Let's Burn Some Muscle!! p142

Victory could return Alexis confidence (confidence which she sorely lacked all along: recall her “I guess that went alright” moment <a href="http://goo.gl/emeG4a" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/emeG4a</a> ), but it'll not make a good CEO candidate. What makes CEO a good CEO? Some people say CEO must be ruthless, shrewd, intelligent… these qualities could help but they are not REALLY important. The most important ability, in fact the ONLY irreplaceable ability of a CEO is people's knowledge and the ability to delegate tasks! When you are owner of a gym or bakery you could be “the best” worker there: most knowledgeable, most skilled, etc. Naturally you would delegate only tasks you just have no time to do, all the workers just help you save the time. CEO or president position is different. If there are thousands or millions of people under you then there would be someone more powerful, someone who's better strategist and/or someone who's better tactician that you. And CEO MUST properly delegate tasks. Some tasks s/he will do without help because s/he is, indeed, the best person for a job—but all other tasks would be delegated to a proper person. Otherwise CEO wouldn't be a CEO for long: either s/he'll be displaced by more suitable underling or company will go bankrupt and s/he'll be displaced anyway. Now, back to Alexis. Think about beginning of LBSC. Where she was still [supposedly] unbroken. She have gotten “too good to be true” offer. Where have she went to find out more about it? To her most skilled information gatherer, C.A.P.I., or to the underling of her captor? Yes, she have “protected” Miriam… from the task Miriam is most qualified to do! What kind of protection is that? How well it works? And here, too, Alexis made the very same error. Now, granted, Than did something similar, too, but hey, she fooled Alexis twice by now, she was sure she'll do that again! In a sense LBSC defeat made Than complacent and paved the road to Alexis victory here, but it still does not make her a good CEO material…

Khimru

The company Halloween costume party comic ended with Than waking in a hazy drooling state leaning into her soft (ostensibly not tightly implant inflated) giant breasts similar to the end of Alexis's Boost-induced Wizard of Oz dream. Just a guess, but assuming that dream sequence happened after this hostile takeover, maybe Than will attempt Alexis's Boost super-dose catch-up technique? Than's cheating in the wet t-shirt contest aside, the Boost itself was actually pretty successful strategy the first time. I see comments complaining that Than is more interesting than Alexis but looking back to the beginning, she ran her own company, fronted for her friend's shady Boost enterprise, knocked out a guy with a single kick, leaped off a building, in captivity she has been protective of Miri (to the extent that she can be) and has taken every opportunity to be defiant and competitive when they present themselves. Taken as a whole, her overall behavior has been more assertive and edgy than people give her credit for. Losing the wet t-shirt contest and getting sold to Kowloon seemed to finally break her spirit, but here she is again trying to score what would actually be a pretty monumental victory. So rather than hoping Than continues to pretty much dominate the story, ruin Alexis's life, and crush her spirit like some other commenters do, I think an underdog victory with Alexis getting the upper hand for once actually fixes some of the "problems" people are complaining about and potentially returns her to her original face-kicking corporate executive confidence. Yes, maybe she's not the most clever, but I see her role as the "muscle" not the brains. She's not the type to outsmart someone (without help), instead she's loyal, bashful, immature, but persistent, with brute force (or boob force) as her greatest strengths, kind of like some popular anime heroes I can think of.

Coco Wren

Indeed. Takes one to beat one. Than have forgotten that she's not the only one who could cheat and steal, LOL.

Khimru

Only cheaters can beat Than...*boos and hisses*

Serp

I'm pretty sure that she wouldn't be as helpless as Alexis (she was not a figurehead for someone's else business like Alexis, she built her business from scratch) but I wouldn't overestimate her, either: it's easy to be “cool” when you control everything—but we've never seen “Than in distress”. These are new waters for readers and long-forgotten ones for Than… and she had no “breasts literally heavier than her own body” handicap when she started… I don't expect “I'm completely broken and don't know what to do” behavior Alexis showed after kidnapping but I don't expect quick and easy comeback either. It all would depend heavily on the stipulations Than would be able to negotiate for herself, of course…

Khimru

She is a smart one, Alexis would feel betrayed but Than. I am not sure about her. She is more cool and knows people better than Alexis. She won't freak out and go headless into the next encounter. She will have a plan, some plan that is not relaying on phonecalls and the "All saved by luck at the very last moment"

Thomas

Come on! “Moarcraft guy” and Than are more than just business partners! And Than is a woman if you haven't noticed. Of course she would feel betrayed! The only question is: are they close enough for it to be something to argue about or is it something she'll need to “accept in silence” and outwardly show smiles and cheers for his decision?

