GrrlPower III: Crisis Of Infinite Filler Comics

[lord_khaine]

I did love myself how this showed that actual mental assult is a viable tactic to use against Max. Even if it also showed it sucks to have damaged gear and enemy reinforcements.

[Traab]

Its about as viable as any other tactic really. If its immensely powerful it might work, otherwise its a wasted effort. Same for punches, energy blasts, and harsh language. It might hurt her, but it better be a REALLY good try. Apparently she has no particular weakness to domination attempts, though we cant be sure if she is as resistant to them as she is to physical attacks. I wonder if the attempt would have worked on a shielded sydney?

[Leewei]

New antagonist power revealed. I'd now like to revise my August end-of-battle to September.

Quoting one's self is probably a sign of narcissism, but I have to point out now that:

It looks like I'm very, very wrong -- and I'm delighted by it.

[BannedInSchool]

Aww, so much for Max being shaken by being mentally dominated. I thought that would be an interesting character twist.

[lord_khaine]

Its about as viable as any other tactic really. If its immensely powerful it might work, otherwise its a wasted effort. Same for punches, energy blasts, and harsh language. It might hurt her, but it better be a REALLY good try. Apparently she has no particular weakness to domination attempts, though we cant be sure if she is as resistant to them as she is to physical attacks. I wonder if the attempt would have worked on a shielded sydney?

I think it might be more precise to say that she has no particular resistance towards mind control?
If you punch or stab Max her force field is going to make it a excersie in futility. But if you assult her mind with your own you just need to be of stronger will than her.

good question about Sydneys shield though. Really cant say.. Dabbler did work though the shield.

[Leewei]

Vehemence didn't get through the shield. I'm guessing it'd block the "golem" from affecting her.

[Traab]

I think it might be more precise to say that she has no particular resistance towards mind control?
If you punch or stab Max her force field is going to make it a excersie in futility. But if you assult her mind with your own you just need to be of stronger will than her.

good question about Sydneys shield though. Really cant say.. Dabbler did work though the shield.

The dabbler thing was hot girl doing jump rope, not mind control. She didnt implant commands into his head (well, no more than any hot girl doing the same thing would have done) And like was said, it did stop the agro aura, both the subtle one everyone was fighting under at the start, and the boosted one that was able to awaken drugged and unconscious people. So im inclined to think it would fail to work against her. As for Max, I dunno, we really cant be sure if her mind control resistance is also super or not. Its not like we have much to compare it to. Best I can think of is, dabbler was able to booby hypnotize everyone male and female at the vehemence fight, except for max and sydney, (who was probably not looking at her on purpose) So unless she is like, pure hetero, its possible her mental control is stronger than average.

[tyckspoon]

The dabbler thing was hot girl doing jump rope, not mind control. She didnt implant commands into his head (well, no more than any hot girl doing the same thing would have done)

Slightly mind control, actually, and possibly more than that; Dabbler has a variety of spells for making people pay attention to her. Remember Sydney's introductory meeting with the higher-ups, when Dabbler first walked in and everybody is thinking "Remember, I'm not actually a lesbian" or variations on "Don't hit on her, can't hit on her, it would be immoral/unethical/against regulations"? That wasn't because Dabbler is just an attractive hot girl, she walks around with a spell for that. And IIRC she once told Sydney that her breasts are literally hypnotic, just as part of her Succubus nature.

[Celestia]

Slightly mind control, actually, and possibly more than that; Dabbler has a variety of spells for making people pay attention to her. Remember Sydney's introductory meeting with the higher-ups, when Dabbler first walked in and everybody is thinking "Remember, I'm not actually a lesbian" or variations on "Don't hit on her, can't hit on her, it would be immoral/unethical/against regulations"? That wasn't because Dabbler is just an attractive hot girl, she walks around with a spell for that. And IIRC she once told Sydney that her breasts are literally hypnotic, just as part of her Succubus nature.

The way I read it, they weren't trying to remind themselves of their sexuality. That would be absurd. They were trying to suppress thoughts that made them feel uncomfortable because they don't think of themselves in that way.

[Traab]

She does have a glamour aura that makes her be extra sexy in addition to whatever gorgeous body she is disguised as. Its not always up as when maxima told her to dial it down she did, but yeah, thats there. As far as we can tell though, that has a very visible speech bubble change. She wasnt using that super sexy aura, she was just using her body's natural seductive quality (she is smoking hot and stacked in "perfect" proportions) to draw the eyes of everyone around her. Lets face it, anyone here attracted to the female gender has probably seen either a video or in real life a braless woman jumping for whatever reason and been distracted for at least a couple seconds. No super power behind it, just biology. Eyes are attracted to motion, said motion is an attractive person doing something very enjoyable to watch, so we watch till we can snap out of it. In her case its a very murky area because, as she said, her body is literally hypnotic. Its an automatic thing, not something she has to activate, so its hard to tell if what got through the shield was a literal mind effecting bit of magic, or just hot sexy lady bouncing quite enjoyably.

