Grrl Power Thread #2: The Most Common Super Power

[Traab]

Right. Her forcefield alone would be enough to qualify for the big leagues. Then she also has the com orb, which has a true sight powerful enough to see through the disguises of both Dabbler (supposedly impossible) and Mister X (who not even Dabbler is supposed to be able to sense, though she can sense him obliquely). Then she has flight that, if not on par with Max, is still fast enough to impress her. Then she has the lighthook, which was able to even partially restrain a fully charged Vehemence. Then she has a blast power, which certainly is on par with the team for tank destroying power. Then her Comm orb also grants her telepresence as well. Might as well add in that her abilities are still in the early stages of development (her level up screen has a lot of empty circles). And then there's the orbs themselves, which even Maxima couldn't budge when they didn't want to go. And top that all off with the fact that she can use any two powers at the same time, allowing her many combinations. Yeah. She's definitely in the big leagues, despite being a second day rookie.

Here is the thing. Max has stated flat out that she hasnt gone all out on blasting the shield. So we really dont know the limits it has. Its powerful, but we dont know where it breaks. Her true sight orb sees through illusions, and now can apparently see auras of some sort. Useful, but as peggy demonstrated, hardly awe inspiring. The lighthook didnt restrain jack squat. She tripped him early on after his initial power up. Got dragged by vehemence when he was roughly mid range power, you know, before he started stomping max, and was able to keep his throat from healing long enough for literally every super with a brick type to pile on him and hold him down. Her lighthook gives her roughly mid level super strength, not even remotely on par with maxima, even without her doing a stat dump into physical strength. Her blast orb we have seen once. It cut through the tank like a laser. Impressive sure, but maxima was able to obliterate the tank with a massive explosion that required a sydney shield to block the fallout from even after she launched it a massive distance away. Once again, we dont know its limits, so its hard to judge. Telepresence is a neat trick, with some interesting potential uses, but archon has communication tech, so big whoop in general. The upgrades make her a potential eventual match for maxima, but right now she isnt there. She is powerful yes, a part of the big leagues, yes. But not even close to maxima.

Here are her limits. She can only use two orbs at a time. Meanwhile maxima can fly at speeds faster than the speed of sound, be tough enough to tank huge damage, and hit hard enough to launch you across town, while aiming her blaster at you to finish you off all at the same time. Sydney has lower stats in virtually every area, and can only use two at a time. Plus, maxima wont die if she is taken by surprise. Her durability is excessive even when she isnt trying, sydney needs to know or suspect an attack is incoming then put up her shield to block it. Peggy could kill sydney. It would take all of arcswat working together to eventually bring down maxima. Even that might not work. The best dabbler was able to do was cause a stalemate. Force maxima to go full armor mode and be unable to leave it, but unable to actually defeat her.

Bottom line, Sydney is really powerful, probably in the top 3 of the lineup, with the potential to go even higher. But she isnt there yet. And its her flexibility that puts her there, not her raw stats in each area. Stalwart doesnt rank very high because aside from his durability and his space shuttle weight move, he doesnt offer much to a fight. Hiro on the other hand, has a number of other advantages in addition to his strength and durability, so he is ranked well above stalwart. There is a reason that maxima and dabbler are at the top of the scale. Its their flexibility. You saw during the battle, dabbler was getting spanked by heavenly sword. Because she was sticking to one ability for way too long. As soon as she brought out the magic and tech, she started whupping butt.

[Calemyr]

Here is the thing. Max has stated flat out that she hasnt gone all out on blasting the shield. So we really dont know the limits it has. Its powerful, but we dont know where it breaks. Her true sight orb sees through illusions, and now can apparently see auras of some sort. Useful, but as peggy demonstrated, hardly awe inspiring. The lighthook didnt restrain jack squat. She tripped him early on after his initial power up. Got dragged by vehemence when he was roughly mid range power, you know, before he started stomping max, and was able to keep his throat from healing long enough for literally every super with a brick type to pile on him and hold him down. Her lighthook gives her roughly mid level super strength, not even remotely on par with maxima, even without her doing a stat dump into physical strength. Her blast orb we have seen once. It cut through the tank like a laser. Impressive sure, but maxima was able to obliterate the tank with a massive explosion that required a sydney shield to block the fallout from even after she launched it a massive distance away. Once again, we dont know its limits, so its hard to judge. Telepresence is a neat trick, with some interesting potential uses, but archon has communication tech, so big whoop in general. The upgrades make her a potential eventual match for maxima, but right now she isnt there. She is powerful yes, a part of the big leagues, yes. But not even close to maxima.

