[1337] An Army Of Ph33r [part 01], "why am I a red shirt??"

I wanted to release comic 1337 all at once, but there are SO MANY FRAMES to this thing... so rather than keep you waiting, here's the first 1/3. I will just add to it over the next few days as i finish more

iiiintersting. I look forward to seeing where Largo takes us.

(|2`/ "|-|4\/0(" 4|\||> 137 5|_|P 73|-| |>06$ ()|= P|-|33|2...

That...

was painful...

I shall never do that again...

I am sure the reflection free coating on the screen was a great idea at the time of purchase.

Curse your camera angles in panels 4, 5, and 6! *shakes fist*

And yes, I suppose not having an internet connection is a terrible thing... By the way, my 133t skills break down after translating "please hack your wifi...", can anyone else finish making sense of that message?

Heh. I guess her "weapon systems" are free, since that outfit clearly didn't have a bra, and she certain didn't get one from Largo....

This post has been edited by Random Wanderer on Jun 13 2012, 10:52 PM

i always new Piro was a secret marxist

A Groucho Marxist, I always thought...

hahaha nice

as far as armies go, all Largo needs are Ping and Junpei

Yeah! ... and what is the image behind the panic! message?

Largo is so over-the-top! He's getting his priorities mixed up & forgetting to sneak a peek. Especially dumb when Erika hints there won't be reprisals.

"Please check your wifi sh*t and cellular data network /= panic. Okay, thanks."
I'm not sure whether /= is supposed to be an F as shorthand for "for" or a "do not" as in, "Do not panic." I'm pretty sure it doesn't mean "divide-equals."

"Weapon systems - are they fr33?"
"Yes, I guess you could put it that way."

Ohhhhhh. I see what you did there...

Just going to anxiously await more... Nothing out of the ordinary there ^^

Mr. Gallagher... I can't help but feel that after all this you owe your loyal readers a beach comic... with most, if not all of the named female characters in swimsuits... and possibly a volleyball game... p-please...?

*Hatsu dies of blood loss*

Ah, thank you muchly. Trying to read that stuff makes my eyes cross.

Oh, i can not wait to see what Largo does. The way he is going on about what he needs and how it needs to go is something i would probebly do lol.

This is the first 1/3? Holy canoli! That's almost 6 months worth of regular comics right there

I am joking BTW - but don't let that stop you from doubling your output if that's what you need to do

Cool, take your time. He's calling the crew.

Whaha…! =D

Cewl.



BTW. I read /= as an emoticon.

This post has been edited by BetaCygnus on Jun 14 2012, 02:03 AM

I'm hearing a theory from some others that the /= as an F would be referencing the Beowulf cluster. Anyone?

So... let me get this straight... Largo loses signal on his phone and thinks the world is going to end. HHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! I love it!
Vis, sorry, but we just got a bunch of pictures of Largo striking cool poses

"Do not" makes more sense, I think. "/=" does mean "not equal" in fortran and a few other dinosaur languages that people of Fred's age (and mine) can still remember as being l33t.

Edit: Oh, and the comic is aw3som3 so far.

This post has been edited by paarfi on Jun 14 2012, 05:24 AM

/= is 'not equal', so here it is being used to say "don't"

Notice that this is two pages already, and Fred says it is 1/3... a 6 page post for the 1337... awesome!!

I love that Erika essentially tells Largo to take a peek and he let her down... unless he actually Can see something in the reflection.

Hmm, weapon systems deployed... they are not nearly as effective without the hydraulic corset to lift them nearly out of her bodice. I absolutely sense a 'Largo rips her shirt open' moment sometime before the dead of night. That will certainly stun the angry mob.

And now I get to my real point... Piro called the equivalent of 911 to get an ambulance. Largo has sensed the city wide panic from Tokyo when an untracked plot suddenly appeared in the data grid. The Hoard is about to start mobilizing and Largo intends to put a counter-force in their path before he even knows what happened or where.

OUCH... but so true. Im so old school that the last programming languages i was proficient in were FORTRAN and COBOL and... i guess it shows huh?

(ftr, i got off the programming train at C++ ... i was ok with C, but there was a point that i just got lost, that was in college)

I'm digging the old school Star Wars rence myself. This will be LEGENDARY</PO>

Also the leet inthe frame text at the botom anyone got that?

Edit: Never mind - ( c) 2012 Fred Gallahger arll rrights reserved

@Piro Vive la FORTRAN

This post has been edited by SteelBlaidd on Jun 14 2012, 07:12 AM

Dude. I flunked out on FORTRAN and COBOL.

I see you're pulling a Jason Siebel from "Anywhere But Here" with a mega-large update. Though he'd pull full-page updates in what was normally a newsstrip format. (And then there was that month long series of full-page strips...)

Interesting update. I see why it was taking so long. I look forward to its culmination.

Hmm... the "does not equal" operator I'm familiar with is != but I have no idea how widespread that is, as my programming knowledge is very limited.

<wipes Erika-induced drool from chin - Ah, the wonders of imagination...>

Er, who was it that was saying Largo was too far away to be involved?

Erika stealth fanservice aside, I'm curious as to where Largo's j3d1 f33l1ngs fits into the timeframe of the previous scene. Did he feel it just as Miho pulled Piro into the Null Space, or did he feel it because Piro just tried to call him and was blocked? Or did Piro try calling an ambulance? Largo seems to have some sixth sense when it comes to the internet.

It's going to be really interesting to see what happens when Largo realizes he's being asked to save his mortal enemy.

edit: Is ph33r < ph34r ?

edit to the edit: And what Meta could Erika be refering to?

This post has been edited by Initial B on Jun 14 2012, 07:48 AM

Largo already saved Tohya once. He no longer sees her as a mortal enemy but rather as the girl she is and that his student (Sonoda Yuki) wants desperately to find and save.

He already saved her once last night. He isn't the sort to let a grudge keep him from helping her once he judges she really needs help.

Bleh. Ninja'd.

