhaps wording a question improperly would get a negative non-answer.  It could be just as possible that the qualia were not created...per se ..or at least their current incarnation was not what they were created to do but have evolved into this present state in some fashion.

It is not a off mark stretch to conjecture that when he asks a question the qualia can't answer the reaction of his talent is obviously different from when he asks a question they seem unwilling to answer, that some controlling mechanism might be restraining them from answering.

As for the 'Thin Man's' current production for Maytag... I don't think its arrogance... I think he is somewhat even if unconsciously taken and very impressed by her mental acuity... and he wants to impress her.. nothing more.  Strange though he may be... he is not immune to the charms of a lovely highly intelligent young woman... even when she is not actively turning on those particular charms at the moment.
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: sunphoenix on July 19, 2013, 05:29:27 am
Ah... :)

"So shines a good deed in a weary world." - Willy Wonka

...perhaps Maytag will be disarmed with some true honest contrition?  But the trick of contrition... is it must be true!  Lies, and subterfuge ...seemingly don't work on Maytag.
Title: Re: Chapter 37: Discussion
Post by: weirdguy on July 19, 2013, 07:09:59 pm
"Well, I guess it's alright, if he apolog-WAAAAIT A MINUTE"