Comic for Thursday, March 2nd
Mar02
To be honest I wasn’t sure if I was going to make this page, or cut/combine this with something else. Ultimately the decision was made by it being an easy page to draw and me not having a lot of time to draw this week – sorry if it’s a little rough. Hopefully will have more time over the weekend, as my last weekend/early this week was eaten by a vicious temporal monster (known as a “client go live” at work…).
It’s maybe not as entirely filler/bonus page material as it may seem though, I guess 😉
Anyway, speaking of not much time… g’night. Or g’morning by the time most of you see this? Unless it’s back to g’night? Good afternoon? Good-Time-You-Read-This? Good [INSERT APPROPRIATE PLEASANTRY CONTEXT HERE].
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😐
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I do love this page however it troubles me. Where the heck are they? Casa Devious was blown up so it isn’t there, I guess it could be Miko’s place but it seems to be laid out in a rather conventional way meaning having the potential to seat mulpitle people in a social situation. Which is why I am dubious about it being Miko’s.
What really intrigues me is why an android -needs- oxygen. We know that Ila needs it because, a while back, Mium explained that the lack of oxygen caused Ila to temporarily shut down.
Androids that require oxygen reminds me of the Koukaku no Pandora anime. It was never really explained in that series, but the maid android had a cat-like personality and cat ears that were extremely sensitive. Combined with the fact that it required oxygen seemed to imply that the scientist that created her literally used a cat brain and made a cat / robot hybrid. Granted, this sounds weird. But that’s Japanese animation for you. And there’s another anime were this was quite literally done. (I don’t remember the name. But the family cat gets run over and a boy is distraught over this. Then the mad scientist father…)
Could it be that Dr. Mir made F-10 as an android/organic hybrid? Maybe not human brain tissue, but an animal? Or, perhaps, something synthetic? It would explain how Dr. Mir got around the Edos issue.
I’m also reminded of the Datachasers webcomic because it has androids with a brain that is part quantum computer and part organic. They’re not human, but the line between man and machine is blurred.
The 2nd anime you mention is All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku
(the original is really good, but old, the reboot is blah.)
I think it is likely that the prototypes are somewhat organic. We know that Mium at least is definitely not entirely under skin deep, but we know also know they can bleed.
After Rovak repaired Ila via magic, he was able to tell that she was definitely an artificial person – so she is definitely not fully human, but he was also able to repair/heal her, presumably using a technique for humans (as he has several times implied he can fix people that get injured).
My current guess is that her brain is not organic, but in the process of getting the mental pattern of a human to “take” to the prototype brain, they more or less had to model the prototype brain to be identical.
The comic tends to lean closer to soft sci-fi than fantasy and unless I miss my guess the whole concept of a blurry line between human and not human is going to come up at some point (considering we have humans, designer children, modified humans, artificial humans, prototypes, warmages, SMAI…)
I found the first panel odd, as I questioned why an android would yawn. Then I remembered that Ila requires an oxygen atmosphere to breathe. So, I thought that, since yawning means the body is not getting enough oxygen…
Then I Googled it. And I learned that the O2 thing was just a myth. The only theory that holds any water is that it funnels air into the sinuses and over the brain. Some scientists think it may be… a cooling system for the brain?
Maybe Dr. Mir (or one of the scientists) just wanted to make her more human-like? Or, maybe they also wanted to provide a bit of extra cooling to the CPU as it switches from sleep mode to alert mode?
If that is why people yawn, why do I yawn every time I read the first panel of this page?? I think yawning is a bit more complex, because I know a lot of people for who yawning is contagious. My guess would be it is part of the “human template” that Ila seems to have. Basically any behavior a human has, Ila has some form of it. Occasionally rather oddly expressed due to living in a lab her whole life, but considering that she is actually remarkably normal.
I would further speculate that she is quite so normal after being unhooked from the lab systems because the she is probably based on the template of a normal human of like 12-20 years old range, so increasingly that is what she is reverting to (just my theory from watching her evolve).
I’m not saying that the sinus / brain cooling theory was a great one. But it seems to be the only one that hasn’t been debunked.
Sure, yawing is probably more complicated. And it is odd how it is contagious.
Yeah, I was just noting that the reason Ila yawns is less likely any psyological reason behind yawning and more that it is probably (or at least possibly) part of her mental pattern.
I think you mean physiological, though I’m the last person on earth to correct spelling errors. 😛
The Far Side of… DnD? Can the valiant Red Dragon Wizard and her Stalwart Companions defeat an evil so pervasive that it seems to be the Game itself?
Patreon(Free) Version -> HERE
Vote Incentive Version -> HERE
So… can you guess all their classes? Think that’s about right? 😛
From left to right: Paladin, Monk, Wizard, Ranger, and Rogue.
Initially, I would have put Naomi as a barbarian, but monk works too. Kally strikes me as more of a Sorcerer than a Wizard, based on what we’ve seen to date. I’m not sure Ila is perfect either, although I don’t think there’s a core class that fits better.
In that picture, Ila actually looks like someone’s younger sibling who was de facto included because they were around, and played a ranger because of Ranger’s Apprentice…
Party composition evaluation: somewhat lacking in healing, so I presume they make up for that via healing items exploited by UMD (and top off with Lay On Hands).
Non-core (3.5), I think I’d go with Knight, Duskblade/Monk, some obscure Sorcerer prestige class (although Dragon Shaman is tempting), Warlock, and Factotum. Peter’d be a Beguiler NPC who is a pseudo-ally who manipulates the party, and Miko would be the NPC artificer who supplies the party (both of whom occasionally get involved in adventuring with the party).
