E-Merl, you are remarkably calm and composed. After the loss you’ve just experienced, you’re just looking after your friend instead of falling to pieces. I wonder when you’ll let the ‘illusion’ lapse.
I know. I think they are keeping it from him to “protect” him, but what it’s really going to do is crush him like a ton of bricks; especially because he will know that EVERYONE knew but him.
What I can’t figure out is why Frigg hasn’t told him.
Let’s not pretend Bandit is innocent, here. Bandit was totally on board with Byron coming along right up until it turned out to be a bad idea. She’s the field commander, specifically with leadership authority ceded to her by Byron himself.
Bandit was in charge, and she opted to either bring Byron along despite misgivings, or simply had no misgivings at the time. Then, she put Byron in charge of the team that went into the woods after the cultists in the first place.
Bandit was the one in charge; Syr’nj wasn’t even there. She’s just as culpable as anyone else, high charisma score notwithstanding.
Maybe Bandit was OK with Byron coming along. We sure know Srn’Nj ultimately was OK with it, despite misgivings. Syr is the overall boss, after all. And Syr cannot be objective right now – her emotions color every thought she has about this. It’s why lawyers shouldn’t represent themselves, and doctors shouldn’t do surgery on their own family; they cannot be objective enough. So without pretending Bandit is a total angel, it still is a fact that she’s being screwed by her biased boss.
I would agree with you that Syr’nj wasn’t reasonable/objective… but at a different time in the narrative.
When Byron/Syr’nj were talking about Brother Tom’s prophecy/oracular moment/whatever, that should have been the tipping point.
Byron: “I’ma do it.”
Syr’nj: “Don’t do it… we both know it’s a bad thing. Don’t do the thing.”
Byron: “I’ma do it! I wants to do it!”
Syr’nj: “Well… then take this anti-thing.”
Byron: *takes the thing* …zzzzzzz
(Frigg in the alt-text: “SUCKS, DON’T IT BERZERK-NUTS!?”)
When you do exactly what your enemy wants you to do, that’s when you lose the fight. I’m a little surprised Syr’nj, with her military training, and Byron, with his adventuring experience, went straight for the face. I’m really hoping that Brother Homon messed with the ‘zerker ritual so it wasn’t the perfect clusterfuck Tom wanted… but that’s just me.
Honestly, I’m in total agreement with E-merl here. Had to suck for Bandit to see her teammates getting torn apart by a threat that was supposed to be under control. With no idea what caused the outbreak, it’s only reasonable that she felt betrayed by the very people she had been trusting with her life, and everyone else around them.
Seeing that problem resurface yet again, seeing the death and destruction, her old instincts come back into play and Byron isn’t her friend anymore- he’s a manic murdering machine making mulch of merry mates of hers. Now, by any logic, Byron shouldn’t be able to hurt anyone anymore, just like he’d want to not be doing.
First of all: +1/like/upvote/whatever for the alliteration.
Second: While I agree that the ‘zerker virus/sickness/whatever, is a major problem, Bandit never forgave Byron for basically being sick (imagine having your coworkers shun you forever because you got the flu… yeah I know it’s an oversimplification because the flu doesn’t kill everyone at the office… but the Five got better… or something… just roll with it). Syr’nj is right in this regard: Bandit blamed Byron for being a Berzerker. Could Syr’nj/Byron planned better, sure. But Bandit’s ire shouldn’t be aimed at Byron specifically… it should be at Syr’nj as well (or herself, since as a field commander she should have some significant pull in “who should be going against the cultists).
I think in the heat of a battle and seeing some of things that went on there, we have to cut Bandit a little more slack. Syr’Nj is doing this out of emotional response only. She wasn’t there so she can’t rationally judge what Bandit did without more info.
i think it’s less so not forgiving his being sick, but feeling betrayed. remember she was all happy/friendly with byron initially and seemed to think he could turn the rage on/off at will; then he chopped her into thirds after they survived a pretty intense battle. so now she see’s him as a rabid dog that could go and do…well this…at any time.