[lord_khaine]

No, i absolutely refuse to believe that anyone over the age of 20 is going to be that distracted by a pretty woman jumping up and down. Especially not someone who are locked in a life and death struggle.
The comic in question, 281, makes it clear that Vehemence not only pauses in what he were doing to glance at the motion, he actually gets entranched by the sight like everyone else. His grip begins to losen, and his pupils dialate.

Along with dabbler saying that her breasts are litterally hypnotic, then i think its very clear that at least some effects are to subtle to be blocked by the shield.

So unless she is like, pure hetero, its possible her mental control is stronger than average.

I think its a bit more likely that the electro therapy and choking kept Max's mind on more pressing matters..

[Traab]

No, i absolutely refuse to believe that anyone over the age of 20 is going to be that distracted by a pretty woman jumping up and down. Especially not someone who are locked in a life and death struggle.
The comic in question, 281, makes it clear that Vehemence not only pauses in what he were doing to glance at the motion, he actually gets entranched by the sight like everyone else. His grip begins to losen, and his pupils dialate.

Along with dabbler saying that her breasts are litterally hypnotic, then i think its very clear that at least some effects are to subtle to be blocked by the shield.



I think its a bit more likely that the electro therapy and choking kept Max's mind on more pressing matters..

Dont forget, she was also the only one who had no problem ignoring dabbler doing her super sexy thing at the initial meeting. Everyone else was blushing, fighting against their attraction etc, not her, she just got pissed. So her being super resistant to mind effects seems more likely. That may be why dabbler messes with her so much, its probably rare to come across someone who doesnt start stuttering and blushing when she turns on the charm. I know, we are kinda jumping back and forth between sydney and her shield and maximas innate mental resistance.

[lord_khaine]

Dont forget, she was also the only one who had no problem ignoring dabbler doing her super sexy thing at the initial meeting. Everyone else was blushing, fighting against their attraction etc, not her, she just got pissed. So her being super resistant to mind effects seems more likely. That may be why dabbler messes with her so much, its probably rare to come across someone who doesnt start stuttering and blushing when she turns on the charm. I know, we are kinda jumping back and forth between sydney and her shield and maximas innate mental resistance.

Well, if you want to pause and handle this subject then fine

And as for comic 101, how can we know that Max had no problems resisting Dabblers entrance? Yeah sure she seemed pissed at the surface, and no doubt she also were since Dabbler were fooling around as usual.
But Max were the only person at the scene whose thoughs were not revealed. For all we know she were struggling with the urge to tear all of Dabblers clothes off.

And being angry either were the perfect cover up for her emotions (its actually a rather common reaction), or since sexuality is a minefield for Max, then the sudden attracting towards Dabbler, that she knew came from the lust aura just served to make her even more angry than her default grumpy state.

After all, both General Faulk and Zephan managed to keep their composure as well. They were only revealed by their thoughts.

[Traab]

I dunno, I think the fact that she pretty clearly felt the attempt and reacted with anger than arousal is enough of a clue to work with. She instantly recognized a seriously boosted seduction aura and got pissed while everyone else got aroused. Even the demonology expert who knows precisely what she can do was caught up in it.

[Forum Explorer]

Dont forget, she was also the only one who had no problem ignoring dabbler doing her super sexy thing at the initial meeting. Everyone else was blushing, fighting against their attraction etc, not her, she just got pissed. So her being super resistant to mind effects seems more likely. That may be why dabbler messes with her so much, its probably rare to come across someone who doesnt start stuttering and blushing when she turns on the charm. I know, we are kinda jumping back and forth between sydney and her shield and maximas innate mental resistance.

Maybe she just hates Dabbler and resisted it that way? Hard to have a hard on for someone when they disgust you so severely. (And it would be an interesting take on their relationship. Dabbler thinks they are friendly rivals, while Maxima only tolerates Dabbler for professional reasons)

[lord_khaine]

Previous point still stand. Both Faulk and Zephan managed to hide any outward reaktion, its only their thoughts that revealed they were turned on.

And we dont have access to Maxima's thoughts, how then can we know she were not aroused as well? And just hiding it like those two?

Because everyone clearly felt the attempt, they just reacted to it differently. And that Maxima has a default setting thats close to anger/annoyance when it comes to Dabbler is not much of a clue i think. Dabblers profile straight up mention that she likes to mess with people she percive as prudes.
(also the text under that comic mentioned how Zephan might not have any reason to resist the lust aura, he is suposedly straight and not a member of archons direct command structure)

Maybe she just hates Dabbler and resisted it that way? Hard to have a hard on for someone when they disgust you so severely.

That i think is unlikely, i doubt you can hide strong emotions from a psychic succubus.

[Traab]

Faulk I will grant you, but zephan? Yeah, thats a pretty darn interested look on his face. And with maxima, there is never, not once, a single moment in the comic series where dabbler is being sexy or seductive towards her where she reacts with anything other than annoyance or indifference at best. Im sticking with my theory that she has superhuman resistance to mental attacks as well as physical. We may not know what sort of level its at, but the inference is pretty clear.

