#i v v v much hope this is okay? dunno - both in terms of Action & Content erhm

[mifhortunach]

@thaliatimsh​ - im so sorry!!!! a vague ‘riffing off of (tm)’ what i was saying? (trying to say) last night  - but Mostly// word splurge everywhere :/ - unsure if theres either a/t Clear or!! tbfh a/t of worth here, but yk :T :S !

thaliatimsh said: I thiNK you are RIGHT re: distance n i wonder. … why. Considering distance in gibson bein murdererererd scene… tins of mystery… (like a week previous MAX). I wonder. Why. Im not very good at bein clear anyway im. Fffff.

=> fgksdhfg, idk if youve had the same thought w this as i have, or mabs,, its lead to/from the same thought but like. Hickey’s plan was always probs gonna end/hinge a lil on cannibalism? [‘Lads Gotta Eat! People Made O’ Meat!’; Hickey’s Personal Sledge Hauling Song, 1847.] Ofc they all already know tht the cans are making them Weak & WEird™ .

so im Not getting confused!!! Just #FAx: at some point theyre gonna run out of food With Them, so Options~: 1) take tins proffered by crozier, 2) somehow they manage to find game! 3) boys were made for eating

So assuming tht no ones gonna keel over anytime soon, theyre deffo gonna have to kill /Someone/

Once gibson ‘runs out’ [[ :(( ]], they gotta go back to tins, or they gotta get another Body p much. ppl who CAnt be ate!: Hickey (ofc), Diggle (For Now/, until Armitage gets his HACCP qualifications), Goodsir (butchers are hard to train up, lads might get queezy chopping up their M8s)

Gkdsfhgk, distance as a food preparation method, a book by cornelius (EC) hickey !! - is what im TRYINBG to get to as my point !!! jfc, idek

but idk if thats rly necessarily a v strong (or tbf, Accurate) Take yk? i gotta think it over, & leave this pot boiling someplace else temporarily or smth

=====================

[[i think,, what i meant w/ Deliberateness, as much as i like. ½ tried to articulate it there last night (& now having read over a lil of tht, have v little clue WHat Exactly i was trying to be saying there tbfh), is that Of Fckn Course// hickey is deliberately setting him Apart “DELIBERATE isolation of hodgson during that scene (plate, cutlery, separate space, different /meat/)” like u said!! But i think up Til tht point, its one of those weird cases where its not being Enforced~ as such? [tht might just be my own reading tho? Which are.. while Not ~Notoriously Off-Base? But often taking the ‘’wrong part’’ of a thing as the important element, or just straight up Confused, rip lmao]

Like /Like/. The Hodgester™ has just turned up into a place already filled w dudes who are all a lil asshole-ish & starving! - & enough of them are running from a hierarchy issue, rather than a deep abiding love for EC, i suppose? Uhm - && they all wanna Be There (for want of a better descrip/). So, i was ½ at it thinking(?) abt if it was mayhaps (originally) one of those things where u accidentally(?) isolate yrself from the rest of the group bc u dont wanna bother/intrude/dont feel welcome [The Sk00l Feelingz] & thru that slight gap you end up falling thru the cracks as twere & /Actually/ becoming Set Apart. 

&& like. Idk, on #mutineers side; hes just turned up! Hes Hierarchy!! & yk still,,, Officers/Men Divide~ the line drawn in the 6ft X 4ft ice-cave separating the messdeck & the wardroom ! which despite no longer /Rly/ being in place now, or honestly nearly as much as gone post-walkOut, has gotta be subconsciously embedded ? dunno [tbfh, im word vomiting rly Badly// now - i think u were & Are!! Right abt it, & yr fic Felt Right// abt it!! Which means it may as well be True & Canon & Real, etc: Often Always thinking abt the different ways of saying lieutenant, oof :( ] ]]

maybe what i mean is like; I'm Not Sure! (personally :S ) if it started out Accidentally, Deliberate Banal, or Deliberate Malicious, yk??

&& Whether its been a gradual progression, or happened much more Starkly when they decided to captainnap crozier, or spatchcock chicken gibson & other stuff? dunno

((i gotta [REally Gotta//] rewatch the last couple of eps, so i get the planning/timing etc right in my head? bc idr if the plan to marry tuunbaq was ‘hatched’ pre or post captainnapping, or if they were related At All -> do feel like the hermitage i mentioned going on has gotta be extended just so tht i can think things into #clarity, as well as actually watch the show again before making up shit, lmao)) 

--- thinking abt: 

possibly hodgester’s confession & inability to kill hickey in contrast w fitzy’s confession & offering up of his body? but idk what that IS or MEANS, or if its even THERE [yr talk of him as,, ‘the average mans james fitzjames’ is,, im Lov,, Truly Banger & Deeply Upsetting :( ]

smth poss to be said abt how Much// of what george says/dialogue is abt food & his big monologue is abt cannibalism & transubstantiation yk? Idk [hodgester, location: North Artic Circle, likes: etymology, religious guilt, languages, musical instruments, food & learning abt how its prepared :(( ] other than, yk, Mood, Big Same There Lads

===

To Conclude, yr 100000% right, Magnus Manson Good Boy, Packed The Plates & Forks

[comicteaparty]

April 11th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on April 11th, 2019, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on Kitty Kitty Bang Bang by Moe.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing Kitty Kitty Bang Bang by Moe~! (https://tapas.io/series/kkbbcomic)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

Superjustinbros

Hello!

RebelVampire

hey super~!

Superjustinbros

Coming in and I'd like to give a big shoutout to that header image on the comic's Tapas(edited)

I dunno, I thought it looked badass

RebelVampire

it is a nice header image. although what sells it for me is the logo design. its a really nice logo.

for favorite scene, hmm. ya know, i cant not pick it. the convention scene. that scene legit almost made me cry at how touching it is both with its message about how anyone can cosplay whatever they want regardless of how they look. not to mention the themes of reaching out to others. all wrapped in a nice package of no dialogue so that its the emotions at the center forefront.

Superjustinbros

Yeah.

Also this guy's hair.

RebelVampire

i like his hair and his smile combination. like both scream cocky little shit design wise and i love it cause he kind of is a cocky little shit. XD

Superjustinbros

Oh yes XD

Cocky little shits are my favorite

RebelVampire

another scene i want to show some appreciation too is the scene where we first meet kit's mom. like, i knew it was coming from the chapter title. but i enjoyed the twist it was her step-mom and theres a deeper issue going on. it turned what was easy to guess to something surprising again just by how the story plays out the reveal

Superjustinbros

https://tapas.io/episode/1370747 This is a pretty good page.

Hm, Doug McClure sounds a awful lot like this chap. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUg6e072vgA

RebelVampire

anything in particular you like about it super?

Superjustinbros

The last two panels.

And the followup

https://tapas.io/episode/1371714

dat backside

RebelVampire

i really love the back shot composition. like what a great way to show overwhelming odds

mathtans

Evening. Made it as far as the start of the Bully arc, so late 2018.

Superjustinbros

Yeah. Also ello

I love also how Doug's got like, a million pouches on his belt

I dunno it's a detial I like

mathtans

Yeah, the convention stuff was good. Some of those real-life scenarios that made you want to shake people are good when done right.

Superjustinbros

Yes

mathtans

I'm not sure if I have a big favourite moment, but I have some little ones. Like when that "pinball wizard" thing played as Kit was taking on that nozzle in the gaming store, and it turned out it was the coworker.

The guy at the school in the knight suit, who had the fascination with corndogs. Weird background detail, added some humour to an otherwise tense scene.

RebelVampire

i love the corndog knight

i want a spin-off comic of just them

cause i want to know about them

why are they a knight

why corndogs

so many questions

mathtans

Heh. Made me think of that other bounty hunter, pointy-ears, who also couldn't speak.

Also, did not expect the female reveal there.

And I liked how the scientist flipped out over his research having the higher bounty than himself. Like, that trumped everything else he was in the process of dealing with and he went on a rampage. Amusing.

RebelVampire

yeah the scientists in general was fairly hilarious in everything he tried to prioritize. although i enjoyed that at the end of the mission the crystal wound of broken anyway. cause i felt it was fitting given everything it had been through

mathtans

I thought it was really clever how the rock was used to blind the scientist. Kitty is this weird mix of hyper competent (like when she used the snack habits of that one guy to track him down) and absent-minded (like when she then didn't make a grab for the compound).

I'm not saying that's unrealistic or anything, I can totally see it.

Very "living in the moment" with a dash of forward thinking.

