Author Topic: Chapter 25: Discussion  (Read 71941 times)

BeethroBudkin

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #300 on: June 24, 2010, 08:35:07 am »
Looks like Glyph found a scroll of town portal. Dont know why they didnt use that to begin with, oh well.

tbeean

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #301 on: June 24, 2010, 01:56:49 pm »
i love moss. :')
'oh merry band of travellers'  :P

akashayi

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #302 on: June 25, 2010, 03:07:57 am »
i love moss. :')
'oh merry band of travellers'  :P

Very, very this ;P

Azure Priest

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #303 on: June 25, 2010, 05:06:16 am »
Looks like Glyph found a scroll of town portal. Dont know why they didnt use that to begin with, oh well.

It IS just a guess, but I speculated why directly to Charles' post on the previous page. I'm guessing it had to do with concerns about interference from Danzig. Now that they're presumed unconscious, Glyph apparently thinks it's safe to use.

Zearth

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #304 on: June 25, 2010, 09:39:32 am »
i love moss. :')
'oh merry band of travellers'  :P

Very, very this ;P
agreed xD

akashayi

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #305 on: June 25, 2010, 11:47:06 am »
Man, I need to get myself a portable portal. [port² ?]

Wanderer

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #306 on: June 26, 2010, 07:17:33 pm »
Something about this page seems vaguely suspicious.

Kiran

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #307 on: June 27, 2010, 01:04:17 am »
Well Bern seems to be on something, maybe Glyph unnatural behaviour, or the mention of why Glyph took the carriage, just to spy on their female passengers in nude in reality :P
Or Glyph just covered on Bern anti-magic phobia of portals.
Glyph had the portal in the carriage for whole time, so how he got it here now if whole warp box is cut off from outside world.
And isn't this the same portal where Bern and May were imprisoned?
I wonder if Danzig becoming unconcious could still take over Glyph body with his mind.

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #308 on: June 27, 2010, 03:55:56 am »
hmm, didnt notice at start but it is a bit suspecious.
Maybe its Meltzer who took control of Glyphs body? Or maybe its just Glyph...

Azure Priest

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #309 on: June 27, 2010, 09:21:15 am »
And a giant disembodied voice cries out.... JERKASS COMBAT!
                                                                GLYPH vs MOSS
                                                                     FIGHT

Andrea

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #310 on: June 27, 2010, 10:14:17 am »
Glyph is either the Tin Man or that guy that works for him!  :'(

anuran

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« Reply #311 on: June 27, 2010, 07:23:14 pm »
Not just a Chapter 25 discussion but it applies here, too.

One sign of bad writing is a reliance stupidity or inexplicable, unrealistic actions to move the plot along. This often comes out in fighting. Consider the following all-too-common scenario. Someone is in a fight for his life. If he doesn't end the threat he and innocents he is protecting will die. As long as the Bad Guys are vertical they are threats. Our Hero is a soldier, duelist or warrior. He gets in a decent shot. One of the enemies is hurt but still standing. The authorities are far, far away if they even exist.

What would a marginally sensible person with years of experience in fights do?

A) Finish off Bad Guy 1.
B) Move on to Bad Guy 2 and come back to Bad Guy 1 at a tactically advantageous moment.
C) Back off, wave a weapon around, strike a pose and trade three or four expository lumps giving all the Bad Guys a chance to regroup and kill you.

Unfortunately, a lot of authors including Brion go for "C". It draws things out and gives a few more hair-raising escapades. But it's as false as a salesman's smile and doesn't make any kind of sense to anyone who's been in a fight, let alone a fight for one's life.

Yes, I know Bern has a Heroic Code. She's also supposed to be reasonably bright and value the lives of people under her protection. This fight and several others fail that all-important sniff test. Even worse, she gives away valuable information about how she fights while her (dangerous, deadly) opponent gets his wind back.