Khimru

Sure Than needed to lose this round but will return. I hope so at least. I would not see the acting of the Atlas guy as betrayal, I think Than knows he would support the biggest. So when she returns to outgrow Alexis she can count on him. Only problem will be the feds and the dismantle of Patagon. That sure needs to be prevented.

Thomas

We could be 99.9% sure that Than Dall is not done. I mean: there were “Than Dall should win” and “Than Dall must be taught a lesson” camps among readers, yet there was no “Than Dall must DIE” camp. If Than Dall will just go away this will make ALL readers angry. That's just not something Zdemian could realistically do. Now, when we passed the tough spot there are insane amount of possibilities. The future of the comic could be “Alexis as the head of Patagon deflects numerous attacks by Than” or “Alexis and Than are fighting Feds” or dozen of other directions. The one immediate thing which we've still yet to face is Than reaction to “Moarcraft guy” decision. Recall his words from page 137: “Ultimately one's voice is weighted by their investment in Patagon. And simply put Ms. Dall and myself make up the majority by that measure.” and dialogue page 138: “You would SERIOUSLY support whoever has the biggest bust? That's what Atlas does best, ahaha!”… Than could count on him not to approve the application of 8.00.8.5—but as we've seen he already more-or-less agreed to step back and allow the deal to pass through! His involvement with Than (financial and non-financial) is probably deep enough to demand some stipulations, but that's it. Now, how Than will react to his “betrayal”? This is interesting immediate question, LOL.

Khimru

Will the building be able to contain them?

rtpoe

Next time Than sure needs a better firewall, She should have learned from the event when Capi took her Avi guy.

Thomas

Although Than probably did not want to have Alexis grow to the extent that she's able to take over her company and become larger than herself, given her whole ambitions to be God Empress of the Boobiverse. It'll be interesting to see how Than comes back from this. First off, we still don't know how much of Than's boobs Alexis will wind up stealing, so does Than wind up completely flat like the LBSC dream sequence or still bigger than just about everyone but just not Alexis? Will Than wind up a figurehead with Alexis calling the shots? Will Than get tossed in jail? What sort of elaborate revenge scheme will Than concoct to retake Patagon from Alexis? Or does Than go in some totally opposite direction and create some new and improved version of Patagon by some other name to challenge the Alexis controlled Patagon? I imagine this will be a setback for Than but I have a hard time imagining her just giving up or caving in to Alexis after all this. Then again, that probably depends on what kind of terms Alexis proposes to Than and what kind of legal challenges she'll be facing.

Guybuddy1

Given the possibility, Than could still outgrow Alexis. I think Than will even find joy in this event now. At least one of her earlier plans was to make Alexis grow and that worked out well.

Thomas

Come on! Alexis does not want to be huge? Sure, she does not want to grow endlessly like Than, but recall the jealousy ( <a href="http://goo.gl/kgwQY8" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/kgwQY8</a> ), recall her dream ( <a href="http://goo.gl/7g2E3r" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/7g2E3r</a> )… she DOES want to outgrow Than, that's for sure… she just had no means to do that till now… As for “Than abducted her and kept her from getting in legal trouble”… this is just crazy. Sure, Alexis may not be entirely innocent, but compared to Than… It's quite obvious that Than just removed the competitor. She destroyed “Prois Fitness” products using her relations with senators and shady world, but yes, she wanted to keep Alexis out of jail… most likely to make sure that she'll not be able to say anything incriminating… or may be she just wanted to sell her to slavery… oh, right, she did right that (in chapter 3: <a href="http://goo.gl/0PpYPJ" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/0PpYPJ</a> )… Alexis DOES want to destroy Than utterly, but you are correct: this leaves question of “what to do with Patagon” unanswered. This is where Rhea enters the picture: it's much better to have Than under Alexis (and indirectly under Rhea's) control rather than send her to jail. That's why I think Than will not be completely punted out: there would be some kind of ceremonial position for her, or something. Till one we've mostly seen “playful cowgirl” side of Rhea—but there are obviously “ruthless savvy negotiator” under all that guise (otherwiese she wouldn't be materfamilias for long). We've seen some glimpses of that, but I'm pretty sure we'll see more of it soon. This chapter, or maybe next, but there would be fight with Feds… with or without Than… most likely with: Than is not Alexis, she knows what she could and couldn't do.

