Lol. A year and a half of comics in which Byron doesn’t berserk and everyone complains. Suddenly he starts berserking every time someone’s rude. That would be worth the price of admission just to see everyone’s reaction faces.
I respect your right to your opinion, but maaaaaaaaaaaaan, my girlie parts reject him but at the same time there’s just something about his douchey ways that you just can’t stop thinking about him… it may be his David Bowie good looks or his ability to strike a pose. It is beyond logics and reasons!
It’s been iffy for a bit what with the hair cut and change of clothes, but only now do i look and see the douche that would throw a chain full of child hostages off an airship because something needed to be done.
I think it’s the nose. Somewhere in there he got a nose job, and IMO while his new nose makes him prettier, it actually takes the edge off the smarm a bit.
Seriously, I keep looking at it, it is so lovely. I love the way syr’ings arm moves the bird in the first panel, and her expression in the second is great, Best looks freakin’ rad in the fourth…
gah! I just wanted to be specific; I really like this entire thing.
He’s both awesome and a douchebag. Didn’t you ever notice that there’s been a real lack of positive douchebag representation in the mainstream media? On behalf of the douchebag community: where’s MY role model?
Captain Hammer is not very witty… I think you like him the way, I like him. Because the role the character exemplifies (did I wrote this right?), and the big joke he is. So I like Captain Hammer as the wit of the writer, and the parody it gives.
Mr. Douchebag here is funny. Do you read LFG? How about Richard, my favourite char? He kills people in the meanest bloodiest ways… he is an ass. And some other body parts too… But hell, he is the dopest and most clever evil-hero.
Naw… He’s just a douchy douchehead douche. Plenty of people like that in the real world and though they are douches, they aren’t truly eeeeevil. He makes good comic relief for now.
Seems a stretch to say someone cannot be a villain just because he’s all but guaranteed to continue getting a lot of screen time. With that said, I don’t think Best is villain material.
So I’m guessing once everyone settles down and they start to leave someone’ll probably ask Gravedust what the deal is with Bandit and he’ll be all “The afterlife is bitches”.
That must be why Syr’nj writes this off as nothing having changed. It’s not that no one but Byron cares about Bandit. It’s that they all think Best and her are equivalent.
Killed off by the most ineffectual member, at that! Prior to the ‘zerkin rage, all we ever saw Byron kill were a handfull of kobolds. Give my seven year old son a pointy enough stick and he can take down kobolds!
Haha. Kobolds are not to be messed with in large numbers. My DM used them to wipe our Fighter/ Paladin/ AC whore off the face of the game. It’s amazing what 8 squares filled with three creatures each can do to a two hit per turn character.
That’s when you cover the various game stuff with kerosene, light it on fire, grin at your DM over the flames, and, with the most off-kilter voice you can muster, say, “I win. I win ALL OF IT.”
Of course, you’ll probably get arrested, and they’ll never let you play with them again, but, hey, you just gave them one HELL of a story to tell their friends.
They aren’t ignoring her. They don’t have to mention her, she’s the (tiny) elephant in the room. Her death is WHY Frigg is so pissed, WHY Byron is so shell-shocked, and why Syrnj has to work hard at keeping the whole crew together right now. Shes at the forefront of those three characters minds, and the catalyst for this entire scene. Also, shes why next page will likely involve a rather negative reaction to Best’s last comment on this one.
(Best never met her, and Gravedust may not even know she’s dead, being dead before her)
Well, since I assume the honorable party is going to go in for Best’s line of crap (even though it likely involves crime to accomplish), at least I hope what Best sees in the basin is Bayen and Brayen carving the douchey smile off his face. Or maybe Sepia World Byron beating the crap out of Sepia World Best. Geez, Byron, sweetie, I appreciate the restraint and the guilt but just get up and maim him now, please.
Plenty of younger, nerdy people in the armed forces. (Most people do join right out of high school, and the military isn’t all meatheads by a long shot.) RPGs are a great time killer, and the tradition of gaming on base is pretty long, so it’s not impossible by a long shot.
That said, I think any PTSD he’s got is a recent thing. It depends on just how much of their memories are overwritten or adapted from their real world memories.
Ishmael brings up another interesting thought: Many of us play games that involve violence and we like killing and blowing things up and so on, so it’s also possible this is a typical gamer who, because this is now his reality (according to Daedalus), is getting exactly what he fantasized and is not really equipped to deal with it. But I’m not so sure, since he’s seen other humans get killed even if the others have done it…I just find myself wondering if this is someone who has experienced real violence such that it would carry over into the unusual restraint and thoughtfulness Byron exhibits–someone who is keenly aware of mortality. Kobolds are easy to objectify…humans and humanoids, not so much.