RebelVampire

nah i agree shes a really interesting character. like at first i wasnt sure id like her but some of her plans have been pretty spot. and to be fair a lot of the absent-minded ness you could write off as it her being a kid. so of course shes expected to be a kid and not always think through with her actions.

a more comedic moment i liked was at the end of Mor where Kit and Mary both have to stand there awkwardly making their false apologies to the whole school. this page especially cracks me up just cause of the sheer height diff between the two. i think that makes it extra hilarious https://tapas.io/episode/1215017

mathtans

It's true. And I'm still wrapping my head around the kid thing.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 2. One of the comic’s focuses and highlights are the action sequences found within. Of the characters Kit has pursued so far in her bounties, which has been your favorite? Why is that? Likewise, which bounty did you think had the best fight choreography? What do you specifically think makes the choreography the best one? Do you think we’ll see any of the criminal characters again? If so, what could that mean for Kit? Considering many of the villains parody stereotypes and similar things, what other sorts of characters do you think or hope we might see? Lastly, do you believe Kit will encounter more of her professional rivals? If so, what do you think will happen?

its okay i had my struggles wrapping my head around but the convention scene really cemented it for me for some reason. but that might just be personal association of conventions being largely for the youth.

mathtans

Incidentally, I wondered initially about the use of "der"... and then when Kitty used the term "Hoser" I thought she was Canadian. That proved incorrect, what with the Norwegian thing.

Ahh... yeah, I went to a certain convention for 20 years straight soooo...

Like, I want to ship, but it feels wrong. Normally if they're young I just think of it as cute, or picture them as older, and neither of those things kinda work here.

I wonder how big Kitty's gonna get when she's 20.

RebelVampire

i didnt start going to conventions till i was an adult but at the same time my experiences is that theyre largely dominated by the youth. not to say there arent older adults there. but the youth are the ones always around drawing attention to themselves being loud. but i digress, just wanted to give context for why it worked for me

mathtans

That's fair.

RebelVampire

tbh i just assumed she was full grown. cause i was actually only an inch or two shorter than my full height at 13 cause i sprouted up early

mathtans

As to the question of the moment, I admit I'm not huge on seeing action and choreography, tending to be bigger on characters anyway. Which is probably why that scientist one sticks out so much, since we got his whole backstory and everything.

I am gonna be in for such a shock when my little one grows up, aren't I.

That short gangster guy who stole the boat might return. It was implied.

RebelVampire

and i legit cant imagine kit taller cause she literally towers over everyone. although is she still shorter than her dad? cause if she is, shell probably be his height.

mathtans

I think she is. I'm equally bad at noticing that sort of thing.

RebelVampire

id have to look again just cause it wasnt something i was looking for and her dad was only in so many scenes XD

im torn on my answer to this question of the moment. i think i agree i like the scientist the best cause he got a lot of backstory. not to mention when kit was doing their dialogue for them from the roof i was like "nah shes gotta be exaggerating" then we meet the scientist and nope, he really is just that arrogant and she was spot on. so overally he was definitely the most entertaining

but for fight choreography, im picking the first bounty with the spin off kool aid man. i really enjoyed the use of the environment and just the sheer level of destruction that was visited upon that grocery store

mathtans

She knows her business. I wonder how long she's been at it.

Oh yeah, almost forgot about that one. I liked when Kitty roped the random customer.

RebelVampire

i liked when after the fight ended, the old lady asked if the employee who was buried under rubble basically could get her a new box

MoeAlmighty

And that was most difficult one to come up with

mathtans

The one with the orcs going after cows was also good, not for the fight (which I think was offscreen) but world building. Until then it was sort of, like, what's reality here anyway.

Oh, hello creator.

MoeAlmighty

Hello there all ^^\

mathtans

Rebel: That was a good scene for setting the tone.

Superjustinbros

Hello Moe!

MoeAlmighty

Thank you. It's always a challenge to come up with a beginning for a series.

Superjustinbros

Thanks for this cool comic of yours.

MoeAlmighty

Howdey

Thanks

Superjustinbros

No probs

And yeah all this talk about conventions is reminding me of all the ones I've been going to lately. Comic focused ones and hugely commercial conventions are easily the most populated-by-youth ones.

mathtans

"Annie" con was a clever name.

MoeAlmighty

It was a little play on words. I always like to make those little puns when I can(edited)

RebelVampire

i did enjoy the orcs with the cows. probably just cause of the extreme accent going on in that dialogue. but i also just love this concept that someone would think clearly humans are only good cause they drink milk. like someone really watched those got milk commercials too much.

mathtans

I very much approve of puns. Also Senshi Kitty.

The head orc was milking his time in the spotlight.

Superjustinbros

Puns are always good

RebelVampire

i do agree with you math that i got the impression well see the gangster who got away from the scientist again at some point. what it means for kit? i could see her being extra determined to catch him since he got away last time. but then maybe thats when well see buff elf chick again who is out for revenge.

MoeAlmighty

Defintely. Orcs have always been my favorite fantasy race to play around with

mathtans

biab

RebelVampire

i do appreciate orcs getting some love in a way cause in my experience theyre really underutilized in a lot of fantasy settings. can find elves everywhere, but nobody wants the orcs.

MoeAlmighty

Well nothing is off the table.^^

Orcs have always been treated as the bad guy or the henchman merely due to their monsterous appearence.

RebelVampire

speaking of not elves, i really like that this guy turned out to be the real villain from bully bully https://tapas.io/episode/1348464. partly cause it was a good twist that it was a bully victim becoming the bully. since that is very true to life. but also, selfishly, i noticed this character immediately in the background one time and i was like "ah man what an interesting looking side chara too bad well never learn about him" and then we learned about him.

QUESTION 3. Even in Kit’s dynamic world, she still has some unique mysteries surrounding her. Why do you think Kit is the only female in her family to receive Freyja’s blessing/curse, especially after it’s been so long it’s almost a myth? What do you think the story is behind Kit’s rage modes that seem to take over when she gets mad? What do you think happened to Kit’s mother, and why is Kit so sensitive about the subject of her mother in general? Additionally, why did Mary calling her mother a whore set her off in particular? Lastly, how do you think Kit got involved with being a Bounty Killer? Why do you think her family lets her pursue the career given how dangerous it all is?

MoeAlmighty

Oh yeah the Goblin. I thought it was a perfect opprotunity to not just introduce the Goblins , but I was also playing around with laying out clues in plain site for the reader to notice.

Superjustinbros

That's smart thinking/writing

MoeAlmighty

There are plans for future stories that are straight up mysteries Kit will have to sovle.

RebelVampire

that sounds exciting and like a good challenge for her character too.

in regards to the current question, i want to dissect the fact that kit's specific phrasing about her mother was that mary hadnt even cared who her mother was as a person. and to a degree, i kind of feel like it was projecting that set her off. that kit herself didnt know a whole lot about her mother. so it might not be so much that her mom was called a whore that did it, but that someone would make a bold claim about her mother when kit herself didnt even know her that well and has since lost the chance to get ot know her. but thats just me theorizing.

mathtans

Back, little one's asleep in the crib again. For now.

MoeAlmighty

Mm hm, It would show that Bounty Killers in the world aren't used for just nabbing a bad guy with a hefty sum on their head. Sometimes folks need someone to investigate with the police's involvement and not ask any questions

mathtans

Was Kitty maybe given up for adoption? (Is that what makes her worthy of the cat ears?)

The police were handy against the scientist too, for a little while.

Superjustinbros

That's a good way of expanding upon bounty hunters.

RebelVampire

i dont think given up for adoption fits cause mor said shes the step mom which implies kit's father is her biological dad. that and there is one pic where the dad is with the mom

mathtans

Oh, right. We did see her biological mom in that holiday special though, didn't we? And Kitty must remember enough to have taken up violin playing (on the roof). So... yeah I dunno.

RebelVampire

thats interesting to know that the bounties arent just for nabbing bad guys. although makes me wonder what kit is going to do when shes told to do something shady and just not ask questions

mathtans

Or was that not the biological mom, was that a younger Dar?

I can't see Kit not asking questions.

RebelVampire

that was her step-mom. her bio mom we only see briefly in a pic

https://tapas.io/episode/1279607

mathtans

I wasn't sure if it was her dad remembering another time in that scene though. Like, the previous stuff was a memory.

(I also don't get enough sleep these days.)

RebelVampire

i could see how youd get that interpretation but pretty sure it was the step-mom and the bio mom was just in the picture

MoeAlmighty

There are a lot of things I don't want to say because of spoilers and I'll be answering those kind of questions down the road. But to answer the question pretaining to Mary, they do indeed have some History as hinted.

mathtans

Mary is actually the younger cousin of the short boat-stealing gangster.

