I got some severely shitty news on Friday. My cat Benjamin, whose health has been kind of rocky during the past couple months, now may have a spindle-cell tumor in his hind leg. Cent's offered to put up a donation link and my explanation of the situation. Our buffer is on the low side, but I will do my level best to keep pages coming for you folks, though Cent and I may take a short sabbatical in the near future.
Sorry in advance.
UPDATE: Ben now has an appointment with the oncologist on November 18. It should say something that I'm not even sure he'll make it that long.
And we get to see the aftermath of the fight in the room though someone did some clean up (the guards aren't littering the floor any more).
The janitorial staff is going to hate EVERYTHING for awhile after getting that job. But they won't have to deal with this room for awhile. I mean the palace is STILL under attack, so they should be in secure locations hiding out. Can't have your cleaning staff becoming casualties after all.
Heh, can you imagine it ?
Janitor : "Hey guys, can you move the fighting a bit, I need to sweep this floor."
Soldier : "Oh, I'm very sorry, we'll just get out of your way."
Janiitor : "Damn right you are ... punks. AND STOP LITTERING SHELLCASINGS ALL OVER THE PLACE!!"
@Stormwind13: You expected to see the conclusion of the Tram scenario? Foolish Boy no cake for you.
Now the question is will Hirst be able to stop Noctis before she grabs Irene for a hostage? Of course she knows where the safe room is and how to open it.
I'm still waiting for an appearance by our Dynamic Duo from Search and Rescue, Ada and TeeDee, By now TeeDee must be having a short circuit because she can't use her cannon to hose down all of Nova Roma.
It's extremely unlikely that Noctis intends to take Irene hostage. She's seeking to learn the results of the attack on Maxus, and likely hoping to inform him and any remaining Cassians of their new orders (Noctis is in charge and explicitly ordered to enact her plan 'for the glory of the throne' :D )
(Page title: Status Report - currently page 1301 until next batch of reboot pages is uploaded)
I'm wondering if Noctis might take the time to try to see if Malati is recoverable or at least remove her body somewhere else so no one disturbs her or is disrespectful to her.
*Noctis watches Malati's body for a while and then speaks up*
Noctis : "Allright Malati, you can stop playing dead now."
Malati : "Dangit, how did you know?"
Noctis : "You've talked about how you have moved your brain into your breasts for the last two months, how could I miss it?"
Malati : "Ahh, he he he ... well I also told you that the Gladiators love me for my brains."
Noctis : "You said they loved you for your perky breasts."
Malati : "Yeah, exactly - My brains are perky!"
Malati : "But you gotta admit - It's a pretty neat trick, isn't it ? They totally fell for it!"
Noctis : "... *sigh* ... under those specific conditions, I do agree to the cleverness of this method."
Malati : "Yeah, yeah ... soooo, uhmm ... it does have one problem."
Noctis : "And what would that be?"
Malati : "Well, all the muscles in my neck are gone."
Noctis : "Hmm, try and stand up." *Malati stands up, her head lolling to one side*
Malati : "Tell me like it is, be brutal!"
Noctis : "You look like a zombie."
Malati : "Awesome!" :D
Malati : "Now I just need to shamble around and call for brains."
Noctis : "That ... wouldn't work, they would just shoot you some more."
Malati : "C'mon Noctis, if we use a bit of make up on you, you would make a fine zombie too!"
Noctis : "As I said, acting like zombies, won't make things easier on us."
Malati : "Aw, c'mon Noctis !"
Malati : "Don't let the anti-fun particles get to you."
Noctis : "But .. I ... "
Malati : "C'mon Noctis, do the zombie shamble with me!"
Noctis : "But .."
Malati : "COOOME OOOOONNNN !!"
Noctis : *sigh* ... I can't believe I'm doing this."
Malati : "Woohoo!"
*five minutes later*
*Noctis & Malati shambles down a corridor*
Malati : "BRAAIINNSS"
Noctis : *sigh* ... Braains.
Malati : "BRAAAAIIIINNNSS!"
Noctis : "BRAAAIINS"
Malati : "BRAAAAAAAIIIIIIINNSS"
Noctis : "BRAAAAIIIINNSS"
Malati : "LIVER!"
Noctis : "Liver?"
Malati : "A varied diet is important."
Noctis : "Hrm ... LIIVEERR"
Malati : "LIIIIVVEEEERRRRR"
Noctis : "LIIIIVVEEERRR"
Malati : "BRRAAAAAIIINSS"
Noctis : "Wait, what? Brains?"
