Speaking of 'shredding' is it just me or does anyone else see that Noctis almost always holds her hands in that odd way ?
Guess that's so those razor-nails don't shred her own hands by accident ;)
Lovely attention to detail there Cent, take a bow
@Morituri, I don't find it odd, per se. After reading your comment, though, I was standing waiting this morning, and made a point of observing my at-rest arm position, and it is similar. My hands rest at more of an angle, though. So I guess it's just Noctis' normal at-rest arm position. To each his/her own.
I see all her fingers half-closed at almost a 90 degree angle and her thumb deliberately held straight down outside of them, not so much 'odd' per se, but not the way my hands or most others I've seen rest naturally.
In most cases, the fingers are straighter with only a slight natural 'curl' and the thumb rests along or 'beside' the first finger, parallel not perpendicular...
Dr's call this the 'position of usefulness' when they're fixing hands :)
I'd think it takes more power to hold her fingers straight like that than to let them 'hang' loosely
I noticed it in earlier pages and just assumed it was because of her razor sharp nails she uses as secondary weapons
but we all know what 'assume' means ;)
Well to that point, my hand, at rest, sits almost exactly as Noctis' hand does, so mine must be "odd" too. LOL
Her fingers aren't straight; they're curved toward her body. Mine do that too unless I consciously straighten them.
I remember Centcomm saying in comments that Noctis has nano-edged blades under her fingernails, giving the impression that they are retractable. It came on the page where Noctis has her hand at TeeDee's throat, when Dr. Silver was under rail gun fire exiting the Comm hub. (I don't remember the page number) That would be more practical, since she does more things with her hands beyond combat, and she could indeed incur unintended perforations, if it were her fingernails that were sharpened. It would also mean that the edge would constantly be dulled by normal use of her hands.
Might just be one of those 'happy little accidents' in art, or it might be Cent consciously or unconsciously making it look that way :)
Whichever way it is, it looks perfectly proper to me for her to hold a potentially lethal weapon in a 'safe' position and that's what caught my eye as a splendidly done extra detail.
If I'm wrong in my observations then I'm perfectly willing to wallow in my blissful ignorance and enjoy the artwork as if it was done for my benefit ;)
I'll be watching people more closely for awhile but everyone you see now always has something in their hand...come to think of it , Noctis's is in a good position to hold an imaginary cellphone and they did just shop for one ;)
So, I’ve done my bit for Nova Roma’s Office of Public Safety (Psy Ops Division). This time I thought I’d offer a spot for New Troy’s Citizen Relations Office, presented to the tune of ”Under the Sea”. I hope it entertains and amuses, without offending. As always, constructive feedback, both positive and negative, is welcome.
The city is always cleaner
And that is for all our sake.
You think about going elsewhere
But that is a big mistake.
The ills of the world surround you,
They’re lurking outside your door.
Wild beasts that would hunt and hound you
On two legs as well as four!
Under the ‘C’
Under the ‘C’
Here in New Troy, dear,
Life’s full of joy here.
Take it from me!
Out there they don’t play by the rules.
We got banks, hospitals and schools.
Safe in her power,
Life’s in full flower.
Under the ‘C’
Outside things are scorched and shattered.
Survivors will just make do.
Their settlements sparse and scattered,
Their numbers and hopes are few.
But inside the streets are pretty.
Police keep it quiet here.
In ev’ry part of the city
A robot is always near.
Under the ‘C’
Under the ‘C’
Every sector
Has its inspector,
Or two or three!
Inside the stores and shopping malls
She’s got her cameras and dolls.
All of this staring
Just shows she’s caring.
Under the ‘C’
Under the ‘C’
No one is straying,
CentComm’s surveying,
Perpetually.
Even when everyone’s asleep,
Around your windowsill they creep.
While we are sporting,
They are reporting.
Under the ‘C’
The doc’s on the clock.
The techs fix the wreck.
The droid’s overjoyed
With her biotech.
The clerks may be jerks,
The nurse has seen worse.
The Glen’s where we gen your soul
(Yeah)
The crook’s on the hook.
The rake’s on the take.
The cop makes a stop.
The ID’s a fake.
The maid’s unafraid,
The aide is dismayed.
Whatever they do, she’ll know.
Under the ‘C’
Under the ‘C’
A thinking machine
In charge of the scene
Is best you’ll agree!
As you go through Life without a clue,
CentComm will tell you what to do.
We got no mobs here
‘Cause we got jobs here.
Under the ‘C’
People are smiling,
Code is compiling.