It's why her dad went into law.

MoeAlmighty

heh. that is a pretty interesting theory.

mathtans

(I need to have at least one insane theory and one ship per comic chat. I think it's in my contract.)

RebelVampire

puns are also in your contract math. although you already fulfilled that one.

mary's dad kind of spooks me. like hes a really domineering presence and idk if i want to believe hes good or bad.

MoeAlmighty

Truth is, when I created Mary, she was developed as just the rich girl who presented herself as Ms. Perfect while also having the spoiled brat persona as well

Superjustinbros

lol

mathtans

Oh right. Well, those come naturally. I wonder if her dad is part orc.

Superjustinbros

That's one of many ways to describe that

MoeAlmighty

Best way to describe him is that he's a Lawyer... a very wealthy lawyer.

Oh no, he's part Dutch lol

mathtans

Incidentally, I kind of like that Kit's got both cat ears and human ears, it tends to be how I draw my characters too (even if mine are just headbands). But it does make me wonder how the curse might have rewired her brain to deal with the extra input.

Oooh, a flying dutch man.

RebelVampire

all the dads just drink lots of milk

Superjustinbros

What about Doug.

RebelVampire

to be fair if kit's cat ears are more sensitive than her human ones the extra input probably doesnt matter cause one would hear it better than the other anyway. at worst i imagine things just sound even louder XD

mathtans

It's that special beer.

Maybe it's partly why Kat's so on edge at times.

Superjustinbros

mm, beer

Wait, what kind of beer we talkin

MoeAlmighty

It's kind of a mix bag with it comes to her ears. Internally they do connect to her regular ears and she can hear through them, but only if she concentrates. Mostly they just act like a short range radar or a sixth sense. Something like spidey's spider sense.

Ah yes, I've notice some folks like our esteem adventurer. Others not so much

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. Besides the action, there is still a lot of slice-of-life material to be had in the comic as well. Do you think Kit will eventually tell Bia about her career? How do you think Bia will react to finding out about it? What challenges do you foresee awaiting Bia and Kit as their relationship continues to develop and secrets reveal themselves? Further, how do you see Kit balancing her school life in general with her job? Will she manage to maintain her grades and everything, or will things prove tougher than she expects? In terms of Kit’s regular life, what things are you hoping to see be explored in how she lives her day-to-day life? Lastly, are there any themes (like bullying) that caught your eye from the slice-of-life segments? What about them did you enjoy?

mathtans

It's cool that youv'e thought about that.

Honestly, the bounty-hunters clashing, while not necessarily slice-of-life, felt realistic and added depth to the idea of the job. Also revealed how their methods are non-lethal. And was the first ship I considered.

MoeAlmighty

Ah yes, I had a lot of folks doing a double take when I revealed her age.

RebelVampire

unrelated to the current question, i really hope we get to see more bounty killers in the story just cause they cant all work out as well as buff elf chick. also id really like to get a feel for the age range cause its concerning the gov was like "nah a 13 year old bounty killer? thats fine"

mathtans

That's a good point. Did she register under an assumed name?

Superjustinbros

Seconding Rebel.

MoeAlmighty

Well due to Kit's size, she may or may not of lied about her age when she took the job

mathtans

Also, I feel like the construction job field gets a lot of work in this universe. We only see Kitty's exploits but there have to be other incidents in the world as well.

Actually, magicians too must be a thing. And mimes.

Did not expect the mimes.

MoeAlmighty

Their are plans to explore other parts of world. One in particular is the Bounty Pick Up units sent to pick up the bounties and make out the reports.

Yes, beware the mimes ^^

I will be exploring a lot more of the Magis and how the magic works as well.

mathtans

Silent but deadly.

MoeAlmighty

very

mathtans

That short magic comic did a good job, I thought.

And I liked the money van guy critiquing the pun.

MoeAlmighty

Hm Hm, well not everything can be a homerun for our little cat girl

RebelVampire

yeah i really liked the short magic comic. cause it was funny and really did some good world-building

i also loved the cowboy bank robber

just cause he was a cowboy

and that was ridiculous

mathtans

Oh yeah, forgot about him.

I wonder how Kitty practices her quick draws.

Where do they lock these guys up, anyway? Regular jails seem like they wouldn't be sufficient.

MoeAlmighty

Yes, you don't see that many cowboys these days. But it was a perfect nod for one of the inspirations of the comic

Superjustinbros

Cowboys are fun.

MoeAlmighty

Um, they go to regular prison and go through the same process as the law provides^^

Superjustinbros

Always love one with an appealing design when one shows up.

MoeAlmighty

Very much so

RebelVampire

what sort of lawyer is mary's dad?

mathtans

How do you lock up an orc so that he doesn't just bend the bars?

MoeAlmighty

He's a defense lawyer

mathtans

He lawyers der fence.

RebelVampire

ah so i can say maybe mary's dad defends all these criminals kit tries to send to jail.

MoeAlmighty

Booooo

It's a possibility and her dad is very much against the Bounty Killer and the Bounty Board in general

Superjustinbros

ooh, is that so(edited)

mathtans

Circling back to Bia, it'd be amusing if someone in her family was also a bounty hunter. Kitty admits it and she's like, "oh, okay, I can see how you'd be good at that too".

RebelVampire

just to talk a bit about the current question, i do feel its inevitable kit has to tell bia about her job. cause i mean...kit isnt the most undestructive. just takes one time of showing up burnt to a crisp to school to give it away. but i think bia is gonna take it better than kit thinks shell take it. cause tbf, if i was bia i would not be surprised.

tbf i kind of agree with mary's dad. they might be catching criminals, but holy shit that property damage

mathtans

I feel like Bia might find out not through Kit though. Like maybe even via Kit's brother. Which could strain the relationship.(edited)

RebelVampire

especially the property damage caused by the scientist

cause even if they have the money to fix it, it still takes time

mathtans

Or magic.

MoeAlmighty

Bia finding out Kit is a Bounty Killer is inevitable, and it might happen happen sooner than you think

RebelVampire

it could strain their relationship too. though for some reason i feel for bia itd be more about the age thing than the danger thing if that makes sense. cause the career suits kit. just maybe not when kit is still 13, in school, and all that

mathtans

'Cept her dad is okay with it.

I feel like I'd totally be that dad by the way. Who makes concessions. Then ends up in trouble with mom too.

MoeAlmighty

It is going to a very unique exploring the relationship Kit and Bia have. In many ways, Bia will act more like the straight man of the relationship

Well Edward looks at it more like she's hunting game. expect the part of gutting it and cleaning it for food^^

RebelVampire

i just want to say i really love kit's dad and i hope we get to see him more. he seems just so utterly likeable. like a gentle giant

mathtans

Just want to give a shout-out to the school nun badass. Possibly like the opposite to dad.

MoeAlmighty

He is indeed^^

Superjustinbros

Since the CTP is wrapping up in a bit, I'd like to wish @MoeAlmighty the best of luck with Kitty Kitty Bang Bang, it's got a great artstyle, story, and some good humor.

mathtans

Oh right, pretty good stuff done with only black and white too.

MoeAlmighty

Yes, Beatrice is indeed a beast^^

Thank you so much^^

Superjustinbros

You're welcome! ^^

RebelVampire

yeah i loved the nun. especially her epic entrance and this page https://tapas.io/episode/1188530

like everything about that page is perfect

"Keeper of the Lunch Period"

MoeAlmighty

God help the guilty

mathtans

Indeed.

Probably a bumper sticker on her car.

MoeAlmighty

I'm sure everyone here remembers that one teacher that kept everyone in check at lunch period

best bumper sticker ever

mathtans

Kitty has some nice exclamations too.

Superjustinbros

lol

Anyways, cya till next time, and thanks for dropping by @MoeAlmighty

^^

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END!

Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to Moe, as well, for making Kitty Kitty Bang Bang. If you liked the comic, make sure to support Moe’s efforts however you’re able to~!

Read and Comment: https://tapas.io/series/kkbbcomic

Moe’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MoeAlmighty

Moe’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/theMoeAlmighty

[acradaunt]

EON Playthrough - Week 4

As suggested by last week, ever since getting subclasses, the rotation pool has grown ever larger. Perhaps too large, slowing down levelling to where I'm well below what it expects. This resulted in me making the rather dubious decision to fight the 9th stratum boss at a meager level 50-53, when I imagine the recommended is about 58-60, as all three regional FOEs remained as red.

