Okay, so there was some really unfortunate lack of clear communication between the creative team here.
I chose this particular "boutique" interior set specifically because it has a dressing-room area. The intention was for Cella, Lynn, and Acantha to be back there having their discussion, while Noctis waited up front. During that period of time, someone was supposed to walk by Noctis and issue the directives shown in the previous page. However, because I didn't clearly communicate that to Cent, we've ended up with a plot hole the size of a planet, wherein it looks like no one would have been able to approach Noctis without the other three seeing and/or hearing it immediately while talking about ID cards and terrible fashion choices.
Also, the awkward cropping of the two close-ups on Noctis in the last page came about because Cent actually put the speaker into the visible frame, despite it being specified in the scripting that the person was supposed to be unseen, and so she had to do some last-minute editing to correct the panels.
Sorry about that. Short of doing major re-shoots, I don't think we can fix it, and this scene has been difficult enough as it is.
@Tokyo Rose, the A/N makes it somewhat clearer in some ways; fuzzier in others. Am I to understand that Noctis is supposed to be alone with the one giving directives, and it's not a covert means of communication?
If that's so, then who here has the authority to give Noctis orders? Either someone else has entered, or Steph is trying to order Noctis around.
Beyond that, great visuals and dialogue, and it is still an intriguing hook!
also,, just a W.A.G. .. sed person,, might not have control of Noctis.. sed p. might be using a 'inhibitor', but not incontrol cuz of "Cassian". an a little of her own fear..
but Noctis is waiting to see where this is going, an maybe play along (a little)..
reminder : her inhibitor was pretty much disabled,, when d!*khead told her "to do what was best for New Rome." IE: what ever she thinks is right.!
@robnot, those are interesting points. I have to say, that if it were me, I'd be reluctant to toss orders at Noctis unless I was authorized, inhibitor or no. Noctis can remember things. Even if I were authorized, I would feel uncomfortable ordering her around. :D
@Centcomm, was it those Alien Ninja Bunnies of Doom? :O
@megados: yeah,, we know Pastey,, an even authorized, i'd be hesitant on giving her orders.. but.. i'm thinking this is some NPC, that thinks they can get to "foreign diplomat" thru the "Droid bodyguard" an make CentComm look bad...
There are a bunch of possibilities. Hard to say who we have here. I'm leaning toward this being a Nova Roma connected individual. That would be a likely person to have authority with Noctis. Otherwise it would almost have to be someone with means of coercion. (inhibitor, cyberpath, eyes and weapons on Acantha, or some combination, etc. Many possibilities.)
@megados: took me awhile to find it..(i have over 10k to go thru,,.) but.. F.I.B.S. = Furries in Battle Armor. is a independent comic about furries fighting invading space lapines or bunnies,, an of course the bunnies fight ninja style...
It's Decimus! Setorius was able to transplant his slightly charred brain, due to the fact that heads will indeed roll. In this case, away from the conflagration that incinerated Dec's body. ;D
At least with the title of it. I assume everyone in a similar to western culture knows the title and genre of some series they have not watched.
Independent of what they have actually watched.
So, you're telling me that after 1600 pages of output, there is a communications failure that can not be easily fixed.
I would call that a h*** of a run.
My take on the previous page was that the command came via some sort of private communications channel, not a person. If the difference matters, make a note for the rework you're inevitably going to do on these pages.
What about a high level stealth suit? One designed to evade New Troy systems. Or maybe combine the stealth with that teaser of Dr. Silver's project before she went to restore Teedee and Ada. Just a random thought.
What about a high level stealth suit? One designed to evade New Troy systems. Or maybe combine the stealth with that teaser of Dr. Silver's project before she went to restore Teedee and Ada. Just a random thought.
I am a bit confused - didn't she repeatedly call her Acantha in the previous page?
Also, don't worry about the miscommunication thing, if this is a "plot hole" then what we usually see in other places are at least craters! :D Your comic's quality is top!
Ladies and Gentlemen! Please vote for DataChasers - it's down at 23... Also for TheCrease, if you are so inclined, as I am. Two of the most artistically complex comics around, and with some of the most cogent plots deserve our support! Salue!
Not to worry about the 'plot hole'. We'll take it as some mysterious person/being whispering softly off-screen before fading away - just adds to the dramatic tension. AAARRRGHHH!
as i sed before.. T.W.C. does this every 1st.. an unless the vote count stays high,, the first week (abouts.,some times sooner), then the comic gets moved,, usually bout the 300's..
they do this so new comics get a view,, and to see if the top 10 still has a 'following'.. ( quite a few pateron's quit voting once they start paying...)