This post has been edited by Random Wanderer on Jun 14 2012, 07:51 AM

I think rescuing Miho was not his intention last night, just a side effect.

btw, I just realized that Fred appears to be going all Super Sentai with the cast. Usually these teams are groups of five, so who will be the fifth member (probably unveiled in the next comic)? My bet is that it's going to be Junpei, since we haven't seen him in a while and he'll add that extra bit of awesomeness to the team. I'm partial to Boo, but I think he'll just end up being the mascot.

edit: I'm impressed that Fred is picking up steam on his release schedule. I haven't been this excited for what's gong to happen next in a long while. Keep up the good work, Fred!

This post has been edited by Initial B on Jun 14 2012, 08:15 AM

I just remembered. Erika was introduced in the comic when she broke a bone of Largo's. They've certainly progressed far in the relationship. Though I don't think Largo is missing out on anything he hasn't already seen. Erika is just playing a very fake tsundere act for fun on the "don't look" angle.

I got more of a Sergio Leone vibe from the last few frames, as in "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly".

<ooooh,ooooooh,oooooooooo! SqeeeeeK!>

Yes. <pumps fist in air, looks around triumphantly>

We gots Junpei coming, we gots Junko and Ping, we gonna gets Kimiko in full Kotone mode, we might even get Boss-san doing his best Paarfi imitation.....

Majorly awesome first third of the post, Mr. Gallagher, sir!

And who says Largo was not watching every move she made in the reflections on his cell phone? The man is crazy, not stupid.

This reminds me of why Largo and Erika are my favorite couple in anything ever. Her playful attitude coupled with him calling her PRINCESS AWESOME of all things (and her happily going along with it) just put a giant dumb grin on my face.

<3

So I said, That's it? That's the 1337 strip we've been waiting so patiently for? Oh. bother.

Then I kept scrolling.... Ah, nice! And more to come?! Excellent!

In the spirit of Kill Bill and LOTR, Fred is posting the 1337 comic using as many panels and posts as it takes. No more; no less.

Okay, that's pretty awesome alright.

Nice to see Largo and Erika again - I'm lovin' how their relationship is flowing and growing. Very cool how Largo is picking up the impending whatever on his superphone. Nice.

Very L33T, Fred, very L33T. Thanks. Can't wait to see the rest of the event!

Rudbeck



This post has been edited by Rudbeck on Jun 14 2012, 09:42 AM

"Super sentai" puts a whole different meaning on "Red shirt" --- 1337-Ranger Red is usually the leader, I think.

This post has been edited by dm on Jun 14 2012, 09:52 AM

But... what about the Rule 63 picture? Where does that fit in? oO

(Or for that matter, Rule 85.)

I like Largo's blush in frame 7 -- he did sneak a peek in the phone's reflection.

Funny, I always figured Piro would call Largo, but that's tough if he's lost all connectivity,.

This post has been edited by PhysProf on Jun 14 2012, 10:44 AM

It appears the 1337 cannot be contained in a single comic...well, actually it can I guess, but it's gonna be a really humongous comic.

Largo doesn't seem to know what he's actually going to do with this army yet (haxxor the internets?), but then, one does not need a reason, sensible or otherwise, to assemble an army of ph33r.

And I feel like someone has to say "and my axe" at some point, but who would that be? Erika in a...firefighter cosplay?

Also, t3h win: this comic is (one-third of) it.

Given that it's Largo, and his phone is basically super advanced, you have to assume it's connected to just about everything in every possible way. That being said, it's quite possible that his phone, no matter where it is, should never be without a signal, ever. Thus, in his world, a lost signal is a huge deal because the only thing that could knock out his signal is something major. He's not showing any sort of sixth sense or anything, he's just assuming the worst because a lot of stuff has to break for his phone not to work.

When this comic is done, I am printing it in scroll form.

I see Fred managed to make comic 1337 as awesome as I was hoping, it is most definately L337. the 1/3 revealed so far is great, I loved how he managed to get in most of the tropes, with leet, Star Wars and Star Trek references, and probably more that i missed; although I must admit I gave up on trying to interpret the leet and waited for a translation here. I assume the disturbance in the force is Piro making the phone call and the horde mobilizing.

The relationship between Largo and Erika is very sweet, I particularly loved the weapons free part, and Princess Awesome? brilliant. Although at this stage of the relationship, I would think she should be promoted to Queen Awesome.

Anyway, worth the wait, excellent page.

eidt: wait, I just realized where they were. So Erika just flashed the local area from on top of the train. I can just imagine the trail of dazed and nosebleed affected farm workers as the train passes.

This post has been edited by Roborat on Jun 14 2012, 12:09 PM

Eh, in m36470|<y0 time-space, nobody is ever too "far" away. And when it comes to l33t and 1337 and blending and blurring real and fantasy and inside and outside and between the walls; how could a single posting contain it all!


Largo felt that something was wrong (which he's done before more than once, as far back as the beginning remember) with the appropriate shout-out; all before checking the phone. Which at first we learn said phone has no Internet and by the end learn has no signal at all. So it's all out, hampering his efforts to gather a team/army. At least it appears we need not wonder if he's got no idea that the MG is at the epicenter or not.

As far as the getting out of the corset. Given everything about her, Erika's not the fake coy type, just unfortunately Largo's too busy to even play along. She's still somewhat less into and emotional about goings on, of course so takes it in stride, joking along the way. Maybe she doesn't realize what's going on, or maybe her perceptions just don't have it as a big deal. Yet.

Altogether quite awesome. Like we're witnessing the beginning of the collapse of the gameworld. Kuith, Reaht, Fougoureth, Kaieskallen and the rest. And if that red-shirt is actually Piro (or both of them) and along with the other things. Then Erika's last comment is even more applicable. The seams, they are a tearin'.