Still, my stubbornness made me take four attempts to kill the guy, trying different tactics of varying offense and defensive. In the end, Laura frontline Combat Medic-ing beat out actually trying to block his nasty moves with Protector or Zodiac. I don't think Protector was by any means a bad choice, it's just that when the assface panics four of the five party members, your options are to use Healing Touch or to just wipe.

My reward for that was to be greeted by another full-on boss within about twenty minutes. So my efforts to get better gear before doubling back and taking out those FOEs was punched right in the face. Barf. Honestly, I've spent the majority of EO-time this week running around and cleaning things up and getting those awkward tiles on the map in FOE territory, so forward progress has been fairly minimal.

Iris the Protector/Imperial: The main idea with her is that she can use free turns to use a Drive attack and use that Heat Guard make her even better as a meatshield. Also, she was literally in EOIV as an Imperial, so it's only fair. However, the fact is, I didn't even HAVE a Drive Blade until like minutes ago. It's definitely a good fit for her, but things just haven't worked out that way yet, partially because I'm a cheapass. Doubly poor for her, both 9th's boss and 10th's midboss suffer from extreme quickening, getting radically more difficult as the fight goes on. Protection just cannot keep up with bosses who suddenly start taking multiple turns per turn midway into the fight. The only viable option is to carefully whittle them down to about 40%, and then just blow the everliving crap outta them in 3-4 turns. Slow and steady just can't mitigate enough or do enough damage. It's annoying because quickening isn't really a thing often in EO; apart from both Nexus' 4th stratum boss and side-region boss both having it to lesser, more reasonable degrees, the only real instance I can think of is friggin' Star Devourer. Possibly Undead King did? He didn't unlive that long to really know what he could do. It's fine when they take a second action after a set amount of turns (5th boss did this), but when they start doing it every turn, with stronger results? Not really fair.

Klein the Hero/Imperial: Regiment Rave is without a doubt absolutely nuts in terms of damage, but thinking about it, it's somewhat fair. It's a turn-end move, AND its damage comes largely from the rest of the party piling on. If anything goings wrong with anyone, it does fairly blah damage. In those regards, it's basically a stronger but more easily stuffed Link. Like Iris, the Drive Blade hasn't come into play yet, and for him, not sure if it will. Regiment Rave might be all or nothing, but when it is, it's likely stronger than a subbed Drive could hope to be. Its upside and downside is being fire-based, and I'm guessing both 10th's midboss and boss are gonna be wholly immune to that. So he's probably taking a break for a while.

Juri the Survivalist/Harbinger: Apart from her usual job of running nighttime gathering jobs (so you can immediately re-harvest those points when midnight strikes), after taking a good hard look at the 9th's enemies, Juri was a perfect fit to counter nearly every last one of them. Adept at avoiding hitting particular (frontline) targets and the toughest two enemies being easily crippled by Leg Bind and Blind made her exemplary towards the end of the stratum. Not to mention nearly every quest as of late has been simply gather crap from resource points. If you have a Survivalist and dumped them when stratums 5/7/8 were awful to them, look at bringing them back for the 9th.

Kahna the Landsknecht/Harbinger: Yeah, she squarely cracked into the main rotation. Linking is great for quickly subduing random monsters, but she's been performing questionably during bosses and FOEs. Yet I still keep using her. Hmm.

Coral the Landsknecht/Protector: Honestly, hasn't seen too much use since subclasses arrived. Dunno why, as while Kahna is definitely better for randoms, when I've taken her to bosses, she always seems stuck using her subpar Shield Breaks to keep things open for Erika and Olga, barely having time to contribute herself. Coral's at an unfortunate position where she's not as strong as Erika/Olga, and not as versatile as Laura. Landy's Force skill is decent enough, but it sure lacks the oomph of perfectly restoring everyone or killing just everything on screen or completely stealing a foe's turn. It's the same 'slow and steady isn't good enough' problem Iris has.

Laura the Medic/Landsknecht: It seems like in pinch situations, she's going to basically be a frontline debuffer, while Leon runs the healing & buff duty. While she's not as good or as durable as Coral, the potency of Healing Touch is somewhat ridiculous, having torpedoed the two brand new bosses strategies utterly.

Adam the Medic/Zodiac: Unlike Laura's reckless nonsense, Adam does so-so damage in the back, and has multi-hit options. Better for random encounters and those with massive physical resistance, but kind of a waste of TP during FOEs and bosses. They both fill niches, so I'm actively using both. Never at the same time, though. Two Landsknechts work great together, but two Medics sure don't.

Leon the Sovereign/Ronin: As mentioned on Laura, Leon tends to do more HP healing by buffing than the Medic actually does. It's not enough though, as he can't do a thing about ailments or binds, outside of the tremendously unreliable Prevent Order, and even then, it's too late to actually remove the ailment. Or take a mortally wounded character from almost dead to full health. He's more keeping things between okay and good; any critical situation and he's absolutely useless. The idea of Ronin was for him to Air Blade or Arm Bind or at least have SOME kind of offensive move, but he rarely ever has time, and I've also been too much of a cheapass to buy another quality Katana, so he's usually not even using one. He also can't revive at all, which sucks, but I guess not as bad as in IV or V, where Nectars required ultra-rare materials, which are now handed out daily on the world map. By the way, I LOVE map-gathering points. It saves time and money, and actually lets you get useful materials and rare drops without spending weeks running old points and fighting harmless enemies. It just cuts out needless tedium, and you get them only after you're done with the area, so it's not really giving you free stuff until after the prime-time has past, so gathering runs still do have a time and place. Just a lot more dangerous a time and place.

Kagura the Ninja/Ronin: Giving her Ronin suddenly made her do alright damage. Actually, genuinely great damage. Her array of ailments makes her pretty ideal for randoms and getting conditional drops. She would be really good now, if, ironically, Erika hadn't gotten over her own crippling frailness and there wasn't a fight for the back-row slots, with Laura, Leon, and Klein all being row-hoppers. Still, conditionals mean better gear, so I think she's keeping a spot in the rotation.

Erika the Ronin/Gunner: Definitely the workhorse of the entire game so far, Erika's finally getting over her frailty issues and remains a ludicrous source of damage. Gunner subclass and its Double Action is kind of hilarious, as it lets Charging Thrust and Sheath Strike hit twice and get massive Stance refills. I imagine it cuts both ways though, with Helm Splitter/Haze Slash/Horizontal Slash taking 4 Stance points away, but I frankly rarely use them, usually sticking to Arm Strike and Volt Stab and the rare risky Stone Thrust.

Olga the Gunner/Ninja: The other, far more recent, immovable pillar of the party, Ninja hasn't been quite as beneficial as Erika's Gunner, but -2 TP to all moves and better evasion have done plenty for her endurance. I initially planned on Ninja for mass backrow binding, but after learning that creating clones disables your Force meter, I dunno if it's worth it. Double Action and especially Riot Shot are amazing, with the latter being a 'free turn' button, something I'm obviously going to be needing in the extremely near future. I think more than anything though, her being the only person who can use a gun has kept her locked firmly in place, along with getting awesome guns at the exact right time.

Tate the Arcanist/Harbinger: Sorely disappointed. I expected to see pretty big numbers from her shiny new ice Scythe, but, uh, no. After demanding a leg-bind or other evasion down to hit, it still only does barely 60x3 hits. Pretty pathetic. Combined with a form of healing I don't find reliable at all, Arcanists just plain aren't my style. I think she's sitting things out from here, and'll stop getting all that free after-quest XP.

Stella the Runemaster/Protector: Seems like she might be useful for the 10th stratum. The shield helps MASSIVELY with her previously awful survivability, and her TP pool is large enough for her to have some sustain during FOEs/bosses by now, moreso with judicious use of Force. Damage is still iffy, all considered, and the Charges both take a turn and seem to absolutely suck, unlike V's Warlock.

Terra the Highlander/Protector: Like Tate, has been sucking down all the free XP but hasn't done anything since forever ago. Now that she's got ways to handle single targets, she's probably pretty good again, just hasn't found a way in. I'm probably missing out.

Yai the Pugilist/Ninja: Repeat previous statement. Pugilist needs a lot of both Skill Points and TP to be useful, and I'm getting to the point where she's probably almost there. Perhaps like Erika, she's over her ridiculous frailness by now, but I just don't see any circumstances where she'll outperform Olga. Actually, y'know, obvious answer. Olga's stupidly slow. Sure, she binds great, but after I've already been trampled that first turn. As with Terra, it's less about overall usefulness and more about not seeing a great Cestus or Spear come along that's kept them on the benches and Olga off them.