Hopfully these next few pages we’ll get to see some more of Bandits’ perspective. Since the more recent Berserker incident, we’ve gotten to see the dry remorse of Syr’Nj, and her plan to bring Byron back again, but we haven’t seen Bandit at all until now. Maybe she has something to say now that they’re out of the heat of the moment.
I’m wondering how death in the game is handled within the Five’s sphere of influence. In most MMOs, death is a fairly common occurrence, but the Five never seem to see anyone die, so we have to assume the deaths of the guildies is somehow ignored or glossed over from their perspective. Actual death, from the Five’s POV, is akin to character deletion in the real world.
This makes me wonder about two things:
1. The outbreak of bezerking is going to get noticed in the real-world in a manner similar to Rachel’s death, since they seem really “dead”, but will they seem different due to the different causes? Can the data be “restored” in the real world? How will that seem to the Five?
2. Bandit’s death at Byron’s hands seemed to get ignore/glossed over, but how was that perceived by the in-game Bandit? As the only guildie to die at the hands of one of the Five and come back, was that death a real, unique trauma for her? Is that one of the reasons she hated Byron? If Bandit was made more “real” by being around the Five, then had to experience a “real” death …
Remember it’s an “extreme RP” founded guild and server. might be a in-house rule “resurrections can only happen in the following rare circumstances (rules here) otherwise if your character dies, you need to make a new character”
I agree with kagato’s take on the game experience. Also, I am convinced that most of what we saw with the zerkers occurred while the PC users were offline. Each of the characters has their own personality and “life” within the game itself, outside of the control of the users. For example, Rachel was obliterated while her user was asleep in Sepia world (see axemas-special-2014-page-1: panel 2).
The character’s existence beyond the players’ control of them is the core of the question about Bandit. I’m guessing that the more the Five are involved in something, the more “real” it is. Bandit’s resurrection might have just been a game mechanic, i.e. respawn, but what did Bandit the character experience it as? She was already more “real” because of her time with the Five, then was killed by one of the Five. How “real” was her death? What did that experience do to her? If she really does remember dying on some level, that MUST be shaping her feeling about Byron.
While kageto has a good explination, I’d like to offer another
Perhaps the berserker curse is a rather debilitating or simply annoying status confition and most people simply give up on that character should it contract such
Bandit, if you want Syr’Nj to hear “It was a hard choice, [I] was responsible for everyone and [I] had to protect the ones [I] could, however [I] could,” why don’t you tell her that, instead of variations on “I’m glad Byron’s dead”?
It’s not like most people would be coherent enough to explain that at that particular time. And I think it’s pretty clear that Syr’Nj isn’t listening to anything Bandit has to say [i]now[/i].
I’m glad there’s still a little bit of humor bandit’s able to dredge up even while resigning herself to Syr’s whims. Must be no one’s told E-merl yet. Still.
People keep saying that no one has told E-Merl and that does see to be the case, but maybe they just haven’t had the chance. How long has it been since the beast hunter team got back? If E-Merl has been visiting Bandit during that time they wouldn’t have had a chance to tell him. (And its not like anyone is going to tell Bandit anything that is happening outside of her cage.)
We’re not really saying it’s a bad thing, or accusing characters of purposely not telling him or being somehow incompetent for not telling him yet. At least *I’m* not. I realize there has been WAY too much going on for that to have come up yet. Since it’s such a sensitive thing, the last few events have simply not been an appropriate time to drop the bomb on him.
It would sure be cruel to basically say “Hey, your friend Byron’s dead along with a ton of other innocents, but chill in this jail cell for who know show long while we figure out if y’all are dangerous, oh and yer girlfriend’s dead. Have fun!”
He’s a visitor. He’s not in jail. Though I would probably lock him in before telling him if they are going to do it here. (did I mention they are really high up? Cause… *looks down* )
Wouldn’t really make sense to lock him up either as Syr’nj knows for a fact that E-Merl didn’t berserk. If they locked E-Merl up just for being at the battle they would have to lock up Syr’nj as well, which they didn’t.
Also, people haven’t told e-Merl? Maybe they have. Y’all are just vultures, waiting to feed off of a scene of an illusionist going through a moment of deeply personal trauma, hoping he’ll be emotionally crippled enough to last you a whole week?