The question is just what exactly specifically was Largo reacting to. It would seem so far (in the absence of other information and absence of other context) to be Piro doing something, that has caused something else, all akin to the loss of control last night at the CoE but on a much grander scale. Seems aligned with 'almost losing Tokyo' just orders of magnitude larger. Not that there's ever been any real concrete reason to doubt Miho in general about the ramifications (her setting them up aside). Not given what we've seen from her, part of her deal is you can't trust anything about her, even though most are powerless to not.

Although the truth remains to be seen if Piro called for an ambulance and thus created a rift a cataclysm a catastrophe or if the someone else has done it. Whatever it is though and "whoever" made it happen, it should be an event big enough to get Piro to admit/react that some 'weird crazy wickedly cool stuff' is really going on. Something he can't ignore, explain away or pretend doesn't exist. Or we find out just how much it's all illusion. Both, all. That, and a whole lot more!

And not all of these are extinct. Up to this day, many users of AutoCAD write helpfull programs/routines to preform certain drawing tasks in a dialect of the programming language LISP, and the "/=" operator is used there also. So in this case, l33t and kicking.

This post has been edited by mmo on Jun 14 2012, 12:46 PM

Oh, I know. Though vba or the automation interface have replaced autolisp for most of the newer autocad projects I've seen. My counterpart in denmark still writes all his code in fortran. He tries to tell me how awesome it is, and I just roll my eyes and keep my mouth shut. Old languages can take a long time to die, and often for very good reasons. But I doubt many compsci departments teach fortran or lisp anymore, and only some greybeards like my danish friend would still consider them to be l33t.

AH! thats where i get it from. I did a LOT of LISP programming for AutoCAD back in the 90s. ^^;;

Odd. I thought it was an Internet thing. I've seen it used for "not equals" in e-mails and on some websites. No doubt it spread from LISP and other programming languages back when programming and the internet were more intimate with one another.

speaking of languages going the way of the dinosaurs... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/hay-fes...ist-claims.html

this is a very scary thought

2 B + ~ 2 B || ! 2 B ∨ ¬ 2 B

One wonders if Dr. Ostler has actually tried to read something machine-translated from say, Chinese or Japanese into an Indo-European language (or any other language pair with very different grammars.)

Machine translation only really works if the two languages are similar, and even then it only kinda-sorta works.

Is it just me, or is Erika kinda sorta hoping Largo actually will look, this time? There's a time and a place for honour to be dropped, too, you know. I'm suspecting Erika is thinking that the time might be Now. Or at least, very, very soon.

...and, unfortunately, COBOL still survives for Uncle Sam.


Fred? One-third complete? This strip couldn't survive on its own?

It wouldn't be leet then.

...You know, it just occured to me that Erika is wearing Largo's shirt. It is a man's shirt, and it looks like she isn't wearing a bra with it.

*Headdesks*

Largo, you skipped a step! A VERY. IMPORTANT. STEP!

I find it amusing that Erika answers to Princ355 Aw3som3...

Ahhh poor m4ssiv3 |-|ord3 7h3y |<now no7 7h3 b347down 7h47 4w4i7s 7h3m onc3 l33t m4s73r's forc3s h4v3 g47h3r3d. oh w3ll 4t l34s7 I g3t 7o incr34s3 my |<ill r4tio!

now I mus7 polish my m4ch3t3 4nd ch4ng3 7h3 cooling fluid in my sys73m.

This post has been edited by Randy Disciple of Largo on Jun 14 2012, 09:16 PM

whats odd about reading this is how you can get on a roll and start to read it as it is no different from english.... knid of lkie tihs, you can raed tihs wihuot any porbemls...the mnid is turly asewmose.

*dangles RDoL over a pit of bubbling tar*

Why bother reading it when you can torture the newbie into translating it for us? Anyone got feathers handy?

No, but I have a bunch of needles. Would those work?

Who are you, and what have you done with the real iycgam?

You must be holding him hostage, knowing that he can't write a "Please save me" note in less than 3 pages...

I kid, I kid...

Too much plot build-up? Throw in a Largo.

The Joker approves.

(I was also thinking she meant by 'weapon systems' the powered bunny ears. Then I realized what happens when you reach up without wearing a bra. Uh oh, hemoglobin levels dropping fast.)

In practice, English may be saved by its legendary acquisitive powers:

"We don’t just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."
--James D. Nicoll

Uuuumm, Fred... if you can get your mind around LISP in any way, shape or form, then you can learn the terminology for object orientation such as C++. They are doing many of the same things by different names. I hate the ways object orientation are coded, but I can grasp what's actually going on, and I would far rather program APL than LISP any day.

No, this is iffy all right, the one unbreakable rule is that he/she can't speak clearly and concisely at the same time.

I'd say "sounds like me" but my job abstracting has taught me the value of conciseness. Not to mention rushing to finish a review before 1 a.m. EST... ^^;;

When it comes to what anyone nearby sees as they're passing, it's probably not an issue. Erika and Largo don't appear to be on top of the train any longer. In some abandoned area of a train yard maybe.

What might be a curious thing to notice is that so far today outside in public except at school, and even inside most places and on the subway. Overall there seems to be a fairly obvious lack of others around.


Oh. To be continued multi-part awesomensauceness is elite. All 1337 different ways of it.

Okay, an explanation of sorts. The first post pretty much covered it, the avatar explains the rest quite well (for now) and the discussion was centering around something other than the story anyway. Various ways of expressing not. A response was put into a little spear shaking sort of joke, much like (but not nearly as well done) finding an origami zilla that covers one's bail as illustrative. A preference is putting a bar over the variable etc, but it's somewhat difficult to do in a lot of medium and so there are various shortcuts. Do not panic. Don't press the button; just glare at the non-glare screen.

Yet that on was both clear and concise. Short, and in context, topical in a way even. Just not very obvious or mainstream necessarily. Plus of course, not really any more related to the story than any of the rest of them were.

Sometimes, the rules, they are meant to be broken. It's like asking what the soup de jour is; "It's the soup of the day" is a valid answer, just not necessarily a very good one, and usually not the answer to the question being asked. It all depends on how you perceive things, but it's also not funny. Just like 2 B + ~ 2 B || ! 2 B ∨ ¬ 2 B isn't funny, regardless of how clear and concise or unclear and imprecise it may be (or not).