Meanwhile the rest of the Good Guys are standing around with their thumbs up their bums. Even More Dangerous Bad Guy #2 is doing whatever it is that he does. Nobody yells "Booga! Booga! Booga!" at him while someone else taps him on the pimple with a something heavy. Nobody sticks a knife into him. They just wait for him to pull a dragon out of his hat and act shocked when he does.

Maybe it's one of the conventions of the medium. This sort of thing has happened a few times. It still makes no sense and is a weakness in an otherwise fine comic.

anuran

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Another related peeve
« Reply #312 on: June 27, 2010, 07:26:30 pm »
Pointing a weapon at someone and yelling "Freeze!" then waiting around with a smile on one's face. The Magic Plot Fairy will not wave her wand and make everything better at that point. One has just given up the advantage of surprise and has to take control of the situation with the understanding that any disobedience must be met with deadly force.

Brion Foulke

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #313 on: June 27, 2010, 08:29:12 pm »
Anuran, your criticisms don't really make sense to me.  It seems like you're saying that you believe Bernadette should kill Danzig outright, in cold blood.  Yes, she has people to protect, but right now her enemy's attention is on her.  Do you *really* think that Bernadette's most in-character action here is to kill Danzig? 

Also, you say that "the rest of the Good Guys are standing around."  As a writer, I often find that people react in a way I didn't intend.  When I envisioned this scene in my head, I figured it was only natural that if sorcery can't be used, the sorcerers who aren't experienced fighters would just stand around.  I really didn't expect anyone to question that, but they did.  So I included an extra page of exposition specifically saying why they couldn't do anything.  http://www.flipsidecomics.com/comic.php?i=965  And yet, some people still questioned why everyone was just "standing around."  I guess some people who've seen that in too many anime/comic books are just allergic to that concept and very quick to point it out, even if it makes sense.

Actually if you think about it, I think it's very realisitic to have people stand around and watch a fight.  It's human nature to watch something exciting.  What's unrealistic is for something exciting to happen and a character ignores it, like when dudes walk away from explosions in movies:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqz5dbs5zmo

« Last Edit: June 27, 2010, 08:43:08 pm by Brion Foulke »

Eonknight

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #314 on: June 27, 2010, 08:36:50 pm »
Not just a Chapter 25 discussion but it applies here, too.

One sign of bad writing is a reliance stupidity or inexplicable, unrealistic actions to move the plot along. This often comes out in fighting. Consider the following all-too-common scenario. Someone is in a fight for his life. If he doesn't end the threat he and innocents he is protecting will die. As long as the Bad Guys are vertical they are threats. Our Hero is a soldier, duelist or warrior. He gets in a decent shot. One of the enemies is hurt but still standing. The authorities are far, far away if they even exist.

What would a marginally sensible person with years of experience in fights do?

A) Finish off Bad Guy 1.
B) Move on to Bad Guy 2 and come back to Bad Guy 1 at a tactically advantageous moment.
C) Back off, wave a weapon around, strike a pose and trade three or four expository lumps giving all the Bad Guys a chance to regroup and kill you.

Unfortunately, a lot of authors including Brion go for "C". It draws things out and gives a few more hair-raising escapades. But it's as false as a salesman's smile and doesn't make any kind of sense to anyone who's been in a fight, let alone a fight for one's life.

Yes, I know Bern has a Heroic Code. She's also supposed to be reasonably bright and value the lives of people under her protection. This fight and several others fail that all-important sniff test. Even worse, she gives away valuable information about how she fights while her (dangerous, deadly) opponent gets his wind back.

Meanwhile the rest of the Good Guys are standing around with their thumbs up their bums. Even More Dangerous Bad Guy #2 is doing whatever it is that he does. Nobody yells "Booga! Booga! Booga!" at him while someone else taps him on the pimple with a something heavy. Nobody sticks a knife into him. They just wait for him to pull a dragon out of his hat and act shocked when he does.