Here are her limits. She can only use two orbs at a time. Meanwhile maxima can fly at speeds faster than the speed of sound, be tough enough to tank huge damage, and hit hard enough to launch you across town, while aiming her blaster at you to finish you off all at the same time. Sydney has lower stats in virtually every area, and can only use two at a time. Plus, maxima wont die if she is taken by surprise. Her durability is excessive even when she isnt trying, sydney needs to know or suspect an attack is incoming then put up her shield to block it. Peggy could kill sydney. It would take all of arcswat working together to eventually bring down maxima. Even that might not work. The best dabbler was able to do was cause a stalemate. Force maxima to go full armor mode and be unable to leave it, but unable to actually defeat her.

Bottom line, Sydney is really powerful, probably in the top 3 of the lineup, with the potential to go even higher. But she isnt there yet. And its her flexibility that puts her there, not her raw stats in each area. Stalwart doesnt rank very high because aside from his durability and his space shuttle weight move, he doesnt offer much to a fight. Hiro on the other hand, has a number of other advantages in addition to his strength and durability, so he is ranked well above stalwart. There is a reason that maxima and dabbler are at the top of the scale. Its their flexibility. You saw during the battle, dabbler was getting spanked by heavenly sword. Because she was sticking to one ability for way too long. As soon as she brought out the magic and tech, she started whupping butt.

"and was able to keep his throat from healing long enough for literally every super with a brick type to pile on him and hold him down" counts as partial restraint, in my book. On her own, she wouldn't have been able to hold him long, but she was able to hold him long enough to make a difference.

As for a direct comparison to Maxima, I don't mean to say she's as powerful as the colonel. I mean to say she's in the same league as her - which is to say "jaw dropping, holy crap, that shouldn't be possible even for a super" league. The league, in my opinion, currently contains Sydney, Maxima, Dabbler, and Achilles, with only Achilles seeming to be a natural super on that tier. (Dabbler's a demon/alien hybrid, Maxima's apparently demonically powered, and Sydney's Sydney.) All four of them flat out break the rules on what it means to be a super in some way. Vehemence certainly qualifies as well, except for being an enemy rather than a teammate. (Note that by including Achilles here, I'm stating that this isn't about raw power. Achilles is functionally useless but apparently absolutely indestructible.)

So Sydney starts the story already in the "broken" league of supers. She has a host of WTH powers that she can readily use. She may not be as strong as Maxima, but she's definitely in the same league as her.

And yes: Versatility is the key factor here. According to what we've been told, versatility is a rarity. Maxima basically has a generalized powerset like Hiro, only boosted and then boosted again with a supplementary power pool to take a few stats into superb levels or one beyond legendary levels. But while Maxima is limited to a variable-but-generalized skillset, Sydney is actually able to switch specialized powers on the fly, and combine them.

[Traab]

She didnt restrain him at all. She did the equivalent of applying a twist tie to his neck, then prayed everyone else would grab him before he tore it right off himself. He had already done so to the light hook once before, when he wasnt even close to as strong as he was at the climax of the fight. Her light hook is roughly car lifting level of strength. (Or at least, thats the heaviest thing she has lifted to date according to her) Yeah its super, but its a drop in the bucket compared to what real super strong types can generally do. Like Vehemence, who punched stalwart hard enough to lift a space shuttle several inches into the air, once again, long before he reached his peak strength.

Where the hell did you get maxima is demonically powered from? She is just a game breakingly powerful super. Achilles is honestly a joke. Sydney could defeat him like this. /wraps achilles in light hook, uses other portion of lighthook to drop a lot of rubble on him, leaves him buried. His only power is that you cant hurt him. Aside from that he is only slightly stronger than a normal human, meaning he is less of a physical threat than peggy in a fight, since at least she uses guns. Yeah he has his uses, but he is pure gimmick fighting.

[Calemyr]

Where the hell did you get maxima is demonically powered from? She is just a game breakingly powerful super. Achilles is honestly a joke.

Achilles is honestly a joke, yes. But absolutely, unfailingly, utterly indestructible. Even sub-atomic attacks can't scratch him. He uses his chin as a backstop for a railgun demonstration. He is indestructible on a scale that even the most absurdly overpowered supers can't quite fathom.

