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Julius CSAR posted:I mean he does drop "commodified by soulless capitalists" though, probably a mix of both though I guess to me that scans much more like the kind of anticapitalism that’s grounded in the idea that making something transactional befouls it, rather than a coherent account of the system and exploitation. There are people who think commodification of the wrong things is bad, rather than commodification being bad. Basically, the concern doesn’t actually seem to be for the girls themselves, but for the perceived sanctity of their mission and their powers.
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Dec 18, 2019 00:40
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Julius CSAR posted:The whole idea of "Sailor Moon Is A Child Soldier" is super interesting. There's at least a few things out there that are thinking along similar lines, the one that immediately comes to mind is : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_Girl_Spec-Ops_Asuka which I dropped after one volume because the artist was way the gently caress too horned up.
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Dec 18, 2019 00:55
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Rereading Sleepless Domain and, wow, Tessa really strikes me as having some sort of clinical depression from the start. Her problem solving is very avoidant, it looks like she might have had a private cry after overhearing what Sally was saying, and when she's saving Undine, she says 'any one of you deserves to live more than I do', which I don't think we can chalk up entirely to survivor's guilt. It's not like the depth of her grief after chapter 2 is surprising, but it seems like the specific ways it manifests are in unhealthy behaviors that were already there, amplified. It also struck me that Team Alchemical was playing out a pretty unhealthy power dynamic, but an unintentional one. The role Tessa was actually playing was battleground strategist, but codifying that as 'leader' is part of what got Sally so upset. Tessa's joke to Sally about 'not being able to do everything for you guys' strikes me as Tessa's insecurity manifesting in a way that was more hurtful than she intended, and the fact that it was a recurring clash between her and Sally means things had been bad for a while. Gwen wasn't going to interfere, Undine was trying to mollify everyone but wasn't really equipped to address the core issues, and Sylvia seems like she might have poured fuel on the fire a bit. It was just an all-over mess. But if Tessa was insecure and feeling like her power was the most pertinent thing about her right from the start, it helps explain everything after.
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Dec 18, 2019 02:32
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PetraCore posted:Speaking of Sleepless Domain there was a character popularity poll a while back that grouped Zoe with Purple Girl and Dream Girl and Light Animal Girl, when everyone else grouped together had either a thematic reason for it (team alchemy, team melty, etc) or were in the 'other' category, and I've just been thinking about that ever since then. Also recall Purple Girl's protest at Zoe showing up to save Rue, and the comparison it made with Golden interfering.
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Dec 18, 2019 03:36
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TheDemon posted:Also recall Purple Girl's protest at Zoe showing up to save Rue, and the comparison it made with Golden interfering. I think that recent evidence points to Zoe being a cool magical girl, but not necessarily having any special connection to them? Specifically Goopy said something like ‘there’s just too many magical girls,’ implying she didn’t see Zoe as something special. But, we’ll see!
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Dec 18, 2019 03:41
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Joe Slowboat posted:I think that recent evidence points to Zoe being a cool magical girl, but not necessarily having any special connection to them? Specifically Goopy said something like ‘there’s just too many magical girls,’ implying she didn’t see Zoe as something special. I mean either way it's not a good thing. But on my reread I noticed Anemone doesn't know who Goopy is and that Anemone's power is supposed to give her knowledge of everything happening in the City, so what I'm thinking is that the weird stuff going on with Anemone/Dream Girl and the weird stuff going on with Goopy/Golden Girl are related but not immediately connected, and who knows where Zoe could fall in that. If Zoe has some distant relation to stuff going on with Anemone and Dream Girl, Goopy wouldn't recognize her.
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Dec 18, 2019 04:05
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Julius CSAR posted:Oh yeah, absolutely. The bag was just kinda of an odd detail lol. I also like that there are socialists who want to bring down the bourgeois magical girl industry to prevent the proliterian magical girls from being exploited. It's great. The whole idea of "Sailor Moon Is A Child Soldier" is super interesting. If military magical girls interests you, I would also point you towards Symphogear and Nanoa StrikerS. Symphogear has multiple seasons and is on Crunchyroll, but Nanoha StrikerS is the third season of its series, preceded by Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha and Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's. StrikerS is basically "and many years later, they grew up, moved to the Magical Girl World, and joined the army." The first season and A's were localized but I think there's some expiration fuckery that makes them hard to get, StrikerS was not licensed so you're on your own there. Spec Ops Asuka was mentioned, but...okay, you know how comic books had the Grimderp Age in the 90s, where everything had BLOOD and DEATH and SWEARING to show that they WEREN'T FOR KIDS and as a result turned into pizza cutters, all edge with no point? Yeah, Asuka's basically that. It just gets super gross for shock value. As for the gift bag, it makes sense to me. There's a bunch of letters and he has to put them in something, so that's what he used. He probably had some plain old boxes around, but may as well put them in something nice, you know?
