A Call to... Arms - Page 127

[sunphoenix]

"Soul Meets Soul ...When Eyes Meet Eyes..." ~ Wendy Pini [ ElfQuest ]

Page 127...

How cute!

[icekatze]

hi hi

Maybe we should put an indication in the title that the post may contain spoilers on a page that isn't publicly available yet?

[Diodri]

I'm personally not sure how I feel about discussing pages that are only on Patreon.

Though it does have the added benefit of coercing people who haven't subscribed yet to do so...

[sunphoenix]

hi hi

Maybe we should put an indication in the title that the post may contain spoilers on a page that isn't publicly available yet?

Yeah sorry... I just got excited.. my Bad.

[Luge]

"Soul Meets Soul ...When Eyes Meet Eyes..."[ ElfQuest ]

I don't like the idea of my eyeballs touching someone else's.

L.

[Cthulhu]

I think Arioch missed a huge opportunity here. I mean, posting the original page on Patreon, then have everyone check out the Outsider page to find an update here, too.

However, today, this new page here would be "slightly" different...

[dragoongfa]

I won't spoil things but I think that there will be a discussion about Stillstorm's character from this page.

[Siber]

Avoiding spoilers for a page that this is the marked spoiler thread for seems a bit excessive

[Arioch]

Page 127 is up, no further need for spoiler worries.

[Rookie17]

I thought that you're kidding... Couldn't be more glad that I was wrong!

[dragoongfa]

Yay, no need to worry about spoilers

Now, great first panel. The cutesy awkwardness of the situation is palpable. For some reason I think that a lot of time was spent on the 4th panel, it's an odd angle and there are some small details on the Umiak ships.

Now I think that this page develops Stillstorm's character more than people will realize at first. By sending Ashrain to the thick of it she clearly demonstrates an ability to think and act without taking politics and 'protocol' into consideration when making battlefield decisions. Ashrain is one of the Emperor's grandnieces who has used her family's clout to jump castes and become a frontline Torrai Torret; one would think that Stillstorm, who is a well known and vocal political thorn on the Emperor's side would seek to sideline Ashrain at every turn but Stillstorm has apparently given her a fair shake and has been obviously impressed enough by her to disregard Ashrain's misgivings (using her political clout to jump castes and become a Torrai Torret) and not let her political leanings come in the way of doing things right. By entrusting Ashrain with such an important task Stillstorm not only demonstrates her faith in Ashrain but also jumps over Moonglow who is superior in rank to Ashrain (she is the Blue haired Torrai that has the wager with Ashrain), this could be seen as Stillstorm snubbing Moonglow but since Moonglow's ship hasn't been replenished yet (word of God is that the wager was about who's ship and squadron would be replenished first) then Ashrain would go as a matter of course.

Stillstorm's decision to keep the rest of her forces to guard the Leido-Sala post is sound because the fight at Sala 101 is still ongoing and if the Leido-Sala post is lost then Strike Group 20 would be surrounded and annihilated.

So yeah, I think that Stillstorm got some nice and somewhat subtle character development with this page.

[WalexB]

Well as to the presumed future avoidance of "romantic" developments that is a bit unrealistic but whatever.
In Loroi society males are sort of courtiers and must be booked months and years in advance for a quick bonk and a personal relationship with a male is a status symbol for really powerful Loroi.
The discovery that there are planets somewhere with billions of lookalike and physically compatible (even if not genetically compatible) males should have made the entire fleet of the witch disappear towards Earth space. Many centuries of war have resulted in truly amazing military discipline. :-)

Uhm, our excellent author also has also chosen as the logo of the comic a picture of our cute "captain" with in the background three cute Lorois (who all happen to be on the same shuttle as Alex) and the image file name is "fearsomefoursome14.jpg". "Just friends" I guess :-). Then there is the question of "sanzai" between Loroi males and females, especially during sex, and the obvious lack of that interaction with human males.

But then consider the last panel of page 72, the middle row of page 101, the last row of page 104 (delightful expression of Beryl), the last row of page 116, the first panel of page 123. If Loroi females were even a bit like human females I would reckon that Alex will get to Seren quite worn down.
Or perhaps "Arioch" is just messing with us... :-)

[Arioch]

Well as to the presumed future avoidance of "romantic" developments that is a bit unrealistic but whatever.

I've seen this sort of thing repeated a few times (that supposedly I said there will be no "romantic" relationship of any kind in the story), but I don't recall saying this and I can't find a record of my saying it. I do recall saying something to the effect that those expecting to see graphic depictions of sexual activity are going to be disappointed, but that's not the same thing.

However, more directly to your point: Loroi females seek out mating opportunities with males because they want to have children. Human males can't give them children. Loroi females enjoy the sexual encounter, but it's not a mania for them the way it is for human (or Loroi) males. The gender roles are sort of flipped for the Loroi, but there are some things that don't change between males and females. Females get pregnant when they have lots of sex, which has very significant consequences, so in terms of biological drives it can't be as casual a thing for them as it can be for males.

[entity2636]

Thank you Arioch for a new page quite where quite a lot is going on.

I completely agree with Dragoongfa on the tactics. Stillstorm's tactics appear perfectly logical and rational, politics and relations not getting in her way. Since Ashrain and her squadron are already resupplied and ready, it's no question as to whom to send to intercept/block the enemy from pushing further coreward. From her perspective it could be anyone, it just happened to be Ashrain. Though some might see this as Stillstorm deliberately throwing Ashrain "under the bus" by sending her to engage the strongest enemy group pretty much alone (her squadron plus whatever units are ready from other squadrons).