His Diplomacy score is fine. It just pales in comparison to his Perform (Douche) score. In fact, he only put points in Diplomacy in the first place to get the synergy bonus.
There are few things people hate more than the notion that somebody is better than them in some way, especially if that somebody “basks” in their talents. Even if no direct harm is directed at us by said person, the subconscious sense of inferiority breeds contempt that is out of proportion to the other person’s alleged “wrongdoing”. It is the arrogance and spite in us that makes us resent the arrogance and self-satisfaction of others.
Now I don’t know the full extent of Best’s personality and motives but what I do know is that this ex-stableboy/shit-elf does have a destiny, is a hero (of sorts) and by the time this comic is over everyone will know it as well.
Oh and that 4th panel is totally album cover material.
I can’t help but wonder if Best is as good as he is because he expects himself to be so? I mean, if he’s a destined hero (Rather, he thinks he is and we know he’s not) he probably thinks that he can’t die until he’s pulled off his heroic destiny.
Doesn’t mean he wants to ruin his good looks before that destiny comes about, but he still gets to try all those flashy moves and douchey speeches because there’s no fear that someone will gut him.
Since I am going to a Patrick Rothfuss signing this afternoon, all I can say is that I pictured Best with red-hair and went ‘ Yep, that’d be Kvothe! ‘ Even down to the group of dysfunctional mercs he travels with.
He was Byron’s best animal friend! Come on, Phil, make him a recurring character! They need a team pet! Especially since the last one died. (Pet gnomes are so hard to keep around, it seems.)
Both faces in the third panel are great. A downward 2/3 angle is perhaps the most challenging angle for maintaining the shape of a characters face and you nailed it twice in one panel!
When love and kindness can’t knock someone out of a depression, just present them with someone they really really hate and need to tell off…
The last panel has the first of Byron’s expressions that doesn’t consist of “I wanna die! I wanna curl up and die and fly away and dissolve into nothing and I’m horrible and I’m so horrible, wahhhhhh!”
Best is being a douche because that’s his persona. I think he knows, or hopes, that what he is saying will help to break Byron out of the depression, if (at first) only to find the artifact.
He’s better than we think, I think.
I don’t know if he’s a better person, but I do think he’s a lot smarter now. That may or may not have something to do with the fact his character looks about 10-15 years older than he did before everyone was killed off.
The differences I see between early Best and current Best (besides his David Bowie wardrobe) is he looks about 10-15 years older. This makes him look “wiser” which may or may not take away from his smarminess. I’m curious how much time has passed between when everyone croaked and when they have been revived.
For the record, I find current Best more “sexy.” The aged David Bowie works for him. I’m hoping they find a way to revive Bandit, but I have a feeling she will never be the same as they initially perceived her. Wasn’t too thrilled with the plot change at first, but I have to admit it’s got me intrigued now. :)
You know..new thought.I’d like Byron to go with Frig. I don’t know..just something bout those two I like more then Syrn’j..who’s with me? Or Bandit..just..she’s too grounding..and it’s kinda “Aww love”
I know there’s a whole slew of meaningful insight and character development but I’m too distracted with Syr, Byron, and Best’s noses. I’m loving them *w*
I wonder if Payet’s doing it for Byron to snap out of it and get back to his group chief position.
It seems to work, judging by Byron’s expression in the last panel.
Discussion (114) ¬
Geez, Best, you are a needy sort.
We may be witnessing the apotheosis of douche.
I envision something more…Kafka-esque. As in Best’s face sprouts a nozzle.
Well he is looking a little nozzle-y, around the mouth.
Hale to the god Best, he who brings freshness and lord of the summer’s eve.
To be fair, they do owe him a solid.
He could have asked nicely though. But again, he’s a rock star.
Something tells me that Byron may need a bit of guilt trip to get him out of his fetal curl.
It’s odd seeing the power of douchebaggery used for good.
You’ve got to admit, anger is a great way to get someone out of a slump.
Although…when you’re doing that to a berserker there may be some trouble forthcoming.
Lol. A year and a half of comics in which Byron doesn’t berserk and everyone complains. Suddenly he starts berserking every time someone’s rude. That would be worth the price of admission just to see everyone’s reaction faces.