Rachel didn’t die in a random battle, but an epic boss battle. A Frigg worthy battle. Maybe he was shocked, spent one afternoon getting drunk, and then has pulled himself together, because it’s what she would have wanted. Now he’s trying to fill her role as the team’s Unyielding Heart?
Based on Fr’nj’s reaction I would say it is still the same day that the beast hunter team arrived, meaning if he already knows then it would be the same day that he received the news. That’s a rather quick recovery.
I think you have the right of it. If you read it like the last couple of scenes are ocurring simultaneously then Gravedust went straight to Syr’Nj to report, Fr’nj went straight to Scipio to nookie, and E-merl doesn’t know the hunting party is back yet because he’s busy trying to get an accounting out of Bandit.
E-Merl, you are remarkably calm and composed. After the loss you’ve just experienced, you’re just looking after your friend instead of falling to pieces. I wonder when you’ll let the ‘illusion’ lapse.
Maybe they haven’t told him yet?
They’re waiting for the right moment. Kappa
Kappa?
It’s a Kappa face meme.
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/kappa
The more you know~!
[Yo Joe!]
Huh. I always thought it had something to do with pickles.
Strangely enough, I always thought “Kappa” was a kind of Japanese demon: http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/japanese-mythology.php?deity=KAPPA
Something of a “polite troll,” if you prefer…
i read the link and still don’t get it.
There is no right moment for this kind of news. It’s a choice between very bad, and worst.
I don’t think he knows yet
Man, how is it that Scipio knows but he doesn’t? Scip and Fr’Nj have even had time to make out and then have a long chat over it.
I know. I think they are keeping it from him to “protect” him, but what it’s really going to do is crush him like a ton of bricks; especially because he will know that EVERYONE knew but him.
What I can’t figure out is why Frigg hasn’t told him.
She’s probably still hung over.
I am hoping that he is dealing with it in his own way.
They’re waiting for him to be in a place not so high up with so few rails unless you’re in jail. (said this a few updates back but its still true. )
Frigg’s just doing the Best she can.
*applauds*
Yeah, feel bad for Bandit. It’s basically well established at this point that Syr’nj isn’t being reasonable or objective.
Let’s not pretend Bandit is innocent, here. Bandit was totally on board with Byron coming along right up until it turned out to be a bad idea. She’s the field commander, specifically with leadership authority ceded to her by Byron himself.
Bandit was in charge, and she opted to either bring Byron along despite misgivings, or simply had no misgivings at the time. Then, she put Byron in charge of the team that went into the woods after the cultists in the first place.
Bandit was the one in charge; Syr’nj wasn’t even there. She’s just as culpable as anyone else, high charisma score notwithstanding.
Maybe Bandit was OK with Byron coming along. We sure know Srn’Nj ultimately was OK with it, despite misgivings. Syr is the overall boss, after all. And Syr cannot be objective right now – her emotions color every thought she has about this. It’s why lawyers shouldn’t represent themselves, and doctors shouldn’t do surgery on their own family; they cannot be objective enough. So without pretending Bandit is a total angel, it still is a fact that she’s being screwed by her biased boss.
Aaand … full disclosure here … I am obviously biased, too. Total Banditphile (Banditophile? Banditaphile?) here.
I know right.
I would agree with you that Syr’nj wasn’t reasonable/objective… but at a different time in the narrative.
When Byron/Syr’nj were talking about Brother Tom’s prophecy/oracular moment/whatever, that should have been the tipping point.
Byron: “I’ma do it.”
Syr’nj: “Don’t do it… we both know it’s a bad thing. Don’t do the thing.”
Byron: “I’ma do it! I wants to do it!”
Syr’nj: “Well… then take this anti-thing.”
Byron: *takes the thing* …zzzzzzz
(Frigg in the alt-text: “SUCKS, DON’T IT BERZERK-NUTS!?”)
