Let's Burn Some Muscle!! p87
Added 2014-10-01 02:39:08 +0000 UTC
Comments
Obviously I talk about Miriam as she is now: Miriam before Boost incident was not abnormally large even by our world standards (she was not by any means small, but she was not even “exotic dancer” sized, let alone “need external support” sized). As for “anti-grav devices are expensive, plain and simple” : why do you think that? We have no idea WRT how they are made thus we don't know if they are expensive or not. I don't think they are super-cheap (this will mean much larger changes in the life than what we've seen so far), but I don't see why they should be especially expensive. I would not expect dozen of them to be more expensive than figurehead, e.g.
Khimru
2014-10-02 18:36:33 +0000 UTCI don't know where you've come with “if she was half as bad” idea. When I'm talking about “sheeps” and “lions” I'm NOT talking about “good, nice, people” and “awful predators”… at least not directly. “Sheeps” are people who, if they'll violate law and will be caught, will go to jail. “Lions” are people who may get away with a murder, figurally speaking. “Tigers” are someone's protege: they can murder someone and get away with it if they are executing the will of their patron, sometimes they can even murder someone on their own will, but without favor of their patron they become just a regular sheep. We don't know if Rhea is “tiger” or “lion” (that is: is she controlled by someone else), but we know that she's not a “sheep” (sheeps don't reach such a high levels, they are weeded much earlier). Now, “lions” and “tigers” may largely ignore rules invented for “sheeps”, but they have their own, unwritten, rules. If they will ignore them then their fellow “lions” will destroy them. And the most important rules are rated to relationships between “lions”, “tigers”, and “sheeps”. If “lion” start favoring a regular “sheep” then “tigers” became jealous for any “sheep” favored by “lion” can become a “tiger” (and some of old “tigers” can be retired after that). If “tiger” starts favoring a “sheep” (without knowledge of their patron) then this could be first step on the road from “tiger” to “lion” and this is not something any self-conscious “lion” would like. Thus the circumspect ways I've talked about: golf courses, saunas, etc. Oh, and consulters, too. IOW: what Rhea did looked as an attempt to bring Alexis from the “sheep” status to “tiger” status. And Alexis either have not understood that or consciously rejected that attempt. This is NOT the way to reach happiness: when that happens then you are left in the “sheep” status but other “tigers” now know that you are potential competitor. And will not hesitate to neutralize you. Sometimes they may even risk ire of their patron and go as far to physically destroy you. The fact that it was a few months since last Rhea's visit is even more ominous: that, most likely, means that Alexis was left to herself (and in “sheep” status) and did quite well. It was, most likely, her conscious choice. Rhea have respected it and not visited because it's impossible to associate with “lion” or “tiger” and keep “sheep” status for long. Sooner or later you'll be weeded out, as I've noted above. Yet now Rhea is back. I highly doubt that Rhea actually needs help (not in the Cowloon, that's for sure and I doubt it'll be good idea to send Alexis as an ambassador) which means that, most likely, she feels that it's not longer safe to leave Alexis in the “sheep” status. Oh, sure, she'll want something from Alexis, too, but the most likely reason to do that now is still to make sure that she'll have an Alexis around to talk about some other plans later. It will do Rhea no good if she'll try to reach Alexis later only to find out that she was deported or killed. IOW: the problem lies EXACTLY in the fact that Rhea is NOT “High Overlord Queen”. If Alexis will continue to spurn all attempts to help her then sooner or later not even Rhea will be able to save her.
Khimru
2014-10-02 18:26:31 +0000 UTCBefore or after getting boosted? Because Kay seems to be fine despite the fact she's lugging around absolutely massive breasts, a buttocks implant AND a baby with no Atlas bra attached. Pretty sure while body modification is not uncommon in this world, it's not as widespread as you think it is. Anti-grav devices are expensive, plain and simple. Why would a little, but profitable gym have them? They're a luxury item(the chairs anyway) and if a girl is big enough to have to need one, she's got the means to afford the "smaller" sizes(compared to Than/Alexis/Bunny) that she got to anyway.
