• Announcements

    • Robin

      Welcome!   03/05/2016

      Welcome, everyone, to the new 910CMX Community Forums. I'm still working on getting them running, so things may change.  If you're a 910 Comic creator and need your forum recreated, let me know and I'll get on it right away.  I'll do my best to make this new place as fun as the last one!
The Old Hack

Story Wednesday July 18, 2018

Recommended Posts

Greg is back.
Offering practical and sensible tactical advice.

As for the safety net for sparing?
If this story were taking place in Los Angeles, there are plenty of studios with everything you need for controlled falling.
If this story wasn't in the middle of winter, just go out over Lake Michigan out of sight of land and spar at ten meters.  This is safe as long as you know how to dive and the lake isn't frozen.
Not too far from where I live in Florida, a high school has its own "Big Top" tent with the full range of trapeze, tight rope, catapult, and safety net equipment on site.

But in the middle of the Mid-West in the middle of winter, this is going to take some effort.
Wait, the Griffons will be returning soon,  They might have some advice about safely training to fight while flying.

As for the hare cut?  Could it be that Dan wants to make Elliot and Ellen look less alike?.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, Sky said:

I really hope he doesn't cut his hair. I think Greg is being really sexist here.

Err, how do you equate recommending a haircut with sexism?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Just now, partner555 said:

Err, how do you equate recommending a haircut with sexism?

I'm thinking it's more of a jab that Elliot's had that hair style for a while and that he's due for one.

Otherwise, if Elliot intends on learning how to fly as Cheerleadra, then getting a haircut doesn't make much sense cus Elliot could morph the hair to whatever style or length.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Sky    3
Quote

Err, how do you equate recommending a haircut with sexism?

It's a common double standard to expect men to always have short hair - and to tell them to cut it if they don't. Can you see him saying the same thing to a girl? It's pretty sexist to expect men to have short hair, but not apply that same standard to women. I say he should keep it - he looks nothing like Ellan with it long, especially with that distinctive style. He would, however, look identical to Magus if he even trimmed it back to how it was.

Quote

I'm thinking it's more of a jab that Elliot's had that hair style for a while and that he's due for one.

I'd have to reply the same one to this. Guys with longer hair always get these kinds of comments. When I was in college they were a regular occurrence.

 

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think the haircut is more a matter of practicality in combat. Unless it's up in a bun and under some sort of helmet, it becomes a handhold for someone looking to slow him down. Ironically his skintight superhero form is actually more practical, if he can tone down the breast size down to stop inertia from impeding combat - there's a reason why female fighters sometimes bind their chests, and it's not just to look like men.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Sky    3

But I don't hear anyone saying this to Grace or Ellan, and he isn't talking about Eliot's alternate female form. He's talking about Eliot's hair in general. But why is it only men have vulnerable hair in combat? You see - this is why I smell sexism.  These standards are all applied to one gender, and having long hair never seems to have been a weakness for any female hero I can think of.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 minute ago, Sky said:

But I don't hear anyone saying this to Grace or Ellan - and he isn't talking about Eliot's alternate female form. And why is it only men have vulnerable hair in combat? You see - this is why I smell sexism.  These standards are all about one gender - and having long hair never seems to have been a weakness for any female hero I can think of.

The haircut remark might have been entirely separate from the whole "fighting while flying" discussion, like it segued from combat to Elliot's hair.

If we want to talk about standards of female appearance in this situation, Greg had a lot of trouble giving advice on whether Grace should morph smaller breasts  for when fighting.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Sky    3

I agree the remark is separate, and I think it's almost certainly due to prejudices about how men 'should' look. From the joke at the end, it's pretty clear it has nothing to do with any kind of fighting style - and from the comic you linked it's clear he has no trouble at all with girls having hair waaaay longer than Eliot's in a fight. Grace's hair is almost a tripping hazard, by comparison - but he has not and probably never will criticise that.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
4 hours ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

Greg is back.
Offering practical and sensible tactical advice.

As for the safety net for sparing?
If this story were taking place in Los Angeles, there are plenty of studios with everything you need for controlled falling.
If this story wasn't in the middle of winter, just go out over Lake Michigan out of sight of land and spar at ten meters.  This is safe as long as you know how to dive and the lake isn't frozen.
Not too far from where I live in Florida, a high school has its own "Big Top" tent with the full range of trapeze, tight rope, catapult, and safety net equipment on site.

But in the middle of the Mid-West in the middle of winter, this is going to take some effort.
Wait, the Griffons will be returning soon,  They might have some advice about safely training to fight while flying.

 

The idea of using Lake Michigan as a "safety net" has bad Idea all over it.  People do get stunned in sparing.  Stunned plus fall into water from a height of even 10 meters equals drowning victim.  They are going to need a real safety net or stuntman grade pads to work out.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Sky    3

Water might be a poor idea all round. I think what they really need is a large forest. It's good for dodging training, and the floor is soft-ish. Saying that, the ideal thing to have would be a huge dome full of padding.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
4 hours ago, Sky said:

But I don't hear anyone saying this to Grace or Ellan, and he isn't talking about Eliot's alternate female form. He's talking about Eliot's hair in general. But why is it only men have vulnerable hair in combat? You see - this is why I smell sexism.  These standards are all applied to one gender, and having long hair never seems to have been a weakness for any female hero I can think of.