When you do exactly what your enemy wants you to do, that’s when you lose the fight. I’m a little surprised Syr’nj, with her military training, and Byron, with his adventuring experience, went straight for the face. I’m really hoping that Brother Homon messed with the ‘zerker ritual so it wasn’t the perfect clusterfuck Tom wanted… but that’s just me.
Syr’Nj has had a military training … as a medic. As a combat medic, maybe. But not as a fighter.
well duh. Syr’nj blames herself for what happened.
And she can’t handle it, so she’s gone completely off the deep end.
Honestly, I’m in total agreement with E-merl here. Had to suck for Bandit to see her teammates getting torn apart by a threat that was supposed to be under control. With no idea what caused the outbreak, it’s only reasonable that she felt betrayed by the very people she had been trusting with her life, and everyone else around them.
Seeing that problem resurface yet again, seeing the death and destruction, her old instincts come back into play and Byron isn’t her friend anymore- he’s a manic murdering machine making mulch of merry mates of hers. Now, by any logic, Byron shouldn’t be able to hurt anyone anymore, just like he’d want to not be doing.
First of all: +1/like/upvote/whatever for the alliteration.
Second: While I agree that the ‘zerker virus/sickness/whatever, is a major problem, Bandit never forgave Byron for basically being sick (imagine having your coworkers shun you forever because you got the flu… yeah I know it’s an oversimplification because the flu doesn’t kill everyone at the office… but the Five got better… or something… just roll with it). Syr’nj is right in this regard: Bandit blamed Byron for being a Berzerker. Could Syr’nj/Byron planned better, sure. But Bandit’s ire shouldn’t be aimed at Byron specifically… it should be at Syr’nj as well (or herself, since as a field commander she should have some significant pull in “who should be going against the cultists).
I think in the heat of a battle and seeing some of things that went on there, we have to cut Bandit a little more slack. Syr’Nj is doing this out of emotional response only. She wasn’t there so she can’t rationally judge what Bandit did without more info.
More like being shunned for having the plague. Which is a thing that happens.
i think it’s less so not forgiving his being sick, but feeling betrayed. remember she was all happy/friendly with byron initially and seemed to think he could turn the rage on/off at will; then he chopped her into thirds after they survived a pretty intense battle. so now she see’s him as a rabid dog that could go and do…well this…at any time.
Hopfully these next few pages we’ll get to see some more of Bandits’ perspective. Since the more recent Berserker incident, we’ve gotten to see the dry remorse of Syr’Nj, and her plan to bring Byron back again, but we haven’t seen Bandit at all until now. Maybe she has something to say now that they’re out of the heat of the moment.
Dishonorable discharge out of the Guild? No, I think Syr’Ng would more prefer out of a cannon.
That is one helluva comfy chair! Where do I get one?
Where nobody would expect it.
Our three main weapons are: fear, surprise, a fanatical devotion to efficiency, and berserkitude.
apparently in a giant birdcage:)
I’m wondering how death in the game is handled within the Five’s sphere of influence. In most MMOs, death is a fairly common occurrence, but the Five never seem to see anyone die, so we have to assume the deaths of the guildies is somehow ignored or glossed over from their perspective. Actual death, from the Five’s POV, is akin to character deletion in the real world.
This makes me wonder about two things:
1. The outbreak of bezerking is going to get noticed in the real-world in a manner similar to Rachel’s death, since they seem really “dead”, but will they seem different due to the different causes? Can the data be “restored” in the real world? How will that seem to the Five?
2. Bandit’s death at Byron’s hands seemed to get ignore/glossed over, but how was that perceived by the in-game Bandit? As the only guildie to die at the hands of one of the Five and come back, was that death a real, unique trauma for her? Is that one of the reasons she hated Byron? If Bandit was made more “real” by being around the Five, then had to experience a “real” death …
Remember it’s an “extreme RP” founded guild and server. might be a in-house rule “resurrections can only happen in the following rare circumstances (rules here) otherwise if your character dies, you need to make a new character”
I agree with kagato’s take on the game experience. Also, I am convinced that most of what we saw with the zerkers occurred while the PC users were offline. Each of the characters has their own personality and “life” within the game itself, outside of the control of the users. For example, Rachel was obliterated while her user was asleep in Sepia world (see axemas-special-2014-page-1: panel 2).
