Wow. Hadn’t considered that Stabs wouldn’t even know who Anti-M is, though it makes sense in retrospect. And something is hunting mimics, eh? I guess that explains the barrel with the knives sticking out of it out front.
Mimic is a character doing his best to resist being in a Noir film.
That’s basically the entire premise of The Big Lebowski…
…so someone needs to order a, hold on looking up something for the reference, ah, here we go! A “White Rashemen”.
“You tend to pal around with dames who aren’t healthy for you”
(checks back-issues) You know, there is some truth to this. Even outside of film noir genre (in film noir, this is of course mandatory)
Although some would point out that adventurers tend to pal around with plenty of things which aren’t healthy for them. Dragons, vampires, demons, vampiric fiendish dragons… That some of them are also of a female persuasion is just icing on the cake. Or, if trying to woo them, really looking for trouble.
The thing is, Mimic might have a lot of friends who qualify as “dangerous women,” but that’s not the same thing as unhealthy for him. The dangerous ladies tend to protect him.
…although I guess some of them have presented plot hooks, so that’s kinda dangerous.
@Milo
Ah but RPG plots have a high degree of likelihood that the protagonists will win. We can be fairly confident that the heroes will only fight that Elder God in a CR appropriate encounter, or else have it a scripted fight with an easy escape.
Noir as a genre is typically much less generous with its “players”.
In an RPG (and, to an extent, the fantasy genre in general) there are typically benevolent and/or malevolent entities working to manipulate events for the sake of good or evil. Noir seems to let the odds play out as they would.
Ah right. Typical villain tactics.
“So, we want to kill this mimic.”
“Yeah, but mimics can look like anything they want, including each other. How do we even identify which one we’re after?”
“Let’s just kill anything that looks remotely like a mimic. We’ll get the right one eventually.”
This uh, may be part of why Mimic is drinking so much (you know, most heavy drinkers in these stories have a reason ) . While mimics aren’t the most social species, from his more reflective nature after Madeline sacrificed herself for him, the guilt of being the cause for serial killing of his own kind is something that could eat at him
You know, I’m in the middle of an archive run, and something just occurred to me. One of the Critical Missives this time was talking about how common Mimics are/aren’t. And this arc involves a lot of Mimics getting bumped off.
Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but given that the baseball arc began during the Critical Missives, I wonder if they’re related. Or maybe it was just foreshadowing.
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Wow. Hadn’t considered that Stabs wouldn’t even know who Anti-M is, though it makes sense in retrospect. And something is hunting mimics, eh? I guess that explains the barrel with the knives sticking out of it out front.
Ooh! Good eye. I missed that detail.
Yes. Yes they are all like that
Mimic is a character doing his best to resist being in a Noir film.
That’s basically the entire premise of The Big Lebowski…
…so someone needs to order a, hold on looking up something for the reference, ah, here we go! A “White Rashemen”.
“You tend to pal around with dames who aren’t healthy for you”
(checks back-issues) You know, there is some truth to this. Even outside of film noir genre (in film noir, this is of course mandatory)
Although some would point out that adventurers tend to pal around with plenty of things which aren’t healthy for them. Dragons, vampires, demons, vampiric fiendish dragons… That some of them are also of a female persuasion is just icing on the cake. Or, if trying to woo them, really looking for trouble.
Really, I’m pretty sure Stabs herself counts as one of those “dames who aren’t healthy for you”.
I thought Stabs was bragging….
Stabs talks about Mimic’s habit of being around dangerous women, without the slightest hint of irony.
I’d honestly figured the barrel had knives in it from a couple pages back because Stabs had been in the area for more than an hour.
Stabs may be irritable, but she’s still Chaotic GOOD. Which means that she only stabs things that NEED stabbing.
The thing is, Mimic might have a lot of friends who qualify as “dangerous women,” but that’s not the same thing as unhealthy for him. The dangerous ladies tend to protect him.
…although I guess some of them have presented plot hooks, so that’s kinda dangerous.
And that, again, includes Stabs herself.
Adventurers are people who are almost exactly as good at getting out of trouble as they are at getting into trouble.
“Hey, is that an elder god destroying reality?”
“Might be? Hey, where are you going?”
“I’m not sure about this, but I think this is a plot hook I should be following.”
The difference being that RPG plot hooks are a lot less dangerous than noir ones.
Eh, I dunno. Noir plot hooks don’t usually involve fire-breathing dragons, marching armies, or reality-destroying elder gods.
@Milo
Ah but RPG plots have a high degree of likelihood that the protagonists will win. We can be fairly confident that the heroes will only fight that Elder God in a CR appropriate encounter, or else have it a scripted fight with an easy escape.
Noir as a genre is typically much less generous with its “players”.
In an RPG (and, to an extent, the fantasy genre in general) there are typically benevolent and/or malevolent entities working to manipulate events for the sake of good or evil. Noir seems to let the odds play out as they would.
Ah right. Typical villain tactics.
“So, we want to kill this mimic.”
“Yeah, but mimics can look like anything they want, including each other. How do we even identify which one we’re after?”
“Let’s just kill anything that looks remotely like a mimic. We’ll get the right one eventually.”
Time for a rousing game of Prop Hunt!
Who knew the Galactic Empire had a presence in the Rustyverse?
Not sure how “kill anything that *might* be our target” is an Imperial thing. I was thinking Terminator.
That trope goes at least as far back as King Herod in the New Testament.
Put swords in everything, then put swords in the swords, and so on.
This uh, may be part of why Mimic is drinking so much (you know, most heavy drinkers in these stories have a reason ) . While mimics aren’t the most social species, from his more reflective nature after Madeline sacrificed herself for him, the guilt of being the cause for serial killing of his own kind is something that could eat at him
Really now, Stabs, that’s going too far.
Mimic has better taste than to consider and keep A-M for a pet. =p
Anti-M is less a pet and more a wind-her-up-and-point-at-the-enemy sort of weaponized person. (Half-Pint! Ha!)
“Mimics getting bumped off all over town”. I’m picturing a large cat, knocking boxes off of surfaces.
Just hopefully not a bear 🙂
Stabs can actually look really pretty when she isn’t scowling or wearing scruffy rogue clothes.
I know, right? She is rocking that hairdo.
Since this is a bar scene, I think I’m allowed to say “I’d tap that!”
You’re allowed to say it. And you’re also allowed to learn why she’s named *Stabs* 😉
Where did TWC link go?
“I can’t let you bring in pests”
FTFY
This is a great comic just for the fact that Maladine got, you know, mugged.
P.S.: and not like Atlas in ‘Atlas Mugged’.
I like “Maladine” for “Anti-Madeline.”
A clean bar, eh? Yet you’ve already had at least one mugging, and this is only the second page we’ve been here.
You know, I’m in the middle of an archive run, and something just occurred to me. One of the Critical Missives this time was talking about how common Mimics are/aren’t. And this arc involves a lot of Mimics getting bumped off.
Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but given that the baseball arc began during the Critical Missives, I wonder if they’re related. Or maybe it was just foreshadowing.