Tartania’s not just scarier than her old man, she’s a lot smarter, too.
Dang, she’s a really high-level Druid too, being able to use “A Thousand Faces”…
…
If she actually starts casting spells, the team is in trouble.
OK hold on a sec. What’s going on here? The story is being told backwards because we’re getting it from Mimic’s perspective and the noir genre tropes.
– Mimic and co inadvertently cost Tartania her inheritance
– Tartania wants to kill Mimic, and ideally get her inheritance back
– Tartania has been killing mimics for a while, we don’t know how.
– If Tartania just wants to kill Mimic, there is no need to come here. Indeed, it is positively disingenuous, as here Mimic has allies.
– Tartania says she doesn’t care about Princess. This was so petulant, it’s probably true
– They are currently on a railship. If Tartania stole it, that would go toward recreating her inheritance, especially if she gets to kill Mimic at the same time.
– The story presents Mimic being needed in order to find Tartania’s father, but that doesn’t actually make sense for getting them here: Mimic ran from the quest as much as possible.
– The vault was already open, with a plaid hair inside.
So:
– If the hair is Tartania’s, why does she need Mimic at all? The noir tropes would have the hero inadvertently lead the killer to the victim, for example, but here it would simply be pointless.
– Unless, potentially, all Princess’ crew are actually Tartania’s crew. Maybe? This would be an interpretation of the “not sure she’s outnumbered” line, and would make sense for trying to steal the ship. But again, why involve Mimic?
– Another option is that Plaidbeard himself is still alive and broke into the vault. If he then vanished, that would give a motivation for trying to find him. We know the Belt of Genre-Changing was stolen, and that this was the artifact he previously wanted, so there is some logic here.
– That could also explain the “not outnumbered” line, if the crew are in fact Plaidbeard’s crew and will follow Tartania because of her hair.
The “not outnumbered” line isn’t unexplained. Tartania shapeshifted into a duplicate of Captain ‘Nuff, and is now siccing Nuff’s crew on Mimic and company…including the Princess, who has dropped her disguise and won’t be recognized as the Captain anymore. Together, Tartania and the fishfolk outnumber the good guys.
I agree with you on the other points; it’s not clear to me at all what Tartania hoped to gain from Mimic, or why she followed him around for so long before striking. There may be other shoes yet to drop…
Tartania didn’t know Mimic blew up her father and the ship until the Princess mentioned the missile that blew it up. Once she realized that her true quarry was in reach all bets were off.
A ship’s anchor as a cc weapon? Ouch. Guessing it weighs around 35 to 50 kilos, and the fishdude seems to hold it effortlessly, at that. One hit and you’re sunk.
I think you’re overlooking a crucial detail here. In all the previous instances of using the Belt of Genre Changing the person using it was transformed to the most (or one of the most) powerful entity within the new genre. So, to understand the current plot we’ve to ponder – who’s the most powerful entity in noir? Why, the Criminal Mastermind! Mafia Don, cunning and ruthless. But that’d not be the main comic’s Don of certain tentacled brain-eating species, he’s already there. It’d be a don-wannabe, small-time criminal, who sees themself as a big fish, har, har. Someone, who’d suffered from the actions of heroes (which may or may not include destroying their home and stealing something valuable of them) and would like to both have their revenge and their precious stuff back. Someone like… Calamitus.
That’s not the most powerful entity though.
The most powerful entity in Noir is the one who gets the ball rolling, the one who is able to play the hero like a fiddle on the string. Mob bosses and the like get knocked off like cheap cigars, they often have power but are just as often killed for a second act twist.
The betraying dame IS the most powerful entity.
Unrelated, I just realized the Princess can’t put her hat back on because of the grappling hat. Pretty clever move on Tarta’s part.
>Mob bosses and the like get knocked off like cheap cigars, they often have power but are just as often killed for a second act twist.
And the King Kong gets killed in the end, either by a plane, or by Fay Wray, depending on whether you’re a cynic or a romantic. Didn’t stop Plaidbeard from turning into one the first time he used the Belt.
BTW, I’d like to add a few details to the portrait of the person having the Belt now. They have plaid hair and hate (probably) Mimic, but are indifferent to the Princess (reasoning – Mimic’s role in the changed genre comes with liberal amount of suffering, both physical and emotional, but the Princess fared reasonably well – until the visit by Bedlam Box, Sharp Sugar and Pintsized Pyromaniac trio, that is). Also to get the real twist, they have to be connected to one of the main actors of the chapter (the Princess, while important in-universe, movie-wise is more of a supporting role). ‘Connected’ as in ‘related’, I think.
Yep. Still sounds like good old Calamitus.
Awww, that IS not fair. I’d point out they’ll probably ask why the Princess is wearing the same outfit as Ruffenuff, but Tarta-Nuff will probably tell them she’s the dwarf druid trying to confuse them. At any rate, it probably won’t matter, so long as they get to hurt somebody.
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Tartania’s not just scarier than her old man, she’s a lot smarter, too.
Dang, she’s a really high-level Druid too, being able to use “A Thousand Faces”…
…
If she actually starts casting spells, the team is in trouble.
She just might, considering that wild shaping again will blow her disguise with the mooks.
Or she might know disguise self.
She’s a druid, and disguise self isn’t a druid spell.
She could have 1 level of wizard. Or an item.
Is Alter Self a druid spell? that wouldn’t help with the clothes, though.
I have an idea! All they have to do is disguise themselves as unassuming pieces of furniture…
I feel like I’ve heard that one before, but it sounds really good. Wonder why the gang never used it?
