A superior solution?: Well, that solves the problem of who gets to eviscerate poor Ambrosia… đł
We see Paradoximan creating a paradox… something we first saw him do during Lock(e)down on page 6.203… will it all work???
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Next update: July 3-5, 2022: Juggling a few things at the moment… hoping to have the next page up within the next week.
The story so farâŚ
[1] Wannabe
[#] History
[2] Great Leap Forward
[3] Daze
[4] Bad Karma
[#] Gifford: Hero [back soon]
[#] Buying the Stairway to Heaven
[5] Worst Fieldtrip Ever
[#] Redux: Gola Beh
[6] Lock(e)down
[#] The Things That Matter
[7] PaRARGdox
Tales from the MagellanVerseâŚ
Olga & Brelvis
Dr Spooky & Otto
The Olaf Mystery
Legacy
Crossoverkill [a crossover!]
Magellan stuff
About
Cast
Contact [email]
Fan Art [back soon]
Fan Fiction
Magellan Miscellany[back soon]
Magellan TV Tropes Page
Paradoximanâs power is just so cool. Basically lawyering the laws of reality. Take two things that are true apart but canât be true together⌠then contrive a loophole to harmonize them
I think of it more as him somehow fast-talking reality. Note the previous time we saw him use his power, he used “All lemons are yellow” and “This missile exists” as true statements, then used the fact there there are in fact lemons that [i]aren’t[/i] yellow to state that the missile didn’t exist. It wasn’t 100% effective, but it was enough to make the missile explode (100% effective would have simply deleted the missile from reality).
Yeah, âfast-talkingâ is a better way to put it, as you said. There is clever logic in how he does it, though. âAll lemons are yellowâ⌠is true, in a matter of speaking, as all *ripe* lemons are yellow. âAll lemons are yellow or that middle does not existââthis is an âinclusive orâ and so is true by virtue of its first half. âNot all lemons are yellowâ is true once you consider unripe ones. Thus, we have our paradoxâall lemons are yellow and not all lemons are yellow. The middle statement âall lemons are yellow or the missile does not existâ was previously defined as true, but with the lemon part messed up by the paradox, reality becomes convinced that the second part, âthe missile does not existâ, must be what makes the compound statement true, ergo the missile does not exist.
Or to put it simplerâif âall lemons are yellow is both true and falseâ at the same time, but the statement âall lemons are yellow or the missile does not existâ is always true, then when all lemons are not yellow, the missile does not exist
Did… did Ambrosia getting zapped manage to extend her time-slip power to the people around her?
That said will Kaycee, Charisma, Rochelle, Olga and Annie also remember the fustercluck of the Rarg invasion?
This does potentially put a nice bow around several of the theories I have been spinning.
But what about the Olaf factor? Olaf predicted an important role for itself in the conclusion to the Rarg attack, but I suppose that doesn’t necessarily make Olaf’s prediction accurate.
In any event, now it’s time for me to re-read this entire chapter with a conscious effort to maintain the perspectives of Kaycee, Charisma, Olga, Kwan, and Go!Anna to see what they may have observed.
Other than what Magellan u.s. and Prometheus corp experienced personally, it seems these six characters feature heavily throughout the entirety of the chapter.
Olaf is wired enough that Olaf’s prediction could be about Olaf in the timeline created after Ambrosia goes back in time.
She wasnât merely zapped⌠the blast eviscerated her. But yes, I think youâre right! Also, crazy to think that we literally have Sista Superior to thank for saving the world
If I remember correctly the way Rochelle explained it, the reason why eviscerating her would allow her to go further back is because with her body being damaged to that point would mean more of the energy/particle that she uses would be exposed?
So, if her power is being “released” it’s possible that it also extends further and can affect other people when they’re close to her?
about as far as the blood splatter from the evisceration?
…shit, I was joking but now I’m halfway convinced that’s what happened.
Well that looks like all six went back.
How far back? Magic 8-ball says “Reply hazy, try again” Doh.
At least they can corroborate each others stories.
Now that I look at it more closely there seems to be a line of energy coming from Ambrosia which goes through the core of each of the others.