As for Maxima being demonically powered, that theory's based on Dabbler's foreshadowing. Maxima in mega-mania mode (at the end of the news conference) reminded Dabbler of a flaming skull demon she fought before. Then, as Arianna scolds Maxima for the display, the rogue's gallery of people intrigued by her ultimatum (which included Vehemence's "Challenge accepted.") included the flaming skull demon saying either "Found you" or "Found it", been a while and I'm not going to look that up right now. Granted, could be talking about Dabbler, but it was portrayed as a consequence of Maxima's display. Combine that with the fact that Maxima's powers are clearly not standard issue (nobody else got metallic gold skin, or a supplementary power pool, or anything like either), and it shouldn't be a large leap to say what makes her unique is tied to the flaming skull demon. Not canon, I'll admit, not yet, but all the pieces are in place for it to be confirmed.

Note that I'm not saying Maxima is knowingly using demonic power. She's using the power she was given and not fully aware of what makes the power unique among supers, while that power is indentified as being at least similar to a particular demon who was specifically shown to be intrigued by Maxima's display.

[Traab]

The demon thing was Dabbler remembering a prophetic statement made by one of her defeated enemies. There was a lot of fire when maxima went high power on that tank, so she thought of his line about "a mighty burning to herald my coming" It had nothing to do with maxima having demonic power. Incidentally, that has to be the lamest attempt to predict a bad guy returning. A "mighty burning"? Every forest fire she sees on the news could be a "sign" Every over cooked steak could qualify. For all we know, the latest celebrity roast episode is a sign of his returning.

The "found you" was one of a half dozen different statements indicating bad guys wanting to fight arcswat in some way shape or form. There is no more reason to think demon boy is the source of her power than the guy saying, "the cleansing is at hand" On the other hand, mummy man is probably the other super maxima mentioned who she thinks (hopes) is dead. As you said, its pretty vague, we dont know what demon boy was looking at at the time. Could be maxima, but I think that its still a bit of a stretch to say, "She has gold skin, obviously she is demonically empowered" She Hulk had green skin, that doesnt make her demonically empowered. Being a different color from standard while remaining a goddess of physical beauty is uncommon, but hardly unique in the super community.

[Calemyr]

The demon thing was Dabbler remembering a prophetic statement made by one of her defeated enemies. There was a lot of fire when maxima went high power on that tank, so she thought of his line about "a mighty burning to herald my coming" It had nothing to do with maxima having demonic power. Incidentally, that has to be the lamest attempt to predict a bad guy returning. A "mighty burning"? Every forest fire she sees on the news could be a "sign" Every over cooked steak could qualify. For all we know, the latest celebrity roast episode is a sign of his returning.

The "found you" was one of a half dozen different statements indicating bad guys wanting to fight arcswat in some way shape or form. There is no more reason to think demon boy is the source of her power than the guy saying, "the cleansing is at hand" On the other hand, mummy man is probably the other super maxima mentioned who she thinks (hopes) is dead. As you said, its pretty vague, we dont know what demon boy was looking at at the time. Could be maxima, but I think that its still a bit of a stretch to say, "She has gold skin, obviously she is demonically empowered" She Hulk had green skin, that doesnt make her demonically empowered. Being a different color from standard while remaining a goddess of physical beauty is uncommon, but hardly unique in the super community.

Maxima is an exception. If you leave out her power pool and metal skin, she's just a high grade generalized super. Hiro, basically, albeit a bit more powerful. Excellent, but not unique. The metal skin and power pool, however, are traits that we have seen no examples of in this setting. Artificial skins as an "active" power, yes, like Concretia's stoneskin, but as a passive and permanent change (Maxima dislikes being golden, remember, and would presumably keep that in reserve if she had a choice), there are no other examples. Power pool has two examples that play similar to it: magic (both Vehemic and Tantric) and Halo, none of which are natural superpowers. We know why the other people break the "rules", magic and mysterious artifacts. Maxima has no knowledge (to our knowledge) of why she breaks them.

The gallery sequence had a lot of people getting giddy over a big fight, yes, but "Found you" was an uncommonly focused line. This wasn't an excuse to cut loose, this was something actively and specifically sought out. The subject in question (Maxima, based on the scene's lead-in) in particular is important. Combine that focus with Dabbler being deliberately used to draw a line between Maxima and Skully, and add in the fact that something unusual is at play with Maxima's powers and I don't think the theory is out of line. However, it is still a theory, and all evidence that supports it is vague enough that the story could easily go another way without contradiction.