Galka30
2014-10-02 18:13:04 +0000 UTCThere is no hole, you're blowing things out of proportion. Like I said before, if she was half as bad as you say she is(lion in sheeps clothing) why bother offering Alexis a choice in the matter on landing? Should have told her straight up: you're an experiment now, have fun getting plowed by a cowman swinging pipe OR we can twist your genetic code like a slinky, your choice. I doubt she would have given/allowed her ownership of a gym or a figurehead or said the things she did at the beginning if she was just "playing at ground level" like you seem to be suggesting. Plus, she IS the Materfamilias so I highly doubt that she couldn't get access to Alexis' real body in some way, especially the way you put things. Calm down, stop reading things so hard. As for her being "moody", we can't really read the emotions on an emotionless figurehead, now can we? Nor can well tell the tone of her voice, she's busy with running her gym.
Galka30
2014-10-02 17:24:12 +0000 UTCThe fact that large bras could be costly makes the problem less acute, not more: if pure tailoring part could be thousand of dollars or more then “$1000 a piece” antigravity generator will not look like a huge expense. “$100 000 a piece” antigravity generator still will be a huge expense, though. Than have talked about “implants” and “gene treatment” on page 13 thus one could assume that Atlas have had sizable clientele before Boost, too. And woman smaller than Alexis or Than may need antigravity pads, too: Miriam uses bra with built-in anti-gravity generators, e.g.
Khimru
2014-10-02 17:15:19 +0000 UTCShe's “not haughty and self-important”, she just lives in a different world. All high-level functionaries (heads of large corporations, etc) live by these rules. “Access to the body” is tightly controlled and retinue defends it's rights for that access quite stiffly. Rhea may not look like “power-hungry sociopath akin to Than” but the very fact than she reached the top of the ladder means she knows how to play that game very well. But, yeah, not everything in the life of “people in power” is dictated by said game. One popular “way out” is “informal meetups”. Why do you think there are so many jokes about agreements made of golf courses (in sauna, while game-shooting, and so on—favorite recreational activities differ in different societies, but the general idea behind them is the same)? EXACTLY because it makes it possible for a people at different places in the social ladder to met without tight control of the retinue: hey, it's just a hobby, nothing serious, no need to become jealous! As you can guess the fact that Alexis operates gym made it basically perfect for such cross-caste meetup. Noone else (except for Alexis and Rhea) needs to know if they are discussing anything else besited types of the excercises. The fact that Rhea gets visibly “the same treatment as everyone else” is perfect cover, but of course if she'll REALLY get the same treatment then it's an impediment (again: think why golf are popular as a cover and/or recall all these jokes about tied deers, fowls with clipped wings and so on): if that's 100% real hobby then it's Ok to spend all the power one has for that hobby, but if it's just a cover then you need to leave energy for, you know, REAL purpose. Consulting is also often used as a cover. Similar story for the retinue: hey, I've hired her (or him) as an expert in types of beads, no need to suspect that we are dicussing political stuff there! Of course retinue knows that in most cases hobbies and consulters are not JUST a hobby, but they look the other way because they, too, may need such opportunities. Basically: everything we observe looks as if Alexis was given another opportunity and blew it. Looks like her favorite past-time. No wonder she's “always moody… or tense… or upset… or lonely…”! As for “let's wait until Friday”? Sure, eventually we'll see what happens and how big a hole Alexis dug for herself, but why are you sure it'll happen soon? Wasn't that what you said last week, too? We still are basically at the same point.
Khimru
2014-10-02 16:55:00 +0000 UTCConsidering that a decent bra for a woman with real life large breasts can cost upwards to $300, pretty sure they're damn expensive considering that as far as we know, there's no way for a woman to get to Than/Alexis'(prior to being BOOST'd) sizes without some kind of augmentation, whether it be surgery, genetic or hormone treatments.
Galka30
2014-10-02 12:12:38 +0000 UTCAnd if she's so damn haughty and self-important as you let on, why bother giving Alexis a choice? Or go to Alexis' FIGUREHEAD instead of her directly? You're assuming she's some damn dictator and power-hungry sociopath akin to Than when she's shown nothing of the sort so far. If she was, she would have told Lou to fuck off and went to Alexis directly, why bother with the "charade" of going along with the exercise routine then? And don't use the sheep analogy again, it's been several months and so far Alexis has seemed to be doing quite well for herself. How about, hear me out, we WAIT until Friday to find out what's going on here, shall we? Instead of jumping to conclusions that Rhea is some kind of High Overlord Queen. Pretty sure if she was, Lou wouldn't have "given her the works" so to speak.