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Dec 18, 2019 04:26
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Also, some people probably sent gifts with the letters. Reuse the bag!
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Dec 18, 2019 04:38
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My guess is Goopy is the inverse of Dream Girl, and that yes the girls don't remember "the dream" but I have a sneaking suspicion that they also aren't remembering a sort nightmare they have afterwards, or is maybe a "second part" to the dream. Dream girl is shown to have the power to literally remove nightmares from girls minds, and I have a feeling that Tessa doesn't remember "the dream" but "the nightmare" judging from her flashback, and that is why Dream girl says she has failed her. My guess is Goopy girl and Dream girl are very much connected as a sort of yin/yang kind of deal. Like Goopy is making the monsters, and Dreamy is making the girls to fight them. Also, and maybe I'm just bad about parsing teen girl drama, but Sally's line about Tessa of "It's clear she thinks she's actually better than us." makes think that Tessa is individually special. Her "dream" is shown to be wildly different from all other girls, and is actually pretty horrifying. Also, judging by how Udine is seemingly unique in that her blue iris's are now pink from Tessa's power transference, I don't think it's a coincidence that Tessa's pupils are yellow when she has her powers. There's some other girls who have different colors but not as obviously contrasting as Udine and Tessa. There's also a line about her powers and something about "it's not like she worked for them or anything" so I think Team Alchemical is somehow already kind of weirded out by Tessa beyond the drama causes the falling out. But also, Goopy could wind up being a rogue girl or something as her beef seems to be with Team Alchemical specifically. It seems extremely personal. Even if Tessa is not the main character, I'm convinced she is the important character in the story. Also I am sorry I ever mentioned the gift bag
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Dec 18, 2019 05:32
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Julius CSAR posted:My guess is Goopy is the inverse of Dream Girl, and that yes the girls don't remember "the dream" but I have a sneaking suspicion that they also aren't remembering a sort nightmare they have afterwards, or is maybe a "second part" to the dream. Dream girl is shown to have the power to literally remove nightmares from girls minds, and I have a feeling that Tessa doesn't remember "the dream" but "the nightmare" judging from her flashback, and that is why Dream girl says she has failed her. My guess is Goopy girl and Dream girl are very much connected as a sort of yin/yang kind of deal. Like Goopy is making the monsters, and Dreamy is making the girls to fight them. IDK why I'm spoiling what I'm spoiling. As for the dreams, I got the impression Tessa's dreams were more about her losing her power, whether it's representing psychological or literal spiritual damage from the act. But when talking about the Dream, everyone but Undine says what they remember of their dream is deeply disturbing, so I think there's something there.
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Dec 18, 2019 06:31
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Joe Slowboat posted:I guess to me that scans much more like the kind of anticapitalism that’s grounded in the idea that making something transactional befouls it, rather than a coherent account of the system and exploitation. There are people who think commodification of the wrong things is bad, rather than commodification being bad. Basically, the concern doesn’t actually seem to be for the girls themselves, but for the perceived sanctity of their mission and their powers. That’s pretty good, I think I’m more on your side now. I also love the whole industry related to magical girls probably being a way to keep the public from asking too many questions about how dangerous this all is. like the presentation of them to the public is basically “The Great And Powerful Oz” while the inherent danger the girls face every night is the man behind the curtain. Also it just dawned on me that the government compensating the families of fallen magical girls is indistinguishable from the SGLI benefit my family would’ve gotten if I had died while I was in the military and that is loving spooky and makes feel for these girls even more.
