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Annotations Every Day - Written by T Campbell & Flo Kahn - Illustrated by John & Jason Waltrip

Well you kind of have to open the tubes first, man.

Chapter 9 – Page 22

on March 16, 2011
Chapter: Chapter 09
└ Tags: HR, The Five
Comments RSS

Discussion (210) ¬

  1. Locke
    Locke
    March 16, 2011, 12:01 am | # | Reply

    Maybe you coughed/mumbled the last word? You’re just lucky that you don’t have a horde of Deadites at your door right now, D.

    • randonimity
      randonimity
      March 16, 2011, 12:10 am | # | Reply

      Maybe he’s putting the emphasis on the wrong syllable?

      • Novijen
        Novijen
        March 16, 2011, 2:02 am | # | Reply

        Or perhaps saying it without the right rhythm. Or maybe he needs to light the candle during the ceremony.

        • Katlamos
          Katlamos
          March 16, 2011, 2:18 am | # | Reply

          Maybe he’s not doing the right hand movements, or he doesn’t have something placed right on the table.

          • ahdok
            ahdok
            March 16, 2011, 3:49 am | # | Reply

            Maybe it’s Maybelline

            • randonimity
              randonimity
              March 16, 2011, 5:05 am | # | Reply

              May-be, May-be, May-be Oh~
              Like, May-be, May-be, May-be No~

              • Danny
                Danny
                March 16, 2011, 5:50 am | # | Reply

                Mayhaps he should speaketh like thee Mighty Thor doeth for all doth knoweth Magick doth worketh in ye olde Englishe.

                • Caitlin
                  Caitlin
                  March 16, 2011, 7:10 am | # | Reply

                  Ia! Ia! Cthulhu Fhtagn!

                  • Taxellor
                    Taxellor
                    March 16, 2011, 7:53 am | # | Reply

                    Oh R’lyeh?

                    • Biri
                      Biri
                      March 16, 2011, 9:17 am | #

                      NYA RLY

                  • Geeky35407
                    Geeky35407
                    March 16, 2011, 1:37 pm | # | Reply

                    Gold Star please?

                    • ahdok
                      ahdok
                      March 16, 2011, 1:47 pm | #

                      Gold stars don’t happen by request! they have to be earned. Like a proper yelling at.

                    • Phil
                      Flo
                      March 16, 2011, 3:02 pm | #

                      Truth.

                    • Random Guy
                      Random Guy
                      February 28, 2013, 9:40 am | #

                      NO GOLD STAR FOR YOOOOU!

                • .
                  .
                  March 9, 2014, 12:13 pm | # | Reply

                  which amusingly enough is pronounced “the old english” the y is an artifact caused by the dutch cornering the printingpress manufacture not having a letter english did(pronounced “th”) and people using y because it was the closest match(when handwritten anyway) and you figured out which it intended to represent was through context. ye= þe = the

          • JarrysKid
            JarrysKid
            March 16, 2011, 10:55 am | # | Reply

            Maybe he should try it with a funny accent.

          • FreddeX
            FreddeX
            May 18, 2011, 4:40 am | # | Reply

            Oh man, how many times have i not messed up an incantation because of some small misstake. I mean take for example that time i tried to summon Cthulhu, it all went well until i came to the entire fhtagn part and before i knew it i woke up a month later in the deserts of Egypt naked and with eldritch symbols written in blood all over my body.

            Boy, did i have some explanation to do to my parents after that one…

      • BriGuy
        BriGuy
        March 16, 2011, 1:14 pm | # | Reply

        It’s LeviOOHsa, not LevioSAH!

        • Novijen
          Novijen
          March 17, 2011, 12:19 am | # | Reply

          Don’t forget the swish and flick. Swish, then flick.

          • Hawk
            Hawk
            March 17, 2011, 8:03 am | # | Reply

            You’re going to put someone’s eye out that way, seriously.

  2. George
    George
    March 16, 2011, 12:04 am | # | Reply

    I knew it! I knew they weren’t going to settle the whole “is it real” thing yet! This is probably all we’ll get on the topic for a while so… crazy theory time!