Miho? Largo's not supposed to have fans either.

So, where are they? Only frame 1 shows any background. And it's not very clear. They must be somewhere Erika is willing to remove her top and let her weapons systems be free while she changes. A fast moving train might satisfy that since folks might see, but couldn't become a problem. Their hair is hanging straight down though. What is that thing to the right of Largo in the first frame?

Oh, but pretty l337 comic.

DS

Need an explanation for the background?

Here's a hint, they were heading to Sendai on top of that train.

What happened in Sendai shortly after those strips?

You wouldn't need "l33t spidey senses" to know something was wrong now would you?

To his right is like a building, then around there's like power/phone lines, A thing that appears to be a railroad fence gate signage control stuff something dealy. Like I said last post, too, nobody's been around anywhere today much in m36470|<y0.

Yet not just the hair hanging down, clothing not flapping around, and demeanor. Specifically they appear standing up, walking around normally and without concern of balance. Or concern of falling off, being knocked off, touching power etc.


[TLDR gibberish] More than just that stuff above. Aside from the contentiousness of Largo and Erika even possibly having anything to do with Miho and the gaps and the bathouse and Seraphim and Yuki and Piro and so on. Largo not even mentioning Junpei. And more. If Erika is pretending that she of all people is concerned if somebody she's been intimate with looks (while essentially telling him he can and should look) after all we've been shown that has way already cleared out that issue. Yet she's s seemingly quite unconcerned about people on the ground or around might see anything from at least as far away as top of train to ground far enough for angle of ground to top of train to see top and above, plus any fences and things to keep people away from the tracks or railway area. ThenErika's talking about meta to Largo's grandstanding grandiose overblown plans to build an army, etc with no way to contact anyone and them being however far away they actually are, wherever riding the rails ending up taking them.... However long it's actually been outside the bathouse and the gaps. [/TLDR gibbersih]

hahaha that quote is so great, almost made me spit my coffee out! good work!

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

"Ph33r is the mind-killer."

Erika must have sensed the disturbance in the F0rce too - that's why she needs to cl34r for 4cti0n.

Much care was taken to make FORTRAN produce highly optimized code, for fear it would not be accepted otherwise.

As for Sendai --- it snowed, of course. What else?

Piro suddenly a "red shirt." Hahaha! Cute and hilarious.

Very cool, all the stuff on this one is.

Sometimes there's not a clue bat big enough to get through to you peopleTsunami

This post has been edited by Invisigoth on Jun 16 2012, 06:55 AM

Which is why I didn't say what happens in Sendai stays in Sendai, dude. I was making a Vegas joke instead.

Unless what you're implying is that Largo actually having sex with Hayasaka without premature ejaculation or abject failure was such a shock to the world that it caused the earthquake causing all that destruction.

"Sendai Spotting". I saw that in the list of boards this site has, a private board for the "Warmth" project...

...which was going on before the Great Japan Quake and Tsunami happened. That's what Largo saw. Therefore, Fred was paying homage to the victims of the event.

sorry but L33t M4s73r has shown several times that he does indeed have a sixth sense which i like to call the destructive force sense. he has demonstrated this the many times he has sensed the unwilling zombi3 qu33n (Tohya) and the time he failed to sense her when she collapsed at school. other times he has displayed this was the time he was able to sense the focus of the hord3 agents on Erika and warning her to leave, sensing Junpai outside the door despite his ninja skillz, instantly recognizing ed no matter how much his face changes. recognizing almost l33t agent Yuki as a magical girl after only knowing about them for 2 days. sensing almost l33t agent Yuki's destination. recognizing (even if he underestimated) Kimiko's untapped power.

also one of the things that could have triggered largo's sense may have been Piro realizing how close everything she's saying fits things l33t m4s73r has been telling him. the horror of l33t m4s73r being right may have destabilized his mind resulting in the "1000000 screams" he mentions.

This post has been edited by Randy Disciple of Largo on Jun 16 2012, 04:47 PM

I'm not so sure Piro is a red shirt--Yutaka, maybe. The little Piro figure looks to me a lot like a Fred joke to be erased in the final version.

Ok, so where is Largo going to get an army?

He's got the schoolkids following Great teacher Largo; he could maybe hijack the Nanasawa Protection League; he could threaten to rick roll the Cave of Evil again; he could maybe recruit the Leet Dude from early in the strip. There are probably a fair few diehard Erika fans out there that might be recruitable. I don't think he would be likely to summon zombies. I still think Ping and Junko are likely to show up. Maybe Junpei can bring some aspiring novice ninjas to help?

Does Miho's phone have a panic button which Piro pushed? That would be one way to generate a Disturbance in the Force and summon Largo....

I have carefully not been blaming Erika and Largo for the earthquake and tsunami. Timeline does not fit.

I thought about it being tsunami rubble but dismissed it thinking you might not want to get into that can of worms. On the other hand they were heading for that place prior to the tsunami so there must be some plot points involved, and it is a year and a half almost since the disaster.

I suppose within the MT timeline the 2011 tsunami must now have taken place a full year before the boys arrived in Tokyo. Officially they've only been there for like eight weeks or so. The story just has to adjust to events I guess.

Could be worse.

Superman comics started in 1932 with Superman an early 30ish grown man. So Clark would have been a teenager during WWI. On memorial day, he would have watched Kansas veterans holding their picnics on opposite sides of the park depending on whether their old uniforms were blue or gray. On the show Smallville of today, similarly aged veterans would be from Korea or even Vietnam. Just gotta adjust.

DS

Lisp is definitely 1337, still and always will be. Yes, I am old, but it's true for youngsters too. Lisp never became popular because it is one of the computer languages that epitomizes leetness - it simply makes no sense to many people, even many pretty good programmers. But if you've got the right stuff, Lisp makes you a better programmer and enables you to level up your skillz.

http://www.paulgraham.com/avg.html

(I may qualify as a graybeard by age, I'm 45... though I can't grow a beard LOL)

Bah, you're only three years older than me, you're not old.

