2016/09/26 [DMFA #1698] The Fashion Police

[Tapewolf]

One should always be aware of wandering fashion design students in SAIA. They normally have a high tendency to engage in spontaneous make-overs, but when contests are presented they get extra zealous and many a student has fallen victim to fashion.

I imagine Taun members would see a fashion design mob as good practice for melee.

I've heard that Taun doesn't go in for warp-acis so I'm kind of curious how they're going to get there.  I suppose there's always Fi...

[Howl]

Wait a second. She?

Huh.

[Tapewolf]

Wait a second. She?

One of the main criticisms of Project Future was the predominantly male cast.  Something I endeavoured to correct in the sequel.

Huh.

Like Quill before her, Illiath is looking rather flat-chested here.  It may be that the platemail is enforcing that - while most people tend to draw female armour with boobs, it's recently come to my attention that female armour shouldn't really be like that, if for no other reason than the fact that it creates an attack surface.
Hence, while Amber's rendition doesn't look particularly effeminate, it's possibly more accurate and I'll try to follow that pattern in future.
(There's also the point that centuries of training to become a high-class warrior is unlikely to do wonders for your feminine looks.  Again, see Quill.)

If you do want to see a more effeminate Illiath, this is a good one:  http://projectfuturecomic.com/stuff/things/Comm-Illie_Ben1500.jpg

[Merlin]

Like Quill before her, Illiath is looking rather flat-chested here.  It may be that the platemail is enforcing that - while most people tend to draw female armour with boobs, it's recently come to my attention that female armour shouldn't really be like that, if for no other reason than the fact that it creates an attack surface.
Hence, while Amber's rendition doesn't look particularly effeminate, it's possibly more accurate and I'll try to follow that pattern in future.
(There's also the point that centuries of training to become a high-class warrior is unlikely to do wonders for your feminine looks.  Again, see Quill.)

If you do want to see a more effeminate Illiath, this is a good one:  http://projectfuturecomic.com/stuff/things/Comm-Illie_Ben1500.jpg

I tend to try to draw Illie a bit flat (armour aside, as I tend to draw breastplates a bit, er, breasty, even on blokes. Something I'm trying to fix...). The original pic of her I drew in bike gear (which I can't find right now) attempted to show her body type as sort of stocky and muscular and not overtly feminine.


Edit: wait this is important and I don't remember if I said it yet!! I love the way Amber's drawing Illie she looks so good!!

[Kajet]

Given Dan's off-screen screams I doubt he is in any place to be envied.

[Amber Williams]

Oof yah. I admit I had a bit of momentary debate about the armor in the time honoured argument of practical versus aesthetic.   In the end I figured Illiath and most of the more warrior-esque characters likely have a show armor set that they hoist out for special events that has more effeminate tells, but for some of the more day to day escapades likely default to a more pragmatic set.  In that "well if I want to attract someone with my bosoms or remind folks I have them then I'll wear something for that. But right now its not the time or place to attract someone with them bosoms and it don't matter much if I have them or not. " Also I admit I am amused by the growing trend where Jerimiah would be mistaken for a ladyface, and Illiath mistaken for a dude which made me think Taun's clan probably has a bad habit of that in general where a lot of her members are somewhat androgynous in the "either very handsome lady or very pretty man" kind of way.

[Tapewolf]

I tend to try to draw Illie a bit flat (armour aside, as I tend to draw breastplates a bit, er, breasty, even on blokes. Something I'm trying to fix...). The original pic of her I drew in bike gear (which I can't find right now) attempted to show her body type as sort of stocky and muscular and not overtly feminine.

This one?  http://projectfuturecomic.com/stuff/things/Illiath-25-shaded.png

Edit: wait this is important and I don't remember if I said it yet!! I love the way Amber's drawing Illie she looks so good!!

Indeed.  If Amber opened for commissions today I'm pretty sure I know who I'd get.

In the end I figured Illiath and most of the more warrior-esque characters likely have a show armor set that they hoist out for special events that has more effeminate tells, but for some of the more day to day escapades likely default to a more pragmatic set.

Makes sense.

Also I admit I am amused by the growing trend where Jerimiah would be mistaken for a ladyface, and Illiath mistaken for a dude which made me think Taun's clan probably has a bad habit of that in general where a lot of her members are somewhat androgynous in the "either very handsome lady or very pretty man" kind of way.

It did occur to me that it might be a counter to Jeremiah and his 'wait-you're-not-a-girl' thing.
Hopefully at some point we'll see other Taun members because I think, aside from Quill, all of them we've seen so far are OC's, so we don't have a great baseline to work from...
(Notwithstanding that there may have been secret Taun members we've seen and not realised, as Fa'Lina said.)