Galka30
2014-10-02 12:10:41 +0000 UTCWell, I just want to know if these hoverchairs (and Atlas bras which are using the same technology) are something expensive yet relatively common (akin to aeron chairs in our world), or something rare and not all that useful but extremely expensive (akin to golden lavatory in our world), that's all. Since such technology is impossible in our world we have no idea how much it'll actually cost.
Khimru
2014-10-02 08:49:19 +0000 UTCShe's Cowloon's materfamilias… and it's lonely at the top. It does not even matter if that title is heriditary or elective. In fact elective is kinda safer: if she'll lose the game in that setting she'll face impeachment, in more traditional settings it'll be guillotine or poisoned arrow. She's either “some Queen that has to be pleased at all times” or she's “someone who'll be overthrown soon”. Oh, it's also possible that she's not someone in charge but just a cover figure, but these “couple of pages” (actually 10% of the whole comic) showed us someone who's in charge, not someone who's someone's else protege and who's fully controlled by others (“Senator Papageorgio” looked like that, Rhea didn't). I think we see things differently because of intrinsic assumptions. Your assumption is that Rhea is “soft and fluffy cow” because the looks kinda like that and she was not portrayed as an “angry, offended lion” in the few pages we've seen it. My assumption is that she's either “lion” or “tiger” because, again, “it's lonely at the top” and people there are never “soft and fluffy” on the inside. I've seen few “people in power” who looked like that: yeah, they are always calm, pleasant and never look angry… and they ask their underlings to slowly cut your teeth with a file without losing their smile and with the same usual calmness. The fact that we've not seen her “teeth”, figurally speaking, does not mean she does not have them, she must, or else she'll not last long.
Khimru
2014-10-02 08:06:22 +0000 UTCLook, from what we've seen you're assuming Rhea is like some high and mighty god that looks down on the people living in Cowloon like her own personal serfs. She's been in a couple of pages and she hasn't come off as that to me at all, you're reading way too hard into this. She's not some Queen that has to be pleased at all times. We haven't seen anything to suggest she's a "lion". Sure, Than is definitely a "tiger" by your definition though. But so far, Rhea has actually seemed pretty down to Earth. You're over-reacting to her being in a position of power and thinking she's just as bad as Than when it comes to it I think. Let's just simmer down a bit and wait for Friday, eh?
Galka30
2014-10-02 03:36:23 +0000 UTCOr maybe they don't have the funds for hovering chairs because it's a GYM and not a high tech fetish fortress.
Galka30
2014-10-02 03:31:11 +0000 UTCI think you might have issues....
CarlTL
2014-10-02 00:32:33 +0000 UTCOn the unrelated note: it's interesting to see that they are using regular chairs here, not levitating ones. Just a small observation, I'm not sure if there are any significance in that fact. Could be just a preference of Cowloon (or may be Alexis personal preference).