Even if she never manages to go back beyond 1 minute again, if she can learn how to link others to her power she’d be MUCH more useful since she wouldn’t have to “Explain” how things went to hell each time.
Eeeee! I’ve been trying not to refresh obsessively, but I’m so glad to see a new page. (Also gets us away from how horrible Sistah Superior is in her latest appearance. Every time I looked at the panel I saw new things to be horrified by – good job!)
Oh dear.
They didn’t get to tell Ambrosia about the plan before she got eviscerated.
Poor girl is going to wake up ages ago without knowing how she was able to jump so far back.
More serious problem is that Ambrosia doesn’t have enough information to prevent the problem. However, Go!Anna does, and if she really is brought back with Ambrosia …
Sadly, I suspect she will remember EXACTLY what happened to her before she jumped. She’s smart, she’ll be able to figure out what caused the super-long jump. It’s who she will wind up blaming for it that I’m concerned about…
While Rochelle was planning to do that, she didn’t. There’s nobody to blame.
Interesting thing (to me, at least) is that every one of the characters caught in this time warp are women. The amount of fem characters has always been one of the big important things to me in this comic. And while there has been some nudity, it never felt like it was from a male-gaze (unlike certain other “fem-centric” webcomics out there, YUCK).
I mean, it was clear for a very long time that this comic was going to have a female character as central to the story, and when I realized Go!Anna was ALSO one of the main characters, it became super cemented for me. It also helped me be very “yeah, okay. That makes sense” when Grace came out years ago.
I would be interested in hearing if some folks with more experience in women studies would be interested in reviewing Magellanverse through a feminist lens. I admit my non-binary neurodiverse ass struggles with gender-specific analysis , but I always find it enlightening to see others’ views on this matter.
I think one thing to remember about Grace’s depictions of nudity is that another couple comics she has had (Loxie and Zoot and the Bare Pit–basically the same comic, though, as the latter continued the former) take place in a naturist resort. Through that, she already showed the ability to draw nudity without it being to titillate–it was just an everyday thing there, and included people of all ages and sizes.
Aye aye, very true. I feel Grace’s relationship with nudity in her works is very healthy, and should be normalized across media. Regretfully, particularly due to the u.s., there are a LOT of people out there with very hostile views on nudity (and sexuality, even though the two are not inherently the same, despite too many people thinking they are).
Also . . . two Betas, and three potential Alphas?
If Ambrosia truly is the plant, this whole sordid affair will only cement the Master Assassin’s assumptions.
http://magellanverse.com/comic/disciple/
On top of that, someone he labeled as a beta protagonist is the one who (partially) set it off.
er, did you mean Beta Antagonist?
Oops, my bad. Not sure how I missed that.
That is assuming the Master Ass-assin even remembers this day in the reconstructed time-line. Right now, he is a few seconds away from being smeared on the surface of a 9 mm even horizon.
Naturally he wouldn’t (or is at least extremely unlikely to). But the theory is that Ambrosia may be a plant for the Master Assassin (or her close friend, Morgana, who Ambrosia is likely to reveal all of this to).
When the report of these events makes its way to the Master Assassin, THAT is where the threat/concern comes in.
Note also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fata_Morgana_(mirage)
It would be appropriately poetic if Morgana ends up being the plant.
I’m going to post this here and now, even though I know there’s still more to this chapter, and maybe I should just wait and see . . . but . . .
SPECULATION!
So . . . I just re-read the whole chapter again, and despite Kaycee spending a substantial amount of time with Paz, I think if Paz were to recount the details of what took place to either the Master Assassin or the Character Assassin Disciple plant, then I think the results would be that Kwan is flagged as the new Alpha:
Super Intelligent, Drove the Narrative, A Person of Action, and Crucial to the Plot
In fact, depending on if Paz overheard Kwan’s overtures to Kaycee, Kaycee may even get relegated to “Chief Love Interest,” since her “narrative purpose” is simply to humanize the “obvious” main character of Rochelle.
Go!Anna’s role as a major Beta character is only reinforced further here, since she does have a lot of narrative purpose, she ultimately has no character development.
