Well, golems don’t have a very good reputation for much intelligence, so it wasn’t really using its head much anyway. But bandit at least absorbed his Quickening on her way out…
Honestly, don’t blame yourself E-Merl. If all it took for an escape was someone opening the door and not immediately closing it, she’d have gotten out pretty quick no matter what.
Killing a rampaging berserker that brought an anger plague … after he was subdued.
Plus, her tendenvy to treat all the others like shit and act cocky is not endearing at all.
If I recall correctly (and it’s possible I may not), he was /not/ subdued when he was killed. I seem to remember Byron’s back being cut wide open, after all.
Also, let’s be frank: Given the situation, it doesn’t matter who “deserves” what. Bandit is a competent fighter, intelligent, and wasn’t affected by the berserker plague. Keeping her locked up displays a certain lack of competence.
Byron was already dead before he ever touched the village. Remember the bit where he got ritually sacrificed to activate the Berserker State? Remember the first time he went Berserk (in our view, anyway), and how it happened only after he got impaled by Harky?
The Byron in the village was already dead, and simply moving with a purpose not his own. Bandit did nothing but make him stay down, and with significant justification even without the self-defense angle. You don’t take chances on things like that, no matter how much you like the person they used to be. Shit like that’s how zombie movies happen.
It’s not that she killed Byron, it’s that she was given orders to stand down and refused, instead opting to boast to her superior officer about how it was “good” that she’d killed that SO’s husband. It’s that, instead of calming down and talking to Syr’nj, even apologizing for her commentary if not for her actions, she’s breaking out of sky elf prison for… what reason, again? She was looking at a dishonorable discharge as her worst possible scenario. Why is she breaking out of prison to avoid THAT? I mean, it’s not like NOT being in prison is somehow going to allow her to rejoin the guild.
First, puns: I’ve got to HAND it to Bandit, that was a pretty SHOCKING escape
Secondly, last two panels reaction: TINY, TALKING, GHOST RACHEL!!! AAAAAAAA!!!
Thirdly, wildly inaccurate prediction based on the final panel: Bandit will now discover her true destiny and team up with Wav (i.e. “the best”). Together they form a power duo who travel across time and space, eventually ending the war with a profound, musical message: “Be awesome to each other!” WYLD STALLYNS RULE!
Hmmm… so E-Merl has started to develop a split personality disorder thanks to trauma + Bandit’s suggestion and one of his personalities thinks this will help Best. Interesting. (:P)
That was one of the first things to pop into my head on seeing this. I can see him summoning the illusionary Rachel when he is alone and lonely, until it become an addiction of sorts.
As interesting as that would be to read about, I hope it doesn’t happen. Poor kid has it hard enough :(
Eh, if he’s smart enough to understand her and how she loves him underneath all his self loathing crap then maybe the illusory Rachel would actually keep him cheered up. (and since he’s a magic user with an odd physical focus specialty maybe this would eventually present a road for that character to return?)
Actually disappointed. I had hoped she would stay until she and the one she wronged/who wronged her can talk and come to terms. I think they would have released her then. Now she is a dangerous criminal. Even without previous charges, she escaped prison by destroying a guard’s head. (Even if it is a golem, does she know for a fact it wasn’t sentient?)
To be fair, it was the Golem which destroyed its own head. She was just dodging, and they apparently don’t have enough of a self-preservation mechanism to not fire when they’re in their own bolt-path.
Second- she’s actually always been a dangerous criminal. Her name is BANDIT after all- the reason she was in the guild is because of that. She was thrown out of her hometown because of her criminal tendencies ,(she don’t listen to no LAW) and she’s perfectly willing and able to shenk folks as she needs.
Then again, it’s possible that the escape is actually happening via her ‘sepiaworld’ person, and is not something that Arkerra Bandit would normally go through with.
I think it’s completely in-character for Bandit to effect an escape at the first opportunity for two reasons:
1) She doesn’t believe that she should be in prison for what she’s done (‘killing’ Byron),
2) She is a person of action, and feels responsible for everyone on her team who died, so she likely plans to try and find a way to redeem herself (at least in her mind) for their sacrifice, probably by going after the cultists alone.
Looking forward to seeing how this arc plays out! :)
3) The person who put her in the prison in the first place has an axe to grind with her. Syr’nj is in a position of significant power, and should the matter come to trial, Bandit is unlikely to receive a fair one regardless of any argument she may choose to make.
Welp, here my archive binge ends, and the painful waiting for the next comic starts.
I’m happy to see Bandit escaping, I just hope she won’t do something stupid next, like sacrificing herself for the greater good or something. Not saying that Rachel was stupid, don’t get me wrong, but Rachel is Rachel, and Bandit is Bandit.