Hey now.
Get your douche on, get LAID.
Only legends, eh? That’s a lot on which to be basin all your hopes and dreams.
May not be the Best idea for their future.
Its fine when you have skills on tap.
I bet they do it. At this point, they don’t have a pot to piss in.
No way, I think Byron’s going to bowl him over for that unkind remark.
Best can dish it out, but can he take it?
Either way, he better be ready for a plateful.
Darn, sorry, Caltrop. I didn’t know you made that pun already. :P
(Also, C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!!!)
Best’s alignment = Chaotic Douchebag.
The little-known Z-axis of the alignment chart, going from “Mensch” to “Douchebag”.
The David Bowie look really does suit Best.
(I’d like to point out that I Purposely passed on the paramount puns that were possible in this place.)
Cheers,
Cote
I don’t trust Best as far as I can stand the sight of him.
I also doubt this is a “I’m helping in my own douchey way to fix him, because I wanna keep in the good graces of Frigg’s Box.”
Aaaaaaaaaasshole. Pity he wasn’t around when Byron went berserky, if anyone is asking for a backstab it’s Best.
Yeah – but then who could Gravedust have conned into bringing them back?
I haven’t warmed up to John Waltrip’s version of Best
I respect your right to your opinion, but maaaaaaaaaaaaan, my girlie parts reject him but at the same time there’s just something about his douchey ways that you just can’t stop thinking about him… it may be his David Bowie good looks or his ability to strike a pose. It is beyond logics and reasons!
I actually like John’s better. He looks more smarmy.
It’s been iffy for a bit what with the hair cut and change of clothes, but only now do i look and see the douche that would throw a chain full of child hostages off an airship because something needed to be done.
Nooooo. Erica’s was smarm incarnate. John’s has never been quite right. Still isn’t.
I think it’s the nose. Somewhere in there he got a nose job, and IMO while his new nose makes him prettier, it actually takes the edge off the smarm a bit.
Exactly! He’s probably supposed to be more likeable this time around. I’m thinking he’ll be sticking around longer this time.
Oh man! This comic looks so good!
Seriously, I keep looking at it, it is so lovely. I love the way syr’ings arm moves the bird in the first panel, and her expression in the second is great, Best looks freakin’ rad in the fourth…
gah! I just wanted to be specific; I really like this entire thing.
Why do people like him again? It’s a conundrum I simply cannot comprehend.
Ah well, I guess best is at his ‘best’ when using his quips to cut his comrades down. Although his wit could use some sharpening.
….AXE.
I don’t think Best ever met Bandit as a member of the party, so he doesn’t know how deeply he is cutting with that jab.
After all, everyone else’s murder wore off.
No, you’re supposed to say “they got better”.
He’s both awesome and a douchebag. Didn’t you ever notice that there’s been a real lack of positive douchebag representation in the mainstream media? On behalf of the douchebag community: where’s MY role model?
Rappers.
Iocane did say “positive”.
Jersey Shore.
My mistake. Positive. Wait. Explain.
Charlie Sheen.
As stated before.
Winning?
Best is like Lord Flashart from Blackadder. Arrogant and boisterous yet so amazingly awesome that there is nothing anyone can do to stop him. *Woof!*
Must… resist urge… to quote.
“Thanks bridesmaid! like the beard! Gives me something to hang onto!”
“Is that a canoe in my pocket, or am I just gald to see you?!?”
Hey mace-girl, I like it firm and Friggy. *Woof!*
Let me ask you a question. Do you like Captain Hammer in Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog?
Big douchey A-hole that I love to watch every time. It doesn’t have to be a conundrum that people like a character who isn’t nice to everyone.
Captain Hammer is not very witty… I think you like him the way, I like him. Because the role the character exemplifies (did I wrote this right?), and the big joke he is. So I like Captain Hammer as the wit of the writer, and the parody it gives.
Mr. Douchebag here is funny. Do you read LFG? How about Richard, my favourite char? He kills people in the meanest bloodiest ways… he is an ass. And some other body parts too… But hell, he is the dopest and most clever evil-hero.
I hope he becomes a villan…we need someone to really get into being killed off
He won’t be yatsu, he is in one of the tubes so he is a party member and will not become evil, just stay a douche.
Naw… He’s just a douchy douchehead douche. Plenty of people like that in the real world and though they are douches, they aren’t truly eeeeevil. He makes good comic relief for now.