Under the ‘C’
City defenses
Raise our expenses;
So there’s no danger
From any stranger.
Angels are lurking,
While we are working.
Under the ‘C’
I have, myself, wondered what it says about me that I do choose Disney songs so often. I think it says there's a reason Disney songs keep winning all the Best Song Oscars year after year after year, to the point that even I can't screw them up when I start playing with them. ^_^
I guess, technically, by now I have enough of them to put out an album. How frightening is that?
I think it's mostly just the facial expressions. She had concerns before, but now she has the weight of Nova Roma on her shoulders, and it feels to me like that's been depicted fairly well.
And a... tiara? Is it still a tiara when it's wrapped about the temples like that? Diadem? Circlet? Bandeau? Whatever Nova Roma calls it. It's probably giving her a headache. Heavy is the head...
That headband looks almost like a metallic foil and given the technoloogy available probably is some sort of superstrong, tissue thin metal.
I have a brass circlet for Renfaire wear and you don't even notice it, I have to keep checking it's still there...the cloak on the other hand, you know when you're wearing it ;) how did nobility survive dragging all that around ? luckily they only had to wear one for formal appearances.
The Tiara might have some sort of nano enhanchment as well, and could be a defensive item, all it has to do is slow down things a few seconds, and Noctis will have taken care of the problem.
Noctis, noctis... Haven't you yet understood the simple truth that while you cannot interrogate a corpse you can always arrange for executions later.
Also, is Acantha's jewelry simply decorative or does it have deeper political or social significance? Official coronet of the Crown Princess of New Rome (necessarily a replica at the moment) or something like that?
Speaking as someone who has occasionally walked 20 miles under a backpack full of gear, I winced and had to doubletake at Ramsey's shulders in the last panel.
That's the look of shoulders that are or have very recently been bearing a lot of weight, for way too long, under a pack with narrow shoulder straps (or shoulder straps that fold themselves narrow under strain) and no lower-body straps for weight distribution.
Just looking at him I think 'ow.' That starts to hurt in about a hundred yards, and then in the evening when you've walked the whole course, your shoulders look like that.
This is an interesting situation. It's refreshing to see two PROFESSIONALS who, under different circumstances, were doing EXACTLY what they were required to, as foes. Now, as PROFESSIONALS, they are becoming allies, and are acting appropriately. Both, in each others' views, acted "honourably" as "enemies", and that makes it...somewhat...easier to put their previous actions behind them.
Two things: We know that Noctis is...below...average height for a human female, and Acantha appears even smaller than her, so it makes me think that Acantha is TINY.
Also, how does Noctis draw her sword without damaging her hair? Individual control over each strand, a lightning-fast hair-flip, or her ingrained perfection? lol
She didn't do what she was 'supposed to', she did exactly what she was told to do...
That's the fun of dealing with complete idiots who hold authority they're not qualified to wield...
They can't openly blame you for doing exactly what THEY told you to do ;)
Watched many a manager get 'hoist by their own petard' in just the manner Noctis did it.
I even take a little pleasure in the part I had to play in some ;)
One of the most effective tactics in a collective bargaining dispute is to do no more and no less than the rules, regulations and prior contract stipulates and to follow anything put in writing to-the-letter...it's hard to do but it generally throws operations into such a schmozzle that it doesn't need to be done for long :) I followed one little line in an operational directive exactly the way it was sritten and ended up taking most of an eight-hour shift to do a five minute job and nobody could argue that I wasn't doing it properly...it's little things like that that make me like Noctis the most of all of the characters (with TeeDee and Feelie coming in a very, very, very close second) she does what needs to be done, not what raving lunatics want to be done.
According to the cast page, Noctis is 5'4" or in the 'average' range for a woman
Acantha is 5'6" also on the range of 'average'
The perspective from the 'camera' angles makes a big difference
Having lived around women at 4'8", 4'10", 4'11" and 6', I'd say 5'4" is slightly above that average of 5'1" ;)
Oof, it's a nasty thought, but what exactly would happen in New Rome if Acantha died? She has no heirs, and no other siblings. Does she have living uncles or aunts? Would the other noble families start fighting ove the crown? Or would Maximus simply be crowned?
I know she's young, but a sovereign in her position with ANY interest in maintaining the succession needs to start thinking of heirs. Does Rome allow for artificial conception or ex-vitro babies? Or does she need to find a cute consort?
A short period of anarchy, infighting and perhaps even some voilence.
Which would end as soon as Maxus could get his hands upon whoever was behind it, and rip his head off.