Malati : "Yeah, I just remembered that liver tastes bad, so we're back to brains again."
Noctis : "Oh, ok then."
Noctis : "BRAAAAAIIIIINS"
Malati : "BRRAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIINSSS"
If the blade wasn't in her neck, Noctis wouldn't know that she went out on her own terms, choosing death rather than allowing herself to be used by someone she hated to kill people she respected.
It's heart-wrenching in general, but like that, it is just so much more so.
That she had to make that choice just makes it worse.
I cry at movies, I freely admit this. I cried when Throrin Oakenshield died, I cried for Bing-Bong, I cried for Fili and Kili.
But for comics or novels? I don't usually cry.
This made me cry. There is a true excellence in the craft of these two fine ladies that makes me wish I weren't a broke college student so I could afford to support them.
Pax, Malati. Death before dishonor. Not being truly 'alive', do Cassians have emotions as we know them? They have highly complex artificial brains, but I cannot imagine they were programmed to feel sorrow, rage or compassion. Nox was very businesslike, almost philosophical, in dispatching her foe, yet there was no anger directed toward him. Possibly however, the Cassians 'brains' were created in such a way as to 'evolve' and develop new synapses and reactions copied from the humans around them. It's certainly something to bear watching.
at the very least, Malati has exhibited all 3 of those emotions before she killed herself... Rage when she was told to kill Maxus, compassion towards the school principal when she rescued him, and sorrow over the loss of her former prince.
She had also exhibited excitement, lust, boredom and a host of other VERY human emotions that are not typically things you associate with a "terminator".
Thank GOD she didn't have an Austrian accent though, that would have been WAY over the top!
He is 12 years old (birthdate 6/25/03). My husband and I first saw him and put in a down payment on him during our honeymoon in August, and the breeder let us take him home in late September. He's our baby boy in every way but actual birth.
Ah, he's an old one then.
Wether by disease or old age, his life is about to come to an end.
I know it's harsh, but then, life isn't always fair.
Still, all of my sympathy for your situation, I've been in it more than once. And I hope all goes well. :)
And yeah, a pet gotten on a honeymoon and 12 years old ... that one is definitly a member of the family.
He's not exactly a young'un, no, but he's had good health and the best care we can give him all his life. It hurts more than I can articulate to know that what's happening to him now is something that we can't make go away. We can try to manage it and make him as comfortable as possible, but right now, watching him trying to walk around with that back leg giving out on him, I can't stop crying.
I know. Big feelings like that are difficult to articulate.
Oldest cat I have had was 14½ years old, and it was quite obvious that she was on her way out for the last year or two.
It will happen to your human friends eventually too. The males usually leave first. It hurts.
I'm so sorry to hear about Benjamin, Rose. I know it's kind of a wierd request, but could you post some pics of him on a separate page so that all of us cat lovers can see who we are praying for!
Back on The Star (Upright) [1 July 2015], CentComm said "The feed back blasting back though her from fighting the inhibitor and then driving her blade th(r)ough her MACCS blew her neural net."
I think Malati is done for, and there is nothing to recover.
You have my condolences, after my next paycheck I'll hopefully be able to give some. Being a poor college student isn't fun.
So on the comic, I just noticed Noctis' sword. It doesn't look like the same powerswords we've been seeing. Monomolecular crystalline edge or something? Or more of a forcefield based thing to a similar effect? Or something else?
And we get to see the aftermath of the fight in the room though someone did some clean up (the guards aren't littering the floor any more).
The janitorial staff is going to hate EVERYTHING for awhile after getting that job. But they won't have to deal with this room for awhile. I mean the palace is STILL under attack, so they should be in secure locations hiding out. Can't have your cleaning staff becoming casualties after all.
Janitor : "Hey guys, can you move the fighting a bit, I need to sweep this floor."
Soldier : "Oh, I'm very sorry, we'll just get out of your way."
Janiitor : "Damn right you are ... punks. AND STOP LITTERING SHELLCASINGS ALL OVER THE PLACE!!"
Makes it easy to handle then.
Now the question is will Hirst be able to stop Noctis before she grabs Irene for a hostage? Of course she knows where the safe room is and how to open it.
Did someone mention... Cake ? :D
(Page title: Status Report - currently page 1301 until next batch of reboot pages is uploaded)
Either way, I think closure is imminent.
Hmmmmm....
*Noctis watches Malati's body for a while and then speaks up*
Noctis : "Allright Malati, you can stop playing dead now."
Malati : "Dangit, how did you know?"