At least the fact that someone else (whom Noctis can see and the others cannot) addresses the 'authentication issue'. Thanks for the clarification, @Tokyo Rose.
As far as the 'authorization issue', that is still an intriguing mystery. It is possible these are not 'coercive orders', but Noctis is complying because if a deep-cover operative in potentially hostile territory approaches you in this manner, you might feel they have a better understanding of the current situation than you do and decide to 'play along' -- at least at the outset. Or these might actually be coercive orders, deriving their authority from an as-yet unknown source. Maybe it is Future-Acantha traveling back in time to give Present-Noctis orders for what will eventually be some vitally crucial plot-point? We'll just have to wait and see. ^_^
So said person is standing behind the screen behind Noctis in scene 2. The screen separates the dressing area and the main show room. He/She is in the main room whispering directives to Noctis while being hidden from the others. Great Plot thinking
Somewhere along the way a creative team communication breakdown was bound to happen. I'd be honestly surprised if over the course of time there hadn't been many unfortunate narration turns that boxed you into an unintended corner.
We can all pretend it didn't happen and you could go along as was originally intended. In short run just have a clarification on this and the previous comic until they can be fixed if it is going to really screw up the story line.
It isn't like other major pieces of work weren't changed countless times after their initial release (cough Star Wars cough).
The crime Lucas did was of an entirely different nature than this. I bought & read the book. In it, Han gloats that dead-enforcer-walking was so stupid as to let him get his hands under the table.
Lucas decided he did not want Han to be ruthless some years later, and then stole our shared experience.
I never even interpreted that as Han being ruthless in the first place, just having the realistic expectation that he's unlikely to survive if he allows Greedo to collect on that bounty. In other words, "self defense" still applies, and Greedo is just an idiot, not an idiot who also can't hit a person at point blank range. And Lucas is also an idiot.
What Star Wars taught me is to not over analyze the stories I read or watch lest gaping plot holes become exposed and ruin my overall enjoyment.
My day job requires me to spend considerable analytical mental power on identifying and resolving gaping logic holes. Stories whether read (e.g. DC) or watched (e.g. Star Wars) are about a mental escape. I am happy to follow along with how the story teller wants to tell their story. I am perfectly willing overlook the occasional plot hole or redo to get the story right.
Yeah, analyzing. Sometimes one has to perform analysis, but when it's not needed, or counterproductive, a person should be able to tell the difference.
In the case of stories like this, you can look at it in a number of ways. You can look for and expand and expound holes and anomalies, or look at it for ways it could work. It enhances the experience to work with it. I usually prefer the latter. In other cases, just shut off the analyzer.
Sometimes a story has so many blatant plot holes that they can't be ignored, which makes the story not enjoyable, but DC is far from this point. Glitches like this one are few and far between with DC. I'll be perfectly happy to go along with whatever, Rose and Cent decide to do with this one.
Heck, they could decide that everyone was too distracted by the lampshade dress to notice someone was talking to Noctis. After all, it is Acantha that is the primary individual to be protecting. It is assumed that Noctis can take care of herself.
Heh, the only time I ever thought about that little glitch was when a friend brought it up and showed me a "map" of the area and I simply said, "Well, maybe the whole point is to see how short a distance you can make the run through the various hazards?". I don't think we've ever talked about it since then and I don't waste any time thinking about it, especially considering the unmitigated garbarge Disney has vomited on the public makes the gaffs Lucas committed look like literary genius. Because of it, I've retconned my own opinion of the franchise and now only accept the original trilogy as Star Wars. Well, maybe the two KotOR cRPGs and the books published before the prequel trilogy too, but I didn't read any of those books, just heard about them from a friend who did read and enjoy [most] of them. Disney has done more harm to the franchise in the name of greedy control than I think I've seen of any other major American IP, even Star Trek, which is saying something if you've read anything about "Discovery".
God help us when Disney starts in on destroying Indiana Jones, because you know it's coming.
I saw SW in the theatres when I was 10. (Precise target audience, it seems.) I remember objecting to the 12 Parsecs nonsense then. Almost 40 years later, I came up with a justification involving the stable orbits of multiple black holes which required that a ship be sufficiently fast to hit the sweet spot & minimize the distance travelled to pass through the system.
