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Page 1286 – She Means Business.

19 thoughts on “Page 1286 – She Means Business.

  1. Wow, that’s the most clothed I’ve seen Zona since… I was about to say since she had to wear a full dress in Kivalia at the beginning, but she had to wear winter garb, well, last winter.

    But yeah, she means business. And business is not going to be good.

    Still, I’m afraid I have to comment negatively on the divot (the separation between the breasts) as dangerous for the bearer; to summarize articles I just read to make sure I wasn’t just spouting nonsense I’d read somewhere some time ago, it’s a bad idea because 1) armor is most efficient when designed to turn blows aside, and the divot turns them into the chest, 2) it will even help directing an upward blow towards the throat, particularly dangerous as Zona isn’t wearing a gorget, 3) should the bearer fall face down, the divot might crush the sternum, causing serious to deadly injury.

    I heartily agree that this armor is a splendid piece of work in and of itself. But JED, if I may offer a suggestion as a brother feminist, maybe you’d like to redesign this armor.

    That being said, this armor is beautifully crafted and Zona has rarely been more fearsome. Just add Jewel to her side with some kind of armored mask and the Urtts will be quavering in terror. And the poses show slow, deliberate preparation on Zona’s behalf. This is a war champion getting ready for a huge battle.

    1. I’m more worried about the protrusions on the helmet. That’s a pair of sword catchers right there.

  2. jd,

    As always, I read your comments with great interest, and I agree and want to assure you that your practical critique of the armor would be completely valid in any real-world Earth-based scenario. Fortunately, this is not real. Especially because I did not design the armor, myself. I am not a modeler, but am more like the writer, designer, director and producer of Zona, going to Daz3D or Renderosity or Renderhub (or others) for bits and pieces and full costumes like the costume designer in a production going to the costume shop and picking a suit off the rack then tailoring it to the actor. Zona’s ensemble here is a splendid piece by an outstanding artist called Cichy3D who made the armor specifically for Daz. I cannot take credit for it, and so thank you for the opportunity to note their work here.
    In addition, one of the neat things about this fantasy is that the specific weaknesses of the armor are covered by … magick!
    If you have ever read/played the original “Three Challenges Of Zona” you will remember that in that primitive work I used the rationalization of the Magic Chainmail Bikini to allow my titular heroine to show a completely impractical amount of skin and still have an armor class that wouldn’t have her stabbed in the bare midriff by the first Urtt she meets. I made the decision that this Magic Chainmail Bikini, with spells for Zona’s protection in battle, is canon. And I hope you noticed that she puts it on as her base layer. Glowy magick chainmail … ;D

    Warm regards,
    JED

    1. Thanks for your answer, considerate as always!

      Unfortunately, I have yet to read the original Challenges of Zona. As a gamebook enthusiast even before reading a review about Warlock of Firetop Mountain (there were “Choose your Adventure” books, and when I was like six or seven a third-person children book whose title I have completely forgotten), I keep up hope about it.

      I did notice the blue glow of her undergarments and was going to mention it, but I felt my comment was wordy enough already and I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. Thanks for the clarification!

      Also, I should add that still and always, I love this webcomic and the stupendous story you tell us. Thank you! (I have said it thrice; what I tell you three times is true.)

    2. So, the glow-in-the-dark undies are actually magic Chain mail. I wonder if they are helpful with mosquitos.

  3. Naturally, the Glowy Magic Chainmail Bikini also prevents armor-bites (flesh that gets pinched from the links shifting together). Because, MAGIC!!

  4. But, of course.

    Don’t you wish real-life was like this?

    😀
    JED

  5. Since i can’t have my fantasy in real life I choose to have my real life be as fantastic as possible.

    Please don’y kill my buzz…

    Thank you

  6. Where are the Cuisses and/or Tassets for her thighs? With that sort of armor everything would have some protection. Yeah. I just marked myself as a history nerd. 😉

    1. Pat,
      You’d have to ask Cichy3D, the real designer and modeler of this armor, which definitely functions better in fiction than it would in real life. 🙂

      Also, since we do seem to have a lot of interest in this today, I can highly recommend a Youtube channel I’m subscribed to by a young theatrical stuntwoman/historian/fantasy author who specifically ranks armor in movies, comics and games. Jill Bearup is approachable, funny, informative and very entertaining. Her ranks for armors run from “I’d Wear It” to “Just Stab Me Now”. I strongly suspect she would rank a lot of the designs I use in this comic as “Just Stab Me Now” and she’ll tell you precisely why in a charming Celtic accent.

      https://www.youtube.com/@JillBearup

      Warm regards,
      JED

  7. Where can I find the original Challenges of Zona?

    1. Doccer,

      Send a $5 donation for the PDF via paypal to [email protected], or join my Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/JEDraft) as a $5 patron to get that, the second one, and loads of other stuff!

      This is from way back in the Stone Age, remember, and it started out as a silly porn satire of the S&S genre. The artwork was kind of crude and it’s basically just for shitz-N-giggles.

      Thanks for the interest!
      JED

  8. Magic panties! Do they also make magic boxer-briefs?

    1. Let me think about it.
      Maybe more like magick Tightie-Whities?
      hmmmmm …
      JED

  9. Magick chainmail underwear! That has got to chafe! 😛
    But I like the explanations given in the comments and will forgive in impractical design. 😉

    1. That’s why it’s all glowing I’ll bet. I am a “Maker” a 3D printer and I’ve made chain-mail on them before, first and foremost, it’ll yank hair out anywhere it touches. Then the tiny pinches start. I gave the damn thing to my son, who wisely wore a t-shirt under it and STILL got pinches and hair yanks!

  10. And this is why real world mail was practically always worn over a gambeson — a layer of padding with broader skin coverage than the mail itself (also helped soak up some of the blunt force mail is notorious for not blocking).

    1. When Silent Observer isn’t silent, s/he speaks with wisdom and truthfulness.

    2. Chain mail is only good against hacks and slashes, worthless against maul and stab attacks. Which is sad, since the hard armor was good to defend against that, but had to have gaps to allow movement, the mail was to allow coverage in those areas but it still allowed say, a dagger in the arm pit or into the groin area. Both of which would allow for a fast bleed-out.

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