(throws down vintage 1958 birth certificate)

I've written code in just about every language except lisp. Never wanted to ride the CDR CAR...

*pulls out popcorn and starts snacking as he watches three different colors of Mods descend on a Largoist who just resurrected a seven-year-old thread*

Now that's something you don't see everyday.

I must admit, it would be hilarious to see Sonoda Yuki yoink Largo from Sendai back to Tokyo... but I honestly don't know why that would be of value to the story. About the only reason for Largo to be invoked now is because it's update 1337, and because it gives us a "what Largo is doing now" bit. But it's Piro's story now. Largo has moved off-chapter for the most part and really wouldn't serve a purpose.

Sadly, it'll probably be two more weeks before we finally see the completion of update 1337.

>munches on chips<

Well, there's some entertainment for ya.

Or maybe another one of Largo's computer repair courses with the ladies?

Please?

This post has been edited by All_¥our_Bass on Jun 17 2012, 02:53 PM

Hey I like scantily clad MT girls as much as the next guy, but they've only had their clothes ON since halfway through comic 1334. Hell Erika was naked from the waste up for half of this one, though she was off screen. Were getting set for an action scene.

In... Sendai.

Oh well. Unless Largo is moving up from grand theft muffin cart to hotwiring JDF F-16's they might as well find some bathing suits and head to the beach.

Or you'd think so, except...

IT'S NINE THIRTY-THREE AM.

The time is shown on Largo's phone (no date though). Miho told Ping that it was 7:20 am when they talked on the phone in comic 1274, just as Piro was coming home from spending the night in jail. It would be cool if Fred kept this up. Giving us occasional time references. Guessing the time of day was sort of an artificial problem in earlier comics. I mean the bad guys know what time it is, the good guys know and random bystanders in the scenes all know about what time of day it is. Only the reader was left confused. (Or perhaps also the author, MT is his first novel length story and it's an easy mistake) I remember being shocked at least three times that it had suddenly gotten so late in the comic.

But we now know that there's lots of time for Largo to get home today still. Trains run both ways. But we also know he's not going to rescue Piro from the horde if they over take him at the bath house while waiting for the ambulance. Trains aren't that fast.

It is so cool to know what time it is.

DS

Don't forget the 2 old buddies he once phoned to the States to come help him. Both Dom and Ed are worth a horde of lesser mortals in their own right and have already demonstrated their willingness to aid Largo in the past.

Besides, Ed fighting to save Miho after he had killed her once in the past would definitely be within the anime tradition of old foes ending up on the side of the heroes by the time of the Big Climactic Action Scene.

Both Scotty and Uhura are Red Shirts. Both are survivors ...

Hear, hear, the captain and I have a strong similarity, in age and programming. If I recall, you demonstrated a very tiny edge in age, of just a few months.

Technically, so are Kirk and crew in the movies.

It's more accurate to state: Scotty and Uhura are Player Characters and thus survive. The "generic" redshirt is an NPC that goes off to die. They need both first and last names to improve their survivability (much like in OotS).

If Largo gets Dom involved, Yutaka could use the first aid capabilities of his van, but Yuki already has the van and presumably the first aid kit on the roof of Megagamers. (Remember the crunching noise Piro heard while leaving the apartment when she stole the van from Dom?) We don't really need to involve Dom and Ed at this point, though Dom and Yanasigawasan providing counterpoint observations on the Great beat down might be interesting....

I'm just wondering when Meimi will decide she needs a bath after a busy morning shopping. Yuki plus Miho plus Meimi plus Erika plus Kimiko plus Ping plus Junko? The horde will never know what annihilated it.

The Horde would leave their bones to bleach in the sun after all they'd sucked all the marrow out.

That really depends on the firepower that Ed has available. If he's got a bunch of killbots with him and was in an effective and defensible position, then he'd likely remain alive and probably even destroy a huge portion of the Horde. Dom would probably avoid being in the path of the Horde as he's not dumb. Largo would probably die however because he's the type to wade right into things and that's not the right path to take right now.

Ping? Dunno. If the Horde appears human then she doesn't stand a chance. If they appear monstrous? She might take out a number of them. The magical girls? Sonoda Meimi might survive as she's a bit less idiotic than her daughter at this point of her life, and might even decide to save her daughter and Yutaka and sacrifice the rest.

At the end of the day Ed's just another griefer.

Yes, he is. But from what we've heard about the Horde, they're not exactly tacticians and strategists. A griefer with sufficient firepower can prove to be quite an obstacle, and if Ed came armed like he did in hunting Tohya then it's likely he'd take out a large number of the Horde while avoiding being trapped. If it's just him and a shotgun then he's more likely to be road pizza, though he's shown the capacity to retreat in the past.

When you get down to it, even Piro wouldn't be able to withstand the Horde if he didn't have time to prepare. As he is right now he'd die quickly because he lacks sufficient intelligence on the Horde. Given intelligence on them and acceptance that the Horde is real and a threat, then he stands a far better shot.

The Horde is finite in numbers. Unless you are postulating that they themselves are archetypes dwelling on the spirit plane - or else have their own respawning capabilities in some other way - in which case I suppose they could very well be inexhaustable in supply.

For that matter, Miho's shrewd but not necessarily omniscient so it's not impossible that they are in fact less formidable to others apart from herself than she thinks. Unless there's more to it than she's saying (Which I admittedly would not rule out) there is no reason a proper application of firepower and violence would not rout them. But the "Let us just give in to despair" posture that Miho seems to be adopting at this moment is less likely to be productive.

Yes I suppose that billions is a finite number.

Except billions are not in Tokyo right now. Thus all they have to worry about is the local manifestation of the Horde, not the global.