Im so into rule 34 for Best (too).
So, a picture of Best with another douchebag?
Best with himself. Since he’s really the only one pretty enough to seduce him.
Best trying to hump a mirror, maybe.
Seems a stretch to say someone cannot be a villain just because he’s all but guaranteed to continue getting a lot of screen time. With that said, I don’t think Best is villain material.
If you guys keep picturing Syr under beautiful warm evening sun / cosy flaming huge arena torch, you’ll force me to come up with a fanart piece.
I won’t force you, just tempt you a lot.
Bikini/beach episode?
Making another Elf Favor while relaxing in the sun?
Best would look so much better with his head stuffed up his ass literally, as well as figuratively.
But he’d still be able yo make your girlie parts happy.
So I’m guessing once everyone settles down and they start to leave someone’ll probably ask Gravedust what the deal is with Bandit and he’ll be all “The afterlife is bitches”.
Nah.
Bandit is Best double boxing. That is why they are never there on the same time, and the reason there is a tubed gamer too little.
That must be why Syr’nj writes this off as nothing having changed. It’s not that no one but Byron cares about Bandit. It’s that they all think Best and her are equivalent.
/trollface
Waitaminnit… The “Illusionary” Temple?
This quest doesn’t have shaggy dog story written all over it…
Best, I wouldn’t be basin my hopes on a party of folks who just got killed off not to long ago.
Killed off by the most ineffectual member, at that! Prior to the ‘zerkin rage, all we ever saw Byron kill were a handfull of kobolds. Give my seven year old son a pointy enough stick and he can take down kobolds!
Haha. Kobolds are not to be messed with in large numbers. My DM used them to wipe our Fighter/ Paladin/ AC whore off the face of the game. It’s amazing what 8 squares filled with three creatures each can do to a two hit per turn character.
That’s when you cover the various game stuff with kerosene, light it on fire, grin at your DM over the flames, and, with the most off-kilter voice you can muster, say, “I win. I win ALL OF IT.”
Of course, you’ll probably get arrested, and they’ll never let you play with them again, but, hey, you just gave them one HELL of a story to tell their friends.
WELL
NOW
DON’T you tell me to SMILE
Still waiting for the group to stop being terrible RPers and mention Bandit.
They aren’t ignoring her. They don’t have to mention her, she’s the (tiny) elephant in the room. Her death is WHY Frigg is so pissed, WHY Byron is so shell-shocked, and why Syrnj has to work hard at keeping the whole crew together right now. Shes at the forefront of those three characters minds, and the catalyst for this entire scene. Also, shes why next page will likely involve a rather negative reaction to Best’s last comment on this one.
(Best never met her, and Gravedust may not even know she’s dead, being dead before her)
Well, since I assume the honorable party is going to go in for Best’s line of crap (even though it likely involves crime to accomplish), at least I hope what Best sees in the basin is Bayen and Brayen carving the douchey smile off his face. Or maybe Sepia World Byron beating the crap out of Sepia World Best. Geez, Byron, sweetie, I appreciate the restraint and the guilt but just get up and maim him now, please.
Does anyone else wonder if Sepia World Byron is a veteran with PTSD?
Interesting thought.
Naah, I got that younger, nerdy vibe from him. The kind of geek who wants to be admired for making references to old magic and writers.
Plenty of younger, nerdy people in the armed forces. (Most people do join right out of high school, and the military isn’t all meatheads by a long shot.) RPGs are a great time killer, and the tradition of gaming on base is pretty long, so it’s not impossible by a long shot.
That said, I think any PTSD he’s got is a recent thing. It depends on just how much of their memories are overwritten or adapted from their real world memories.
Ishmael brings up another interesting thought: Many of us play games that involve violence and we like killing and blowing things up and so on, so it’s also possible this is a typical gamer who, because this is now his reality (according to Daedalus), is getting exactly what he fantasized and is not really equipped to deal with it. But I’m not so sure, since he’s seen other humans get killed even if the others have done it…I just find myself wondering if this is someone who has experienced real violence such that it would carry over into the unusual restraint and thoughtfulness Byron exhibits–someone who is keenly aware of mortality. Kobolds are easy to objectify…humans and humanoids, not so much.
When they complete this quest, I want someone to perplex Best, such that we get to see our quest giver with a big question mark over his head.
Well fortunately for Byron, you’re not a friend.
Just a douche.
Best, you fuck, that was a low blow even for you.
