ZOMBIE FORUMS

Proof that the world would be a better place if women put out more...

Getting back on topic, what does Sarine hope to achieve by beating the crap out of her? Is she just trying to get rid of her? Assert her dominance? Force her to use time magic?

Advancing the plot. A possibility. Definitely. Optionally.

ATM, it looks like Sarine is setting herself up to be Sara's new teacher, in the ultimate dominance game. However, she'll settle for simply being the alpha bitch, a neccessary status change since Sarine can't afford to be schlepping around a dangerous prisoner (prisoner = liability) while looking for the half-elves and ducking elven patrols.

By now, Sara is gotten the point that her brother Jon is not the one she has to negotiate with in order to improve her status, it's Sarine and Sarine has just presented her the "Lead, Follow, or get out of the way" option, with the first one not a real option. However, Sara has to earn her way into the"Follow" option. She's doing that now

Assuming Sarine can't do the time-monk thing, which given she's very old she'd probably have done in the church-ambush if she could, she needs to prove there's some value to Sara in leaving her alive.

completely off topic, where's your earthsea avatar?

More like:
"Let me heal it for you" So I can break it again, mwahahaha!

You should always take responsibility for things you did and try to fix 'em y'know.. ;)

River Tam, mele scene in Serenity against the Reavers. At least one of the weapons in her hands was an ax. I can't remember what the other one was. Absolutely effin gorgeous scene, too.

As I understand, Eastern warrior typically wore nonmetallic armor, since their ore was rarer and of lower quality, so they wouldn't have handguards and I'm not sure how the pommel would be put together. However, in a life-and-death fight, it's always better to have a wider variety of ways to hurt your opponent, so it would be downright foolish of them not to learn at the very least how to punch and kick the guy if he gets too close for a sword stroke to be of any use.


As far as I can tell, you either want a weapon heavy enough that it takes two hands to use, or you want to use one hand for a weapon and one hand for a defensive implement (either a shield or a main gauche), or you just want to keep your off-hand out of the way. I don't think that holding two separate weapons generally increases the lethality of an armed combat form. (Escrima is the biggest exception that I can think of.)

1) The Spanish technique of Rapier and Main Gauche is very deadly and the Main Gauche is not purely defensive in that school.
2) Various schools of Kung Fu have double weapon techniques, like Butterfly Knives, various two-stick forms, and Sai.
3) Yes, Philipino Eskrima.

Yes, a second weapon is deadlier, with the proper training.

hi hi

However, whether dual wielding or not you only really need one solid blow to end the fight. When off-hand weapons are used for an offensive move the main hand weapon is generally being a distraction or defensive. One hit from either weapon is enough to be lethal, so its not like you're gaining twice the lethality from having two weapons, rather you're increasing your chances to score a blow (if one is experienced enough to use two weapons at once) Unlike emergent role-playing game mechanics involving hitpoints.

It has also been my understanding that many were only 2 to 3 pounds in weight, or the wielder would tire quickly. Axes and hammers did not need to be huge monsterous weapons if you can hit someone on the head with it. Of course there were larger weapons for dealing with heavy armor, but even with armor a good hit with a bludgeoning weapon would transfer the impact through the armor to the soft tissue inside.

Perhaps Sarine is trying to force Sara to make a choice, preferably to leave. If Sarine can prove that she's Sara's better in combat then it would force Sara to abandon any thoughts of finishing her mission, as defeating the two would seem impossible.

What seems the most impressive to me is a fighter who is using both weapons offensively and defensively at once, seemlessly.



Which is why armor almost always included a layer of padding underneath, such as the gambeson. Just banging away on a heavily armored knight with a blunt weapon is going to wear him down over time, but to get in early, lethal hits takes some kind of penetration. Thus, the flanged mace, the pick-like head on many weapons, etc.

That's actually too simplistic a view and we are not discussing role-playing here. For example, there are many Sai techniques where you need both weapons to disable or kill an opponent and the coup de grace is not delivered by either individual weapon, rather by the two used in conjunction (ie one weapon being used as a fulcrum for the other).

But then, Sai are not blugeoning weapons (not heavy enough) nor are they sharp weapons. They are my favorite because they give the wielder many non-lethal options. Unlike a sword, they are not automatically lethal.



No, the choice has already been presented. That's how we got here. What you are seeing here is Sara's forced status change from prisoner to member.

Why is this possible? Because the Ensigerum has already betrayed her on a few levels by trying to make her kill her brother. That's why Sara's been sulking. She's been working that through. Jon's right, she could have gotten out of those manacles at any time. She didn't because she is still meditating on being betrayed by the Ensigerum. By now, she's figured out that it was indeed a betrayal. Such Loyalty Tests are all about remaining loyal even if betrayed by the organization.

Their demand that she kill Jon or be killed herself is a fundamental betrayal of her feelings for her family. The implied threat against her life, by her own organization if she fails to execute Jon, is also a betrayal. Like I said, many levels. I think that she's figuring out that the Ensigerum do not deserve her loyalty and Sarine is helping to drive that point home.

Parts of this remind me of historical tales of the time just before the destruction of the Shaolin temple. In fact, the Ensigerum remind me very strongly of the Shaolin monks.

A sword isn't automatically lethal, there are many different strikes and cuts you can make with one that wont kill.



I first used this username back in 2003 when it went with an Earthsea avatar, its changed a few times since then and I no-longer have one. So until I get around to making one it exists purely in the realm of history and magnetic traces.

Those impracticalities apply only to Darth Maul's doublesaber: too short of a gripping distance, too many chances to grab the saber part, too many chances to loose a body part with a botched spin.

Sara's weapon has comparatively more grip room: it's like taking a bo staff up against a sword, only the bo has pointy bits on the end, it can be done, but only by expert wielders. In my experience, a shorter bladed staff weapon, like a nagamaki, can be used to great effect against a sword.

Also, she had less chance to grab the "on" end than she would with a darth maul weapon.

But all this is based on Jo techniques that I've learned when comparing them with katana techniques.

But when you shorten the blades and widen the handle, then that just gives your opponent more grabbing room on your weapon.

Like Sarine just did.

Also there's more room to cut the weapon in half (and oddly, create a more practical weapon for your opponent)

People are forgetting that in effect, Darth Maul was a master of masters with his weapon, plus he was for all purposes magically enhanced with speed and dexterity.

As for the lightsaber, it's a little hard to grab a spinning omni-directional blade, where the only handle portion is 1/2 covered by some VERY aggressive hands.

I would bet Darth Maul > Sarine x1000 if it came to a fight between them.

As for Sara's staff.. meh.. Warrels weapon made sense, hers doesn't.

Meh...Maul can't throw fireballs, sleep spells, etc, on the other hand. Plus, he was a henchman, and Sarine is a protagonist.

'Yay!' for comparisons of fictional characters from completly unrelated fictional universes. How many catgirls will perish for this one then?

Many Botans died for this thread?

Hm, I counted 21 strips in this chapter. Is it possible we would get a chapter cover anyway, since the last strip is a good ending bit. That would be just as bad as a filler for my addiction.