Junko, Ping, Boo, Seraphim, Junpei, Ed, Dom, Piro, Kimiko, the NPC, Komugiko, Meimi, Miho. What's next? Well, we'd doubt m36470|<y0 is experiencing anything but unnatural disasters at this point. Which though out of the infinite possibilities, from this being a joke or a dream and everything is normal, to the entire fabric of reality being ripped asunder.

Let's say Meimi happens to have taken a trip to visit Erika and Largo where they are now. Not that it's the case but what if. After all, remember what Meimi herself felt happening in 1125. "I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened." Plus the contract Meimi has from earlier on to deal with Largo, her camaraderie (and far more) with Erika. Plus the interest Meimi took in getting Yuki and Yutaka moving along. Getting Yutaka on the phone with Dad and then Yuki, getting Yuki somewhat out of the doldrums, and so it goes. Real, illusion or otherwise.

If Meimi was where L&E are now, how long would it take an interdimensional teleportation across flat space to happen. Or however she does things or however it was her inexperienced daughter moved tons of (semi)organic material an unknown distance in milliseconds without collapsing timespace or arriving a mass of jellied zombiezillamagicalgirlness. If there's a good link between normal spacetime and the bathhouse, and with what Largo felt and what happened there in the first place, why not anything. Even Largo's Army, even one controlled from afar.


There's allegedly at least one other Analogue around too. Whatever other "particularly potent and enduing story type" the other(s) might be of/from/to/powering/within. If Ibara is anywhere close to correct somewhat on how he explained things to Junko. With whatever exactly Ed and Ibara meant about the real thing being not quite explained at this point. Whatever it is, it's probably not something normal usual typical that acts like you'd expect. (Or is it......)


So how much danger is anyone actually in? Let's say for now (however wrongly) that Piro called for help and thus by that action unleashed the horde and this is what's happening. Was that a huge blunder of Miho's, to goad him into doing so like that. Or was it something she was counting on and has under control (big-picture-wise). Although we know Miho called off the Ranger Zombies, perhaps got rid of them by using Ed, seemingly was either able to get away or counteract or negate whatever Ed did to her/them. And then she sat and waited for Yuki so she could goad her into taking her to the CoE and set into motion what followed, maybe. Is this another episode like whatever happened with Erika's fans back when. Something like Endgames, something with the Necrowombicon. That's like asking what's real and what's not.

Or we could just start at the end and begin with distrusting whatever Miho says. Not necessarily distrust the what exactly, but to the nature of it and the extent of it. Perhaps it would be better to say we should distrust our perceptions of it, due to what she might be. Which has never exactly been answered at all. Or what we are, which is quite well known and equally as not understood.

The problem, Iffy, is that you're attached to the concept of Tohya Miho as Antagonist. She's not. She's something else: a plot coupon. And you can ask the One Ring as to how often plot coupons are in control of the situation... well, assuming you dredged its melted remains from Mount Doom, that is.

And I'm a year or so down the line, also a coder. I see something of a pattern emerging here!

[hr]

Hmmm - I just had an amusing mental image...

How fast do you think Yuki could shuttle out members of the approaching horde by "going away" with them one-by-one?

Hear, hear, the captain and I have a strong similarity, in age and programming. If I recall, you demonstrated a very tiny edge in age, of just a few months.

And I'm a year or so down the line, also a coder. I see something of a pattern emerging here!

*the kitsune shakes his head* kids today

NASA and I share natal days. Machine Language was close enough to JCL ... We had the Halt Set Yourself Afire code set when I was last programming. Let's hear it for the 50s kids.

/redundancy/

This post has been edited by stsparky on Jun 18 2012, 07:10 PM

I wonder if this will be canon or an omake, but I suppose all will be revealed in time!
Personally, I think "a single voice cried out in horror a million times" is the best line so far in 1337.

how the hell am i suppose to feel here.... you guys make me feel like a young child... but compaired to the morons I work with (some of which have admited to being in kindergarden just before the turn of the century) I feel like an old bat.... help me out here....

80s kid totally lost....

If 20 years is a generation, you are certainly in the middle one among this group. Members used to span a range from 15 to 60+ and probably are still close to that.

Yep, although I think we have lost a few (or most) of the youngsters, and not just to ageing. We used to get some CGing in SDFW from the younger forumites but that seems to have died away.

Okay, not antagonist. What is she then? Ah, but that's just it. We don't know. I don't at least; although there may just be certain clues in the story leading a certain direction.....

There's no attachment; sad girl in snow, evil monster, figment of the imagination, the real thing, analogue, computer, simulacrum, goddess, demon, hero, villain, innocent bystander, source of a particularly potent story type. All or none of the above. Perhaps there might be a perception of some desire for it to turn out a certain way; no, there is none. It's of no concern what exactly specifically Miho (or anyone else) ends up as being or doing or not. Just conjecture on what seems possible or likely in context, for the situation. Given the type of story and the author's stated beliefs as well, and some other things. Such as but not limited to the inherent metaness meganess of it all.

There is really only consideration of where Miho's thoughts (shared, hidden, attributed) and actions and words and such, where they are taking things in story. In other situations, same thing, what is everyone doing, what are they saying, where are they going, who is impacted, how. Who goads Yuki into taking Miho to the CoE? Confronts Ed, shows up here and there on subway trains and in diners, takes Yuki up onto power lines, takes credit/blame for stealing things, goes and retrieves Kimiko and takes her to the CoE then Ikebukuro, tells Piro to check on his friend, tells Masamichi what she's going to do while agreeing with him about events and bringing him and Erika together, calms Largo and sends him after Yuki/Zilla/Erika, vanishes for nine days of Ping-time.....

How about using Ping as an illustration of a more detailed but rather untopical deeper consideration of event(s). Did 'Miho get Ping to take the photos/videos because Miho planned on Junko learning things and then getting back at Miho by having Ping post them to get Yuki and/or Piro to the ASF and allow the otaku et al to know she was coming back and who she was to get to here now for whatever reason and whichever person'? Who knows, but it does and/or could fit. If not the case, what's the alternative? Accident, randomness, the work of others, nothingness nullosity I suppose we're finding out now if there is an alternative and if there is what it is. It'll be a cool thing to find out. Whichever it may be. Piro and Miho hugging and kissing and declaring their undying (for a while) love, Endgames' emotional fabric ripping itself apart, rocks fall everyone dies, whatever.