[mathematicianadda]

More Great Ways to Annoy a Mathematician

Which Ratio is Truly Golden?

I find it troubling that the golden ratio has so little in common with the golden rule.

Like, if you did unto others 1.618 times what you’d have them do unto you, then we’d all wind up exhausted.

And if you’re only doing 1/1.618 times unto them, then isn’t that a bit lazy?

  A Puzzle About Rates

I’ve always enjoyed those puzzles like, “If 3 chickens can lay 3 eggs in 3 days, then how long will it take 100 chickens to lay 100 eggs?” They’re counter-intuitive (e.g., in my example, each chicken lays 1 egg per 3 days, so the answer is also 3 days), yet deal only with simple constant rates.

So what if the rates weren’t constant? Like in, say, a bureaucracy, where 20 times more people will accomplish only 1/20th as much?

(Sorry for putting the answer upside down. It reads: “Please complete the attached form (Z302: Aggregate Task Completion Rate Information Request) and we’ll process your inquiry in 4-6 weeks.”)

  In this case, “a mathematician” refers specifically to Matt Parker, whose excellent book Humble Pi discusses the first two of these mistakes.

  The Asymptote of Happiness

Lots of poets have found asymptotes a convenient literary symbol – the idea of eternal striving is a resonant one (even beyond the eternal striving of the struggling algebra student).

  I love me some Raymond Smullyan.

Sorry again for putting the answer upside down. I dunno why I thought that was a clever idea. Mostly just forces you to turn off the auto-rotate setting on your phone.

Anyway, it reads: “Ask anything. You should already know not to buy lowfat yogurt.”)

  Proving a New Theorem

Not that I’ve ever felt this myself. I’m just speculating.

  P-R-E-N-A-T-A-L

What is parenting, if not a neat LARP?

(LARP = Live-Action Role-Playing Game, for those of you with less geeky acumen than I anticipate my audience to have.)

By the way, my friend Rayleen once described to me a brilliant comic, where one person asks, “When’s the baby due?” and the other person is drawn with a small horizontal stick figure emerging from their stick torso. (See? It’s such a good comic, I can just describe it.)

  The Sales Pitch for Math

I think a lot about the different arguments for math, and the ways that they support or contradict each other. Is it a beautiful art? An urgent set of universal civic skills? Key preparation for technical professions?

The answer is yes to all three. But not for all math, and not all at once – and attempting to blend the purposes can lead to a muddle.

  The Meaning of “Let”

It’s always tickled me that the mathematician’s verb “let,” which sounds so chill and laissez-faire, is actually a binding command.

  “All Happy Families Are Alike; Every Unhappy Family is Unhappy In Its Own Way”

I wrote a bunch of these a few years ago. This one has the benefit of being true: all circles are geometrically similar, but not all ellipses are.

(The same is true, by the way, of parabolas and hyperbolas. The former are all the same basic shape, just zoomed in or zoomed out, whereas the latter constitute a whole family of different shapes.)

(Chew on that, Tolstoy.)

  The Court-Appointed Translator

I wrote this little dialogue after listening to a great episode of The Allusionist, before it turned out that Game of Thrones would suffer the worst collapse in storytelling that I have ever experienced.

Oh well!

As my wife said, “At least this way we’ll never have to bargain with our daughter about when she’s old enough to watch Game of Thrones. The ending is so bad, in 10 or 15 years no one will be watching it anymore.”

  Identity Politics

This is a really dumb pun.

Also one of the more popular cartoons in this list.

Go figure.

  Another Dumb Pun

This one is inspired by that time Malcolm Gladwell referred to eigenvectors as “igon vectors,” and Steven Pinker blasted him for it, at which point Gladwell blasted Pinker for something else, and eventually we all lost the thread and just went about our days.

And if you want more godawful matrix puns, I’ve got ’em.

  I don’t know what day you’re reading this, but guess what? It’s also a bad approximation of pi! So go ahead and celebrate!

(Though if you want some very clever alternative pi days, check out Evelyn Lamb’s page-a-day calendar, which includes a Pi Day each month, and not where you’d expect!)

  Uncountably Many Wishes

After I posted this, there was a bunch of discussion on Twitter about whether I’d mischaracterized the Axiom of Choice, which is totally possible, in which case, oops.

Also, some folks pointed out that it’s pretty greedy to wish for uncountably many wishes, when you could just as easily wish for countably many.

To which I say: What’s the point of a magic lamp, if not to have greed be your undoing?

  Maximization vs. Minimization

For lots of optimization problems, maximizing makes sense, but minimizing doesn’t. (Or vice versa.) An example: What’s the largest rectangle you can make from 4 feet of wire?

It’s the 1-by-1 square, with an area of 1 square foot.

But what’s the smallest rectangle you can make (in terms of area)? Well, you could make the 1.9999 by 0.0001 rectangle, which has a very tiny area…

Or you could make the 1.999999 by 0.000001 rectangle, which has an even smaller area…

Or the 1.99999999999999 by 0.000000000000001 rectangle, whose area is microscopic…

…and so on.

I hope that was worth it! And I suspect it wasn’t! Anyway, moving on.

  More thoughts here.

  The Villainous Mathematician Explains His Plan

Clearly this villain should be assigning more group work.

Anyway, I for one am curious to know how a complex-valued currency might work. I’d pay a hefty fee for an accountant or tax attorney who can turn imaginary assets into real ones, or real debts into imaginary ones.

  The Cat on the Bed

I found it very hard to draw a decent space-filling curve.

Also, to draw a decent cat.

  Only Slept Four Hours

This is how I feel about anyone who sleeps less than 7 hours in a given night.

  Axioms of Life

This is my version of that xkcd about kitties.

Also pretty well summarizes parenthood. I still enjoy a cerebral geek-out, as I always have; but I also really enjoy holding my daughter in my arms and calling her the world’s best monkey over and over.

  How Many Stars?

I would totally read a graphic novel about the dating life of Georg Cantor.

The problem is that no one is going to write this graphic novel except for me.

Oh well. I’m under contract for two more books at the moment, but after that will come TRANSFINITE LOVE: THE ROMANTIC ESCAPADES OF A SET THEORIST.

  Quick-Draw Answers

Drawn from an actual experience, in my first week teaching 7th grade. I hadn’t really figured out how to tee up a problem-solving experience yet.

  Twenty Questions

Drew this one for a Jim Propp essay. Recommended as always!

  A New Proof

A teaching friend of mine had a whole list of proofs that 1 = 0, which he busted out at various developmentally appropriate points in grades 6 through 12.

I love that. Curious how far you could get writing a book of proofs that 1 = 0, each introducing a key idea in mathematics…

Maybe that’ll be my next project after the George Cantor romance novel.

  E = mc

Philosophical question: Is this a pun?

The case against: “A pun is a joke that plays on words that sound similar but mean different things. This isn’t doing that.”

The case for: “A pun is a joke that plays on linguistic expressions with similar surface features, but different deep meanings. This is doing exactly that: the premise of the joke is that an exponent and a footnote are both denoted with a superscript, yet mean very different things.”

So I guess this has a deep resemblance to puns, but lacks a surface resemblance… which is itself, not very pun-like.

Ruling: Not a pun!

  “The Exception Proves the Rule”

I guess you hear this inane phrase less often these days. But there was a time, kiddos, when people could hear a devastating counterexample to what they were arguing, and then blithely say “the exception proves the rule” with a straight face.

  The Math Sequence

I’m pretty agnostic on the math sequence. But I have strong intuitions that Star Wars should be screened in the order: IV, V, I, II, III, VI, and so on. (I view the sequels as pretty optional. Prequels too, for that matter, but if you limit yourself to the original trilogy, it’s a boring problem.)

  The “Same” Age

A lot of people on Facebook seemed to read this as though the right-hand character was creeping on Ariana Grande. Not my intention at all! I just wanted to pick a mid-20s celebrity. Could’ve just as easily been Bieber.

(My primary association with Ariana Grande, by the way, is her performance in the short-lived bar mitzvah-themed Broadway musical Thirteen.)

  Lemniskate

I’m not sure there’s a joke here.

I’m fond of this drawing anyway.

  Linear Child

Michael Pershan, the internet’s most relentlessly analytical math educator, inexplicably loved this joke, so I call it a win.

Someone on social media speculated about the position by which this linear combination had been “conceived,” which I found quite vulgar and upsetting (but which I also sort of invited by drawing a comic about procreating vectors).

  If P, then Q

Where do we draw the line between logical succession, and outright stalking? I leave that to the courts.