Her decision to keep Leido-Sala guarded to allow SG20 a path for withdrawal is also perfectly sound. I expect Stillstorm to send more squadrons to assist Ashrain on Enedd as they become ready and hold Sala until SG20 makes it through. Then, depending on the situation, either join Ashrain/engage the Umiak force en route to Enedd from behind, or make an organized tactical retreat toward Enedd or Azimol with the remains of SG20. I mean, we're looking at an excess of 1000 Umiak ships across 3 systems which appear to be a bit too much to handle for two depleted strike groups.

Now on a lighter note, I don't quite get Beryl's expression. Do I see a slight frown of anger or contempt in her? Why so angry, Beryl dear? Alex's, on the other hand, is what one would expect - sort of "I got you. It's OK, don't worry"

[sunphoenix]

Page 127 is up, no further need for spoiler worries.

Great now I can finish the actual title.. A Call to... Arms.

[CrimsonFALKE]

Well as to the presumed future avoidance of "romantic" developments that is a bit unrealistic but whatever.

I've seen this sort of thing repeated a few times (that supposedly I said there will be no "romantic" relationship of any kind in the story), but I don't recall saying this and I can't find a record of my saying it. I do recall saying something to the effect that those expecting to see graphic depictions of sexual activity are going to be disappointed, but that's not the same thing.

However, more directly to your point: Loroi females seek out mating opportunities with males because they want to have children. Human males can't give them children. Loroi females enjoy the sexual encounter, but it's not a mania for them the way it is for human (or Loroi) males. The gender roles are sort of flipped for the Loroi, but there are some things that don't change between males and females. Females get pregnant when they have lots of sex, which has very significant consequences, so in terms of biological drives it can't be as casual a thing for them as it can be for males.

Well given Beryl's xenophilia wouldn't be safe to assume her romantic interests could be based on something different?

[orion1836]

Well as to the presumed future avoidance of "romantic" developments that is a bit unrealistic but whatever.

I've seen this sort of thing repeated a few times (that supposedly I said there will be no "romantic" relationship of any kind in the story), but I don't recall saying this and I can't find a record of my saying it. I do recall saying something to the effect that those expecting to see graphic depictions of sexual activity are going to be disappointed, but that's not the same thing.

I'll just leave this here.

[Siber]

Well given Beryl's xenophilia wouldn't be safe to assume her romantic interests could be based on something different?

Last time this came up I was able to turn up the text of the xenophilia disadvantage as defined in GURPS. I can't find it again, but from memory it was along the lines of you have to pass a willpower test or assume that anyone exotic to you wants to talk to you extensively about their exoticness, contrary to any evidence. It means you talk the ear off anyone new, not automatically that you want to bone all the aliens.

Of course, the sheets shouldn't be treated perfect representations of their character, but I think this still bears mentioning.

[icekatze]

hi hi

Avoiding spoilers for a page that this is the marked spoiler thread for seems a bit excessive

I'm not a moderator or anything so I hope I wasn't being presumptuous, but when I logged on this morning before heading off to work, the title was just "A Call to..." without any indication, and I thought at the time that it might be helpful to let people know what they're getting into.

Now I think that this page develops Stillstorm's character more than people will realize at first...

I'm kind of a fan of Stillstorm. She does seem like a no-nonsense, "I'm here to kick Umiak butt any way I can," sort of person, and I don't think she's lived as long as she has by putting politics over a more pragmatic approach.

That being said, I think some of her choices here are by necessity rather than strictly what would be the ideal tactical maneuver. Her decision to guard the Leido-Sala post may give strike group 20 a route to fall back, but it is also necessary for her to resupply her ships. If I'm not mistaken, it is more difficult to resupply while under acceleration, and the Leido-Sala post is just where they happened to be when the Umiak caught them with their proverbial pants in a compromising position. I'm not sure strike group 51 could resupply and reach another jump point before the Umiak get there.

I think Stillstorm clearly has some blind spots in her reasoning, in terms of things she's not willing to consider. Not really unreasonable, but still there. Time will tell if that ends up coming back to bite her or not.

---
Honestly, I half expected the Umiak to drive on Azimol rather than Enedd.

I mean, the Loroi defenses are not just strike groups, they also have frontline battleships for standing toe to toe with the Umiak who manage to get across the steppes. I assume that a ship was dispatched to Azimol from Sala 128, response code 4, calling all available forces in the sector. An attack cutting off their supply lines, allowing their attack force to be surrounded would be a serious blow to the invasion. But if they lured Azimol's defenders away with a frontal assault, then struck from behind while it was relatively unguarded, it would be a devastating blow to the Loroi's ability to respond. I might also think that sending a sneaky fleet through Enedd might open them up to getting caught by reinforcements coming from Azimol.

But then again, I don't know what prime, juicy targets are at Enedd or beyond. (Obviously, the rest of the empire.) Also, I'm not a master strategist, and undoubtedly the Umiak have their timing figured out reasonably well.

Now on a lighter note, I don't quite get Beryl's expression. Do I see a slight frown of anger or contempt in her? Why so angry, Beryl dear? Alex's, on the other hand, is what one would expect - sort of "I got you. It's OK, don't worry"

The emotion I'm reading on Beryl right now is one of scrutiny. Sort of a, "you've got my attention, what are you going to do next?" sort of thing. Alex, for his part, seems like he's trying to be reassuring. At least, that's my take.

[Arent]

Well given Beryl's xenophilia wouldn't be safe to assume her romantic interests could be based on something different?

Is that the first time Beryl and Alex are touching? Last time Alex shook hands with Talon she seemed quite taken aback. Also, Alex seems not to receive a "tingling" sensation from touching Beryl as well.

Also, Alex could be quite "mysterious" for Loroi. After all, they are used to know what others are thinking. Now, there is this cute human male and no one can make out what he actually wants. You have rely on his gestures & the way he speaks. Could be quite weird for Loroi.