Did you mean to write “fuck”? Because, if so, it makes it sound that you consider anyone who reproduces to be cretins of the human race.
“Dammit, stop being sexually active! I don’t care what instincts tell us! It’s better to go extinct!”
Oh, never mind, I see what you meant. You were CALLING him a fuck. I forget that’s considered a noun, sometimes.
For a Bard type…Best sure didn’t put many points into Diplomacy skill.
Just because you have points in diplomacy doesn’t mean you have to use them all the time.
His Diplomacy score is fine. It just pales in comparison to his Perform (Douche) score. In fact, he only put points in Diplomacy in the first place to get the synergy bonus.
Doucheplomacy?
COMBAT OPERANDI: DOUCHE DIPLOMACY!
There are few things people hate more than the notion that somebody is better than them in some way, especially if that somebody “basks” in their talents. Even if no direct harm is directed at us by said person, the subconscious sense of inferiority breeds contempt that is out of proportion to the other person’s alleged “wrongdoing”. It is the arrogance and spite in us that makes us resent the arrogance and self-satisfaction of others.
Now I don’t know the full extent of Best’s personality and motives but what I do know is that this ex-stableboy/shit-elf does have a destiny, is a hero (of sorts) and by the time this comic is over everyone will know it as well.
Oh and that 4th panel is totally album cover material.
I can’t help but wonder if Best is as good as he is because he expects himself to be so? I mean, if he’s a destined hero (Rather, he thinks he is and we know he’s not) he probably thinks that he can’t die until he’s pulled off his heroic destiny.
Doesn’t mean he wants to ruin his good looks before that destiny comes about, but he still gets to try all those flashy moves and douchey speeches because there’s no fear that someone will gut him.
He’ll show us all and prove you right, Picard. Probably through some sort of Douche-y Heroic Sacrifice.
Since I am going to a Patrick Rothfuss signing this afternoon, all I can say is that I pictured Best with red-hair and went ‘ Yep, that’d be Kvothe! ‘ Even down to the group of dysfunctional mercs he travels with.
Syr just straight-up stiff-armed that bird. Mother Nature better NOT be tryin’a step to HER man.
We’ll miss ye, Birdserker.
Quick! Fanart of Birdserker! Birdserker must be canon!
Seconded!
He was Byron’s best animal friend! Come on, Phil, make him a recurring character! They need a team pet! Especially since the last one died. (Pet gnomes are so hard to keep around, it seems.)
“Then you’re a worthless mooch as well as a friend murderer.”
Hey, I can dig that.
“If I did that to my friends, guess what I’m going to do to you.”
“With douches like you, who needs enemas?”
Both faces in the third panel are great. A downward 2/3 angle is perhaps the most challenging angle for maintaining the shape of a characters face and you nailed it twice in one panel!
When love and kindness can’t knock someone out of a depression, just present them with someone they really really hate and need to tell off…
The last panel has the first of Byron’s expressions that doesn’t consist of “I wanna die! I wanna curl up and die and fly away and dissolve into nothing and I’m horrible and I’m so horrible, wahhhhhh!”
Best is being a douche because that’s his persona. I think he knows, or hopes, that what he is saying will help to break Byron out of the depression, if (at first) only to find the artifact.
He’s better than we think, I think.
I don’t know if he’s a better person, but I do think he’s a lot smarter now. That may or may not have something to do with the fact his character looks about 10-15 years older than he did before everyone was killed off.
The differences I see between early Best and current Best (besides his David Bowie wardrobe) is he looks about 10-15 years older. This makes him look “wiser” which may or may not take away from his smarminess. I’m curious how much time has passed between when everyone croaked and when they have been revived.
For the record, I find current Best more “sexy.” The aged David Bowie works for him. I’m hoping they find a way to revive Bandit, but I have a feeling she will never be the same as they initially perceived her. Wasn’t too thrilled with the plot change at first, but I have to admit it’s got me intrigued now. :)
You know..new thought.I’d like Byron to go with Frig. I don’t know..just something bout those two I like more then Syrn’j..who’s with me? Or Bandit..just..she’s too grounding..and it’s kinda “Aww love”
I still don’t get why there are five graves but only four revived.
I know there’s a whole slew of meaningful insight and character development but I’m too distracted with Syr, Byron, and Best’s noses. I’m loving them *w*
I wonder if Payet’s doing it for Byron to snap out of it and get back to his group chief position.
It seems to work, judging by Byron’s expression in the last panel.