  Loons and Lunes

Sometimes I just want to do a cute drawing that has no joke in it, okay?

  The Vertical Line Test

I’m actually skeptical that the phrase “vertical line test” has any value. To me it feels like a fancy name for a fact that doesn’t need a fancy name. And, as in the two-column-proof version of geometry, giving fancy names to facts that students should be reasoning out for themselves can become obfuscatory rather than clarifying.

  Whose Fractal is Whose?

Please join me in making “Patricia gasket” a thing! E.g., “Did you know Copley Square in Boston is the approximate shape of the mathematical figure known as a Patricia Gasket?”

from Math with Bad Drawings https://ift.tt/2RlT021 from Blogger https://ift.tt/2wnolKj

[comicteaparty]

November 19th-25th, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from November 19th, 2018 to November 25th, 2018.  The chat focused on The Angel with Black Wings by Mharz.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on The Angel with Black Wings by Mharz~! (http://blackwings.Mharz.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PST), so keep checking back for more! You have until November 25th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 3. Why do you believe that Ray is able to see angels? Is there something special about him or is it just by chance? Also, what makes him an exception to the rule that allows Big Sis to talk to him directly?

QUESTION 4. Why do you think Big Sis has black wings? What do you think Big Sis’ life was like when she was human? What about her past as an angel? What do you believe Big Sis’ intense connection to Ray is, and do you think that will get her into more trouble?

Climaxstriker

1. My favorite part is when Big Sis caught the apple Danillo threw then threw it back at him. Jerk had it coming, much like the apple that was headed for his face. 2. Big Sis because she's too pure for this world. 3. I think Ray has been given permission to talk to Big Sis after some string pulling on Silver's part. 4. I think Big Sis is Ray's mom due to her saying that Angels can look as old as they want, Cynthia did say that she had a college friend who was beautiful as an angel (So, Big Sis. Don't deny it, she's turn many many heads.) She killed someone with scissors. Could be any reason, dude could've been seriously drunk and would've seriously harmed Ray as a baby had she not have done anything.

Mharz

ends up thinking the exorcist but yeah for sure she totally made a lot of heads turn. That's the only thing I can confirm tho.

Kabocha

1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it? Probably this one: http://blackwings.Mharz.com/comic/309 Things get real for ray after this, and he starts to realize what happens when you poke your nose where it doesn't belong.

2. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor? Mara! She made such a huge change in her attitude and how she was treating people. I'm glad she's a nice girl.... I kind of hope she gets a chance to punch Albert.

3. Why do you believe that Ray is able to see angels? Is there something special about him or is it just by chance? Also, what makes him an exception to the rule that allows Big Sis to talk to him directly? ...Hm. I think Big sis is making up her own rules as she goes. Also, I'm like, 99% sure Ray's blood-related to her somehow, so the whole angel thing might be being sensitive to family - Ray's just more special than Mara.

4. Why do you think Big Sis has black wings? What do you think Big Sis’ life was like when she was human? What about her past as an angel? What do you believe Big Sis’ intense connection to Ray is, and do you think that will get her into more trouble? Big Sis probably stabbed someone.... Probably. Can't say for sure though.(edited)

funakounasoul

I'm doing a reread of this for this week because I love it!but last time, I made it to Ch 11 before life/work got in the way, so my answers today will reflect my previous knowledge :3

1. My fave scene so far has been the fight with some demons just because the action was pretty sweet. With the rest of the comic being more about conversations and mystery, it really stood out and kept me on the edge of my seat

2. Mara is my fave because of personal reasons. She reminds me of a bff I used to have and I wonder how they're doing in life now. I get why she did the things she did despite being great friends with Ray before. Anf her development is really solid(edited)

3. I've always believed that there are just some people who are more sensitive to certain things and in this case, ray is sensitive to seeing angels. And sometimes, these abilities can be both blessings (being able to meet Big Sis) but curses (being seen as odd/bullying...)

4. My CURRENT theory is that Big Sis is related to Ray directly. Mom? Or maybe some otger relation we don't know of? Grandmother?? Especially with the "any age"appearance comment. And i think she may have killed someone. But heaven, being typically seen as Lawful Good, sees all murders as bad even if she was in the right (aka self-defense) and maybe that is the initial reasoning behind her attitudes toward some of the strict rules angels have to follow...

Mharz

@Kabocha you mean the start of Ray's "you had one job" career?

Kabocha

I dunno, his one job started before that.... it just hit peak "Don't be dumb" at that point

Mharz

Also glad to see there are peeps liking Mara (can't say the same for Ray)

Lol Kabocha

Personally, I don't blame Ray seeing how he's been picked on and given false promises. You'll find people hard to trust.

funakounasoul

I do feel like I should be more connected to Ray, but - at least in my read thus far - I'm definitely having trouble doing so at times. I understand he's had some bad history to the point where he has trouble trusting folks, but his moments of abrasiveness sometimes make me wanna go "No. Ray...Ray...shhh...breathe...listen to them."

Mharz

Lol. I have to say Ray is the type of person that once his mind made a conclusion, he sticks to it. Unless this was proven wrong thru action not just words in which it takes a reeeeeeaaaallly long time.

keii4ii

TBH I don't think I would've been any better in his situation, at his age...

I might have been a different variety of bad, but still the same degree of bad

Kabocha

I'm still the same kind of stubborn as Ray, but it doesn't mean I have to like seeing him be that way. All that anger ain't good for him!

Mharz

I'm honestly pretty angsty similar to Ray back at his age. You could say a part of his character is my residual resentment towards my schoolmates for picking on me. I still get a bit angsty from time to time tho lol. I'm just trying to control myself better than I was younger. :v

funakounasoul

We've all had those moments, or knew someone like that. I preferred the company of others, but you know teenagers - we all think we're correct and tough and amazing but we're still learning :P BUT I do think this will set Ray up to have an amazing character development through the rest of the story. We may want him to shhhhh, but I know I'm curious as to how he'll learn to open up a little toward those that mean a lot to him (and learn he has people that mean a lot to him, even if he doesn't notice it yet)

Climaxstriker

Had some "Friends" Pull pranks on me and trick me so I know what Mara went through in terms of having fake friends.

Climaxstriker

after one joke too many. I told them to pound sand.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. Who do you believe Silver is given one demon described her as “infamous?” Why do you think Silver cares so much about Big Sis? Also, why do you believe that Silver is so stringent about the rules compared to other angels?

Climaxstriker

I think she cares so much about big sis because she fell for her hard.

Mharz

@funakounasoul lol yes... I hope. XD

I have to say, while it's true Silver had indeed fallen in love with Big Sis there is another reason she's totally vouching for her. Something that she herself only knew. Just ask her.

Climaxstriker

>_>?

I am intriqued

was it the reason Big Sis killed the dude with scissors?(edited)

Mharz

Nyope.

I can't say much more tho. I like to think the reason will come from the left field once it surfaced.

RebelVampire

1) the scene where mara tells off her "friends." that moment felt so incredibly earned and represented a fantastic character arc that had a beautiful conclusion. which leads me into... 2) Mara. of all the characters Mara feels the most developed and the most changed into a better person. her growth is really fun to watch. however, even before her motivations were sympathetic even if severely misguided. and given shes a teen it all made a lot of sense. overally, i like seeing this great girl grow and learn from her mistakes and try to make amends like the beautiful person shes trying to become. 3) I actually think Ray's powers might just be happenstance. And besides that with the current events of the comic I have to assume it's less rare than we've been made to believe. as for the exception, billionthing the assumption that ray is related to big sis, though i would like to add to the discussion that its highly doubtful its his mom. exhibit A http://blackwings.Mharz.com/comic/241 i dont think shed need to ask where his mom is if she is his mom XD unless she doesnt know where she is. 4) she either did the murders or hurt someone. although i think silver mentioned incidents or her self sacrificing nature or something like that. so it might be a compounding issue. where she did this alot because shes clearly not the most...cautious with her powers. and they finally said okay no more slaps on the wrist. i do think big sis is probably gonna get more into trouble cause even this exception thing seems like a huge bending of the rules that every angel is just willfully ignoring for Big Sis' sake. 5) I assume that silver is an archangel or something like that. super high up there in the scheme of things. and i also just think silver is a great girl who understands powers can hurt just as much as they can help. and someone has to look out and enforce the rules cause otherwise we just have anarchy.

Mharz

I have to say I did pick my choice of words in the dialogue especially on the page Rebel mentioned in which no one has noticed something strange about. <.<

RebelVampire

QUESTION 6. Do you think that Ray will learn the power of forgiveness when it comes to Mara? What about when it comes to Big Sis? Will this help him help Big Sis in some way? Additionally, what other ways do you think Ray will grow as a person?