[lord_khaine]

Well yeah, he does look a little intrigued/interested, but not flustered or blushing like those visibly affected.

And you are of course welcome to your theory, im just saying there isnt actually any hard evidence to support that she has any more resistance towards mental attack, than what you might randomly find in a large group of regular humans.

[Forum Explorer]

That i think is unlikely, i doubt you can hide strong emotions from a psychic succubus.

Depends on how psychic Dabbler is. She can't read thoughts or anything like that. And she couldn't tell that Vehemence was amping up the aggression of the superhumans he brought with him.

So I feel safe in guessing that Dabbler can only sense lust, desire, and the like.

[HandofShadows]

Spoiler

Show

Well, everyone survived the blast ok. And I must say Hiro has a higher level of invulnerability than I thought. Unfortunately for both him and Max their invulnerability doesn't extend to their clothes.

[Traab]

So when is the xxxenophiles crossover taking place again? lol.

[lord_khaine]

Depends on how psychic Dabbler is. She can't read thoughts or anything like that. And she couldn't tell that Vehemence was amping up the aggression of the superhumans he brought with him.

So I feel safe in guessing that Dabbler can only sense lust, desire, and the like.

She doesnt really to be psychic. Humans have all sorts of unconcious tells that reveal out emotional stat. And even without enhanched senses then Dabbler could most likely read people on a level to make a professional poker player weep with envy.
But she does also have a cybernetic eye, hearing keen enough to hear a heartbeat in the corner of a room and a nose that can pick up strange pheromones in a crowded nightclub. I suspect that combo is enough to let you read people better than most psychics, but Dabbler is ALSO that, so i honestly dont think you can hide anything of that sort from her if you work with her regularly.

[Forum Explorer]

She doesnt really to be psychic. Humans have all sorts of unconcious tells that reveal out emotional stat. And even without enhanched senses then Dabbler could most likely read people on a level to make a professional poker player weep with envy.
But she does also have a cybernetic eye, hearing keen enough to hear a heartbeat in the corner of a room and a nose that can pick up strange pheromones in a crowded nightclub. I suspect that combo is enough to let you read people better than most psychics, but Dabbler is ALSO that, so i honestly dont think you can hide anything of that sort from her if you work with her regularly.

She's also an alien with very little experience with human social ques, and lacks the social expertise that other succubi have, preferring to tinker and adventure then seduce and socialize.

What's more, Maxima has odd biology in comparison to normal humans. Different pheromones and subtly different cues as a result.

So far, I don't think we've seen anything that suggests Dabbler is good at reading human emotions beyond lust.

[lord_khaine]

She's also an alien with very little experience with human social ques, and lacks the social expertise that other succubi have, preferring to tinker and adventure then seduce and socialize.

What's more, Maxima has odd biology in comparison to normal humans. Different pheromones and subtly different cues as a result.

So far, I don't think we've seen anything that suggests Dabbler is good at reading human emotions beyond lust.

Very little experience? she does hang out with them all day, and are able to observe them in all sorts of situation. She certainly wont have the ability to manipulate people like a socially focused succubi, but being a super genius she should have all she needs to know about how you read humans.

And source on Max having different pheromones and subtly different cues? because so far her emotional have seemed pretty easy to read.

Else, well she seems to have a rather good understanding of people, knowing how and how far she can press Max's buttons, understanding about her Stalker but pretending not to notice to let the people in charge feel safer with her around.
To me it all adds to someone with a keen understanding of humans.

[Leewei]

The war golem had a Nude Bomb. Diabolical!

[lord_khaine]

Closer to a fusion bomb, as the explosion were intense enough to make Max complain about the temperature.

Though one must applaud Hiro for the efford he puts into being a Gentleman despite Max suddenly flashing him.

[HandofShadows]

To me it all adds to someone with a keen understanding of humans.

Since Dabbler had a checklist of funny words she is tricking Max into saying, yeah she has a good understanding of how people think.

[halfeye]

Since Dabbler had a checklist of funny words she is tricking Max into saying, yeah she has a good understanding of how people think.

Buzz-word bingo is old, it's from at least the 1990s and may be earlier than that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzzword_bingo

There was at one point a website that would spit out cards with buzzwords in random positions on them.

[HandofShadows]

Considering the "Buzzwords" on this page I would say Dabbler knows exactly how to read people. Or Max at any rate if she is making a game out of it.

http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1358

[halfeye]

Considering the "Buzzwords" on this page I would say Dabbler knows exactly how to read people. Or Max at any rate if she is making a game out of it.

http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1358

The whole team is making a game of it. That Dabbler hasn't already won shows that the game is difficult. Maybe less difficult than for say Sidney, if Sidney is playing at all, but if there was no challenge it wouldn't be an enjoyable game.