    • Thor
      Thor
      March 16, 2011, 12:13 am | # | Reply

      I am slightly mollified.

      I look forward to further developments. And also to posts from people complaining about people who complain.

      • Alma
        Alma
        March 16, 2011, 12:21 am | # | Reply

        Seconding the slight mollification. I can at least get a sense of where the story is going now, even though I’m not clear on why D is the villain.

        • Jean-Luc
          Jean-Luc
          March 16, 2011, 1:10 am | # | Reply

          Technically no one (or thing) ever said D is the villain. There was simply a picture of D with the alt text saying “the one where the true villain is revealed” (or something like that) but the image and the text aren’t necessarily related. If anything the authors have proven themselves quite capable of leading the audience to think one thing while the plot moves in a different direction.

          Kinda like Best isn’t just your typical douche or Arkerra isn’t quite “not real”.

          • ahdok
            ahdok
            March 16, 2011, 3:54 am | # | Reply

            Indeed, people are assuming HRD is the badguy because he has a ‘stache.

            • NobodySpecial
              NobodySpecial
              March 16, 2011, 4:52 am | # | Reply

              Well, you know, the resemblance to John Bolton.

            • Jak
              Jak
              March 16, 2011, 7:12 pm | # | Reply

              HRG. Get the joke?

          • vodhozk
            vodhozk
            March 16, 2011, 9:08 pm | # | Reply

            Well, seeing as he made the game (or oversaw its production, or cast a spell or whatever), and is responsible for bringing the “players” into Akerra, anything that happens while they are there is (in)directly his fault. I know that when I DM the game I made, the players are rolling against me. Point is, he is effectively the DM of the game.

            • Fozz
              Fozz
              March 16, 2011, 11:55 pm | # | Reply

              True the DM runs the baddies, BUT the DM also runs your NPC cleric, the blacksmith, and that cute barmaid you bedded last time you were in town (eww). And the DM can also say “Get out of the tubes and go home guys, games over. I’ll see ya next sunday”

    • kenneth
      kenneth
      March 16, 2011, 4:11 am | # | Reply

      The secretary did it. It’s always the person they show you but don’t seem to do much with. <..>

  3. Jean-Luc
    Jean-Luc
    March 16, 2011, 12:05 am | # | Reply

    Yeah laptops are a bitch to fix, you basically have to buy a new one every time it breaks down.

    Fyi maybe try reading the rest of the grimoire, not just the two middle pages.

    • barsukthom
      barsukthom
      March 16, 2011, 8:32 am | # | Reply

      You mean, the part marked “Ye reft of ye Ffection in whiche ye Ffpell if revealede?”

    • solna
      solna
      March 17, 2011, 1:37 pm | # | Reply

      my toshiba would like to argue that point.

      granted, fixing them ain’t easy…

  4. Sentora
    Sentora
    March 16, 2011, 12:06 am | # | Reply

    You are frightfully inadequate for a deity, Big D. We will not be shut down!

    • Tachyon
      Tachyon
      March 17, 2011, 1:20 pm | # | Reply

      Chapter 9, Page 22 – In which we suddenly realized the audience is the BBEG (or at least his ego).

  5. Bruceski
    Bruceski
    March 16, 2011, 12:09 am | # | Reply

    Those other pages are all blank. Nobody buys an ancient arcane pamphlet, they need to pad it out.

    • Mujaki
      Mujaki
      March 16, 2011, 2:57 am | # | Reply

      “This Page Intentionally Left Blank.”

  6. Malificus
    Malificus
    March 16, 2011, 12:11 am | # | Reply

    So they got technomancy, and the people are stuck in the world. I figure that gives the current situation enough weight that I am once again as interested in their plight as when I didn’t think they were just playing an unusually immersive computer game.

    I’m not saying the chapter so far had turned me off, just that it had lessened the impact of what’s happening in the story for me.

    • hkedi
      hkedi
      March 16, 2011, 12:17 am | # | Reply

      I have to say that it has heightened my interest. Is is creation, or is it tapping something… else….