RebelVampire

6) gonna be honest, personally speaking im not sure ray will grow as a person anymore that much XD like theres stubborn...and then theres ray. ray took stubborn and moved the goal post infinitely far away to neverland. i mean i would hope he grows, but idk. it may take a while. maybe when hes 50 and has to walk around with a cane. XD i think hell at least forgive big sis in his own way. and i think that will help big sis forgive herself cause she seems to have a lot of issues with forgiving herself

Kabocha

Ray might grow, but he's going to need to get something to teach him he needs to... Right now everything that goes wrong kind of just continues to justify it.

Mara can be nice all she wants, and Albert can be a jerk... But Ray has learned nothing. I don't think TAWBW is a story about Ray's growth so much as it is about Big Sis learning to forgive herself in the long run. Ray's just the character who we see things through.

RebelVampire

honestly im curious what it will take to teach him. cause it must be grandiose and amazing. but even if the story isnt technically about ray's growth, he does need to grow. because hes the protagonist.

well okay tbf he doesnt need to grow. or more accurately he could technically grow into a worse person? i mean i doubt its gonna go that way, but just clarifying

Kabocha

Ahahaha

He really needs to um... Change a little bit? Not in a good/bad way -- and this could be webcomic time talking for me bc I haven't done a full reread in a while... but like, he needs to be just more observant or mindful. He's kind of stuck in the same place, and that's fine -- it's just more interesting to see other characters progress and change.

RebelVampire

i had to reread it for questions, so its not just webcomic time. he has been stuck for quite a while. and to a degree i get it cause for every step int he right direction, a bad thing reinforces his world views. but i have been waiting for that big thing thats gonna kick that boy in the butt and get him to change just a little.

maybe itll be that nice cop

comes to save ray

ray is like wtf is this

Kabocha

Maybe. But he'll continue to be bitter for a while, haha...

Like, after that angel tried to kill him, I would have been like "wait why does it think I'm a sinner OH CRAP"

but he's not done much introspection!

While Big Sis might be able to be saved and redeemed by Heaven... Maybe Ray's just doomed? Like, is this story going to end up with him ending up damned, or genuinely close to it? I kind of want to see another Angel that Ray trusted "pass judgement" or at least force Ray to examine his behavior bc telling him to behave in real time hasn't worked real well

Big Sis has remorse for whatever it was she did. Ray's just a brat and is going to continue to hurt people.

RebelVampire

ya know thats a great point! it seems like a lot of ray's problem is he does no introspection.

thatd be an interesting scenario

although maybe its gonna take a big time mistake on his part

that forces him to realizes human make mistakes

and he is human

thus he is doomed to the mistakes

Kabocha

I think if he was forced to review his own behavior, he'd probably think twice about how he's behaved. After some defensiveness, of course -- because it's only human to go "but I was justified!"

He might be justified to a degree, but it doesn't make him morally superior!

RebelVampire

yeah.

although now im curious what ray would do if someone died for him

Kabocha

Oh no. :<

That might break him.

RebelVampire

cause at that point it would take some immense logic leaps to still think ppl are awful and the person helped him for selfish reasons

Kabocha

As stubborn as he is, I think that would honestly break him to realize someone cared that much that they'd die for him.

RebelVampire

i think it would actually break him to

cause even if he didnt care about the person i think that is something that would shatter his world view

Kabocha

Yeah. Now I'm trying to think through how he'd probably take it...

It'd probably start off with denying it -- then he'd go straight to anger at himself because I don't think he sees himself as worth protecting to that degree. Sure, he might be salty at Big Sis for "abandoning" him, but... It's easy to be mad for him. Past that, he might spend a lot of time wondering "why" and think about his behavior and try to figure out why he's worth it when he's been such a butt.

...............And then Silver would probably smack him and tell him to do better to become worth it.

RebelVampire

yes i definitely agree about the silver part

cause he seems to listen to silver to a degree

even if silver can be cryptic at best XD

Kabocha

Yeah, ahaha

I would think at that point Silver would just be tired of his shit though, and be like, "Do better, don't make this a waste."

RebelVampire

maybe. although ironically fulfills her duty of guiding humans and such. so good on silver for still doing her job

Kabocha

Somehow, I feel like the exemptions might be slightly more lax in the near future, especially if someone dies for Ray

given what Bnaenae's doing -- shit's about to get bad imo

RebelVampire

yeah this is the prime time for this scenario to play out if it does

although tbf the set up alone might spark introspection

just cause ray hates bad ppl and is now suddenly see what happens when you decide to treat bad ppl badly

Kabocha

True, but he may just say "I haven't sinned"

RebelVampire

maybe albert will disagree O_O

show up to monologue

Kabocha

That would be interesting to see... Although I suspect Albert might end up getting his POV changed a bit.

RebelVampire

tbh idk if i expect growth from albert

tbh i....i kind of expect him to die

die a very bad death

Kabocha

Hm, see, I dunno that he would die -- Serena though? I think that she's likely to get hurt on his behalf.

RebelVampire

that seems likely maybe. idk. i dont feel i know serena enough

what if all the angels on the bad side get black wings O_O at least big sis wont have to feel sad and alone anymore

Kabocha

Hmm, maybe. But it could be a case where as long as they're pure in their ideals and try to do God's work, they're okay

or they have another source for their wholly Holy wrath

RebelVampire

they have to go back to angel boarding school

funakounasoul

For me, I feel he could change at least to a neutral maturation...but he has to experience something REALLY drastic. Something that hits him so hard that makes him re-evaluate himself. He may be an adult when we see a change in him (like an epilogue or something) but I think he can change. People always grow and learn new things even as old folks...if they're not TOO stubborn, though xD

Mharz

I like to think that Ray is a child who has a looooooot to learn and he's not as bad as Shin from Robonoid. <.<

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Where do you think Big Sis has been while Ray has been dealing with Legion? Is she being held against her will, or do you think it’s partially by choice? Why do you think we’ve seen her being trained to fight?

Climaxstriker

Tricky, I think she's been tricked by Bnaenae. Prettyboi jerkbag extraordinaire who needs a toaster to swung into his pretty friggin face >=/ I think at first it was because she was lied to. I think she's been set up, the legion wouldn't take in someone who committed a crime in life. So, she's likely a pawn in Bnaenae's plan, likely involving her dying. I can't imagine her being a permanent asset to a group as crazy about perfection as the legion. After Ray accused her of stealing souls like a friggin moron, that's when Bnaenae started holding her against her will. That's when that other mysterious guy I'm calling "Bigger Bro" (or just Big Bro) busted Big Sis out of angel jail.

RebelVampire

(the archive for the chat on fate is ready! @Anthea https://comicteaparty.com/post/180401220340/november-12th-18th-2018-ctp-archive)

RebelVampire

QUESTION 8. What are your theories about Legion? Do you think Lucifer is responsible, or is someone else calling the shots? How do you think that Legion was able to slip under the radar? Who exactly is the man threatening to kill the mayor and why broadcast it?

Climaxstriker

I think believe Lucifer is calling the shots. He must've been the man that sucked out the Mayor's soul. He did some pretty high up in the food chain. As for how they slipped under the radar. I got no clue. >_>

Kabocha

I dunno, if Bnaenae was lucifer, I'd think the other angels would know... Unless they're all about to fall. I wonder if they're working with the demons that showed up earlier in the story >_>

Mharz

So many things I can answer but spoilers lol. <.<

One thing I could say is, I don't think these angels would join the legion if it's not for a "noble cause." >.>

mathtans

Going from memory on this... as far as favourite scenes, two that still stand out without diving back into the archive are ones mentioned by others. The battle in the mall, and Mara kind of coming to her senses.

-Favourite character? Tempting to say Mara like so many others (I also like her visual design), but I think I'll go Silver. She just seems clever and subversive, like trying to do the right thing under the radar. Also, fun times in Ray's dreams.

-Ray sees angels because his father was actually an angel. Or a demon. Something like that. Sure, why not.

-Black wings, still because someone spilled ink on them. Or, okay, it's soot, because she would hang out a lot down in hell, maybe.

-Silver knows that you've gotta have rules, otherwise there's chaos. Also, is secretly God... it's like one of those "HIdden Boss" TV shows.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What do you think Ray’s role will be in dealing with Legion (and can he do anything in the first place)? Will Ray find some way to expose Albert? Also, why do you think Albert is part of Legion in the first place?