Maybe it's one of the conventions of the medium. This sort of thing has happened a few times. It still makes no sense and is a weakness in an otherwise fine comic.
Pointing a weapon at someone and yelling "Freeze!" then waiting around with a smile on one's face. The Magic Plot Fairy will not wave her wand and make everything better at that point. One has just given up the advantage of surprise and has to take control of the situation with the understanding that any disobedience must be met with deadly force.

Anuran, name one book/comic/movie/series/videogame (that is not a historic documentary) that features "realistic" fights. Heck, show me a martial arts competition that realistically unfolds like a real-life fight (yes, Ultimate fighter-type competitions included).

My point is that you are reading a story. Moreover, it's a FANTASY story. NOTHING about this story is "realistic" or sometimes even conceivable. It's not a sign of bad writing per se; it's a technique called "suspension of disbelief". And you forget that those seemingly "stupid or inexplicable" actions are more often than not plot devices and have a perfectly reasonable explanation that comes later.

I'm sorry if it doesn't work for you, but this is not "an otherwise fine comic". This is a fine comic in it's own right. You just happen to be annoyed by some aspects of the story. Now, your comments about how unrealistic fights generally are in fictive stories are absolutely true. But I read these stories to "escape reality", to a certain degree. I want the bad guys to be incommensurately stupid and unveil his plan to the hero before killing him; I want the fights to last 25 minutes. I want the heroes and heroines to be brave, intelligent, resourceful, beautiful. I want the good guys to win.

I am sorry this aspect keeps you from enjoying the story as a whole. Maybe a pulp novel would be more up your alley; they generally stick a little better to realism. Either way, happy reading.  :)

Brion Foulke

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #315 on: June 27, 2010, 08:56:05 pm »
Eonknight, I appreciate you defending me, but I think you missed Anuran's point.  Yes, the fights are not completely "realistic" in the sense that they are stylized and even normal people like Bern can do feats that real people can't do.  But this the type of realism that Anuran is talking about... or maybe it would be better to say that realism is the wrong word, what he's essentially criticizing is my character writing.  That's sort of like a different type of realism, where we say "is it realistic for character X to do this given their character", which IS very important even to a fantasy story. 

I think that if I have a certain character behave a certain way merely for plot purposes, even when it seems out of character, then that is a valid criticism.  However, in my defense, I honestly don't think that happens, and I don't really get where Anuran is coming from.  I think that given the circumstances, it makes perfect sense for everyone who's not a fighter to stand around and watch one of the two fighters tackle the problem.  And I also think it would be out of character for Bernadette to kill someone in cold blood, given these circumstances; hey, I may be the writer and I suppose I get to decide what's "in character," but you can always look at my character's behavior in the past and cite contradictions.  If you can find an example of Bernadette killing someone in cold blood, or at all, please let me know...


Sidralma

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #316 on: June 28, 2010, 12:38:15 am »
I'm really sorry this recent story arc in particular seems to have struck a sour chord with you, Anuran. Personally, I liked it and thought it was well written. Clearly I can see that you would have preferred it had been written differently. But I enjoyed the way it is. To each his own I guess...
We're all living in Plato's cave, and we've papered the walls with fictions.

9_6

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #317 on: June 28, 2010, 05:58:05 am »
Eonknight, I appreciate you defending me, but I think you missed Anuran's point.  Yes, the fights are not completely "realistic" in the sense that they are stylized and even normal people like Bern can do feats that real people can't do.  But this the type of realism that Anuran is talking about... or maybe it would be better to say that realism is the wrong word, what he's essentially criticizing is my character writing.  That's sort of like a different type of realism, where we say "is it realistic for character X to do this given their character", which IS very important even to a fantasy story. 