  7. Abcus
    Abcus
    March 16, 2011, 12:14 am | # | Reply

    . . . Because Payet is SUPREMELY comfortable hiding in that closet. . .

    Sorry, that’s the Best I can do, I’m not used to being amongst the early commenters . . .

    If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say that they need to get THEMSELVES out . . . Which might be how that other videogame D mentioned ties in. The plot thickens . . . (Good thing too, I can’t stand a runny plot).

    Cheers,

    Cote

    • alicemacher
      alicemacher
      March 16, 2011, 12:20 am | # | Reply

      “I’m afraid the plot’s a bit runny, sir.”

      “Oh, I like it runny.”

      “Well, I’m afraid it’s a bit too runny.”

      “I don’t care how fucking runny it is; fetch me the plot de la belle France…mm!”

      • wingsofwrath
        wingsofwrath
        March 16, 2011, 7:36 am | # | Reply

        ahem.

        …”The cat’s eaten it.”…

        Sorry, just taking this quote to it’s logical conclusion.
        You may now carry on.

        • JarrysKid
          JarrysKid
          March 16, 2011, 10:59 am | # | Reply

          I wish to return this plot, it’s dead.

          • AnchorJG
            AnchorJG
            March 16, 2011, 1:29 pm | # | Reply

            No, it’s just resting.

            Beautiful plumage, the Norwegian Waltrip.

            • centuriancode
              centuriancode
              March 17, 2011, 4:42 am | # | Reply

              Resting while it pines for the fjordes (or possibly Holdens, if it once ran on the Commodore 64).

              • Hawk
                Hawk
                March 17, 2011, 8:04 am | # | Reply

                Now I am thinking of a random strange game a friend of mine made…

  8. JK9000
    JK9000
    March 16, 2011, 12:16 am | # | Reply

    Man, I shouldn’t have read this before bed. Now I’m going to be up trying to figure out how to pronounce “krss”.

    • randonimity
      randonimity
      March 16, 2011, 5:07 am | # | Reply

      My first thought is khuh-riss, then something like curse, then kiss.

      • gangler
        gangler
        March 16, 2011, 7:09 am | # | Reply

        I was actually thinking kriss…

    • wingsofwrath
      wingsofwrath
      March 16, 2011, 7:46 am | # | Reply

      While quite difficult to do in English, it’s not at all a problem in other languages.
      In Romanian, for example, that would read very similar to the English word “curse”.
      In German, it would sound like “Car SS”.
      In French, “que ress”.

      Take your pick.

      • Jak
        Jak
        March 16, 2011, 7:14 pm | # | Reply

        What about in Latin? Which is a dead language, yet thousands of people speak it. Go figure.

        • Danny
          Danny
          March 17, 2011, 7:41 pm | # | Reply

          Zombie Romans!!!!

    • barsukthom
      barsukthom
      March 16, 2011, 8:34 am | # | Reply

      That might have been D’s problem…

    • JarrysKid
      JarrysKid
      March 16, 2011, 11:01 am | # | Reply

      It’s pronounced ‘steve’.

  9. Jean-Luc
    Jean-Luc
    March 16, 2011, 12:16 am | # | Reply

    Considering the colour of the magical emanation I’d say the source of HR’s arcane powers is in his tie.

    • Joe
      Joe
      March 16, 2011, 12:43 am | # | Reply

      There’s the problem, then.
      A Power Tie is supposed to be red, not purple!

      • wingsofwrath
        wingsofwrath
        March 16, 2011, 7:47 am | # | Reply

        It is red. We’re just seeing HR’s world through blue tinted glasses…

      • JarrysKid
        JarrysKid
        March 16, 2011, 4:53 pm | # | Reply

        But it’s an “Eldritch Power” tie. Purple is correct.

        • Karishi
          Karishi
          March 17, 2011, 7:29 am | # | Reply

          If video games are any indication, the purple of his tie and his magic make him a definitive evil.
          Also, gravity. Purple means evil and gravity.