Climaxstriker

hmmmm..... Since the legion provided a......rather shitty first impression for angels. Ray will likely have to convince people like Alvarez not all angels are evil. That there are good angels like Silver. Dunno if Albert is really bothering to give himself some cover. As for why he is in the legion in the first place.....I feel like he's been wronged for so long. Like, he feels like any good people he met has suffered at the hands of criminals and they just got off scott-free. That's just a guess tho.

RebelVampire

i like math's theory about the ink. big sis was a prolific angel author, until one day she tripped and the ink just went everywhere. and everyone knows you cant get out those ink stains XD

RebelVampire

7) I think Big Sis' situation may be a mixture of both. IN that she was brought against her will, was told "blah blah blah do this training because it will help you for blah blah blah reasons." and big sis was like "blah blah blah reasons you say? okay i will stay." but they also made a condition she couldnt leave for a long time and big sis was like "hahaha no" and that is where in shes being held against her will. cause while shes pursuing her own goals shes also being given tight restrictions and big sis is not a rule follower. maybe learning to fight will help her protect ray or something tho. cause she does keep getting trounced by demons. 8) It's clearly Lucifer's son who is responsible O_O /shot but more likely i think its someone using lucifer's name to manipulate others. cause assuming lucifer is dead, its not like lucifer can say "hey that isnt me. stawp that." as for slipping under the radar, eh, it was probably easier than they made it sound. i mean its not like theres an angel time clock i imagine. there seems to be a lot of autonomy. so until the soul sucking started there whereabouts and ambitions were probably super easy to hide. 9) i question if ray will even make an effort to stop legion. unless albert directly puts him in danger. and if he becomes involved i think it will be in an effort just to save big sis. as for albert, i assume he was some kid who was like ray and got bullied a lot. and he decided to challenge that and no longer be the victim. and before he realized it he became the bully for "a good cause."

mathtans

-I kind of hope that Ray realizing that Mara is a better person now will lead him to realizing that not everything Big Sis does (or did) was under her control either. But yeah, major facepalm as he goes off on Big Sis for not being around when he doesn't know anything. (I actually thought that was another dream sequence.)

-Big Sis is the nominated champion for the all the angels, because there's a prophecy about black wings. That's why she's training, even though she's not necessarily keen on it. (In all seriousness, I think she may be a champion of sorts because her black wings allow her to not be corrupted or something, like she's already corrupted herself. idk.)

-I don't know that Legion slipped under the radar, I think maybe they were vocal, just not necessarily about how they were going to achieve their goals. There was just this group who were going to make positive change through more tea parties, and then suddenly it was "ok, instead of tea parties, we're Legion and we're taking souls" and everyone thought "huh, that escalated, but the goal's the same, I'm still all in".

Mharz

I wouldn't say Big Sis is a champion of some sorts but there IS something. It's more of "just totally unlucky that it was her" rather than "being the chosen one."

I like the tea party analogy lol.

snuffysam

i feel like it wouldn't be hard for legion to slip under the radar. like let's say every pure-hearted person becomes an angel. and angels on average are able to last one century before getting killed by demons. unless the conditions for becoming an angel are SUPER strict, there are at least a billion of them flying around (and there'd have to be for any reasonable number of people to get guardian angels). that means each archangel is responsible for over 100,000,000 angels i doubt you'd notice if a club of a couple hundred dudes was forming when that's less than 0.0001% of your employees

mathtans

I approve of such mathematical arguments.

Mharz

Add some shenanigans and it's absolutely feasible

snuffysam

shenanigans always make things better

Mharz

Shenanigans make everything complex yes.

Climaxstriker

and funnier

we need more shenanigans in our lives

Mharz

When shenanigans ends up dooming society. Yup... Fun... <.<

Climaxstriker

Not those kinds of shenanigans tho D=

RebelVampire

QUESTION 10. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

Climaxstriker

I'm looking forward to finally finding out Big Sis' past and who that guy was that busted her out and how it all ends. Big Sis' past and that guy's identity is because, if you think hard on theories on what they are, and in the end it proves to be right, it's a really satisfying feeling. More than a simple "AHA, I FUCKING CALLED IT!" It's more like...."Yaaas, I was right all along and I worked so hard to find the evidence for it too!" Last part is because well, naturally I'd want to see how it all goes down. Seriously, what fan wouldn't? >_>

Mharz

What I'm looking forward to is more people theorizing TABW. This is the most elaborated thing I wrote and I did leave lots of context clues for overthinkers to crunch on. At the same time, maintaining the interactions and feels. Well, I try at least.

mathtans

The entire comic is happening in Ray's mind. Everyone is really part of his family, in a "Wizard of Oz" kind of way. That's how Big Sis is his mother.

Mharz

Lol

RebelVampire

10) im looking forward to mara becoming a beautiful angel when she dies while ray becomes a crotchety old man who yells at kids to get off his lawn.

Climaxstriker

That is likely how it goes if Mharz does a bad ending. Thing is, that's actually realistic, considering how much of a jerk Ray can be. >_>

Kabocha

Oh noooo ahaha

How likely is a Ray/Mara ship in the future, ya think?

Climaxstriker

if Ray can stop being an edgy jerk and go through some much needed character development, more likely that we think. XD

snuffysam

kinda surprised nobody's shipped big sis with bigger, cooler sis in this chat yet

silver is mostly enforcing the rules all the time but they seem like they were quite close before big sis did a slip and slide through a coal mine

(like if silver didn't care, she wouldn't bother to stop big sis before she breaks the rules after a few attempts)

Climaxstriker

It's been shipped in Mharz' discord. >w>

Kabocha

They're definitely a ship

100%. Although I do wonder about how much Silver can get romantically involved with the lower ranks lol

Mharz

I mean I am shipping Big Sis and Silver from the get go. <.< She isn't sexually attracted tho. She's fine with fluffy hugs and giving secret gifts.

snuffysam

that makes sense

one thing i hope for the future is that ray makes more friends. like that lady at the cafe.

Mharz

That will be up to Ray. XD

mathtans

Maybe that lady at the cafe is secretly Ray's mother.

Or Big Sis's mother.

Climaxstriker

Who knows >_>

snuffysam

big sis is older than she looks, remember (since she hasn't aged at all since she died). maybe the lady is big sis's little sister, and the lady is somehow responsible for big sis's death?

Mharz

They're not related actually

snuffysam

but the lady IS responsible for big sis's death

Mharz

http://blackwings.Mharz.com/comic/249

snuffysam

well sure. but that all happened before the lady stabbed her

Mharz

I'd totally love to explore this more eventually.

I'm thinking of making a comic about Big Sis' life but it won't be until all spoilers are spilled.

Kabocha

I vaguely recall Big Sis' life previously was quite... unpleasant

so was this lady also doing that unpleasant job

snuffysam

oh so maybe she was a bully to big sis, and that's the sin she's atoning for?

at the workplace

Mharz

It's more along the lines of "getting her to that unpleasant place." >.>

Kabocha

... REALLY

Was she trying to help or was she uh... ....

So basically, this lady's up on Legion's chopping block next

Mharz

S-She was trying to help(edited)

<.<

Kabocha

ahahah

Mharz

Poor Big Sis never caught a break. -_-

Climaxstriker

Not Cynthia D=

she's nice!

Mharz

Idk

Climaxstriker

Is teh cat important?

remembers Bnaenae cat Oh shit

I will give bnaenae fish.

....as it's cooking in the toaster....which I shall promptly swing into his face! as the toaster is cooking the fish! D=<

Mharz

#blameBnaenae

I'm definitely excited for the upcoming chapters

Climaxstriker

Me too. I need teh answers! D=

Mharz

It won't be answered for the next 5 years probably

Climaxstriker

Das ok. I've been waiting for game updates that took a while. >_>

Mharz

<.<

Climaxstriker

I've also waited six months for a golden opportunity to orchestrate a ridiculous and convoluted scheme that was actually a well-thought out plan that would probably take a while to explain. >_> I can wait for a whiiiile like a reeeeeeeally long while for the hyped up stuff.(edited)

Mharz

I've been hyping edgy sis for years now and she still hasnt appeared

Climaxstriker

edgy big sis? >_>

=_= not sure if past Big Sis or future Big Sis is edgy Big Sis

Mharz

The one with white hair.

Climaxstriker

Was wondering why she had white hair >_>

Mharz

There's a deep but shallow reason for that. I will mention when the time comes.

Climaxstriker

Determinedly waits for the time to come

snuffysam

wearing a wig

ez

Mharz

Yasss

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

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