After that, there would most likely be an extremely short election campain, that would probably favor Maxus.
My thought, too. One of Acantha's big hurdles in the coming years is figuring out how Aeneas fits into the current power structure. Her grandfather 'broke' Aeneas as he ascended to power, and built a power structure that worked for two generations without him. Now that he's back, he's going to want a say in everything, and that's going to set him at odds with a lot of people, including Acantha herself. Fortunately, they're friends, so there's trust between them, but there will be a lot of wrinkles to iron out.
I don't think Acantha would be alone in figuring out how Aeneas fits in. They are friends. When Aeneas had no one else in the world, he had Acantha. I'm sure he will help Acantha figure out how he fits in.
Actually, I think she meant she herself, AND Centcomm, would absolutely ruinous to the people trying to take a shot at Acantha.
In short, 10 million credits won't cut it, to attack Acantha in Centcomm's headquarters, so she's safe.
I wonder how Noctis would even respond if someone who has no idea what her job is tells her that she is beautiful.
I don't know that actually being physically beautiful means anything to an android; her appearance is a matter of deliberate construction, and she KNOWS that she is beautiful. The doubletake in here is that most people can't perceive her as beautiful, and wouldn't dare say so, because they are processing her presence in terms of an immediate threat.
So how to relate to someone who believes that she is beautiful and tells her so?
There are a lot of variables here. In general, in the DC universe, androids have a whole range of personalities and sensibilities, just as humans do. Overall they are more sensible/reasonable, but each has their own worldview and persona. They have emotions which they use or don't use in varying degrees. Being physically beautiful means different things to different people in general, be they human or android. For instance, if you tell Minx that she's beautiful, she would probably enjoy the compliment, while there are humans who don't put much emphasis on physical appearance.
Noctis has said that Cassians' appearance is meant to be somewhat unsettling. Her mindset is that she wishes to perform her duties efficiently and to the best of her ability. I don't know if Cassians get to choose their bodies, so I don't know if, or to what extent she is aware of being beautiful, since it would require knowledge of the perception of the beholder. I would surmise that it isn't something that comes up to her very often. So basically, her self image probably comes less from her impression of her appearance, and more from her perception of the agility and usefulness of her body.
Based on things like these, I could hazard a guess. Noctis' reaction internally might be one of mild surprise. She's not one to wear her emotions outwardly. She might be somewhat pleased, but she wouldn't show it. Her outward reaction would likely be to either say nothing, or to utter a slightly delayed "Thank you".
Frankly, I think she would be more annoyed if she was ugly, because being an attendant to the Empress she could make a negative impression if she was ugly.
In the end I don't think she is very emotionally invested in her beauty, but I think she is somewhat pleased that her good looks (though somewhat unsettling) could help her do her job.
TL;DR :
If her beauty makes her do a better job, she's happy about it.
For whatever given amount of "happy" she assigns to it.
Might be simultaneous. Feelie was in NR and was sorta debriefed there. They brought her here to get her checked out, but it isn't necessarily the first time her story has been told.
I think it's more likely that multiple incidents have happened, and that both Centcomm and Nova Roma has noticed it several weeks ago. Also, General Maxus seems like the kind of person that would send a docket of information to read while Feelie had some much needed 'Bean Time'. 😁
I was wondering about the health of the princess.
The nurse in Comic 1572 - Medical Assessment was worried about "stasis potentially shorting out a few million neurons".
I am sure Noctis wouldn't miss any such sign or symptoms as being "slow" or memory loss.
While she suspicious of Centcom, I think she would trust the medical team and keep them updated about any indication or concern, no matter how slight.
However, any hint of brain damage would play right into the hands of her political rivals, so absolute privacy would be required. Acantha's life would depend on it.
Around here they call that 'having a stroke' :0
Or the side effect of a 'vaccination'
Having had a few clots in my legs post-surgery, I ended up taking heparin shots daily for a week to get rid of and were uncomfortable enough, I shudder to think what might have happened with yours, I trust there were no lasting complications ?
...and it is good to see Noctis supporting her and agreeing with her values...
@alt text: ...yeah, Noctis will shred them...
PS: happy (belated?) birthday, Cent 💗
Guess that's so those razor-nails don't shred her own hands by accident ;)
Lovely attention to detail there Cent, take a bow
Anyway, she's an android, so her "at rest" hand position - when zero power is going to her muscles - is a product of her design and maintenance.
So if it's odd, here's an additional question for your amusement: Is it design, maintenance, training, or habit?