Alternatively, while Paz didn’t witness it, Charisma getting flagged as the Alpha could also happen, since she clearly had the most character development, and traditional narrative composition focuses on such for the main character in situations of major disasters like this, rather than mere secondary characters.
Again, Kaycee would be flagged as supporting cast, being the one who helped to unlock Charisma’s new-found humility.
But, should the Disciple (what I’ll call them from now on) uncover that Kaycee is actually central to Charisma, Kwan, AND Go!Anna’s stories, the conclusion of her being the Alpha would probably be a small thing. After all, a mere “norm” who has the affections of a super-genius, the ire-turned-begrudging-respect of a super-brick, and the life-changing backstory of her rescue by a fresh-out-of-the-academy Force Magellan-grade hero?
I just don’t think the Disciple could have -all- of those pieces from this chapter alone. Granted, assassinating any one of them (or all of them) is definitely within his M.O. for a major priority. But Magellan Island’s security is already going to be receiving another upgrade after this fiasco (assuming Go!Anna can accurately describe all the things that failed after the initial Rarg pulse), it would be wise to hold off on making a move until the next time those cadets are off-island.
Short version: Kaycee was just sort of “there” in this story, and the major plot and character developments happened -around- her, rather than directly caused by her. Someone who has an inside but incomplete perspective on these events may conclude that Kaycee is merely a Beta Character.
Grace . . . if you read this, pop me an email, please. I have an idea which I want to get your thoughts on before I commit to it.
Thanks.
oh thank goodness. I mean, I get that she STILL died quite painfully… but thank goodness they didn’t have to do it… i can’t IMAGINE the trauma of knowing that your friends would eviscerate you, even if it’s with your consent and to save the world!
Also fortunate that sheâd already been revving up her powers in order to save Brelvis at exactly the moment she was shot
And at the same time a confused and dying Paradoxyman used his power to counter the grandfather paradox. If he’d waited until Rochelle’s signal it wouldn’t have worked. Pretty big set of coincidences, but if you didn’t have coincidences you wouldn’t have most stories.
The thing I love about these coincidences is that they were all working towards this happening anyway⌠they just didnât quite happen as they intended them to đ
The plan got so derailed it somehow ended up turning around all the way back to going right.
Ah! I was wondering how one person would obtain/retain all the information that’s critical to saving the world. Not to mention the clearances required…. 6 people with Ripple-effect Proof Memory will be very effective. And OMG Charisma character advancement that doesn’t get reset??? Maybe???
Next page:
Annie: [Asleep in her bed on Magellan Island when an alarm goes off] Hun? Oh, what’s the alert now? [ She suddenly sits bolt upright. ] What? Sista Superior and the Rarg? How am I remembering it? Is it just a nightmare? [ Pushes the button on her video phone ]
Tom Bass: [ over the video phone, with most of the Team Magellan on the line ] Okay, that just leaves Ranger Bill. Hopefully, he will be on soon. Sista Superior has escaped from Locke Island and made her way to Pearl Harbour, Hawaii where she is attacking civilians and military alike. We are closer than Magellan USA, so we will take primary response. I want all of you at the hanger, ready to fly in 15 minutes. Epoch, can you check on Ranger Bill?
Annie: [ Thoughts ] If I remember Sista Superior’s rampage, then are the Rarg real too?
Annie: Epoch, the rest can handle Hawaii. You and I need to handle the Rarg. Tom, call Magellan USA and tell them to go to Prometheus Corp as their tech is behind this. Go wake Ranger Bill; we will need his moon base.
Epoch: [Aside] Not now, poppet.
Charisma: [Off screen] But this is important. The Rarg are coming and they are going to kill everybody, even you! They have a way to stop most people’s powers; I had a broken arm and ribs.
Very real concern here… Paradoximan is badly wounded, and starting to fade even as he forms his paradox… is that wordage he used intentional, or a slip? “Ambrosia can kill the past and not split time”?? Maybe I’m reading too much into Grace’s word choice, but…. I’m worried.