[Merlin]

I tend to try to draw Illie a bit flat (armour aside, as I tend to draw breastplates a bit, er, breasty, even on blokes. Something I'm trying to fix...). The original pic of her I drew in bike gear (which I can't find right now) attempted to show her body type as sort of stocky and muscular and not overtly feminine.

This one?  http://projectfuturecomic.com/stuff/things/Illiath-25-shaded.png

That's the one! She burly 

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

(There's also the point that centuries of training to become a high-class warrior is unlikely to do wonders for your feminine looks.  Again, see Quill.)

FWIW, IME that's not necessarily as clear-cut as you might think; many of the women I train with, particularly the higher-level ones, are built. Not as much as Fa'Lina, mind, but still... I feel Quill is more of a psychological morphogenesis, rather than genetic predisposition or the result of centuries of exercise; more as a result of centuries of thinking she should look like that. Think back to the early conversations with Dan, where he's being told that his thoughts of how he should look will affect how he looks.

[Tapewolf]

I feel Quill is more of a psychological morphogenesis, rather than genetic predisposition or the result of centuries of exercise; more as a result of centuries of thinking she should look like that. Think back to the early conversations with Dan, where he's being told that his thoughts of how he should look will affect how he looks.

That's a very good point.

[Cassi-kun]

Honestly my first thought after reading this strip was "Maybe she's right to cover Illiath's eyes, he defeated those Death Knights when his loincloth slipped..."

[Tapewolf]

Honestly my first thought after reading this strip was "Maybe she's right to cover Illiath's eyes, he defeated those Death Knights when his loincloth slipped..."

Quite possibly.  Though I believe it was Orcs with the loin cloth - Death Knights are apparently automata, so naked Dan wouldn't have the same effect.  He used a spork on the Death Knights (and I still think he jammed it into the exposed glowy bit).

[Cassi-kun]

Honestly my first thought after reading this strip was "Maybe she's right to cover Illiath's eyes, he defeated those Death Knights when his loincloth slipped..."

Quite possibly.  Though I believe it was Orcs with the loin cloth - Death Knights are apparently automata, so naked Dan wouldn't have the same effect.  He used a spork on the Death Knights (and I still think he jammed it into the exposed glowy bit).

Dan's previous adventures all sound pretty awesome honestly. I can definitely see him using unorthodox and/or incredibly straightforward methods.

[MSpears]

It may be that the platemail is enforcing that - while most people tend to draw female armour with boobs, it's recently come to my attention that female armour shouldn't really be like that, if for no other reason than the fact that it creates an attack surface.

"Boob Plate" armor needs to be retired.  Those shapely bits of armor would actually get you killed.

The purpose of plate armor is to deflect blows.  Your armor should be designed so that the blade glances off your body, away from your chest.  If your armor is breast-shaped, you are in fact increasing the likelihood that a blade blow will slide inward, toward the center of your chest, the very place you are trying to keep safe.

In fact, let's say you fall (face first) onto your boob-conscious armor.  The divot separating the breasts will dig into your chest, doing you injury.  It might even break your breastbone.  With a strong enough blow to the chest, it could fracture your sternum entirely and destroy your heart and lungs, instantly killing you.

Even without these facts, the need for boob-shaped armor is suspect at best.  A little history: Armor is uncomfortable.  It was heavy; it was hot or cold depending on the weather; and it made you sweat.  To counteract some of these more negative effects, all armored soldiers wore leather gambesons and the like.  Once this padding was added, the shape of the wearer was practically neutralized.  So, plate armor would have the same basic shape regardless of the wearer.

Also, the breasts largely consist of fat and modified sweat glands (for the production of milk), and therefore are not nearly as solid as a comparable mass of muscle. So, all but the largest breasts can be bound quite flat against the woman's chest without too much discomfort, though padding might need to be added to account for the difference in shoulder width.  I asked a female friend of mine who competes in SCA tournaments about this, and she confirms that there is more than enough room in the average suit of armor for her breasts (and she wears a 38-C bra, so while she's not Fa'lina sized, she's not exactly "small chested", either.)

[Tuyu]

I've heard that Taun doesn't go in for warp-acis so I'm kind of curious how they're going to get there.  I suppose there's always Fi...

I was thinking that, with the number of guests likely to be involved, Piflak may not have used warp-aci invitations for every single one...plus, even in her own realm, she might choose to use some outside sources to supplement things like food and entertainment. So she might create the equivalent of a "service entrance" for the event.