SPILL THE TEA!
Go on! SPILL IT! SPILL IT NAOOOWWW!!!!!!
In other news…
First, this comic is brought to you again by the two stalwart supporters The Lurker and Jeremy, who are both Mayor of Pucksburg again. Maybe you’re generous enough to join them! CHECK OUT THE PATREON!!!
As for this comic…
It pained me to learn that ‘sleeper hold’ is no longer accepted grappling terminology and that this phrase is now considered quaintly vintage. That said, Puck is nothing if not a relic – hence her ‘Bedtime for Bonzo’ ref. She makes pop culture references that are 75 years old. It’s just what she does. Mind you, it’s what I do too, so of course I’m giving it a pass. It is my opinion, though (as formulated from many pre-MMA decades of watching professional wrestling), that this move should be called a sleeper hold. And no one can convince me otherwise.
Carotid
Fine. I’ll change it.
Block the carotid. Not the jugular.
I thought that too. I was going from the original guy’s line about what it did, but I think I’ll change it.
It’s in the title “Ancient” Fairy of Lore (and pop culture?)
We’re probably lucky she doesn’t drop slang from the 16th century into conversation.
Well, the REALLY old stuff fades into the background. But I’m sure anything from the 20th century probably feels like it was yesterday for her. As it does for me.
Wait – that WASN’T yesterday???
It was. For you and me.
Putting them to sleep is the easy part. Doing it so they wake up afterwards is the hard part.
Okay, valid. And this scenario will play out just like in the movies, where those who are knocked unconscious remain unconscious for however long it takes for the story to progress. So expect no realism here.
Choke Holds invoked, then. Couldn’t find a trope for being unconscious for just long enough on short notice.
There’s gotta be a trope somewhere. It’s that ‘Vulcan nerve pinch’ thing where someone gets hit with a blackjack or punched really hard or whatever and it’s treated as a humane, death-free way to eliminate enemy combatants from the field. It’s unrealistic but kinda wonderful at the same time.
I once looked up the ways that one can actually knock a person out for a prolonged period in time, safely, and the answer was basically there isn’t one. It’s called anesthesia. There are doctors whose whole job is managing that. And even with tons of training, people still die sometimes.
So let’s just embrace the trope.
Well, trope it is:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ChokeHolds
but this one covers the field:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TapOnTheHead
A good resource. And very accurate. But hey, tropes are useful.
That kind of reminded me of when my friend and I played Watch_Dogs and we remarked that the “non-lethal” finishers would likely kill the target (at least later, like from inter-cranial hemorrhaging).
But then I remembered that Aiden Pierce is clinically a sociopath, so he might not care.
(The take-downs in the sequel may or may not be as fatal.. but the game simply treats them as non-lethal. Honestly the lack of a Karma system meant I just tazed them and shot them afterwards if I didn’t do a melee takedown).
Heroes need their non-lethal finishers. And villains need their convenient ways to incapacitate heroes to tie them down to tables or lock them up or strap them to rockets. We must never question this need.
The fact that Daphne didn’t know Puck could do that but still believed in her enough to take the muscle out says a lot about their relationship. 🙂
Yes, apparently they’ve developed a trustful rapport.
They’ve known each other for a while.
It’s a blind trust born of experience. And fear.
They are mother and daughter. 🙂
Yikes
Strikes. Fruit Strikes Gum.
Now who is using old commercial taglines, may the rest in pieces.
Me, me, me!
Ya know, I was inordinately sad when I realized I would no longer see Yipes in the wild….
WOW!!! Just WOW…I mean Puck is one tough momma bear indeed when she needs to be.
Most momma bears are.
What’s going to happen to grandma there?
Well, she ain’t escaping Scott free, obviously.
Ooooh! Are we going to see Big Barda, Scott Free’s wife? No, probably not, but then again, you do have an evil lawyer right there for the copyright infringement!
Unlikely. But we can dream.
I guess if the sleeper hold doesn’t hold, Puck can always go back to squeezing the juice of the flower love-in-idleness into her victim’s eyes to assure his cooperation.
Just don”t be the first person he sees upon waking.
“Flower of this purple dye,
Hit with Cupid’s archery,
Sink in apple of his eye.
When his love he doth espy,
Let her shine as gloriously
As the Venus of the sky.—
When thou wak’st, if she be by,
Beg of her for remedy.”
Best to prop him up facing the guy from;
“Tyger, tyger burning bright, by the front gate in the night.”
Hijinks ensue.
A veritable classic.
Love the Iron Man ref.
I now realize that, when including the alt-text, I’ve made two references to the same movie.
I am nothing if not a cobbled-together assembly of pop culture nonsense.
Did Nas T. Bitch make a quick dash in the 4th panel? It would be the proper supervillain move, after all…
No, she’s there. There just really isn’t enough room in the panel for her.
“Go to sleep…go to sleep…close your big bloodshot eyes…”
So peaceful.
Oh Daphne, noone ever referred to Faeries as the “good folk” because they were actually good.
She’s learning.
Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.
Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels.
Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies.
Elves are glamorous. They project glamour.
Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment.
Elves are terrific. They beget terror.
The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind words that have changed their meaning.
No one ever said elves are nice.
Elves are bad.”
― Terry Pratchett, Lords and Ladies
Still scary Puck, that’s the real message here.
Forever Scary. The new fragrance from Givenchy.
Ia that Puck’s mother’s name?
We will never know.
Eh, the guy is fortunate; usually, it’s seven generations of horrible luck. Still, I suppose Puck is saving the big stuff for Ms. Cabal. Who is learning what the Duchy of Grand Fenwick has known for centuries; yes, the pen is mightier than the sword, but the sword is mightier right now!
Just this morning I was looking up Grand Fenwick on Wikipedia and seeing if the books were in print. (Apparently they are). Remarkable coincidence.
Found ’em, ordered ’em, they arrived this morning.
The pen is, in my opinion, a poor option when compared to the lead pipe. But that’s just me.
Pen is mightier than the sword because they can’t outlaw pens.
https://www.sandraandwoo.com/2013/06/20/0492-yuna-has-the-atom-bomb/
They also can’t outlaw pipes.
The public education system has gone to crap if kids today don’t even recognize a sleeper hold.
It has. Trust me.
I blame social media.
Lots of overconfidence on scary mature chick right now. Hope its not misplaced.
Well, we will see.
Puck is multi-talented! Never underestimate her!
She cornered the market on all the skills that are unprofitable or illegal.
I wonder why Bruno has never hired her. Likely ’cause she’s hard to aim.
Puck is, of course, Technically Correct.
Which is the Best Kind of Correct.
Rock on, Puck…rock on.
She has the power to be right. And scary. It’s a good combo.
It’s obvious that Pyuck spent many hours watching Maple Leaf Wrestling on CHCH TV…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_Leaf_Wrestling
One of the many wonderful regional leagues that were made obsolete by the WWF’s rise to dominance.
Freakin’ pandas.
Puck, darling, you usually just punch people.
The fact that your combat repertoire includes sleeper holds and who knows what else is PLENTY scary.
The implication of training is a mite terrifying. Indeed.