In most cases, the fingers are straighter with only a slight natural 'curl' and the thumb rests along or 'beside' the first finger, parallel not perpendicular...
Dr's call this the 'position of usefulness' when they're fixing hands :)
I'd think it takes more power to hold her fingers straight like that than to let them 'hang' loosely
I noticed it in earlier pages and just assumed it was because of her razor sharp nails she uses as secondary weapons
but we all know what 'assume' means ;)
Her fingers aren't straight; they're curved toward her body. Mine do that too unless I consciously straighten them.
I remember Centcomm saying in comments that Noctis has nano-edged blades under her fingernails, giving the impression that they are retractable. It came on the page where Noctis has her hand at TeeDee's throat, when Dr. Silver was under rail gun fire exiting the Comm hub. (I don't remember the page number) That would be more practical, since she does more things with her hands beyond combat, and she could indeed incur unintended perforations, if it were her fingernails that were sharpened. It would also mean that the edge would constantly be dulled by normal use of her hands.
Whichever way it is, it looks perfectly proper to me for her to hold a potentially lethal weapon in a 'safe' position and that's what caught my eye as a splendidly done extra detail.
If I'm wrong in my observations then I'm perfectly willing to wallow in my blissful ignorance and enjoy the artwork as if it was done for my benefit ;)
I'll be watching people more closely for awhile but everyone you see now always has something in their hand...come to think of it , Noctis's is in a good position to hold an imaginary cellphone and they did just shop for one ;)
7th Feb 2017, 9:00 PM .. almost to the bottom of comments..
Happy Birthday! 🎂 *hugs*
The city is always cleaner
And that is for all our sake.
You think about going elsewhere
But that is a big mistake.
The ills of the world surround you,
They’re lurking outside your door.
Wild beasts that would hunt and hound you
On two legs as well as four!
Under the ‘C’
Under the ‘C’
Here in New Troy, dear,
Life’s full of joy here.
Take it from me!
Out there they don’t play by the rules.
We got banks, hospitals and schools.
Safe in her power,
Life’s in full flower.
Under the ‘C’
Outside things are scorched and shattered.
Survivors will just make do.
Their settlements sparse and scattered,
Their numbers and hopes are few.
But inside the streets are pretty.
Police keep it quiet here.
In ev’ry part of the city
A robot is always near.
Under the ‘C’
Under the ‘C’
Every sector
Has its inspector,
Or two or three!
Inside the stores and shopping malls
She’s got her cameras and dolls.
All of this staring
Just shows she’s caring.
Under the ‘C’
Under the ‘C’
No one is straying,
CentComm’s surveying,
Perpetually.
Even when everyone’s asleep,
Around your windowsill they creep.
While we are sporting,
They are reporting.
Under the ‘C’
The doc’s on the clock.
The techs fix the wreck.
The droid’s overjoyed
With her biotech.
The clerks may be jerks,
The nurse has seen worse.
The Glen’s where we gen your soul
(Yeah)
The crook’s on the hook.
The rake’s on the take.
The cop makes a stop.
The ID’s a fake.
The maid’s unafraid,
The aide is dismayed.
Whatever they do, she’ll know.
Under the ‘C’
Under the ‘C’
A thinking machine
In charge of the scene
Is best you’ll agree!
As you go through Life without a clue,
CentComm will tell you what to do.
We got no mobs here
‘Cause we got jobs here.
Under the ‘C’
People are smiling,
Code is compiling.
Under the ‘C’
City defenses
Raise our expenses;
So there’s no danger
From any stranger.
Angels are lurking,
While we are working.
Under the ‘C’
Nova Illium sounds like the place DHS wants to live in.
*applause*
Well Done!
From now on we will be shovelling Disney songs at you... You butcher them with extreme finesse!
I guess, technically, by now I have enough of them to put out an album. How frightening is that?
If you decide to do "Here Skeeter, Comeback Skeeter, best doggone droid in the wastes". you will have done another of my favorites!
oh, and if you have never seen it I think you will like After Ever After
but also I'm going have that song stuck in my head all night
It's good to see Acantha up and well, and back to her old self!
I have a brass circlet for Renfaire wear and you don't even notice it, I have to keep checking it's still there...the cloak on the other hand, you know when you're wearing it ;) how did nobility survive dragging all that around ? luckily they only had to wear one for formal appearances.
The Tiara might have some sort of nano enhanchment as well, and could be a defensive item, all it has to do is slow down things a few seconds, and Noctis will have taken care of the problem.
Also, is Acantha's jewelry simply decorative or does it have deeper political or social significance? Official coronet of the Crown Princess of New Rome (necessarily a replica at the moment) or something like that?