I think that if I have a certain character behave a certain way merely for plot purposes, even when it seems out of character, then that is a valid criticism.  However, in my defense, I honestly don't think that happens, and I don't really get where Anuran is coming from.  I think that given the circumstances, it makes perfect sense for everyone who's not a fighter to stand around and watch one of the two fighters tackle the problem.  And I also think it would be out of character for Bernadette to kill someone in cold blood, given these circumstances; hey, I may be the writer and I suppose I get to decide what's "in character," but you can always look at my character's behavior in the past and cite contradictions.  If you can find an example of Bernadette killing someone in cold blood, or at all, please let me know...
Bern has never fought an enemy on par to her level (because she is -or more like has been- basically unbeatable) in a fight of life and death before up until bloody mary to whom she wasn't exactly gentle...
There are no references to such a situation.

Also it's not the fact that everyone stands back and does nothing, it's how they do it.
There's no sign of tension in their poses, they literally just stand around.
If there was someone with an extendable stick fumbling around -or you might as well replace that with a gun a person shoots wildly, it's ranged and so fast, you can't predict it-, what position would you take if you don't want to fight the shooter?
Would you stand upright or would move to cover with your head down or at least go into a crouched position so you can jump away if the gun points at you/make it less likely to get shot due to your lower profile?
« Last Edit: June 28, 2010, 06:13:19 am by 9_6 »

Azure Priest

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #318 on: June 28, 2010, 06:45:51 am »
I have experience with Anuran (or someone using that handle) from Keenspot. This person seemingly gets enjoyment from nit-picking the story elements or character's action(s) in any given circumstance. In one instance, a powerful archmage has mortally crippled an enemy necromancer who is AT BEST mentally unbalanced, but has consistently done actions considered evil by EVERYONE's standards (including the church of SATAN). This enemy is also guilty of nearly killing the archmage's husband and three children, as well as assisting an infernomancer breach the spell wards of the town where she teaches magic resulting in the death of several students whose souls get snatched (against their will) into her cult's "ultimate weapon" known as the "Storm of souls" and Anuran gripes that this archmage of the fifth circle stands and gloats over her defeated foe explaining in precise detail exactly how, why, and with method her long deserved death will be delivered before blasting her with specially altered healing magic so that this death is both permanent and painful. Personally speaking, I'd find it difficult NOT to gloat in such a circumstance.

As for this battle, I found the fight both realistic and in character for everyone. Everyone is not panicking (which does far more harm than good and is the USUAL response) because they all have extensive battle experience and they are standing loosely because going into a "crouched" position as Bern painfully showed allows for no dodging ability and very limited parrying ability. As for "why didn't someone run up to Escher with a stick, knife, etc.," I can tell you that who ever had done so would have gotten the full force of the "lightning stick" because Danzig maybe crazy, but he's not stupid. He knows that if Escher went down, the full force of 4 sorcerers would be focused on him. So yeah, aside from having Bern go for "the kill shot" right away (which would have been a colossal failure considering how easily Danzig was slapping her around), I really don't understand Anuran's critique.

Brion Foulke

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #319 on: June 28, 2010, 10:14:38 am »
9_6, perhaps I drew them looking too relaxed in some panel or another.  I'm not really sure.  But I'm not necessarily sure it's realistic for them to all "crouch down" or whatever... do people do that if someone is waving a gun around?  Perhaps, if it's a crazy person... but in a situation with a cold-blooded killer I think a more likely response is to freeze up and hope to not draw attention to themselves.

charles

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #320 on: June 28, 2010, 11:10:39 pm »
I guess the on-lookers did seem kind of relaxed during the whole thing, but I'm a little uncertain how they could have been made to look concerned.  Whenever Bern was blasted back and such, Most of them seemed to gasp and raise their arms as if they were about to run to assist but froze in uncertainty about risking their lives.  I don't think Moss or Fata ever did this but thats expected.

Bern didn't really waste time. She attacked straight after Danzig made it clear he wasn't going to willingly let them leave, got pounded back and then made another attack once she realised Maytag was safe.  After that she knew she couldn't get past his enchanted weapon and made an attempt with the anti-magick blade only to discover it didn't work.