Khimru
2014-10-01 19:31:22 +0000 UTC“It wasn't contempt, it was her giving her the usual treatment a newbie to the gym gets.” I'm not sure what you are trying to say. Your first sentence basically contradicts the second one. Yup, “it was her giving her the usual treatment a newbie to the gym gets” which IS “contempt” when we are talking about someone like Rhea. You are talking as if you still believe in “legal equality”, “natural rights”, and other such bullshit. Come on! World does not work that way. Yeah, today's “myth for common sheeps” is claiming that “all men are created equal”. But how can you believe that if the very same people who proclaimed that immediately turned and wrote that yes, “all men are created equal… but some are more equal than others” (U.S. Constitution, Article Two, Clause Five). Clans and castes are alive and well in today's world. The fact that they are no longer based strictly on blood relations does not change much, it just makes the whole game more convoluted. Now, social “lions” (people with actual power) and “tigers” (people who have close connections with people with actual power but who are not powerful enough to play their own game) don't always act like “tigers” and “lions”. They often pretend to play by “sheep”'s rules. “Sheep”'s like these shows, they often believe in “legal equality” and “natural rights”, you know. They are lapping them eagerly. But of course an actual participants are supposed to understand who's who. Yet Alexis have shown that either she does not understand these simple facts of life or, perhaps, just deliberately ignoring them. By, again, offering Rhea “the usual treatment a newbie to the gym gets”. That's pretty serious offence. If you show that you don't understand the unwritten rules and actually believe in “legal equality” and “natural rights” then you not “lion” or “tiger”, but a “sheep”. And, well, checks and balances don't work across caste borders. Any “lion” or “tiger” can destroy any “sheep” and it'll not need a justification. Oh, sure, if you want to actually murder “sheep” then novadays there are rules to be observed. Big deal. Do you really believe it's hard to throw Alexis to jail or even put her on electric chair? Are you THAT naive? “Find” some illegal substance in her gym (does not really matter if there are anything illegal or not), explain how said substance “kills people” (again: does not really matter if it's true or not), recall “Prois Fitness“ fiasco in a TV campaign—and people will line up to throw stone into the Alexis tied to a column. Easy-peasy. BTW I'm pretty sure that Rhea wanted to offer “consulting job” because she wanted to acquaint Alexis with some other people in power. And Alexis with her stupid stunt have almost thrown that oppoportunity to the wolves. I'm not sure how long Rhea will tolerate such stupidity, actually, but, well, the fact that Than played Alexis like a violin is now explained: she just does not know how the world ACTUALLY works. Or, perhaps, even worse: she does not WANT to know how world actually works.
Khimru
2014-10-01 19:28:37 +0000 UTCIt wasn't contempt, it was her giving her the usual treatment a newbie to the gym gets. Not her fault Rhea didn't consider that entering. Just because she's the Materfamilias(sp?) of Cowloon doesn't mean she's the grand dictator of the place and ANYTHING she says goes. She's got power but there are checks and balances I'm sure. She can't give them guff for doing something they would normally for anyone other of their clientele. It's a serious gym for serious gymgoers from all seen accounts, people that want to get ripped and huge so they don't cater to "hobbyists". Besides Rhea could have left but she stuck in there because apparently this consulting job is pretty damn important. Considering it's been several months and Alexis' gym seems to be not only successful but prospering.
Galka30
2014-10-01 17:25:21 +0000 UTC“That looked like a typical, high output routine for serious gym goers”—exactly. And THAT is the problem. “Can't help it Rhea didn't know what she was getting into”—Rhea knew exactly what she's getting into. She wanted to see if Alexis is ready to play with “big boyz”. Everyone knew that she never planned to actually spend her time excercising. The fact that she went along with it means that she's ready for some concessions, the fact that Lou have run her ragged means either contempt or naivety. Alexis should pray that Rhea will not read it as contempt, but even other alternative is not all that good for her future. If she plans to be an owner of some kind of business, that is. TL;DR: Alexis and her staff were tested and fell short, now the question is what grade Rhea will give her: B, C or D. It does not look like she's ready to give her an “F” which is the only good thing here. P.S. And as for “what might go on” with Rhea falling asleep… there are so many possibilities that I'm not even sure I want to start speculating. There are dots at the end which probably means that we'll not see the process, only the result. I only hope that Alexis is not stupid enough to actually kidnap Rhea.
Khimru
2014-10-01 16:22:56 +0000 UTCI don't think he overdid anything. That looked like a typical, high output routine for serious gym goers. Can't help it Rhea didn't know what she was getting into, looks like Barons is for serious exercisers only. As for her falling asleep, I have an idea of what might go on but I'll keep it to myself for now.
Galka30
2014-10-01 15:29:17 +0000 UTCHave not expected that. Lou overdid things slightly but since Rhea is still here situation is still salvageable. But she fact that Rhea fell asleep is not good. We'll see how well Alexis will resolve that situation in the next frame, I guess.
Khimru
2014-10-01 03:25:50 +0000 UTCI've been at that level of exhaustion.
Galka30
2014-10-01 03:01:22 +0000 UTCAwww, poor thing.
BioYuGi
2014-10-01 02:55:22 +0000 UTC