That's the look of shoulders that are or have very recently been bearing a lot of weight, for way too long, under a pack with narrow shoulder straps (or shoulder straps that fold themselves narrow under strain) and no lower-body straps for weight distribution.
Just looking at him I think 'ow.' That starts to hurt in about a hundred yards, and then in the evening when you've walked the whole course, your shoulders look like that.
Did a few route marches myself, that's why I went to the Airforce, we had trucks :)
and the planes weren't usually that far away...
Two things: We know that Noctis is...below...average height for a human female, and Acantha appears even smaller than her, so it makes me think that Acantha is TINY.
Also, how does Noctis draw her sword without damaging her hair? Individual control over each strand, a lightning-fast hair-flip, or her ingrained perfection? lol
That's the fun of dealing with complete idiots who hold authority they're not qualified to wield...
They can't openly blame you for doing exactly what THEY told you to do ;)
Watched many a manager get 'hoist by their own petard' in just the manner Noctis did it.
I even take a little pleasure in the part I had to play in some ;)
One of the most effective tactics in a collective bargaining dispute is to do no more and no less than the rules, regulations and prior contract stipulates and to follow anything put in writing to-the-letter...it's hard to do but it generally throws operations into such a schmozzle that it doesn't need to be done for long :) I followed one little line in an operational directive exactly the way it was sritten and ended up taking most of an eight-hour shift to do a five minute job and nobody could argue that I wasn't doing it properly...it's little things like that that make me like Noctis the most of all of the characters (with TeeDee and Feelie coming in a very, very, very close second) she does what needs to be done, not what raving lunatics want to be done.
Acantha is 5'6" also on the range of 'average'
The perspective from the 'camera' angles makes a big difference
Having lived around women at 4'8", 4'10", 4'11" and 6', I'd say 5'4" is slightly above that average of 5'1" ;)
I know she's young, but a sovereign in her position with ANY interest in maintaining the succession needs to start thinking of heirs. Does Rome allow for artificial conception or ex-vitro babies? Or does she need to find a cute consort?
Which would end as soon as Maxus could get his hands upon whoever was behind it, and rip his head off.
After that, there would most likely be an extremely short election campain, that would probably favor Maxus.
In short, 10 million credits won't cut it, to attack Acantha in Centcomm's headquarters, so she's safe.
I don't know that actually being physically beautiful means anything to an android; her appearance is a matter of deliberate construction, and she KNOWS that she is beautiful. The doubletake in here is that most people can't perceive her as beautiful, and wouldn't dare say so, because they are processing her presence in terms of an immediate threat.
So how to relate to someone who believes that she is beautiful and tells her so?
Noctis has said that Cassians' appearance is meant to be somewhat unsettling. Her mindset is that she wishes to perform her duties efficiently and to the best of her ability. I don't know if Cassians get to choose their bodies, so I don't know if, or to what extent she is aware of being beautiful, since it would require knowledge of the perception of the beholder. I would surmise that it isn't something that comes up to her very often. So basically, her self image probably comes less from her impression of her appearance, and more from her perception of the agility and usefulness of her body.
Based on things like these, I could hazard a guess. Noctis' reaction internally might be one of mild surprise. She's not one to wear her emotions outwardly. She might be somewhat pleased, but she wouldn't show it. Her outward reaction would likely be to either say nothing, or to utter a slightly delayed "Thank you".
Because she is beautiful.
In the end I don't think she is very emotionally invested in her beauty, but I think she is somewhat pleased that her good looks (though somewhat unsettling) could help her do her job.
TL;DR :
If her beauty makes her do a better job, she's happy about it.
For whatever given amount of "happy" she assigns to it.
Is this pre, post or during her 'bean time' ?
The nurse in Comic 1572 - Medical Assessment was worried about "stasis potentially shorting out a few million neurons".
I am sure Noctis wouldn't miss any such sign or symptoms as being "slow" or memory loss.
While she suspicious of Centcom, I think she would trust the medical team and keep them updated about any indication or concern, no matter how slight.
However, any hint of brain damage would play right into the hands of her political rivals, so absolute privacy would be required. Acantha's life would depend on it.
Or the side effect of a 'vaccination'
Having had a few clots in my legs post-surgery, I ended up taking heparin shots daily for a week to get rid of and were uncomfortable enough, I shudder to think what might have happened with yours, I trust there were no lasting complications ?
I can walks fairly normally, but I can't run, jump, dance, etc. etc.
All in all, I got lucky.