Danzig played around with them a lot when he could have easily killed them all with the lightning ability, but the reason for this is obvious.  He wanted to let them try everything and convince them the situation was hopeless so he could recapture them rather than kill them all.

Glyph left to put on the gloves and activate his "scouter" then returned and dispelled Danzig's "stick" before discovering that even in a non-enchanted fight he couldn't overcome Danzig.  Then Bern stepped in and easily defeated him.

We could argue that both Bern and Glyph should have attacked Danzig together, but fighters who haven't fought together before can end up getting in each other's way and hampering each other more than they assist.  Particularly against an experienced fighter such as Danzig who could use this to his advantage.  In the end, it gave Bern a chance to see Danzig in action without the enchantments, so she could face him alone with confidence that he was no longer any match for her.

As for Escher, he was pretty much background furniture with his silence and lack of movement until Danzig lost to Bern.  Then he launched a surprise attack which caught most of them off guard. However one of the others WAS paying attention to him and stopped him in time (read: Fata).

Well. Thats book 5 done.  I guess there might be a side story or something to write before it goes to print/pre-order but I like how it ended on Crest himself realising how useless he's been most of the time compared to everyone else.  Hopefully it'll drive him in the next book to find a way that he can contribute better in the future.  Sure he's been there to advise/direct some of the others but Maytag also has that role and is usually better at it when she's available.  Heck, she came up with the human pillar theory while crest only had them as far as all attacking at once.

I'd seriously love to see him with a shield since his role as a self-sacrificing human shield for others keeps coming up.

P.S. Will Maytag get her bag of tricks back?
CLAN OF THE CATS IS MAKING A COMEBACK! JUNE 8th.  BE THERE!

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #321 on: June 29, 2010, 12:59:12 am »
Hopefully it'll drive him in the next book to find a way that he can contribute better in the future.
I too hope so, like he will become a proper kinght with sword and shield, but then he could not stay with Bern and May anymore, cause Bern specialise in two weapon or rather sword fighting, I doubt Bern could teach him a proper way of fighting in sword/shield tactic.
I wonder if our group will stay like that, Glyph and Suspiria for sure will return to their organisation, Bern and May have their own priorities(second sword and May arm), Moss and Fata don't have a reason to stay with them anymore when they will get out of this warp box, and Crest as always will just tag along with someone.
So we will have finally second sword of Bern's father story starting plus May recovering her arm next?
Also did they put Danzig with that second guy into that portal and locked them inside?
If yes then Glyph and Suspiria could just take them to Conclave and deal with them there, I miss Miss Bondage Face already ;)

charles

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #322 on: June 29, 2010, 01:30:58 am »
Bern is/was an arms instructor.  I'd say she's trained in, aware of and able to teach many different styles with many different weapons and combinations.  Although looking back at her training class in Book0 I can certainly see only swords available for use by the students.

The Split Rose is her personal perferred style that she's perfected for her own capabilities and the primary style she uses in combat, but it wouldn't surprise me if she could use another style that she's aware of, or even other weapons, with a lesser degree of finness.
CLAN OF THE CATS IS MAKING A COMEBACK! JUNE 8th.  BE THERE!

Azure Priest

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #323 on: June 29, 2010, 05:24:20 am »
Aww, poor Crest. He's seriously UNDERestimating himself. He DOES have a good head on his shoulders. If it wasn't for him, Suspira might still be in the "endless" staircase going totally nuts, and falling into a pit of despair. While Glyph is apparently a good Sorcerer / martial artist, and Bern is an adept swordsman(woman), Crest has the rogue skill set, but unlike Maytag can engage in SOME melee. If there had been some way that he could sneak around and get behind Escher or Danzig, he would have been VERY useful. Maytag would not even have had the "human pillar" strategy if not for him. It's not a lack of effort that he's missing. It's a lack of practical experience. Playing (and cheating) in poker games against a local street gang and engaging in petit theft is not exactly the same as combat experience or the adventuring he's currently engaged in.

