Exiern
Swords, Sorcery, And Then Some!
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Recent Comments
- Gorm on Insert Monty Python Reference Here
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That got his attention…
Tiff’s smile in the last panel is EVIL. I like it.
Typhan-Knee could have told this woman anything. I’m thinking Melan-Knee will be in a “I’ll kill her and send her back in pieces until my brother arrives” mood in reaction to “the woman who doesn’t know her place.”
Not that Tiff will lose in a fight with him. But his attitude toward “this woman” isn’t going change to “OMG what happened to your man-parts brother” with but a single stinging childhood memory.
You know what, this gone a bit more funnier then I assume it go… for now 😀
I am SO, SO hoping that the moment tiffany reveals him/herself to be his brother under enchantment his brother will burst out laughing along with everybody else.. just for the lulz moment it would give me.
ka-ZING!
TIff’s saving the best for last. “Oh, I suppose I should have just sent a hired killer instead?”
Aw. I’m still hoping that he might still mistake Neils for Typhan-Knee, I mean he “knows” his brother works as a knight for Urtica and is blond and is big and is not a woman. And that is pretty much it. Neils fits all those criteria, if only he would take his helmet off.
Oh, and I’m no barbarian warrior, but I think when you are a kid then being afraid of the hunting dogs (pack leader or otherwise) is probably a given. Sensible even.
The man known as Melan-Knee kinda has a nagging suspicion something is up with this woman (the “game” she is playing, although he’s to this point trying to play it off), because Tiffany has a very uncanny resemblance to someone he knows very well.
Huh…whatever happened to Typhan-Knee’s big sword? The one that was misbehaving when Tiff was fighting Theresa?
As opposed to Typhan-Knee’s OTHER big sword — he lost THAT in the first few pages.
Crypticmirror — yes, being afraid of the alpha hunting dog is a sensible emotion. OTOH, any male who is “sensible” like that wouldn’t deserve to be Chief. Tiff has just called Melan-Knee a coward and an usurper in front of everyone who’s listening.
@jmucchiello: Not that Tiff will lose in a fight with him.
Why not?
Assumption #1: Barbarian chieftains get to their position due not to their political savvy but rather to combat prowess. Therefore Mel is no pushover.
Assumption #2: Some level intelligence is also needed to keep the chieftain position. Therefore Mal is no idiot.
Assumption #3: Tiff was not a super-barbarian. He *may* have been “top of the class” but most likely in the same ballpark.
Assumption #4: Tiff *is* smaller, lighter and weaker as a woman than he was as a man. One of the earlier strips seems to validate this.
Assumption #5: Tiff trained more in his male form than in his female one, which may hamper him in a fight.
Fact #1: On the average, males are stronger, faster and tougher than females (see here and here).
Fact #2: In a combat between opponents of similar skill, differences in size and strength do matter. That’s the reason for weight categories in modern combat sports.
Conclusion: Tiff will be at a disadvantage in a fight against Mel, unless:
(a) she manages to outwit him, or
(b) she manages to get others on her side
My preference would be to even the stakes by turning Mel into a woman as well. Regrettably, nobody that can accomplish this task seems to be present.
A more realistic scenario:
Mel orders Tiff to be executed
Tiff challenges him to a fight
Mel dismisses her challenge on account of her plumbing
Niels offers to fight in her stead.
Assumption #6: King Urtica is extremely competent at selecting bodyguards. Niels emerges victorious.
An alternative thought:
Tiff has something Mel doesn’t: a unicorn.
@Lurker, Meta-Fact 1: This is her comic.
He carries two swords and two big knife thingies? I think someone is compensating for something.
That unicorn is very not amused.
@crypticmirror Typhan just revealed himself, so it’s clear he knows that woman is his brother.
That said, i’m starting to get the feeling Tiff’s brother wasn’t the one that sent the assassin.
@Lurker
Not true at all, Typhan isn’t weaker just because he’s a woman and she’s has proven to be a skilled warrior even in her current female form.
It’s kinda sexist to assume she would lose just because she’s a woman now. If anything, Typhan will likely still defeat her brother and prove she is still the better warrior.
@June,
1. Typhan is weaker as a woman than he was as a man, as supported by this strip.
2. Saying that woman are on the average weaker than man is no more sexist than saying that Africans on the average have darker skin than Europeans is racist. Playing the “sexist” card at every opportunity devalues it, which is a disservice to women and to feminists of both sexes.
3. I explained how I reached my conclusion, please state how you reached yours.
4. Typhan will “win”, only because “losing” means death and the authors gave us no indication that they want to get rid of the character. The “winning” however, need not be in a 1-on-1 physical confrontation. In fact, I would be disappointed if it was, as that would help to establish Typhan as a stereotypical, one-dimensional character.
@Lurker
You are saying that she would lose because she is a woman, that is sexist. Typhan is still stronger than most people and still a highly skilled warrior, she still stands a good chance of defeating her brother.