He means âkill the pastâ as in âerase all history after the point that Ambrosia returns toâ, thereby allowing her to rewrite everything after that point without creating a new branch. Basically saying that whatever point she returns to, the timeline after that point will just be lopped off and burned to smithereens, and the timeline will continue to develop as though that part of history was never there at all
I’ll be honest, Ambrosia getting eviscerated by a random enemy right on time is a bit of a disappointing resolution. There seemed to be a lot of narrative potential both in one of the heroes having to attack their own allies, and especially in Ambrosia remembering that being done to her by fellow students. And then she has to deal with those students after the timesleep, when they have no idea that they did/were going to kill Ambrosia.
Having Sister Superior pop up to do it feels a bit too clean, like the Disney Villains who can’t resist the urge to climb to high, slipery places in the third act. And if a whole group is now timeslipping back, even the drama of a barely trained teenage student having to convince others of the impending danger and trying to analyze her memories to determine the best solutions. If Kaycee, Rochelle, Olga and Go!Anna are timeslipping too, it all becomes a lot easier.
That said, the character development of Charisma not being rolled back is nice.
Then again, transporting all six, maybe they dont travel far enough back. Then Rochelle and Kaycee have to explain to the rest why Paz has to be killed again to push her back far enough to make a difference. Hijinks ensue.
Would Goanna, Olga and Charisma agree to this plan and would Paz sit still for it.
If the group has gone back more than Paz’s standard 60 seconds then they know it would, well “might” work, to push her back far enough to be effective.
Still who does the deed?
A second slip wonât be done because without the help of Paradoximan, another long slip would create a branch. Of course they could just get his help again but, succeeding to do that is still a big âifâ
Hmm, fork the timeline or die in a black hole, yeah they would probably fork it.
Second slip would be the only option left to them at that point.
Well, Ambrosia is still going to find out that one of her friends was going to do that. It will come out pretty quickly, Iâm sure. And honestly, I wouldnât be able to look at any of these characters the same way if they actually eviscerated her⌠nor would Magellanâs staff. Whoever did it would be in serious trouble, even if reality was saved.
As for Ambrosia having to convince everyone by herself⌠theyâre only going back a matter of hours, presumably. The amount of time it might take to convince them on her own would be long enough that the Rarg would invade before she finished; even in the best case where some staff member believed her, there would be at least a couple layers of red tape between her and Force Magellan. A lot of discussions and disagreements. Itâs too risky. On the other hand, Go!Anna is a member of Force Magellan and so can quickly get everyone into action. Also, Rochelle has to go back in order to explain to Spence how they were able to break the normal rules of Ambrosiaâs powers and the normal rules of time travel.
I think it’s an absolutely beautiful meeting of events. Especially if the activation of the time slip power at the precise moment evisceration is what allowed her to take others with her.
As for being believed in the past, seriously, just find your nearest telepath and get scanning. Plus Rochelle. Twilight might actually still be nearby. If not, at least Go!Anna will know where she is or will be and may be able to rescue her. Telepathy allows for a very fast update of events, too, and Olfa is in that field, no? Should be interesting!
I love that this is a series of very unlikely events that happen to get timed right. It implies that they couldn’t make a big jump happen if they tried to do it intentionally. As in, Paz could just as easily have died in that moment or only gone back 60 seconds to die again if everything hadn’t lined up JUST so. I predict Rochelle will throw out some astronomical odds of them recreating that series of events perfectly and making it possible to leapfrog Paz through time.
On top of that, someone he labeled as a beta protagonist is the one who (partially) set it off.
Oops, this was supposed to be a reply to VileTerror commenting about the master assassin. Not sure how it ended up down here.
This is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL meeting of events! Getting eviscerated by an enemy JUST as she is triggering her time slip ability RIGHT when Paradoximan finished his counter-paradox with probably his last breath, causing Ambrosia to not only slip back a long time but to take others with her? And possibly her actively triggering her power at the moment of evisceration being the reason she could take others with her in the first place? Absolutely. Freaking. GORGEOUS! You’ve really outdone yourself with this one, girl! GORGEOUS!
Hm. Bolts of energy are blasting out of Ambrosia and striking Olga, Charisma, Rochelle, Kaycee, and Go!Anna… but a six bolt at the top of the panel isn’t striking anyone we can see.
One more?