Strong Female Protagonist II

[Kantaki]

So the one punch solution is punching Max?

I'm pretty sure that counts as more than one punch.
Especially if she needs him again...

[Maryring]

The level of painting her in a bad light seems to be intentional, as we are pointedly not being shown what Max actually did. Imagine what the response would be if it was something like boosting Feral's power so that everyone in the entire hospital (give it a wing for terminally ill nuns and children for extra incentive) got her regeneration for a few minutes. It would be difficult for an audience to empathize with the conflict in the light of such an ends.

I'd still dismiss Al as acting cruel. This problem, whatever it is, could've been resolved without violence. It's a very, very rare instance where the ends justify the means.

[Morquard]

Well she apparantly told her plan to Max, he listened and then said "You know, just because it's you, I'm not gonna do it".
Now assuming her plan is really something that she thinks will change the world, I can see why she might now allow a "No".

Not trying to defend her, she was acting like an ass. But she did try it the nice approach first.

[Maryring]

No. She didn't try to be nice. She came right back after leaving in a huff and demanded he assist her with something. If Al really wanted to "play nice" she'd get someone with some actual ranks in diplomacy to present her case for her to convince Max to do the right thing. For something to count as making an attempt, you have to do more than just a token effort.

Honestly, I'm willing to bet that Al is using force, less because of how helpful this will be to the world and so she feels a sense of urgency to get it done, and more because she's still mad at Max for being a Libertarian who suddenly got the idiot ball glued to his forehead.

[Reverent-One]

No. She didn't try to be nice. She came right back after leaving in a huff and demanded he assist her with something.

That's not what happened at all. She came back, spelled out her plan, and asked what he thought, even going on to give a nice, sincere sounding apology for her previous actions, even though his behavior had fully merited her walking flying out on the date. Say what you will about her actions after he refused, her initial approach was a appropriately diplomatic one.

[The_Snark]

That's not what happened at all. She came back, spelled out her plan, and asked what he thought, even going on to give a nice, sincere sounding apology for her previous actions, even though his behavior had fully merited her walking flying out on the date.

It was a decent apology taken out of context, but the fact that she immediately followed it up by asking for a favor detracts from it somewhat. It makes it seem like she's only apologizing because she wants something from him. Which... is almost certainly true, I don't think she'd have bothered ever talking to Max again if she hadn't needed his help.

(Not that I'd blame her for that, just. It doesn't make for a sincere apology. It's not 100% insincere, but I really don't think she'd have bothered if she didn't have an ulterior motive.)

[Leewei]

Honestly, I'm willing to bet that Al is using force, less because of how helpful this will be to the world and so she feels a sense of urgency to get it done, and more because she's still mad at Max for being a Libertarian who suddenly got the idiot ball glued to his forehead.

I wonder how the liquor fits into this picture. Is it for her, or is she buying it for someone else?

If she's buying for herself, it implies some pretty severe guilt. If she had internally justified her actions by thinking that Max had it coming, I wouldn't expect her to be grabbing the bottle.

[Lethologica]

When did Feral say that? But well that explains the burger and booze, I suppose. Still not sure how Max's power was the one-punch solution...

Here. And me neither. But then, however Alison's planning to fix the world, she hasn't actually done it yet. Whatever she just had Max do was more like a trial run.

For maximum irony, the solution should be after the fashion of "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas."

[Morquard]

Ah thanks. Yes, that fits kinda perfectly, but we're still not sure WHAT she did or plans to do. And that is kinda important to know to judge her motivation. If they're always cutting away from a scene when it's getting explained, it's ****ing stupid.

[Maryring]

That's not what happened at all. She came back, spelled out her plan, and asked what he thought, even going on to give a nice, sincere sounding apology for her previous actions, even though his behavior had fully merited her walking flying out on the date. Say what you will about her actions after he refused, her initial approach was a appropriately diplomatic one.

It... really wasn't. There's a difference between an apology and an instance of saying whatever to satisfy a different end goal. And in this instance it's easy to tell the difference. As has already been stated, any sincerity is thrown out the window, both by the fact that Al was justified in leaving when she did, and in the fact that she immediately afterwards tried to press him into doing something for her. And then afterwards there's a moment where Max showed vulnerability, an opening that could've patched things up between them. A moment where anyone with enough sense to read the provided instruction manual on how to manipulate Max would've figured out what to do or say to get Max to comply with the matter. Al lacks the emotional maturity to be diplomatic, and considering that only a few days ago she had this enormous epiphany that you can't solve the problems of the world alone, and that she'd just seen how incredibly diplomatic and persuasive Brad could be, she had all the tools she would need to resolve the issue without any use of coercion.