Yet back to who's calling the shots iffy anyone. All those things Miho did, she did indeed do them. She took Yuki up on the power lines and then ditched her, she went to the diner and took Kimiko to Ikebukuro eventually, etc. That's not imaginary (unless, say, it's all something like in Piro's imagination or in somebody's game). The things Miho has done is just simply what's in strip. Yes, the meaning behind it, how much it's coincidence and the rest; we don't necessarily need to get so meta as to point out that obviously everything that happens, even things with no reason or result, are scripted and purposeful and done by somebody. Of course they are, but that's out here. I suppose we could mix the two worlds; so far that's where 1337 is going itself after all. But when things happen inside that are meaningful or otherwise advance the plot for whatever reason; that's too obvious as to cause from out here, and in the real we all make for ourselves about it, it's unimportant. Might as well point out somebody wrote Movie Script Alpha or LOTR. Indeed, somebody did write them, literally. Okay, next.

If we go back and look at what's gone on this morning this chapter between (5am? 6am? 7am?) and 9:33ish then. It's just like all those other things Miho has done. Aside from Piro telling Miho to stay upstairs while he works and figures something out (which of course she didn't actually listen to him on) she's been the one suggesting, pushing, describing, ordering, asking, leading and running. It's her narrative, her context, her description, her places. She so easily gets Piro to wear a mask he takes off drops down the stairs Yuki smashes the store takes out Dom wounds Yutaka that nobody even notices it. Some even deny it happened or that she doesn't know all about it and totally divert Piro from it all, but we either way, whatever it is we see, we see it in 1310-1316 (there's more, but for now, no need to consider it)

Miho has created and is creating the scenario is what we see to at least some extent. It's there, it's objectively what we've been shown, as outwardly and ostensibly and without details though it is. We have seen it. The only thing that might count doesn't really, Piro "deciding" to go with her and telling her to take him as he puts on his jacket; which behavior was hardly his idea, right? Even if it was, Miho tells Piro to not play, takes him into the gaps, says they're going to the bathhouse, comes over to bathe, says they're leaving, asks for help with Yuki, demands he make the call.

Sure, maybe that's all a lie, and it didn't really happen. It's quite possible this is 100% all Piro here. As leet suggests (if in the long run leet stays as leet appears to be so far) there's something at least some of the characters know. Largo wanting to try and call the red shirt, Erika asking if he's going to build an army with meta.

As far as the other non-contentious pseudo-matter? If Piro ends up with Miho, fine. Kimiko, fine, nobody, fine. Largo and Erika break up, Boo marries Junpei. Ed kills everyone, Ping tears Ed into bits so tiny not even Sony Enforcement can put him back together again. Piro wakes up and is dreaming. It's all an omake, it's all something Kimiko is voicing. Whatever it is. Although as we all should know, given the author and the past and precedent and such, some things are unlikely to happen, or at least unlikely to happen in typical ways. I'm only looking forward to finding out how it all fits, not demanding it fit a certain way. If we learn the why of it, so much the better. Perhaps it even all goes together.

As somebody said on some social site; "working on comic 1337 - there is something... refreshing about chaos. MT might be a lot different after this"

Miho is the hero

Really "the hero"? And the Princess in the Tower needing rescue? I'd argue Piro is the Hero, Largo the plucky comic relief or "Watson" (AKA the Ladies' man), with our primary lasses being love interests. Actually - Miho has become the "Prime Mover" - though we have some wanting her to be a combo Moriarty/Dracula. I'd say Iffy is more correct than most.

Indeed. At this rate there won't be a lawn on this forum that anybody will be free to stand on.

I miss the CG'ers too.

...and the renga threads.

Iffy, I told you what Tohya is. She's a Plot Coupon. TV Tropes link not included as I'm feeling not absolutely completely evil at the moment.

I can't help but disagree. Piro and Largo are the plot devices to make the story happen, but Miho and/or Yuki are the story, the protagonist... the reason for the story.

In a very strange way, Miho is Gandalf. Trust me on this.

Hmm. She appears and disappears on a whim, she has stated she's older than she looks, she usually utilizes subtle magical effects (with a certain van and a yoink! as exceptions), and she died and returned from the Beyond. The only difference is her hair's not white after returning.

kinda late with the update but wth, if erika is watching Madoka Magica, can we see Erika in Homura's outift? and damn s*** is bout to get real.

its nice to see Erika and Largo after a while, good to know that Largo hasnt shorted out the train yet. and that looming darkness, i have a feeling Piro used Miho's phone to call for help.

if that doesnt get them deported form japan i have no idea what will. KEEP UP THE AWSOME WORK mr. GALLAGHER!

and isn't it Hollywood canon, that a woman wearing a man's shirt after spending the night with him, has become more intimate with said man?

So good sign for ExL, isn't it...

Is this the first time Erika talked to Boo? And UNDERSTANDING him?

I think very few people ever acknowledged his existence. This is a rather big deal.

This post has been edited by Vallen Chaos Valiant on Jun 20 2012, 10:30 AM

Yay, more comic.

And Erika looking askance at Largo's little speech, "just one more" he says and finishes it up. Then she gets her signalling flags out and guides boo into a safe landing on a phear bot.

Very l337.

DS

And Valiant no. Erika talked to Boo outside the COE last night. She seemed to understand him there. Of course since WE can't understand Boo for all we know she is responding to his statements entirely wrong. It is still vaguely possible that she is just humoring Largo by pretending to have a conversation with the pet hamster he seems to have discussions with. Fred likes ambiguity. It would be in a similar vein to Piro seeming to believe what Miho was saying towards the end of the bath house sceneario just before this, and then at the end insisting that they call an ambulance anyway because he really thought all her hocus pocus talk was bunk.