I have heard the "long hair is a liability in combat" advice applied to women before. (Or at least I've seen cases where a female fighter has short hair and gives that as the reason why.)

But you're right that the fact that Greg hasn't given that advice to any of his long-haired female students (as far as we've seen) does imply a bit of sexism.

2 hours ago, Sky said:

Water might be a poor idea all round. I think what they really need is a large forest. It's good for dodging training, and the floor is soft-ish. Saying that, the ideal thing to have would be a huge dome full of padding.

The forest floor has sticks and logs (possibly including hard and pointy ones) and rocks.

What they really should use is a giant bowl of pudding. ...What? :danshiftyeyes:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Doesn't long hair on females have anime plot armor? And sometimes on males as well?

(Problem is: this comic isn't an anime, and while Elliot/Ellen/Grace/Nanase would fight anime style their opponents may not.)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Perhaps Greg is not simply suggesting a haircut for shorter hair as much as suggesting a haircut for more stylish hair?  Eh, eh, anyone?

As for a place to train, surely DGB has a place that would fit the bill (it would seem that at some time in the past they might have faced off against flying foes) and Arthur might be prevailed upon to let them use it.  Perhaps they even have something like a VR system that would still allow for body training.  And honestly, how had Greg not been approached to come on board as a trainer or something.

Barring that and barring someone providing a gymnasium loaded with inflatable stunt bags, perhaps if Sara practices enough, she can awaken and get a new spell that will allow her to bring friends into her VR world, which she could spar-proof against falling damage.

Oh, speaking of Sara and her using her spell, I guess sometime soon we will see Adrian get together with her to figure out how to disarm the Power Dam?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Disarming the power dam is easy - just do anything that used lots of magical energy, and do it frequently. (This will also help her increase your own natural power and get more spells.)

Removing it... I doubt that Sarah can help with that, other than with the disarming. Unless she gets an ability to perceive magical structures. It'll be Adrian's job.

Note: A dam can be designed in such a way that, deliberately, it depends on the force it's damming for its own stability. Temporarily remove whatever it's damming up, and it naturally collapses and ceases to be a functional dam; return the force and it will move relatively-freely past the dam site. Pandora might have done this, and simply needs Adrian to remove the debris which is a minor impediment to the natural flow... but I doubt that this is what she did.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
49 minutes ago, Tuscahoma said:

Barring that and barring someone providing a gymnasium loaded with inflatable stunt bags, perhaps if Sara practices enough, she can awaken and get a new spell that will allow her to bring friends into her VR world, which she could spar-proof against falling damage.

Except that (I believe) part of the purpose of sparring is to train muscle memory. As Sarah's spell takes place entirely in her head, it's questionable whether that would be helpful for training the muscles.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Just now, ChronosCat said:

What they really should use is a giant bowl of pudding. ...What? :danshiftyeyes:

Have Rhoda shrink them down and then have them spar over a thickly frosted cake.

 

 

I might still be a little salty over no one voting for Catalina/Rhoda cupcake pinup the several times I suggested it a while back.... ;)

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
17 minutes ago, Scotty said:

Have Rhoda shrink them down and then have them spar over a thickly frosted cake.

Ooh, that's perfect! Soft, tasty, and no chance of drowning!

18 minutes ago, Scotty said:

I might still be a little salty over no one voting for Catalina/Rhoda cupcake pinup the several times I suggested it a while back.... ;)
 

Hey, I voted for it! I even suggested it a few times myself when you didn't get around to it. :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Elliot: "Where I find someone who can fly?"

Greg: "Grace and Nanase"

Elliot: "Oh. Didn't noticed that."

:)

14 hours ago, Stature said:

He is not aerodynamic enough? He is in the Witness Protection Program?

His hairstyle is less style and more "forgot to get a haircut since beginning of comics"?

14 hours ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

If this story wasn't in the middle of winter, just go out over Lake Michigan out of sight of land and spar at ten meters.  This is safe as long as you know how to dive and the lake isn't frozen.
Not too far from where I live in Florida, a high school has its own "Big Top" tent with the full range of trapeze, tight rope, catapult, and safety net equipment on site.

But in the middle of the Mid-West in the middle of winter, this is going to take some effort.

What about finding some big heap of snow? Falling into snow is usually safer than falling to water ...

10 hours ago, Scotty said:

Otherwise, if Elliot intends on learning how to fly as Cheerleadra, then getting a haircut doesn't make much sense cus Elliot could morph the hair to whatever style or length.

... it would be pretty hard for him to fly otherwise :)

10 hours ago, wanderingmagus said:

I think the haircut is more a matter of practicality in combat. Unless it's up in a bun and under some sort of helmet, it becomes a handhold for someone looking to slow him down. Ironically his skintight superhero form is actually more practical, if he can tone down the breast size down to stop inertia from impeding combat - there's a reason why female fighters sometimes bind their chests, and it's not just to look like men.