[Sapphire Guard]

Okay, so going by that quote, Max's trick has to do with feral. Unless there is a handy supply of braindead bodies that now can generate infinite organs, I don't see how Max's power can help with Feral's situation. Hope we get some kind of explanation soon.

[Dragonus45]

So I don't think that Max used his powers of Feral directly, just that Alison thinks she has worked out how the ??? in the equation of Max + Brutal violence and abuse + ??? = World Peace. Now she is off to Feral with her Burger and Bourbon.

[Reverent-One]

It... really wasn't. There's a difference between an apology and an instance of saying whatever to satisfy a different end goal. And in this instance it's easy to tell the difference. As has already been stated, any sincerity is thrown out the window, both by the fact that Al was justified in leaving when she did, and in the fact that she immediately afterwards tried to press him into doing something for her. And then afterwards there's a moment where Max showed vulnerability, an opening that could've patched things up between them. A moment where anyone with enough sense to read the provided instruction manual on how to manipulate Max would've figured out what to do or say to get Max to comply with the matter. Al lacks the emotional maturity to be diplomatic, and considering that only a few days ago she had this enormous epiphany that you can't solve the problems of the world alone, and that she'd just seen how incredibly diplomatic and persuasive Brad could be, she had all the tools she would need to resolve the issue without any use of coercion.

That's not the point. Yes, she failed to convince him, but you claimed she just showed up and demanded Max do something, without even attempting to be nice about it. However bad you think her people skills are, she clearly did make an attempt at honest diplomacy to win him over rather than trying to force him from the get go.

[Maryring]

And I'll maintain that Al didn't nearly enough. I said it before and I'll say it again.

For something to count as making an attempt, you have to do more than just a token effort.

[Traab]

Im having this mental image of an upcoming comic where the surgeons are taking a short break or a shift change at harvesting feral so allison is bringing over the bigass hamburger and bourbon and is going to confess everything she did to ferals unresponsive body. She will monologue about the plan and what it could do and how it will make everything better while at the same time display her new sense of self loathing that she did what she did to achieve it. She broke her own moral code, violated her axiom of "I just dont like bullies"

[Vinyadan]

And then Feral grabs the bottle, gulps it, and the next 20 receivers will die because of the interplay of alcohol and anticoagulants.

Has Ali said anything about sand, by the way? Coarse? Rough? Irritating?

[Kantaki]

Im having this mental image of an upcoming comic where the surgeons are taking a short break or a shift change at harvesting feral so allison is bringing over the bigass hamburger and bourbon and is going to confess everything she did to ferals unresponsive body. She will monologue about the plan and what it could do and how it will make everything better while at the same time display her new sense of self loathing that she did what she did to achieve it. She broke her own moral code, violated her axiom of "I just dont like bullies"

Well, let's hope she realizes she is a bully know. She might not see it that way because she thinks she did it for the "greater good".
Alison seems to think whatever she made Max do was "right" after all.

And then Feral grabs the bottle, gulps it, and the next 20 receivers will die because of the interplay of alcohol and anticoagulants.

That would be amusing in a terrible way.
But I think the deal was that they share booze and burger when Feral doesn't need to do the donation thing anymore.
So I guess Tara either leaves the hospital with Alison or she kicks her out because she doesn't agree with Empress Alison I's way of saving the world.

Has Ali said anything about sand, by the way? Coarse? Rough? Irritating?

Oh come on, that comparison is just plain unfair.
I don't know to whom, but it is unfair.

[Traab]

Well, let's hope she realizes she is a bully know. She might not see it that way because she thinks she did it for the "greater good".
Alison seems to think whatever she made Max do was "right" after all.



That would be amusing in a terrible way.
But I think the deal was that they share booze and burger when Feral doesn't need to do the donation thing anymore.
So I guess Tara either leaves the hospital with Alison or she kicks her out because she doesn't agree with Empress Alison I's way of saving the world.



Oh come on, that comparison is just plain unfair.
I don't know to whom, but it is unfair.

If you looked at her face this entire time you would probably notice she is fully aware of how wrong what she is doing actually is on a personal moral level. Now maybe she has some sort of dumbledooreish greater good she is doing this for, maybe she just wanted to find out if her buddy mighty mite could shrink his way into another dimension and she decided to use his power boosting abilities to find out. Either way, I get the feeling it was more "because its needed" than "because its right" in her head.

[Kantaki]

If you looked at her face this entire time you would probably notice she is fully aware of how wrong what she is doing actually is on a personal moral level. Now maybe she has some sort of dumbledooreish greater good she is doing this for, maybe she just wanted to find out if her buddy mighty mite could shrink his way into another dimension and she decided to use his power boosting abilities to find out. Either way, I get the feeling it was more "because its needed" than "because its right" in her head.