Edit: Glyph's starting to grow on me, he's got a great sense of humor. And Bern's last line was classic. "Keep being on your best behavior and I might consider TOLERATING you."

Glyph:" Awww." Now that means, he knows how to PLAY.
« Last Edit: June 29, 2010, 05:25:57 am by Azure Priest »

anuran

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #324 on: June 29, 2010, 09:20:10 am »
Azure Priest, I'm not sure who you're talking about on the Keenspot. It's someone else.

EonKnight, name one book or comic that is realistic? The entire Rain series, anything by Steve Barnes or Steve Perry, Child of Fire, C. J. Cherryh's Paladin,  if you want a vaguely Japanese one, Paul Zimmer and his sister Marion Zimmer Bradley, Poul Anderson and Brian Azzarello to start with. It doesn't have to be photorealistic gore-porn. There can be Hong Kong wires, magic spells and fifty pound broadswords. I just find it jarring when it violates the basic emotional logic of someone fighting for her life.

Brion, I'll approach it from a different angle. These sorts of stops in the action are an easy way to keep the action going when it would come to an abrupt end.

I can certainly understand Bad Guy With a Stick acting the way he does. He thinks he's unbeatable and doesn't have to take it seriously. And since he's getting a lot of emotional satisfaction out of lording it over the frightened sheep it's in character. Beat 'em up. Gloat. Take your time and enjoy it.

What doesn't make sense is Bern. She's a professional fighter. She believes the only way she and people under her protection will survive is by stopping the Bad Guys. She's already been pretty badly banged up. It doesn't make sense that she'd get in one good shot which doesn't end the fight and then trade a little repartee, stop, strike a pose point her sword at BGWaS and wait to see what happens next.

Take an analogy near to your heart. Imagine the scene around a poker table. All the players are professionals. Some of them have WSOP bracelets. The cards are dealt. Some smile. One groans. The rest turn a little pale.

Even if it's "just" a comic book wouldn't it jar you a little?

It's not just this fight in Flipside, and it's not just you. It's endemic in the genre, a first cousin to Somewhere a Dog Barked.
« Last Edit: June 29, 2010, 09:31:54 am by anuran »

Brion Foulke

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #325 on: June 29, 2010, 09:36:18 am »
It doesn't make sense that she'd get in one good shot which doesn't end the fight

Is this actually true?


akashayi

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #326 on: June 29, 2010, 12:44:17 pm »
Doesn't end the fight? I'm surprised Danzig was so put together afterwards. He wasn't just stabbed in the shoulder, after being impaled he was sliced open down his side and  half his hand was sliced off. Something that would normally be ridiculously painful and bleeding profusely. I could see him still fighting with a knife stuck into him (or if he was korean: many, many knives stuck into him) but that was a pretty debilitating shot... hand missing and all. It wasn't merely a flesh wound. They don't have hit points. Weapons are deadly and can only take one good shot to kill someone outright. Not saying this comic is 100% realistic. But neither is an enchanted staff or a thorny tentacle stabby...thing.


Anyway. Aw, emo crest blending into the background like that. Being unnoticeable is a useful skill, it's ok. *patpat* I just want to give him a hug. Though Azure is right, he did solve that problem with Suspiria. He just needs more... courage.