I think your concern is realistic, given that Bandit has already expressed remorse for, or at least a feeling of responsibility for, the deaths of her teammates (and to a lesser extent the villagers, I think). The one saving grace about her personality though is that she doesn’t appear to be ruled by her emotions, so whatever she is up to is likely being done with full awareness of her abilities, resources, and chances for success.
Bandit is a survivor, and I think that whatever she has in mind is likely a good plan, even if she ultimately fails to accomplish it alone.
I assume you mean other than that one time. Hopefully learned a lot from that, though.
My biggest worry is that if I were a brand new cultist leader and I was in a super ironic mood then I know exactly who I would want the next carrier to be…
I always thought heads were an unnecessary weakness on war machines.
well they can have them, but really they should only serve as a laser turret. It’s just a bad place to put the processor.
In fact, if they don’t contain a processor, heads may be a good idea – they may function as an attractive nuisance to your enemy.
Or the optic sensors.
A head is a good place for optic sensors because it spins, but there should be a backup set of sensors in case of decapitation.
I go for the hips myself.
For the love of god people! Stop giving them ideas!
Didn’t Stitch pull basically the same escape move?
I never really thought about Stitch there…I was reading Bandit’s voice as sounding more like Daffy Duck at the moment.
Well, golems don’t have a very good reputation for much intelligence, so it wasn’t really using its head much anyway. But bandit at least absorbed his Quickening on her way out…
Saw that coming.
Yep, you guys really called that one.
With the very first comment of the last page no less. :)
Well, this is gonna make things interesting…
Syr is not going to be happy.
Right now, a 10-pound chocolate truffle and a whole forest to run wouldn’t make her happy.
…Death is kind of a complicated state of being in this universe, huh?
Even full deletion, apparently.
Uh.
Wha?
So, is he trapped in there now?
And speaking of Best…where is WAV?
And where are the Best puns?
Nah, he’s got the sky elf magic bracelet, At least I think he does.
Worst case scenario is he’s trapped there for a bit. But someone in elf city will realize something is amiss and eventually they’ll come and get him.
I’m thinking that’s probably not the intended effect, but I can’t help read the “whoop whoop whoop whoop” as a Curlyism.
I’m guessing that it is actually intended as such.
Why not Zoidberg?
Zoidberg got it based of Curly, but yes it is a fair question.
Definitely read this in Zoidberg’s voice.
You get a Star!
Perfect avatar.
Gravedust: “You get an afterlife! And you get an afterlife! Everybody gets an afterlife!”
Except for you, Rachel.
:(
I think this sums up your reaction perfectly:
Get your own valid XHTML YouTube embed code
Dang it! I give. YouTube embedding is beyond my skills currently.
…I…
Let her go, E-Merl. It’s for the best.
Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.
Honestly, don’t blame yourself E-Merl. If all it took for an escape was someone opening the door and not immediately closing it, she’d have gotten out pretty quick no matter what.
O it is always a bad sign when the voices of reason come from illusions. Mad Man E-Merl coming up.
The voice of reason? So letting Badit Keynes escape is for the best? How do we know? We only have the voice of an illusion for that.
Aaugh… Rachel…
It is in fact not for the best, she deserves whats coming.
Yeah, wow, how dare she kill a rampaging berserker that brought about an anger plague? What a jerk.
Killing a rampaging berserker that brought an anger plague … after he was subdued.
Plus, her tendenvy to treat all the others like shit and act cocky is not endearing at all.
If I recall correctly (and it’s possible I may not), he was /not/ subdued when he was killed. I seem to remember Byron’s back being cut wide open, after all.
Also, let’s be frank: Given the situation, it doesn’t matter who “deserves” what. Bandit is a competent fighter, intelligent, and wasn’t affected by the berserker plague. Keeping her locked up displays a certain lack of competence.
He was subdued, BY the killing.
Byron was already dead before he ever touched the village. Remember the bit where he got ritually sacrificed to activate the Berserker State? Remember the first time he went Berserk (in our view, anyway), and how it happened only after he got impaled by Harky?
The Byron in the village was already dead, and simply moving with a purpose not his own. Bandit did nothing but make him stay down, and with significant justification even without the self-defense angle. You don’t take chances on things like that, no matter how much you like the person they used to be. Shit like that’s how zombie movies happen.
As much as I hate to admit it, Loyal is correct.
seconded
Tres’ – ed
It’s not that she killed Byron, it’s that she was given orders to stand down and refused, instead opting to boast to her superior officer about how it was “good” that she’d killed that SO’s husband. It’s that, instead of calming down and talking to Syr’nj, even apologizing for her commentary if not for her actions, she’s breaking out of sky elf prison for… what reason, again? She was looking at a dishonorable discharge as her worst possible scenario. Why is she breaking out of prison to avoid THAT? I mean, it’s not like NOT being in prison is somehow going to allow her to rejoin the guild.
