Forum:2009-05-15 (Friday)

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Discussion for comic for 2009-05-15 (Friday) ✣ .

Ok. Deathray still missing -- probably Zola has it by now. Agatha has Gil's lightning rod. The fun-sized clank is in action, but doesn't seem able to take Merlot out immediately (though it's not clear that Merlot will be able to disable it for long, as presumably by now it's full of Dingbots). And of course it's not too late for Zeetha & Co., Von Pinn, and/or Othar to join the party. I think we're headed for a "Mexican Standoff" (apologies to any actual Mexicans reading this). Nekokami 05:05, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

Destroying the death ray, lightning rod, and dingbot-controlled FUN-MADD makes the story more interesting. Sure, it was fun to see Agatha walk down the corridor and turn every obstacle to slag, but after a while toys like that make for an overall boring story. Argadi 08:48, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

Having the characters act like absolute idiots in order to bring these problems about makes them less interesting. And makes the story less satisfying. Agatha should not lose track of her ray in hostile territory w/o a good reason. And we don't get one. I am also surprised Gil goes for the low percentage play rather than grabbing for his stick. Of course what really astonishes me is that Silas is proving to be so capable and agile a fighter. Especially against Gil given his battle training. We know that Gil can defend his father with lethal competence, that he can out fight assassins and wasteland battle clanks. He can even dispatch the Knights of Jove with lightening dispatch. His (apparent) loss to Merlot is not only disappointing but befuddling as well. He is getting used like a Riker. Alternately competent or bumbling with no consistency. Yucck. Rej Maddog 11:15, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

I agree. I hope Phoglio is going to pull a Byrne and astound us with a logical explanation for these seeming inconsistencies, but I'm not too hopeful. A friend of mine uses the term 'idiot plot' about plots that only work because supposedly intelligent and competent characters act like bumbling idiots. So far the present scene has all the hallmarks of an idiot plot. But Phil Phoglio is not in the habit of employing idiot plots (except... hmm... I'd better continue this thought in a separate post). Anyway, let's hope for the best. Rancke 13:12, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

I somewhat disagree, stupid errors happen. I've seen myself and others (friends, and public officials) make obvious errors when they should have known better. (And in this case, Agatha and Gil were having a moment and were distracted from the rest of the world by each other.) Argadi 14:42, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

I wouldn´t could Gil out yet. He´s only shot in the shoulder, and he survived being shot and subsequently beat a badass ex-Jägermonster to pulp before. -Sir Chaos 14:56, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

Tangent: only shot in the shoulder.

Let's see what makes up a shoulder. At the bottom, there's a major joint complex - the fabled rotator cuff, which can cause 50% motion disability with only slight degradation; also good for ruining baseball careers. There's also the scapula, which is the anchor-point for large portions of back and neck muscles. And the collarbone.

Then there's the fact that you have major nerve trunks for the arm running through this bottleneck location, close to the skin (relatively) because of the structure. Ditto for blood vessels - to feed the arm, they have to go somewhere, and they certainly can't feed from the hip or the ribs, therefore you have the easy possibility of massive, rapid blood loss.

Now, the nicest thing about Sparky medicine is that it might actually be able to fix the problems (clank parts, anyone?) - if there isn't the bleeding-to-death part first.

This public service announcement brought to you by The Friends of Concerned Mystery and Suspense Writers Who Have Medical References (FoCMSWWHMR) -- Corgi 18:52, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

Wait, you're saying someone can't just pull the tendons out of his arm, tie them back together, and carry on like nothing happened? BUT I SAW IT IN A MOVIE! --Tatter D 21:36, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

Well, ok, last time he was hurt he wasn't shot in the shoulder ✣ . Just right on the femoral artery ✣ . Nekokami 23:04, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

Nah nah nah - the device was over the artery, the wound was dangerously close to it. Otherwise, augmentations or not, he would have bled out before he could kick Vole in the head. That thing's like a fire hose. -- Corgi 01:07, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

Oh well, you're right of course. But for comparison, it sure looks like Tarvek has a similar shoulder wound ✣ , only his is from the back on the other side. He apparently just needed some Moveit#6 to stay on his feet (for a while, at least). Anyway, since we still haven't seen Gil since he was shot, it's quite possible he had armor on and only got bruises (and maybe a broken collar bone--annoying, but not life-threatening). Nekokami 17:01, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

OK, let's count them up: Vrin went slash across his right chest, below the pecs, that's one; some sort of backhand slice and opened up his right deltoid pretty deep, that's two; kicked him in Wound One (ouch); shot in the right leg by the Vespiary Squad, that's three (and for those invoking 'femoral artery', it was a stun bullet but still managed to break the skin pretty well); shot in the back by Lucrezia, that's four. Even with a stun bullet, that's a lotta kinetic energy to take on bare skin. I have no clue from the list above where he would have picked up 'green'. -- Corgi 04:15, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

And I don´t think the red splash in the background of that panel is blood, either - it´s far too big to be blood from anything but an immediately-or-very-shortly-fatal wound (the wound that killed Lampshade Girl didn´t have that much blood immediately). I think it is supposed to be incipient Madness Place ambiente that go short-circuited when Gil was shot. -Sir Chaos 17:15, 16 May 2009 (UTC)