Remember that cheerleadra is combat superhero form. Her breast might behave differently than normal breasts, possibly even in way which would be physically impossible ... and while I don't remember details, I think there were some female superheroes with abilities which made grabbing them by hair bad idea.

5 hours ago, Don Edwards said:

(Problem is: this comic isn't an anime, and while Elliot/Ellen/Grace/Nanase would fight anime style their opponents may not.)

Doesn't matter. Elliot, Ellen and Nanase are using anime style which is actually form of magic. Besides illusions and higher strength, there can be all sort of magic abilities they could subconsciously use.

10 hours ago, Scotty said:

If we want to talk about standards of female appearance in this situation, Greg had a lot of trouble giving advice on whether Grace should morph smaller breasts  for when fighting.

10 hours ago, Sky said:

Grace's hair is almost a tripping hazard, by comparison - but he has not and probably never will criticise that.

It IS possible Greg never noticed Grace's hair. :)

5 hours ago, Tuscahoma said:

As for a place to train, surely DGB has a place that would fit the bill (it would seem that at some time in the past they might have faced off against flying foes) and Arthur might be prevailed upon to let them use it.  Perhaps they even have something like a VR system that would still allow for body training.  And honestly, how had Greg not been approached to come on board as a trainer or something.

Yes, I would expect DGB does have some training facility, but I find realistic noone in main eight would think about asking.

And I totally expect Greg WILL be asked to train DGB agents when they start adapting to new post-not-a-reset-reality by recruiting more agents.

5 hours ago, Tuscahoma said:

Oh, speaking of Sara and her using her spell, I guess sometime soon we will see Adrian get together with her to figure out how to disarm the Power Dam?

Adrian doesn't require Sarah for anything. However, I wonder if/when he gets together enough to remember that he needs to do it.

4 hours ago, ChronosCat said:
5 hours ago, Tuscahoma said:

Barring that and barring someone providing a gymnasium loaded with inflatable stunt bags, perhaps if Sara practices enough, she can awaken and get a new spell that will allow her to bring friends into her VR world, which she could spar-proof against falling damage.

Except that (I believe) part of the purpose of sparring is to train muscle memory. As Sarah's spell takes place entirely in her head, it's questionable whether that would be helpful for training the muscles.

Also, I don't believe Sarah can get spell which would allow her to bring someone with her anytime soon. Also, what she really need is some simpler spell she can cast without help of ambient magic.

3 hours ago, Scotty said:
6 hours ago, ChronosCat said:

What they really should use is a giant bowl of pudding. ...What? :danshiftyeyes:

Have Rhoda shrink them down and then have them spar over a thickly frosted cake.

... actually, shrinking them down could be enough. The way shrinking works in EGS, they probably wouldn't need to worry about injury even falling on wood floor. But I totally support the additional idea of using cake.

Of course, the main problem with this is that they don't KNOW that Rhoda can shrink them down. Not Greg, not Elliot, not Gra- ... actually, Grace has suspicion. Still, little awkward approaching Rhoda and asking her for help ...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

The way shrinking works in EGS, they probably wouldn't need to worry about injury even falling on wood floor.

Yeah, being shrunk makes you more durable. At least being 1/7th size and falling 5 feet would likely still feel like you fell 5 feet normal sized, you might be bruised but shouldn't have to worry about life threatening injuries.

6 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

Of course, the main problem with this is that they don't KNOW that Rhoda can shrink them down. Not Greg, not Elliot, not Gra- ... actually, Grace has suspicion. Still, little awkward approaching Rhoda and asking her for help ...

Rhoda and Catalina have their suspicions about Elliot though, so them all getting together to discuss things is just a matter of time really. Also gives Tedd a reason to learn how to shrink people to 1/7th size.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
5 minutes ago, Scotty said:
16 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

The way shrinking works in EGS, they probably wouldn't need to worry about injury even falling on wood floor.

Yeah, being shrunk makes you more durable. At least being 1/7th size and falling 5 feet would likely still feel like you fell 5 feet normal sized, you might be bruised but shouldn't have to worry about life threatening injuries.

Might be even safer than falling 5 feet normal sized.

8 minutes ago, Scotty said:
19 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

Of course, the main problem with this is that they don't KNOW that Rhoda can shrink them down. Not Greg, not Elliot, not Gra- ... actually, Grace has suspicion. Still, little awkward approaching Rhoda and asking her for help ...

Rhoda and Catalina have their suspicions about Elliot though, so them all getting together to discuss things is just a matter of time really.

I seriously hope so, but it feels like they will for some reason keep postponing it quite long, just as Elliot was waiting till now to actually start training flying fighting - oh wait he still didn't actually started.

10 minutes ago, Scotty said:

Also gives Tedd a reason to learn how to shrink people to 1/7th size.

"Reason"? Don't you mean "opportunity"?

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now