Basically, she’s just gone and lost it, and breaking out of prison only confirms it. She IS unfit for duty now.
I don’t think you get dishonorably discharged from a guild… they are contracted to the gov’t, they aren’t military.
First, puns: I’ve got to HAND it to Bandit, that was a pretty SHOCKING escape
Secondly, last two panels reaction: TINY, TALKING, GHOST RACHEL!!! AAAAAAAA!!!
Thirdly, wildly inaccurate prediction based on the final panel: Bandit will now discover her true destiny and team up with Wav (i.e. “the best”). Together they form a power duo who travel across time and space, eventually ending the war with a profound, musical message: “Be awesome to each other!” WYLD STALLYNS RULE!
Pardon my error, “Be EXCELLENT to each other”
Hmmm… so E-Merl has started to develop a split personality disorder thanks to trauma + Bandit’s suggestion and one of his personalities thinks this will help Best. Interesting. (:P)
That was one of the first things to pop into my head on seeing this. I can see him summoning the illusionary Rachel when he is alone and lonely, until it become an addiction of sorts.
As interesting as that would be to read about, I hope it doesn’t happen. Poor kid has it hard enough :(
Eh, if he’s smart enough to understand her and how she loves him underneath all his self loathing crap then maybe the illusory Rachel would actually keep him cheered up. (and since he’s a magic user with an odd physical focus specialty maybe this would eventually present a road for that character to return?)
It’s fairly common for a child to come up with an imaginary friend, but when it’s an adult illusionist doing that…
Aw, dang it!
Oh noes. She got away. I never saw that coming *read: sarcasm* ;)
“It’s for the best.” Hmmmmm… 10 dollars says the scene cuts to Wav in the next 1-2 comics.
Actually disappointed. I had hoped she would stay until she and the one she wronged/who wronged her can talk and come to terms. I think they would have released her then. Now she is a dangerous criminal. Even without previous charges, she escaped prison by destroying a guard’s head. (Even if it is a golem, does she know for a fact it wasn’t sentient?)
To be fair, it was the Golem which destroyed its own head. She was just dodging, and they apparently don’t have enough of a self-preservation mechanism to not fire when they’re in their own bolt-path.
Second- she’s actually always been a dangerous criminal. Her name is BANDIT after all- the reason she was in the guild is because of that. She was thrown out of her hometown because of her criminal tendencies ,(she don’t listen to no LAW) and she’s perfectly willing and able to shenk folks as she needs.
Then again, it’s possible that the escape is actually happening via her ‘sepiaworld’ person, and is not something that Arkerra Bandit would normally go through with.
Bandit is just so fine, she blew the golem’s dirty mind. ;)
I wouldn’t want to stay in prison after helping to save countless lives, either.
I think it’s completely in-character for Bandit to effect an escape at the first opportunity for two reasons:
1) She doesn’t believe that she should be in prison for what she’s done (‘killing’ Byron),
2) She is a person of action, and feels responsible for everyone on her team who died, so she likely plans to try and find a way to redeem herself (at least in her mind) for their sacrifice, probably by going after the cultists alone.
Looking forward to seeing how this arc plays out! :)
Don’t forget Rogue! It would be irresponsible for Bandit to Not try to escape.
Good point! :)
3) The person who put her in the prison in the first place has an axe to grind with her. Syr’nj is in a position of significant power, and should the matter come to trial, Bandit is unlikely to receive a fair one regardless of any argument she may choose to make.
Also a valid reason for Bandit to escape. Thank you! :)
Soooo… Who’s surprised?
*looks around*
*tumbleweed blows by*
Yeah, me neither.
Oof. He’s far more worried about how much trouble he’s going to be in.
Oh, Bandit. I’m a bit disappointed. You aren’t tired of running away, yet? I’m curious where you still have left to go…
Welp, here my archive binge ends, and the painful waiting for the next comic starts.
I’m happy to see Bandit escaping, I just hope she won’t do something stupid next, like sacrificing herself for the greater good or something. Not saying that Rachel was stupid, don’t get me wrong, but Rachel is Rachel, and Bandit is Bandit.
Welcome aboard!
Seconded! :)
I think your concern is realistic, given that Bandit has already expressed remorse for, or at least a feeling of responsibility for, the deaths of her teammates (and to a lesser extent the villagers, I think). The one saving grace about her personality though is that she doesn’t appear to be ruled by her emotions, so whatever she is up to is likely being done with full awareness of her abilities, resources, and chances for success.
Bandit is a survivor, and I think that whatever she has in mind is likely a good plan, even if she ultimately fails to accomplish it alone.
I assume you mean other than that one time. Hopefully learned a lot from that, though.
My biggest worry is that if I were a brand new cultist leader and I was in a super ironic mood then I know exactly who I would want the next carrier to be…
GlaDOS is going to be very cross with her.
“That’s ok”