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #327 on: June 29, 2010, 03:00:18 pm »
Yeah, poor Crest  :(.  Hopefully he becomes more powerful someday, and thereby becomes more confident in himself.

charles

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #328 on: June 29, 2010, 07:23:56 pm »
EonKnight, name one book or comic that is realistic? The entire Rain series, anything by Steve Barnes or Steve Perry, Child of Fire, C. J. Cherryh's Paladin,  if you want a vaguely Japanese one, Paul Zimmer and his sister Marion Zimmer Bradley, Poul Anderson and Brian Azzarello to start with. It doesn't have to be photorealistic gore-porn. There can be Hong Kong wires, magic spells and fifty pound broadswords. I just find it jarring when it violates the basic emotional logic of someone fighting for her life.
Always difficult to judge how people will react in real life.  Its like watching a boxing match and seeing a professional boxer get hit.  Your thinking to yourself "why didn't he duck/block" but just because he's a professional doesn't mean that logic and skill will show up every time.  They'll make mistakes or get caught with a moment of indecision and thats it.  You see someone burning alive in a fire.  Some people will instantly conclude they can't get them out, some will freeze with indecision and others will run in there without thinking it through and end up burning alive as well.

I can certainly understand Bad Guy With a Stick acting the way he does. He thinks he's unbeatable and doesn't have to take it seriously. And since he's getting a lot of emotional satisfaction out of lording it over the frightened sheep it's in character. Beat 'em up. Gloat. Take your time and enjoy it.
This also makes sense since he wanted to recapture them rather than kill them all. His plan was to let them try everything and arrive at the conclusion that it was impossible to get past him. Then they'd take the sleeping powder.  Unfortunately he underestimated them or overestimated his own capabilities.

What doesn't make sense is Bern. She's a professional fighter. She believes the only way she and people under her protection will survive is by stopping the Bad Guys. She's already been pretty badly banged up. It doesn't make sense that she'd get in one good shot which doesn't end the fight and then trade a little repartee, stop, strike a pose point her sword at BGWaS and wait to see what happens next.
As discussed. Bern, while a professional, is very adverse to killing.  In her first battle with Bloody Mary, she disarmed her and held her at sword point where Mary was too far away to attack her unarmed but easy enough to attack if need be. Unfortunately she discovered that Mary wasn't nearly as easy to kill.  In her second battle with Mary, she disarmed her and caused the girl to become agitated and more sloppy with her attacks.  She then went for the kill shot by trying to stab through her eyes and into her brain but discovered her skull was protected. Her next strategy was to cut off her head but then Mary pulled the fear demon out and escaped once she'd overcome her anger.

With Danzig, she put a sword through his shoulder, cut off his fingers, kicked his weapon out of his reach and held him at sword point while he dropped from his wounds.  There was no evidence that he could pose any further threat, and indeed he didn't.

One could argue that she should have immediately killed him and moved straight onto Escher, but in reality (or the fictional reality of Flipside) Bern is very adverse to killing so its understandable that she might hesitate to perform such an action or even to consider it.

Take an analogy near to your heart. Imagine the scene around a poker table. All the players are professionals. Some of them have WSOP bracelets. The cards are dealt. Some smile. One groans. The rest turn a little pale.

Even if it's "just" a comic book wouldn't it jar you a little?
Certainly unlikely but as with the boxing analogy, possible since any professional can loose their "game" for a moment.  (Heck, the pros will sometimes do this on purpose to send false signals but ignoring details like that I understand the comparison you're trying to make).

A good part of Bern's character is that she's a SERIOUSLY skilled and professional swordswoman and highly prone to protect the people she cares about, but its also obvious that she avoids killing whenever possible.  I could imagine her killing Danzig if he still had his magick weapon, but once he lost it and showed his skills on Glyph she correctly judged him (with her professional skills) as no longer a match for her and not life threatening enough to require her to go for a kill shot as opposed to disarming/disabling attacks.
CLAN OF THE CATS IS MAKING A COMEBACK! JUNE 8th.  BE THERE!

Wanderer

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Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« Reply #329 on: June 30, 2010, 02:59:27 pm »
Actually, Glyph, we already figured you were an evil jerk back when you were using your eyepiece to peak at the girls naked, so no need to worry! The potion of possession didn't change our opinion of you much at all. :P