[Traab]

Maxima is an exception. If you leave out her power pool and metal skin, she's just a high grade generalized super. Hiro, basically, albeit a bit more powerful. Excellent, but not unique. The metal skin and power pool, however, are traits that we have seen no examples of in this setting. Artificial skins as an "active" power, yes, like Concretia's stoneskin, but as a passive and permanent change (Maxima dislikes being golden, remember, and would presumably keep that in reserve if she had a choice), there are no other examples. Power pool has two examples that play similar to it: magic (both Vehemic and Tantric) and Halo, none of which are natural superpowers. We know why the other people break the "rules", magic and mysterious artifacts. Maxima has no knowledge (to our knowledge) of why she breaks them.

The gallery sequence had a lot of people getting giddy over a big fight, yes, but "Found you" was an uncommonly focused line. This wasn't an excuse to cut loose, this was something actively and specifically sought out. The subject in question (Maxima, based on the scene's lead-in) in particular is important. Combine that focus with Dabbler being deliberately used to draw a line between Maxima and Skully, and add in the fact that something unusual is at play with Maxima's powers and I don't think the theory is out of line. However, it is still a theory, and all evidence that supports it is vague enough that the story could easily go another way without contradiction.

Be fair, virtually everyone has something unique about their powers, so pointing out a unique trait isnt much evidence. Noone else can approximate the weight of a space shuttle, that doesnt make stalwart demonically empowered. Jiggawatt can turn herself into energy, harem can divide herself into 5 bodies, etc etc etc. Oh, and when varia touched vance, she turned into fem-collosus. Metal skin and all. As for her power pool, its not a source of energy she can draw on like magic, its reallocating how her power is distributed. She can weaken one ability to strengthen another. Just to create a random example, she has 50 points total in all her stats. She can take 30 of those points and put them wherever she wants, and switch them in an instant. She doesnt "run out" or gain more points like dabbler in mid orgy, or vehemence in mid battle, what she has is all she has.

Halo has no power pool at all. Much like how dabbler has those gems she can slap into her sword to cast spells, halo has orbs she can hold to use their abilities. Thats not a power pool, thats magical artifacts (or science, or whatever) Im not saying its impossible that there is a connection, im just saying your evidence is really flimsy. "Found you" is your best one, and thats pretty vague all by itself.

[AvatarVecna]

As far as villains from Maxima's past go, I thought the mummy-looking one would be someone Max has fought before. I remember someone asking something like "Are there supers in the Middle East?", and Maxima just smirked and said "Not as many as there used to be". Then, during her demonstration, that guy responded in a language that I think was confirmed as Arabic or something close, and the translation was something like "Dead? I've been dead before."

[Calemyr]

Be fair, virtually everyone has something unique about their powers, so pointing out a unique trait isnt much evidence. Noone else can approximate the weight of a space shuttle, that doesnt make stalwart demonically empowered. Jiggawatt can turn herself into energy, harem can divide herself into 5 bodies, etc etc etc. Oh, and when varia touched vance, she turned into fem-collosus. Metal skin and all. As for her power pool, its not a source of energy she can draw on like magic, its reallocating how her power is distributed. She can weaken one ability to strengthen another. Just to create a random example, she has 50 points total in all her stats. She can take 30 of those points and put them wherever she wants, and switch them in an instant. She doesnt "run out" or gain more points like dabbler in mid orgy, or vehemence in mid battle, what she has is all she has.

Halo has no power pool at all. Much like how dabbler has those gems she can slap into her sword to cast spells, halo has orbs she can hold to use their abilities. Thats not a power pool, thats magical artifacts (or science, or whatever) Im not saying its impossible that there is a connection, im just saying your evidence is really flimsy. "Found you" is your best one, and thats pretty vague all by itself.

I think there are basically two classes of super: generalist and specialist. Three if you count a mage as a super (do we?). Generalists are like Hiro and Maxima, they only have the general powers, but they're quite powerful in all/most of them. Then you've got specialists, like Jiggawat and Stalwart, who all have a few unique abilities, but only limited access to generalist powers. (Maybe flight, maybe strength, usually some grade of durability.) Generalists are great all-rounders, but lack anything special. Specialists have their own unique power set, but lack versatility. Even with all her power, Maxima remains a generalist, she can just buff those generalist powers to kingdom come. Magic users like Dabbler and Vehemence have a limited resource to fuel their powers, but can perform incredible feats when properly fueled. Sydney, however, acts like a specialist that can change specialties with no known resource requirement beyond a free hand.