Alternatively, Peter would be the one to work out the Omnicifier, and is currently working on executing it, much to DM Arron’s dismay…
… Can you tell I’m a huge DnD (3.5) nerd?
To be honest I’ve only recently started playing DnD, so I only know 5e. As that’s what my friends play, that’s probably what I’ll stick to learning. I’m having a lot of fun learning it, but the learning curve is steep for DMing a game! It’s a lot of fun though!
I never prepare enough (as the little bastards jump off the rails as soon as they can, the modules have only been a good starting point…), so there is always some encounter building and world building on the fly, but I haven’t horrible mangled anything (including the party) too badly yet… come close a few times.
Isn’t PHB II considered core?
I can see Paladin for Tyler. Would not have been my first thought, but I guess it has more to do with alignment than ability. I would second barbarian for Naomi though. Sure, she punches things, but if it is going from the characters that they would play rather than their abilities (i.e. Tyler = Paladin), I can only image her starting every encounter with “I would like to rage”.
Rogue for Mium is an interesting one. It fits though. He prefers to sneak attack and one shot if he can, and he is definitely something of a skill monkey.
Arguably, at the sensory level, monk provides the more visceral experience – weapons are too much distancing from the enemy, less fun. Also, “hit fast but hard, and dodge fast” seems more Naomi’s fighting style than “swing giant axe, tank hits” or anything like that.
I think the other option for Mium would have been Wizard, had Kally not already stolen that role (although, like I said, I think she would be better categorized as a sorcerer based on her knowledge to date). That said, rogue is a pretty close second, and better in some regards (e.g., Mium’s lack of actual spellcasting, although on the other hand sufficiently advanced technology yadda yadda yadda).
….I’m not sure whether to take notes, or die laughing…..and it’s a little hard to doboth at the same time….
Have I ever mentioned how much I love pretty much all of these pages? ^.^
If those are the only options, I guess taking notes. We can’t have you dying on us 🙁
You have, and it makes me happy that people do like to read comic. 😀 I can’t always claim to understand, but I do appreciate it.
Huh apparently becoming part of the Mium hive mind includes turning your hair blue.
Also Mium and Ila acting as brother and sister here made me laugh.
We already know his hair is pure white, just dyed.
Yeah, but it looks like F5 has dyed his hair blue already. I assume this is F5 because the other one was wearing the scarf.
It makes me wonder if we haven’t already seen more than one prototype. F6 and F7 are missing. While we know that MYM took F8 after the fact, it is quite possible he was initially had a prototype before then.
Dyeing his hair is I meant, just didn’t phrase it well so thanks for the correction. (Though I wonder, he was shown regenerating damage, could he just regenerate his hair a different color or something?) I also wonder how easy it is to distinguish Mium’s bodies apart, now that they both have blue hair.
Is it just me or is there something on the back of Mium’s neck in panel 4?
(And I do wonder about the significance of the scarf)
Telling F5 and F8 apart would be pretty hard for casual observer. F5 is slightly paler than F8, and their hair cuts are not quite identical, but their general appearance is very similar; somewhat akin to identical twins.
I figured I’d toss that one out there because sometimes it can be hard to tell intentional similarities and less intentional ones 😉
As for regenerating the hair’s colour I believe that is in fact so not possible for him to do so that having to regenerate his hair is why F8’s hair was becoming more white after his second fight with Ila.
The hairdye is how he maintains plausible deniability as a designer child rather than what he really is.
Because You Gotta Have Blue Hair.
Duh. 😛
I think I’ve mentioned before that the earliest versions of the comic didn’t feature the rainbow hair colors, but they came along with concept of designer children. It seemed to fit pretty well with a lot of the themes they brought… and it helps tell the characters apart, especially in the earlier days 😛
“It’s shameless, how they [sic.] flirt.” ^^
I… am… confused…. I feel like there is a reference. I feel like the reference is several feet over my head. I hear vague wooshing noises… :O
The correct quote is “It’s shameless, how we flirt.” And is a reference to much beloved comic Calvin and Hobbes. Calvin says it of his neighbor, Susie Derkins, after a spate of mutual verbal jabs.
THAT’S what it is. I knew I recognized it, but couldn’t place it. (I thought it might be one of the random quote-references in the hover-text from another comic [Cassiopeia Quinn] or something, which at that time I hadn’t known the source of.)
Ah… yeah, I know that page. I was confused in part because that’s the opposite of how I’m used to [sic] being used; I think I’m used to seeing in the context of marking a mistake in the quote to be faithful to the quote, and I couldn’t find what the spelling / grammar error was, so I started down the wrong path to start with 😛
Calorie-to-complaining conversion device is glorious. I’m going to find a way to use it in real life. Thank you so much for that.
Haha, feel free, though… results of application not guaranteed, user caution advised 😛
I wanted to steer somewhat clear of leaning heavily on the alliterative insults that Miko and Peter favor, but I figured one partial one wouldn’t break the bank… they are bad influences on him after all 😉
From my point of view, this is one of the most important pages you have done, sans main characters.
These two’s character and communication algorithms are important in the compiling of the story.
Yes, there is the how of the plot, but there is also the why of the plot. The first makes a story, the second makes a good story. And if we have feels for the why of the story, that makes it a really really good story.
Well, as I’ve noted before I enjoy writing in the world with the characters, and that’s what I naturally tend to drift to. I then have to negotiate with myself on how relevant to moving along the story is it is 😛
The problem is I would just sort of get sidetracked into a literally never ending story left to my own devices 😛
Still, Mium and Ila are woefully underdeveloped for how long they’ve been around, so I figured they could have a page, and it does it’s job on conveying a few details even if the information density is not super high compared to some other pages 😉