Khimru

So Than kept as a public figurehead while behind the scenes Alexis is the one calling the shots? Can't see someone as proud as Than just letting that slide without having some scheme to take back what she built up. Then again, I guess I just don't get Alexis' endgame with all this. Unlike Than, she never has really seemed to enjoy being huge and its never seemed like she has wanted to rule over Patagon or that she has any specific plans for what to do with it once she is in power. That's why I like Than at least- she has some clear motivations and seems to enjoy what she's doing. Alexis just seems to mope around wanting to get back at Than... because Than abducted her and kept her from getting in legal trouble in the first place? Alexis' motivations have always seemed flimsy to me.

Guybuddy1

Noooooooo

Thomas

Angry Than is beautiful.

CZealot

Well just like the foreshadow in dream sequence. But i agree Than still have to be the face of Patagon for it to continue as Alexis is wanted. Well Hope Alexis is bigger than Than in previous chapter. After all, the bigger is better :)

Zee(mired)

Well played, Z! As I've said many times: Than's victory is not an option here while Alexis' typical incompetence makes victory unlikely… but I could actually believe in it here! Well played and I could understand why that chapter was such a chore to you: you needed to orchestrate events just right to avoid the obvious dead-end (where Than wins) yet keep everyone on character. What we saw was surprisingly good. So-called “writers block” is now behind us and I hope the rest of the chapter would be easier for you… Congratulations!

Khimru

That's why Rhea is negotiating. Alexis by herself could probably displace Than, but then… what? Feds would dismantle the Patagon, send Than to jail and any revenge attempts would be postponed for years and would be ultimately pointless: Patagon would be gone anyway. Rhea could organize some way to displace Than yet keep her out of jail—and, more importantly, to keep Patagon going. Than would be forced to smile on public (although it's quite possible that she'll try to stab Alexis in the back… I hope Rhea and Alexis understand that), but Patagon will survive.

Khimru

Than you shall...........hmmm?...............still pretty hot

Johnny the Spanish Guy

Why would she??? She never wanted to grow in the first place, it was just a mistake, why would she suddenly decide to grow again?

Khimru

Yeeeesssss! Pouting Than is imminent, be still my beating heart.

mr.coma

Nooooooo! Don't give up Than! Is the third panel down from the top basically from the same angle as the top two panels? So that third panel down is basically showing Alexis' boobs completely overshadowing Than at that point? Which would I guess make sense given how Than seems to be in shadow in the last panel, presumably from the growing Alexis? So long as this leads to a juicy Than revenge plot, a temporary loss for her could make for some interesting story.

Guybuddy1

Love the expression she has on her face shen she shouts "no!", she looks so angry!

Why doesn't mira grow anymore?

R3tr0Nat3

No fight in you Than!? Seems Anabel's warning was… *shades* foreshadowing! Her own dissatisfaction shows up in her disheveled hair, love that detail. For some reason, I have an impression that in spite of bieng "dethroned" in a manner of speaking, Than still has all the opportunity to still continue bieng Mt. Moarcraft's "personal" product tester, and all that entails. I mean, Atlas needs product testing, Than could still potentially grow and not need to run Patagon. It's not like she actively ran Patagon in any form, she is very much an unseen figure head by defacto just from bieng the biggest and having the most shares at stake.

Mason Dunne

harumph... humbug

foducool