Well at least it wasn't, "Leather Goddess of Phobos". Of course, there aren't any yaks around here, so I think we're safe in that department.
And suddenly I had the thought that Acynthia might actually know of that title because of her friendship with the crazy A.I. That's actually kind of scary.
Centcomm, while they were pleased that y'all gave Latex Planet credit for the inspiration for the lampshade dress, the Bondage Maidens were fit to be tied, when you blamed them for your breakdown in communication during your planning session. I'm just not sure whether it means that they were angry or that they were thrilled. ;) (Those were the "Aliens" you were talking about, right?)
-----
A man walks out of a Bondage Maidens brothel, sees the Epiphyte brothel next door, and pops himself on the forehead, saying, "I could'a had a V-8!"
If that's so, then who here has the authority to give Noctis orders? Either someone else has entered, or Steph is trying to order Noctis around.
Beyond that, great visuals and dialogue, and it is still an intriguing hook!
but Noctis is waiting to see where this is going, an maybe play along (a little)..
reminder : her inhibitor was pretty much disabled,, when d!*khead told her "to do what was best for New Rome." IE: what ever she thinks is right.!
@robnot, those are interesting points. I have to say, that if it were me, I'd be reluctant to toss orders at Noctis unless I was authorized, inhibitor or no. Noctis can remember things. Even if I were authorized, I would feel uncomfortable ordering her around. :D
@Centcomm, was it those Alien Ninja Bunnies of Doom? :O
Independent of what they have actually watched.
I would call that a h*** of a run.
My take on the previous page was that the command came via some sort of private communications channel, not a person. If the difference matters, make a note for the rework you're inevitably going to do on these pages.
I'm placing my bet at 6 months. :P
Also, don't worry about the miscommunication thing, if this is a "plot hole" then what we usually see in other places are at least craters! :D Your comic's quality is top!
Not to worry about the 'plot hole'. We'll take it as some mysterious person/being whispering softly off-screen before fading away - just adds to the dramatic tension. AAARRRGHHH!
Secondly, we are in 4th now. š
they do this so new comics get a view,, and to see if the top 10 still has a 'following'.. ( quite a few pateron's quit voting once they start paying...)
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As far as the 'authorization issue', that is still an intriguing mystery. It is possible these are not 'coercive orders', but Noctis is complying because if a deep-cover operative in potentially hostile territory approaches you in this manner, you might feel they have a better understanding of the current situation than you do and decide to 'play along' -- at least at the outset. Or these might actually be coercive orders, deriving their authority from an as-yet unknown source. Maybe it is Future-Acantha traveling back in time to give Present-Noctis orders for what will eventually be some vitally crucial plot-point? We'll just have to wait and see. ^_^
Somewhere along the way a creative team communication breakdown was bound to happen. I'd be honestly surprised if over the course of time there hadn't been many unfortunate narration turns that boxed you into an unintended corner.
We can all pretend it didn't happen and you could go along as was originally intended. In short run just have a clarification on this and the previous comic until they can be fixed if it is going to really screw up the story line.
It isn't like other major pieces of work weren't changed countless times after their initial release (cough Star Wars cough).
Lucas decided he did not want Han to be ruthless some years later, and then stole our shared experience.
The loopholes they jump through to justify that statement is... Entertaining...
My day job requires me to spend considerable analytical mental power on identifying and resolving gaping logic holes. Stories whether read (e.g. DC) or watched (e.g. Star Wars) are about a mental escape. I am happy to follow along with how the story teller wants to tell their story. I am perfectly willing overlook the occasional plot hole or redo to get the story right.
In the case of stories like this, you can look at it in a number of ways. You can look for and expand and expound holes and anomalies, or look at it for ways it could work. It enhances the experience to work with it. I usually prefer the latter. In other cases, just shut off the analyzer.
Heck, they could decide that everyone was too distracted by the lampshade dress to notice someone was talking to Noctis. After all, it is Acantha that is the primary individual to be protecting. It is assumed that Noctis can take care of herself.
God help us when Disney starts in on destroying Indiana Jones, because you know it's coming.
It's THAT warped...
And suddenly I had the thought that Acynthia might actually know of that title because of her friendship with the crazy A.I. That's actually kind of scary.
-----
A man walks out of a Bondage Maidens brothel, sees the Epiphyte brothel next door, and pops himself on the forehead, saying, "I could'a had a V-8!"