To the Core – Chapter 7, Act 4, Strip 72

And thus, the Thronesitter finds his end, and it’s a fitting one. Or, at the least, fitting the mold everyone was probably already expecting his end to fit. >_>

DM is right, of course, in pointing out that there isn’t much of a plausible reason why there’s an open shaft to the reactor core within the rootwork of an ancient tree…or within a network of sewers, for that matter. So, regardless of which way you chose to interpret their surroundings, the shaft makes little sense – but, heck, it made little sense enough in the Emperor’s throne room in Star Wars, so there was no way I would pass it over. It’s iconic, that’s what matters.

Naturally, this is how far the analogy goes – from here on out, this is not going to follow the set pattern, as evidenced by the fact that DM, unlike Darth Vader, survives the whole thing with nary a scratch, thanks to some sensible and perfectly reasonably precautions he has taken. I will not further speculate on that matter – K’ip and Si’ri seem to have that part well covered, and that’s humiliating enough for DM. The take-away is that DM’s methods worked – and if Darth Vader hadn’t been so firm in his choice of black Calvin Klein’s, he might be alive today, as well.

The other take-away of today’s episode is that Team Evil now has unified leadership and a clear chain of command – combined with the fact that the member of Team Good have been summarily beaten by their opponents, that makes for an even grimmer outlook for our heroes.

More on Monday.

6 Replies to “To the Core – Chapter 7, Act 4, Strip 72”

  1. They they you should take the bull by the horns, get to the heart of the matter and solve the problem by the root. DM apparently did his own interpretation of that and took the ‘bull’ by the back, threw it down the root and into the heart of the tree.

    DM also had the advantage over DV that he isn’t dependent on some delicate medical equiment which probably doesn’t take well to lightning.

    I think DM shouldn’t be so sure about the internal quarrels. Team !EvilTwins is still around and it will be interesting to see how they will react to DM backst- eh backthrowing Thronesitter.

    1. Yeah, it’s possible that DM just mixed up the steps a little, there. Or perhaps he approached the issue from a totally different angle – asking the question “Why is there a shaft to the reactor core in this throne room? Somebody must have put it there for a purpose, especially with the kind of shoe-string budget we have. What possible use could a shaft like that have, if not throwing something down it? But there’s no trash or something like that around here. Well, save for Thronesitter, who’s kind of trash…wait, that gives me an idea….?” XD

  2. To be fair to DM, kinkshaming is very rude of K’ip.

    To be fair to K’ip, this is the most damage he’s done since the battle began.

    Darn, now I’m thinking of how Team Good can turn the tide here. Tactically and whatnot. In my mind, evil(ish) Snuka is probably their weakest link. His primary motivator is money, and that’s a double edged sword because it’s dependent on there being a place to SPEND money. If evil wins here, we get a situation where any stolen wealth is almost worthless because the infrastructure is no longer dependent-

    Wait, that’s a bit too complicated for a B-Movie. Shit.

    Ok, new plan. Put Evil! Biff and Evil! Mopey in close enough proximity to each other for longer than 30 seconds and you’ve got one combatant probably murdering another one of your foes.

    1. Well, judgemental looks tend to be a cat’s most powerful weapon, anyway, especially if they’ve been de-fanged (which also gives them a legitimate reason to look at people judgmentally). So, yeah, it’s quite possible that that raised eyebrow did more damage than K’ip’s sword did…especially if we assume a certain susceptibility for that sort of criticism on the part of DM. XD

      As for turning the tide, I’m afraid I can’t freely comment on upcoming plot developments just yet. =P

  3. Trees do actually have reactor cores, it’s just a well-kept secret among arborists because they are an absolute PAIN getting to and disposing of. It is far, far easier just to uproot the tree and bury the reactor core to die on its own over time. If it became common knowledge, DIYers might try something stupid like firing missiles into the relevant thermal exhaust shaft (which is fine in deep space with nothing around but causes HUGE property damage when done within your own yard; and it’s not covered by insurance) or digging that deep before getting a proper locate done to avoid hitting wires, plumbing, and long-lost hidden tombs of unspeakable evils.

    1. Well, it’s a fantasy world, so why not? I hereby declare it to be canon that all of the trees in the Evergreen Forest, as well as the Ever, Evergreenest Forest, have reactor cores…and the Father Tree, naturally, has the largest and most powerful one. That also neatly explains all of the strange mutations, like the giant spiders (nearly always created by radiation in B-movies) and the fact that the local forest cats somehow mutated into an intelligent, humanoid form. It would also explain why the Forces of Evil saved conquest of these forest for last – they must have been aware of the radiation risks, and didn’t want to risk their forces while they still needed them. So many plotholes filled at once… XD

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