They tested it with a focus group: https://rustyandco.com/comic/level-8-80/
If you get that kind of response out of somebody who actually likes you, you hesitate before using the plan to interact with people who dislike you.
OK hold on a sec. What’s going on here? The story is being told backwards because we’re getting it from Mimic’s perspective and the noir genre tropes.
– Mimic and co inadvertently cost Tartania her inheritance
– Tartania wants to kill Mimic, and ideally get her inheritance back
– Tartania has been killing mimics for a while, we don’t know how.
– If Tartania just wants to kill Mimic, there is no need to come here. Indeed, it is positively disingenuous, as here Mimic has allies.
– Tartania says she doesn’t care about Princess. This was so petulant, it’s probably true
– They are currently on a railship. If Tartania stole it, that would go toward recreating her inheritance, especially if she gets to kill Mimic at the same time.
– The story presents Mimic being needed in order to find Tartania’s father, but that doesn’t actually make sense for getting them here: Mimic ran from the quest as much as possible.
– The vault was already open, with a plaid hair inside.
So:
– If the hair is Tartania’s, why does she need Mimic at all? The noir tropes would have the hero inadvertently lead the killer to the victim, for example, but here it would simply be pointless.
– Unless, potentially, all Princess’ crew are actually Tartania’s crew. Maybe? This would be an interpretation of the “not sure she’s outnumbered” line, and would make sense for trying to steal the ship. But again, why involve Mimic?
– Another option is that Plaidbeard himself is still alive and broke into the vault. If he then vanished, that would give a motivation for trying to find him. We know the Belt of Genre-Changing was stolen, and that this was the artifact he previously wanted, so there is some logic here.
– That could also explain the “not outnumbered” line, if the crew are in fact Plaidbeard’s crew and will follow Tartania because of her hair.
All feels a bit contrived, but then it is noir.
The “not outnumbered” line isn’t unexplained. Tartania shapeshifted into a duplicate of Captain ‘Nuff, and is now siccing Nuff’s crew on Mimic and company…including the Princess, who has dropped her disguise and won’t be recognized as the Captain anymore. Together, Tartania and the fishfolk outnumber the good guys.
I agree with you on the other points; it’s not clear to me at all what Tartania hoped to gain from Mimic, or why she followed him around for so long before striking. There may be other shoes yet to drop…
I totally missed that Tartania transformed into Nuff. I just thought Princess put the hat back on. But yeah. The background is the same. Wow.
She was hoping to find her father. He might have some clues.
Tartania didn’t know Mimic blew up her father and the ship until the Princess mentioned the missile that blew it up. Once she realized that her true quarry was in reach all bets were off.
The sword that shoots sharp blades of air and the ability to transform into a variety of dangerous animals gives me a pretty good idea of “how”.
Didn’t Princess previously beat all of those guys all by herself? Not much of a backup if she can manage to free her hands again.
She could probably take those guys with both her hands tied behind her back!
A ship’s anchor as a cc weapon? Ouch. Guessing it weighs around 35 to 50 kilos, and the fishdude seems to hold it effortlessly, at that. One hit and you’re sunk.
I think you’re overlooking a crucial detail here. In all the previous instances of using the Belt of Genre Changing the person using it was transformed to the most (or one of the most) powerful entity within the new genre. So, to understand the current plot we’ve to ponder – who’s the most powerful entity in noir? Why, the Criminal Mastermind! Mafia Don, cunning and ruthless. But that’d not be the main comic’s Don of certain tentacled brain-eating species, he’s already there. It’d be a don-wannabe, small-time criminal, who sees themself as a big fish, har, har. Someone, who’d suffered from the actions of heroes (which may or may not include destroying their home and stealing something valuable of them) and would like to both have their revenge and their precious stuff back. Someone like… Calamitus.
That’s not the most powerful entity though.
The most powerful entity in Noir is the one who gets the ball rolling, the one who is able to play the hero like a fiddle on the string. Mob bosses and the like get knocked off like cheap cigars, they often have power but are just as often killed for a second act twist.
The betraying dame IS the most powerful entity.
Unrelated, I just realized the Princess can’t put her hat back on because of the grappling hat. Pretty clever move on Tarta’s part.
>Mob bosses and the like get knocked off like cheap cigars, they often have power but are just as often killed for a second act twist.
And the King Kong gets killed in the end, either by a plane, or by Fay Wray, depending on whether you’re a cynic or a romantic. Didn’t stop Plaidbeard from turning into one the first time he used the Belt.
BTW, I’d like to add a few details to the portrait of the person having the Belt now. They have plaid hair and hate (probably) Mimic, but are indifferent to the Princess (reasoning – Mimic’s role in the changed genre comes with liberal amount of suffering, both physical and emotional, but the Princess fared reasonably well – until the visit by Bedlam Box, Sharp Sugar and Pintsized Pyromaniac trio, that is). Also to get the real twist, they have to be connected to one of the main actors of the chapter (the Princess, while important in-universe, movie-wise is more of a supporting role). ‘Connected’ as in ‘related’, I think.
Yep. Still sounds like good old Calamitus.
Awww, that IS not fair. I’d point out they’ll probably ask why the Princess is wearing the same outfit as Ruffenuff, but Tarta-Nuff will probably tell them she’s the dwarf druid trying to confuse them. At any rate, it probably won’t matter, so long as they get to hurt somebody.
They probably won’t question it, ‘Nuff already said.
Oh, *now* the halibut’s gonna hit the automatic-fish-gutting machine.
In before the crew actually knew Nuff was the princess all along and dogpile (fishpile?) Tarta
Ello, gov’nor!
Have a nice day, dude 🙂