Varia's ability is to synthesize an ability based on the person she touches. Becoming Femme Colossus while touching Maxima simply means that metal skin is part of her essence (Varia points out that her abilities work on non-supers as well, so it's not the target's abilities that matter).

Halo's similarity to the power pool is the ability to swap powers on the fly, rather than to shift buffs from category to category. Dabbler and Vehemence use magic to create their versatility, but it uses up some of their required resource.

As for evidence, I'll admit it's vague. I feel Dave is pulling a Homestuck - fill the setting with enough hanging hooks that virtually anything he wants to do in the future counts as properly foreshadowed. A lot of them will go nowhere, but the ones that are used stick in the mind. However, from a narrative perspective, Dabbler being "reminded" of Skully like that was intentional. Dave specifically drew a link between Maxima and Skully at that exact moment, and put to much emphasis on it to be readily dismissed as a throwaway hook. Skully then reciprocated, targeting Maxima (probably, judging from context) in particular in his declaration. Maxima is the only person we've seen with permanent alteration (again, she complains often about how it makes her look and how guys treat her because of it - I don't think she'd leave it on 24/7 if she had a choice), and she's specifically referenced as being extraordinary even for a super.

[Emperordaniel]

Well, just caught up to the latest comic after an all-night archive binge. Consider me intrigued.

[AvatarVecna]

Well, just caught up to the latest comic after an all-night archive binge. Consider me intrigued.

...and now you get to play the waiting game, just like the rest of us!

[lord_khaine]

Well, just caught up to the latest comic after an all-night archive binge. Consider me intrigued.

Welcome to the guessing game :)

Varia's ability is to synthesize an ability based on the person she touches. Becoming Femme Colossus while touching Maxima simply means that metal skin is part of her essence (Varia points out that her abilities work on non-supers as well, so it's not the target's abilities that matter).

Minor nitpick, that was not Maxima that were being touched there, Varia mentions her power dont work on Max.

The gallery sequence had a lot of people getting giddy over a big fight, yes, but "Found you" was an uncommonly focused line. This wasn't an excuse to cut loose, this was something actively and specifically sought out. The subject in question (Maxima, based on the scene's lead-in) in particular is important. Combine that focus with Dabbler being deliberately used to draw a line between Maxima and Skully, and add in the fact that something unusual is at play with Maxima's powers and I don't think the theory is out of line. However, it is still a theory, and all evidence that supports it is vague enough that the story could easily go another way without contradiction.

Im pretty sure that were refered to Dabbler, who directly had a personal flashback towards that demon.
As i read it then its more that Max were used to remind Dabbler of something in her past, to expand a little bit on her character.
Maxima already have one defeated super in her own weight class seeking revenge, she dont need to hog all of then

[AvatarVecna]

Maxima already have one defeated super in her own weight class seeking revenge, she dont need to hog all of then

Oh absolutely, I'd love to see Math go toe-to-toe with someone actually in his weight class (so to speak), or Dabbler combine a hodgepodge of tricks into a solid beatdown. Of course, the person we most need to see in the limelight is Sydney; with Maxima around, she almost never gets a turn!

[Emperordaniel]

Well... I can now say that I know what merkins are.

Who's betting that Sydney will say something even more outlandish by the end of the day? Since this day's already going so well for her, and all.

[lord_khaine]

Oh absolutely, I'd love to see Math go toe-to-toe with someone actually in his weight class (so to speak), or Dabbler combine a hodgepodge of tricks into a solid beatdown.

Yes actually, because i will bet cold hard cash on those two newer making an apperance again, not having any other meaning for the overall story besides taking part in a super hero brawl.

Unlike Maxima who already have one personal nemesis presumed to be dead but still alive and kicking.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Unlike Maxima who already have one personal nemesis presumed to be dead but still alive and kicking.

Uh... if you're talking about flaming skull guy, I'm pretty sure that's Dabbler's nemesis. And that his reaction to the TV conference was that he recognized a succubus glamer and Dabbler's abilities/personality.

[Kantaki]

Uh... if you're talking about flaming skull guy, I'm pretty sure that's Dabbler's nemesis. And that his reaction to the TV conference was that he recognized a succubus glamer and Dabbler's abilities/personality.