This post has been edited by DrunkenSailor on Jun 20 2012, 10:56 AM

"Great, you made me say the "Z" word..."

Though I have to say, it's interesting what she's talking about. It seems Hayasaka is quite savvy about the whole magical girl genre, probably through her contact with Sonoda Meimi, and might know a bit more about what happened with Tohya and Tokyo than we thought.

The madoka mention isn't just a throw-away for color. Erika's comments are pretty much like what Fred's were about madoka. And Boo's fanboy reaction is much like what mine was when I heard him say it. So, somewhat similar concept of magical grrls, zombies, and such between madoka and MT, but not the same. And Fred thinks his idea is better. I hope he's right. I thought madoka was pretty awesome. But if anything can top it, it's MT.

And I think Mami's outfit might fit Erika a bit better.

She did it before in [1224].

edit: clarification

This post has been edited by paarfi on Jun 20 2012, 10:56 AM

An army of Ph33rb0ts to counter the great Ph33r.

Very 1337 indeed.

Also, Doctor Who AND Madoka Magika references, in the same 1/3 of a comic? Awesome. Good thing the Doctor keeps spare sonic screwdrivers.

I'm also interested to see MT Magical Girls explained more, if Madoka has it backward. Do people start as zombie fans, and then escape by becoming MGs, or what?

"Everything in this world is fake. My life is nothing more than a drama that you penned. Please, prove it. "Faust" is on show."

What everyone in m36470|<y0 says or does or thinks is suspect. As we've previously suggested and discussed a number of times - that includes us. Especially when it comes to mixing inside m36470|<y0 and outside m36470|<y0. Everyone's a device of some sort in one or the other or both, but there's more to it than just that. The real story isn't important, it's how it makes us feel or variation thereon.

Objectively, in one way in a manner of speaking. She's in control of much of various pieces of it, or is only an imaginary friend of Piro's, or is something in between. (Yet in the end, only one person's opinion about it matters. What shall we call the weaver, I ask of you.)

A living Wonka Golden Ticket with ribbons in its hair, eh? Well, given this conversation between Erika and Largo and Boo, the lack of cars and people in the streets, and the ph33rbot army.... Apparently, not so much.

Yeah, exactly. That or something very much like it.

If the real thing means all she does seems real (to at least one person if not everyone) then Miho's surprise at finding Yuki there at the bathhouse really tells us nothing. Except that picking that time to take Piro out of the bathhouse (she says, not mentioning the destination or why) in 1331 is pretty nicely coincidental, isn't it.

It's all mixed up though, so maybe not just one of them is the truth (a lie). Miho has done and does do a lot of things that seem (or could be perceived as) more focused more on Yuki than on Piro. But one might only be to lead to the other, or it could be both or neither. We've said all that before though.

Yeah, Erika's been fully aware of Boo for a while.

And she certainly appears very much not humoring Largo; she's having a full conversation with Boo, and not paying much attention to Largo as she cleans and tunes up the hat. Her in the bunny ears taking it all in stride, and Largo with the monocle looking sneakily around. All telling a story; just like the multitimbral multitool and the big blue box and the ph33rbots do. (Then of course the Miho rescue and aftermath last night (1259, 1260, 1265, 1266) and some of the phone call from on top of the train already told us they knew something, and other parts told us they didn't know everything.)

Yes, she just might.

Although I'd guess that it's mostly because of Largo, as we're seeing right now how that's playing out. She's there where he is. Actually, she's more even. Although some of the conversations with Meimi (the ones we saw during Ikebukuro) probably helped them get to this point sure.

Besides all that Miho's done to fix Largo, before she moved on to fixing Piro. (Or breaking them, or setting up [i]x[i]ness, etc) Unless it's mostly for Yuki's benefit, or Miho's a sad little poor match girl in snow arguing with Piro and Largo about what fetch quest they're doing next. Before she betrays them because she can't manipulate their emotions, or because she found what she was looking for, set it up, and went to wait for later.

Well, that's a lot like 1112-1115 (with particular focus on 1113) isn't it.

Last time, Miho just ditched, waiting for the next part perhaps. Or if last time was a real attempt to get away forever that just failed because Yuki and Piro are just that good (with some help from Ping and Junko and old computers and chat logs). So is it time for Miho to ditch again? The answers to those questions are what would tell us which direction we're heading.

I mean, if Largo and Erika weren't demonstrating it to us right now it would. And really, we don't know how long this will last or where it's going to end up so what's the difference.

"'Walpurgis Night' is the next episode"?

Y'all know what happened in the real world right before the Walpurgis Night episode was set to come out, right? It's come up before in this thread, but we seemed to think the in-universe timing wasn't right. But, webcomic time is elastic, and if Erika and Boo are telling us that the Walpurgis Night episode is coming out... I'm not sure if we're getting a literal tsunami in Megatokyo, but it looks like Largo and Erika will be on-site in Sendai for rescue efforts for something.

Yeah. I'd put my money on zombies or fanbois rather than a tsunami though. A ph34rbot army could handle them. Against a real tsunami, they'd just get kind of soggy.

... believe in the magic! ... They're fighting Meta with Meta!

Yeah... ph34bots wouldn't do so well against a tsunami. 2 meters is the height of a really tall person (also, apparently, the approximate height of moving water required to dislodge a Japanese house from its foundation). The 3.11 tsunami hit 20 meters (65 feet or 22 yards) in places. It sounds like an exaggeration until you see big 3-4 story tall buildings and realize that the waves washed people off of the roofs... Said buildings are now no more than steel frames. Well, the ones that are still standing.

Also, I thought in MT time we're still waiting for Diablo 2 to come out

I am right in line with your thinking on this, Patty. I would be sneaking looks in a comically non-chalant, overtly obvious way to test the chixor slidin her outer and undergarments for my viewing tittalation waters. It is well worth the playful slap to the cheek or punch to the shoulder.