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Dec 18, 2019 06:35
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PetraCore posted:Yeah, I agree with everything you've said about Tessa. It's been mentioned repeatedly that her powers were extremely OP, and I also think there's going to be significance in willingly giving your power to someone else to bring them life, something that both Tessa and Kokoro's mom have done. In both those cases, we don't really see a significance to the result beyond the obvious, that is, Tessa saves Undine's life but it's not like Undine is suddenly shooting pink laser beams now, and Kokoro's power really has nothing to do with her mom's. Still, I think there's some significance there. Oh poo poo, I figured that was a flashback to her getting her powers and not her losing them. I dunno why I came to that conclusion, but for some reason it felt like it was flashback rather than current tense. As for Udine not shooting pink laser beams... she does do EXACTLY what Tessa does when she uses her water beam for the first time, down to finger guns and saying “Bang” with literally the exact same facial expression. Like down to her lips being pursed and such. Maybe Udine absorbed MUCH more of Tessa than we realize, possibly up to and including part of her general personality. Like when she kills the huge beetle thing with that water beam, I feel like she’s almost channeling Tessa. I’m so glad I have people to talk to about this now. These things have been on my mind a lot. I’m not really so sure as to why this comic in particular has affected me so deeply, but like, it has. Maybe because of my own struggles with many of the same mental health issues. Kokoro’s line of “Well... the meds help!” In response to Udine asking how she is so positive all the time is serious energy.
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Dec 18, 2019 06:45
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Julius CSAR posted:Oh poo poo, I figured that was a flashback to her getting her powers and not her losing them. I dunno why I came to that conclusion, but for some reason it felt like it was flashback rather than current tense.
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Dec 18, 2019 06:57
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Also I feel dumb because when I reread all at once it suddenly feels obvious that Dream Girl is the Founder, although that doesn't exactly explain more about her.
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Dec 18, 2019 07:01
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Oh right, I feel it's worth noting: Goopy seems to be reaching out to Tessa precisely because Tessa's in a bad place right now, has lost her powers, and could probably really hurt Undine (whom Goopy seems to personally hate). And, after all, every Magical Girl series needs the dark magical girl who's the inverse of the protagonist and super tragic. And Goopy might hope Tessa could take that role.
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Dec 18, 2019 07:08
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In another magical
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Dec 18, 2019 07:14
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Spider venom liquifies organs so the spider can drink the protein slurry out of their prey, right?
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Dec 18, 2019 18:15
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oh yes oh god yes form the head FORM THE HEAD unghhhh...
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IronSaber posted:Spider venom liquifies organs so the spider can drink the protein slurry out of their prey, right?
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Dec 18, 2019 18:20
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I dunno, I think this spider is big enough to eat solids, just look at the size of its mouth.
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Dec 18, 2019 18:44
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Cat Mattress posted:I dunno, I think this spider is big enough to eat solids, just look at the size of its mouth. EDIT: I mean it has teeth, it's probably just a paralytic.
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Dec 18, 2019 19:11
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So what's the deal with All Night Laundry suddenly going all gibberish with #355?
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Dec 20, 2019 21:25
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jng2058 posted:So what's the deal with All Night Laundry suddenly going all gibberish with #355? Reset your primary temporal position to the current comic you're reading
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Dec 20, 2019 21:38
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Girl Genius is unfolding a plot hook from 13 years ago and it's not really answering any questions yet, but it's a little interesting that proper video is apparently uncommon in this world. I never thought of that. I guess it's also casting doubt on the reliability of the British and resurrecting the uncertainty about Tarvek a little.
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Dec 20, 2019 22:54
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Not Drunk Enough is on Chapter 3 and updating regularly again. I'm real happy, Tess Stone is a real good webcomic artist, and I'm a big fan of his take on body horror. Anyone who hasn't read the series so far has a couple good, gruesome chapters ahead of them.
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Dec 22, 2019 15:50
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SlothfulCobra posted:Girl Genius is unfolding a plot hook from 13 years ago and it's not really answering any questions yet, but it's a little interesting that proper video is apparently uncommon in this world. I never thought of that. I don't think it affects Tarvek much, but it does raise some questions about the British.
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Dec 22, 2019 15:51
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habeasdorkus posted:I don't think it affects Tarvek much, but it does raise some questions about the British. We know that they were badly infiltrated by revenants, hence the commando team who kept switching sides. It's entirely likely that one or more of the people getting the handoff actually worked for Lucrezia, though where in the chain that occurred is up for debate.