Noctis : "You've talked about how you have moved your brain into your breasts for the last two months, how could I miss it?"
Malati : "Ahh, he he he ... well I also told you that the Gladiators love me for my brains."
Noctis : "You said they loved you for your perky breasts."
Malati : "Yeah, exactly - My brains are perky!"
Malati : "But you gotta admit - It's a pretty neat trick, isn't it ? They totally fell for it!"
Noctis : "... *sigh* ... under those specific conditions, I do agree to the cleverness of this method."
Malati : "Yeah, yeah ... soooo, uhmm ... it does have one problem."
Noctis : "And what would that be?"
Malati : "Well, all the muscles in my neck are gone."
Noctis : "Hmm, try and stand up."
*Malati stands up, her head lolling to one side*
Malati : "Tell me like it is, be brutal!"
Noctis : "You look like a zombie."
Malati : "Awesome!" :D
Malati : "Now I just need to shamble around and call for brains."
Noctis : "That ... wouldn't work, they would just shoot you some more."
Malati : "C'mon Noctis, if we use a bit of make up on you, you would make a fine zombie too!"
Noctis : "As I said, acting like zombies, won't make things easier on us."
Malati : "Aw, c'mon Noctis !"
Malati : "Don't let the anti-fun particles get to you."
Noctis : "But .. I ... "
Malati : "C'mon Noctis, do the zombie shamble with me!"
Noctis : "But .."
Malati : "COOOME OOOOONNNN !!"
Noctis : *sigh* ... I can't believe I'm doing this."
Malati : "Woohoo!"
*five minutes later*
*Noctis & Malati shambles down a corridor*
Malati : "BRAAIINNSS"
Noctis : *sigh* ... Braains.
Malati : "BRAAAAIIIINNNSS!"
Noctis : "BRAAAIINS"
Malati : "BRAAAAAAAIIIIIIINNSS"
Noctis : "BRAAAAIIIINNSS"
Malati : "LIVER!"
Noctis : "Liver?"
Malati : "A varied diet is important."
Noctis : "Hrm ... LIIVEERR"
Malati : "LIIIIVVEEEERRRRR"
Noctis : "LIIIIVVEEERRR"
Malati : "BRRAAAAAIIINSS"
Noctis : "Wait, what? Brains?"
Malati : "Yeah, I just remembered that liver tastes bad, so we're back to brains again."
Noctis : "Oh, ok then."
Noctis : "BRAAAAAIIIIINS"
Malati : "BRRAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIINSSS"
:D
Besides, if she was going for all the female brains .. erhh ... breasts, things would be pretty hilarious too. :)
edit* CRAP, Read farther down and Storm stated she is a goner.
It's heart wrenching to just see her there with her blade still in her neck.
Like, I am crying a little.
It makes you wonder, can Cassians grieve?
That she had to make that choice just makes it worse.
I cry at movies, I freely admit this. I cried when Throrin Oakenshield died, I cried for Bing-Bong, I cried for Fili and Kili.
But for comics or novels? I don't usually cry.
This made me cry. There is a true excellence in the craft of these two fine ladies that makes me wish I weren't a broke college student so I could afford to support them.
{edit} And "my civilians".
She had also exhibited excitement, lust, boredom and a host of other VERY human emotions that are not typically things you associate with a "terminator".
Thank GOD she didn't have an Austrian accent though, that would have been WAY over the top!
He is 12 years old (birthdate 6/25/03). My husband and I first saw him and put in a down payment on him during our honeymoon in August, and the breeder let us take him home in late September. He's our baby boy in every way but actual birth.
Wether by disease or old age, his life is about to come to an end.
I know it's harsh, but then, life isn't always fair.
Still, all of my sympathy for your situation, I've been in it more than once. And I hope all goes well. :)
And yeah, a pet gotten on a honeymoon and 12 years old ... that one is definitly a member of the family.
Oldest cat I have had was 14½ years old, and it was quite obvious that she was on her way out for the last year or two.
It will happen to your human friends eventually too. The males usually leave first. It hurts.
Analytical Noctis - ...and Malati, you are being missed... =(
@alt text: so true...
Ya gotta smack her upside the head as well. Might need the reimage disk but hey we'll figure it out
I think Malati is done for, and there is nothing to recover.
Have strength.
That would be one room I wouldn't want to walk into without a chip clip on my nose.
So on the comic, I just noticed Noctis' sword. It doesn't look like the same powerswords we've been seeing. Monomolecular crystalline edge or something? Or more of a forcefield based thing to a similar effect? Or something else?