And saying that women are weaker is sexist, since you are all the women that are skilled fighters and are highly skilled athletes. Tiff is also still tall and muscular even as a woman.
Also remember that Tiff has defeated monsters and men much larger than her. So being a woman has not hur her fighting abilities.
While in theory Tiff might me weaker since his/her transformation, she has shown skill and a consistent honing of that skill (and accumulating new skills). I’d back a weak, but skilled fighter against a powerhouse brawler anytime. Against her brother, she probably is weaker, but she may be more skilled (and her travels have certainly given her a broader experience too).
@June he said at *disadvantage* because a woman now, weaker.
” saying that women are weaker is sexist” – Is the truth sexist? On *average* human women are weaker and smaller, easy to tell from results of almost any competitive sport, Olympics, etc.
It is still possible of course for a smaller/weaker person to defeat a stronger one.
In this case, too much rage can make for mistakes, and Tiff may be able to drive her brother to that sort of stupid rage.
Actually, being female gives Tiff a couple of advantages…first, she’s smaller, and can thus accelerate her body more quickly (more agile), and secondly, Women aren’t expected to be Macho and “Fight Fair”, standing toe-to-toe and duking it out.
We’ve seen several strips where Tiff has been hampered by her physical weakness. Her main advantage in a fight is her brother not managing to take her serious as a form of his brother. They probably know their respective weaknesses from earlier times, but Tiff’s knowledge remains a lot more applicable. And even then it would appear that she had the upper hand at one time, so she would have probed his weaknesses a lot more than he could hers.
Whether it’s enough…
@June The only one saying that being a woman will straight out result in losing is you.
Given the exact same training routine men and women will get more results in some areas than the other. Tiff has noticed that in the fights so far in the story and has been adapting his/her fighting style for the new strengths and weaknesses.
If Tiff fought Mel like he was still a man he would be at a disadvantage(as was shown in early comics). Knowledge is power though and Tiff knows Mel’s fighting style but Mel doesn’t know Tiff’s new style.
All I can think of, with women fighters, is like Xena, Callisto, Gabby etc etc. 🙂
Having been in the SCA and Kendo, Aikido… Women aren’t easy when fighting them 😀
You don’t have to be the best fighter in the cage to win. All you have to be is a little better than your opponent thinks you are.
Hmm Tiff would likely be at a disadvantage in a purely strength fight, Which considering the sheer armament of Melan seems to be his forte. There is one clearly obvious advantage Tiff has aside from what everyone else pointed out, armor. I know this comic uses armor almost exclusively as a way to get “hit” without getting hurt with some fan service to boot. The fact still is, Melan would be fan serviced just taking out his belt, Tiff would take a few more hits.
While it’s true Tiff is now in a different weight class, a lot of her earlier losses were do to her not being use to her new form. the sample strip eludes to this. she has had more time and(more battles) to get use to it.
but she also has an advantage that she knows her brothers moves as they probably tried the same. and tiff’s fighting style has changed with her new form.
Her main weakness seems to be the emotional part of the curse. (if tiff feels like a weak woman she becomes a weak woman)
If she has any issues with her brother and he plays that card she could be in trouble.
Yes… Unhappy Unicorn.
In fact, I’d say ‘pissed off’ unicorn.
What are the attributes required for a unicorn to allow to be rode again?
(Dang! English is my first language and that came out poorly.)
Truth Chicks fight Dirty, they do some Sick and EVIL!! and that’s just when they play fight, I’m expecting a Glassing in the near future.
Big people with lots of muscles who move around aren’t slow. It’s a widely perpetuated stereotype, but it’s not true. For instance, all Makuuchi-category sumo wrestlers (the top 42 sumo wrestlers in the world) can dunk on a professional NBA hoop. Yes, they can jump that high. Have you see how big Shaq is in real life? Seriously, the guy’s freaking-amazingly huge. You’re probably getting confused by big fat people who sit around a lot, although they can move quickly when they want to, they’re just not really used to moving quickly like an athlete/fighter/warrior is. Big people like Melan-knee aren’t going to be slow. Tiff’s “nimbleness” isn’t really an asset because Melan-knee likely matches her nimbleness or at least comes really close — it’s part of being a world-class athelete in the real world and part of being the presumed leader of this great big barbarian tribe in the comic. Presuming the same level of skill, Tiff should lose in a 1-on-1 fight because she’s lighter and weaker (if she wasn’t weaker, she’d have muscles as big as his). The only hope for Tiff is that she has a much higher level of skill than he has.
Tiff is still extremely strong and durable. She dented and knocked out Neil and she usually shrugs off most of the pain she receives during combat.
It’s very likely she can still take out her brother in combat.
@Nobody: Wrong, i am arguing the contrary. Being a woman is not a handicap for Tiff, she has still been able to defeat foes twice her size and she is stronger than most people.
@Jayessell: Traditionally it was virgin female, if I remember correctly. I don’t think the author changed that for this comic.