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Dec 22, 2019 17:11
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Meanwhile, in Dumbing of Age, I'm pretty sure Willis is playing with one of my favorite tropes, which is "villains who are dangerous because they are stupid and not in spite of it," but unfortunately it's really hard to tell because Amber's dad and Becky's dad are both just so viscerally unpleasant that I can't really focus my eyes on any strip with them in it, which makes it hard to pay attention to the plot. It doesn't help that Amber's dad gets more smug and slimy as he loses control of a situation rather than less.
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Dec 23, 2019 23:07
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See, and for my part I hate dumbing of age right now. A comic I find bad just in general but keep reading because it's like junk food but this is a fuckin low point. Just every attempt at drama is incredibly stupid like... I hate these dads so much. They were I guess relatively okay bad guys originally but they are now fuckin legion of evil-ing doing a villain team up and not-mustache dad is so comically, stupidly, unbelievably evil I can't believe he's actually in this comic. Like, this is what, the third? Fourth time he's shown up to menace his daughter for no good reason? At least the other guy is stupid and fundamentalist. This guy just gets off on being a monster and now he's going to murder a college student with a hammer???? Also I guess I'm supposed to care about blonde guy (Mike?) whose defining character trait is he's an rear end in a top hat every waking moment of his life and yet people continue to associate with him but now he's got pathos because his gay friend isn't into him or something. I have feelings about this comic right now. Edit: like a while back when they were showing glimpses of dads to warn of their coming dad evil I just kept thinking "oh my god please leave them out why are they coming back"
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Dec 24, 2019 10:02
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So All Night Laundry has finished! Some epilogues are coming but they won't be daily updates. I hope they're good, I think this needs more denouement. And I still have a lot of questions about Three.
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Dec 24, 2019 12:15
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The Evil Dad Duo is harder to take seriously than the It's Walky villains consisting of a giant pastry, a monkey robot, and an alien from "Planet Alien".
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Dec 24, 2019 12:33
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Tenebrais posted:So All Night Laundry has finished! Some epilogues are coming but they won't be daily updates. I hope they're good, I think this needs more denouement. And I still have a lot of questions about Three. Thank you to whoever first mentioned it here recently. I caught up yesterday, a really good read. But there is one question that has been bothering me, and none of the characters have asked it. The botfly grants wishes, in a twisted, monkey paw style. Josephine wanted to be a famous scientist, and she got something that was sciencelike but basically magic. Gregor wanted Piotyr back, and got The Hound. Amie wanted to be in a Doctor Who episode, and became a side character. And maybe Bina wanted to be able to change her past and her life, but got horrible brain melting time travel. But did Kendra have a wish? She had as much or more exposure to unlight as Amie. Is it that she did not have any wish that the botfly could twist for more followers or power? It just feels like they spent so long talking about Amie and Bina and what the botfly was doing to/for them, and no one ever thought to ask about Kendra.
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Dec 24, 2019 13:29
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[Un]Divine's author announced a hiatus today. She's been having mental health issues and draws about it here: https://twitter.com/Catcoconutart/status/1207644130202943488?s=20
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Dec 24, 2019 20:15
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iospace posted:[Un]Divine's author announced a hiatus today. She's been having mental health issues and draws about it here:
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Dec 24, 2019 20:24
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iospace posted:[Un]Divine's author announced a hiatus today. She's been having mental health issues and draws about it here: I hate that this is becoming more common, the last couple of years have been like steroids for mental health issues
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Dec 24, 2019 20:45
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it’s only going to get worse, much like absolutely everything else
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Dec 24, 2019 21:20
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Oxxidation posted:it’s only going to get worse, much like absolutely everything else thank’s
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Dec 24, 2019 22:04
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Oxxidation posted:it’s only going to get worse, much like absolutely everything else
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Dec 24, 2019 22:05
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Lunatic Sledge posted:I hate that this is becoming more common, the last couple of years have been like steroids for mental health issues
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Dec 24, 2019 23:28
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Oxxidation posted:it’s only going to get worse, much like absolutely everything else can't imagine why with posts like this
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Dec 25, 2019 00:33
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PMush Perfect posted:Much like your posting. 
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Dec 25, 2019 02:27
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