Maxima’s nemesis is the guy who looks a bit like a mummy and says something in arabic. If I recall correctly he comments on her statement that there are only two supers that could take her and that one of them is dead. The translation was something along the lines of “You think I'm dead?„

[AvatarVecna]

Maxima’s nemesis is the guy who looks a bit like a mummy and says something in arabic. If I recall correctly he comments on her statement that there are only two supers that could take her and that one of them is dead. The translation was something along the lines of “You think I'm dead?„

I thought his comment translated more like "You'll kill me, huh? I've been dead before...", but I might be recalling incorrectly. In any case, I think it's likely that he's an old nemesis of Maxima's, but I don't think it's explicitly stated as much as heavily implied.

[Kantaki]

I thought his comment translated more like "You'll kill me, huh? I've been dead before...", but I might be recalling incorrectly. In any case, I think it's likely that he's an old nemesis of Maxima's, but I don't think it's explicitly stated as much as heavily implied.

I think your version is closer to being correct. I was just stating (from my notoriously faulty memory no less) a rough approximation on the general meaning of his line. I just hope we get to see more of him and of the other guys on the page. And that the plot moves away from the showers and the details about the body hair of superpowered individuals.

[Douglas]

I thought his comment translated more like "You'll kill me, huh? I've been dead before...", but I might be recalling incorrectly. In any case, I think it's likely that he's an old nemesis of Maxima's, but I don't think it's explicitly stated as much as heavily implied.

I looked up the comments on that page, and someone's translation was confirmed as exactly correct by the author: "I’m dead, am I? So much the better."

He's commenting about how Maxima thinking he's dead will give him an advantage.

[AvatarVecna]

I looked up the comments on that page, and someone's translation was confirmed as exactly correct by the author: "I’m dead, am I? So much the better."

He's commenting about how Maxima thinking he's dead will give him an advantage.

Nice to have confirmation on this; thanks for looking it up.

Okay, so it's explicitly stated that he's the old enemy who could take her on that she thought was dead, it's just not stated in English.

[lord_khaine]

Uh... if you're talking about flaming skull guy, I'm pretty sure that's Dabbler's nemesis. And that his reaction to the TV conference was that he recognized a succubus glamer and Dabbler's abilities/personality.

If you just jump into the end of a conversation you might miss the contex of it. Like in this case that max already had one nemesis, and did not also need Skull guy.

Okay, so it's explicitly stated that he's the old enemy who could take her on that she thought was dead, it's just not stated in English.

And yeah, i am really interested in what sort of powerset he has that allows him to fight even with Max.

The last guy to do so, Vehemence more or less had a power that allowed him to build his character ingame

[Metahuman1]

So, yeah, Math actually IS starting to get a bit to creepy for his own good.

[AvatarVecna]

Oh god, I almost forgot he was in this one. Math...Math, stop creeping. It's not funny, it's just creepy. What worse is thinking of how that scene occurred: was Math just lurking near one of the Harem clones, or did he spontaneously appear there in that creepy pose because his could-lead-to-sexy senses tingled?

[Metahuman1]

I'm not sure I want an answer to that question on the grounds I can't decide which is worse and thus feel it might be best to forever not know.

[HandofShadows]

New page.

You know, I don't think anyone ever DID say

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how much Sydney would be paid.

[Traab]

I put this on the comic comment board but I will put it here too. I dont think it should matter

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how much she gets paid. 40 bucks for a meal is price gouging. I wouldnt pay that much for a prime rib steak and lobster dinner, let alone some decent grub for lunch. So even though yeah, I bet they get paid big bucks, considering they are highly unique specialists working hazardous duty for the military/government, unless the chef is also a super who can cram enough calories and nutritional content to feed a super all day on a single meal, they are getting hosed. I dont care if they get paid so much they make football stars seem below the poverty line, unless the meal itself is special in some way, its not worth 40 bucks.

[Eldan]

Huh. You Americans must have it cheap. Switzerland: 10-15 bucks for cheap/bad fast food (McDonalds, etc.), 20 bucks for a cheap self-service restaurant, 40 bucks for something reasonable, 60-80 for a quality restaurant. Open upwards, of course, my parents have told me of 300 CHF meals they had for their anniversaries and so on.

That's in CHF, which I think are still more valuable than dollars.

[AvatarVecna]

$40 for lunch is fairly expensive, at least in my area. That's a large dinner at a really good restaurant; that's ridiculous for lunch unless you're very...fancy.

[Kantaki]

I'm pretty sure there is a catch. 40 Dollar for a meal seems a bit extreme. The real question is why the others don't tell Sydney what's up. It can't be that secret.