The character’s existence beyond the players’ control of them is the core of the question about Bandit. I’m guessing that the more the Five are involved in something, the more “real” it is. Bandit’s resurrection might have just been a game mechanic, i.e. respawn, but what did Bandit the character experience it as? She was already more “real” because of her time with the Five, then was killed by one of the Five. How “real” was her death? What did that experience do to her? If she really does remember dying on some level, that MUST be shaping her feeling about Byron.
I think she remembers what Byron did.
Remembering a fact and an experience are two different things. I know she remembers the attack, but did she experience death?
If they can run back from the graveyard before everyone logs out for the day with a really good story for what happened then everyone just ignores it.
While kageto has a good explination, I’d like to offer another
Perhaps the berserker curse is a rather debilitating or simply annoying status confition and most people simply give up on that character should it contract such
Bandit, if you want Syr’Nj to hear “It was a hard choice, [I] was responsible for everyone and [I] had to protect the ones [I] could, however [I] could,” why don’t you tell her that, instead of variations on “I’m glad Byron’s dead”?
It’s not like most people would be coherent enough to explain that at that particular time. And I think it’s pretty clear that Syr’Nj isn’t listening to anything Bandit has to say [i]now[/i].
this ^^
I’m glad there’s still a little bit of humor bandit’s able to dredge up even while resigning herself to Syr’s whims. Must be no one’s told E-merl yet. Still.
Syr’s whim?
People keep saying that no one has told E-Merl and that does see to be the case, but maybe they just haven’t had the chance. How long has it been since the beast hunter team got back? If E-Merl has been visiting Bandit during that time they wouldn’t have had a chance to tell him. (And its not like anyone is going to tell Bandit anything that is happening outside of her cage.)
We’re not really saying it’s a bad thing, or accusing characters of purposely not telling him or being somehow incompetent for not telling him yet. At least *I’m* not. I realize there has been WAY too much going on for that to have come up yet. Since it’s such a sensitive thing, the last few events have simply not been an appropriate time to drop the bomb on him.
It would sure be cruel to basically say “Hey, your friend Byron’s dead along with a ton of other innocents, but chill in this jail cell for who know show long while we figure out if y’all are dangerous, oh and yer girlfriend’s dead. Have fun!”
He’s a visitor. He’s not in jail. Though I would probably lock him in before telling him if they are going to do it here. (did I mention they are really high up? Cause… *looks down* )
Wouldn’t really make sense to lock him up either as Syr’nj knows for a fact that E-Merl didn’t berserk. If they locked E-Merl up just for being at the battle they would have to lock up Syr’nj as well, which they didn’t.
Well really, locking him up wouldn’t do much good while he can do that portal spell.
I think they confiscate your toys when you are in jail.
Fair enough; I forgot that he hadn’t actually gotten ‘zerked. Thanks for the reminder. Times three.
Also, people haven’t told e-Merl? Maybe they have. Y’all are just vultures, waiting to feed off of a scene of an illusionist going through a moment of deeply personal trauma, hoping he’ll be emotionally crippled enough to last you a whole week?
Rachel didn’t die in a random battle, but an epic boss battle. A Frigg worthy battle. Maybe he was shocked, spent one afternoon getting drunk, and then has pulled himself together, because it’s what she would have wanted. Now he’s trying to fill her role as the team’s Unyielding Heart?
That does sound like him.
Hmm.
No wait, the other thing.
It’s kind of interesting to observe just how *much* people are willing to assume about the situation, seemingly to validate existing beliefs.
Based on Fr’nj’s reaction I would say it is still the same day that the beast hunter team arrived, meaning if he already knows then it would be the same day that he received the news. That’s a rather quick recovery.
I think you have the right of it. If you read it like the last couple of scenes are ocurring simultaneously then Gravedust went straight to Syr’Nj to report, Fr’nj went straight to Scipio to nookie, and E-merl doesn’t know the hunting party is back yet because he’s busy trying to get an accounting out of Bandit.
Not so cocky, now, Bandit, huh?