To be honest, I read that as her being angry/frustrated that Max made her go this far instead of cooperating voluntary.
Not because she went to far but because the world doesn't just follow her judgement.
Unless she gets someone to talk with I expect Alison will continue on this path. And even if someone tries to talk her down I'm not confident it will work.

[Traab]

I figure another 6 weeks and we might get a damn clue whats going on.

[Kantaki]

Believe me Tara, we all want to know.
But thanks for asking that question.

[137beth]

Feral is going to make Alison realize that what she did was wrong...
at least I hope Feral can make her realize

[Traab]

Im calling it now, allison has her grand solution, it doesnt involve max at all. The problem is, she needs to tell feral and her mind shut down, unable to cope with everything being done to her body over and over. So she used him to boost her healing so she would wake up. She violated her personal beliefs just so she could talk to feral about her awesome idea.

*EDIT* Also, next comic will be feral eating the burger while allison says, ".... and thats my plan! Think itll work?" The rest of the comic is just feral trying to break to allison that its got tons of flaws, and we end the comic STILL NOT KNOWING THE PLAN! We will never hear it mentioned again and will never know what her idea was.

[JeenLeen]

I'm guessing Max boosted Feral such that she regenerated a complete duplicate.
I don't see why she'd ever pause and be asleep, since machines are doing the, um, harvesting 24/7 (right?). At the least, out of respect for her sacrifice and constant agony, I'd reckon doctors would take shifts so there'd never be a pause where she's asleep.
Otherwise, it seems like a deeply jerk move to give Feral a 'break' from her donation, since I reckon consciousness after weeks/months of constant agony isn't necessarily pleasant, nor would Feral likely be thankful due to the deaths Allison would indirectly be causing (no donations for an hour = unknown number of recipients die). Al has shown a willingness to be a jerk in dealing with Max, but I don't see her doing such with Feral.

Or did I miss something about how the organ donation was working?

[Spojaz]

I'm guessing Max boosted Feral such that she regenerated a complete duplicate.

Half of the Ferals in the world being in unending torment is an improvement, over the only one of her being in unending torment, I guess.

[Traab]

Speaking of regeneration and agony, there was a story I read once about a guy that could regenerate from just about anything. he was defeated by basically, severing his spinal column with a piece of rock, and leaving it secured in the wound, so the guy COULDNT heal his injury. I wonder if they could have done that for feral? Find a way to basically turn her into a quadriplegic who cant feel anything below her neck so she ISNT in total agony of having her body endlessly harvested. Or at worst, the pain is only in that one area of her neck.

[Vinyadan]

Speaking of regeneration and agony, there was a story I read once about a guy that could regenerate from just about anything. he was defeated by basically, severing his spinal column with a piece of rock, and leaving it secured in the wound, so the guy COULDNT heal his injury. I wonder if they could have done that for feral? Find a way to basically turn her into a quadriplegic who cant feel anything below her neck so she ISNT in total agony of having her body endlessly harvested. Or at worst, the pain is only in that one area of her neck.

Unfortunately it isn't that easy, nerves work in a strange way for which I am having problems finding an analogy. Anyway, the point is that you still would have the receiving end, and the receiving end would still receive signals which are known as phantom pain or just itching and afaik cannot be treated yet. In practice, you can feel pain in your hand even though your hand is gone, and this can sometimes be a severe problem.
While this would be better than feeling yourself being constantly gutted, given how this comic works, there would surely be a loophole about how Feral's phantom pains are the worst thing evur 1000x being gutted 10000x having your heart extirpated 100000x having your lungs removed. I mean, it's not like the story is being cautious in creating situations that don't appear to have deliberately been made that way out of a million different possibilities because it's the only way in which this comic can go on creating absurd situations that can somehow relate to the real world.

[JeenLeen]

Half of the Ferals in the world being in unending torment is an improvement, over the only one of her being in unending torment, I guess.

It at least allows Feral, in one form, to have her own life.

After more thought, I can see this not being too feasible: if it is logical to create one Feral clone, why not (beyond tormenting Max) create enough to fulfill all donor needs? I'm assuming Feral would be willing to. If Max made one duplicate, that duplicate would likely want to be put to the same 'harvesting' to save twice as many lives.

[Vinyadan]

I see a problem in Feral clones being autonomous, conscious beings that can feel pain and make choices distinctly from Feral, and they would be created for dissection.

Also, the next 20 receivers die because of Ferals sprouting out of their ribcage.

[Kantaki]

I see a problem in Feral clones being autonomous, conscious beings that can feel pain and make choices distinctly from Feral, and they would be created for dissection.

Also, the next 20 receivers die because of Ferals sprouting out of their ribcage.

Well, replacing large parts of the population with Tara sounds like a good first step towards saving the world.


Please tell me that's not Alison’s plan...