    • RJ
      RJ
      March 17, 2011, 1:16 am | # | Reply

      das too funny… now all i can see is his tie in that panel

  10. alicemacher
    alicemacher
    March 16, 2011, 12:17 am | # | Reply

    I LOVE the alt text. <3

  11. Calen
    Calen
    March 16, 2011, 12:22 am | # | Reply

    HAH! I love it. It’s like third panel is a direct rebuttal to the people waving goodbye because Arkerra isn’t ‘real’.

    I’m becoming more interested in H.R. as a character, on a side note. Is he actually Bandit? Why is his face so impassive? Where’s this arcanomancy coming from?

  12. Hoo-ya
    Hoo-ya
    March 16, 2011, 12:34 am | # | Reply

    Oho! So the “villain” might not be as villainous as I originally suspected!

    Yes… this man isn’t trying to leech these people of content, nor is he trying to KEEP them enslaved, he’s trying to SAVE them!

    Unexpected!

    • Fren
      Fren
      March 16, 2011, 6:51 am | # | Reply

      Or maybe he’s trying to pull them out just to see if he can … then he can put ’em back in. For laughs. EVIL LAUGHS.

      • Warriormon87
        Warriormon87
        March 17, 2011, 2:16 am | # | Reply

        I will now set in motion my plan to BURN DOWN THE ORPHANAGE.
        And in it’s place I will build…
        a BIGGER…
        BETTER…
        …orphange!
        MUHAHAHAHAA!

    • MM
      MM
      March 16, 2011, 1:11 pm | # | Reply

      The most dangerous villains are often the ones convinced they’re doing the right thing. Maybe he ought to be taking the hint and leaving them be.

      • Ishmael
        Ishmael
        March 16, 2011, 6:37 pm | # | Reply

        I’m sure that’d be easy to explain if the authorities ever came looking for them.

        “Yes, officer, these is the missing party in these here tubes. They’re not dead, they’re just floating here in my makeshift medical lab while I do magic to them.”

        • Caitlin
          Caitlin
          March 17, 2011, 6:15 am | # | Reply

          “All right sir, carry on then. Oh, but no summoning of Eldritch Horrors. We had enough of that last Tuesday.”

  13. 1d4caltrop
    1d4caltrop
    March 16, 2011, 12:45 am | # | Reply

    He’s insane in the mainframe.

    • Novijen
      Novijen
      March 16, 2011, 2:04 am | # | Reply

      He’s going insane?

    • Sortelli
      Sortelli
      March 16, 2011, 2:40 am | # | Reply

      He’s insane in the mainframe.

      Insane in the game.

      • Brandon Richard
        Brandon Richard
        March 16, 2011, 7:49 am | # | Reply

        Insane in the Membrane.

        • JarrysKid
          JarrysKid
          March 16, 2011, 11:03 am | # | Reply

          Nutty as squirrel poop.

          • ahdok
            ahdok
            March 16, 2011, 1:17 pm | # | Reply

            Mad as a pond.

            • Locke
              Locke
              March 16, 2011, 3:15 pm | # | Reply

              Few tacos short of a combo platter.

              • Oshi
                Oshi
                March 16, 2011, 6:59 pm | # | Reply

                WWWWWHACKO!

                • Locke
                  Locke
                  March 16, 2011, 10:12 pm | # | Reply

                  C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!

                • Geigan
                  Geigan
                  March 16, 2011, 10:26 pm | # | Reply

                  Not all there in this case means there is nothing left.

  14. Dean
    Dean
    March 16, 2011, 12:50 am | # | Reply

    “And why am I staring at a fat naked guy in a tube while I monologue?”

    • Carl-E
      Carl-E
      March 16, 2011, 12:57 am | # | Reply

      Because he’s staring back…?

    • barsukthom
      barsukthom
      March 16, 2011, 8:34 am | # | Reply

      Maybe he digs bears?

    • JarrysKid
      JarrysKid
      March 16, 2011, 11:41 am | # | Reply

      There’s nothing good on tv?

  15. Novijen
    Novijen
    March 16, 2011, 1:01 am | # | Reply

    See, the problem is that you have no red pills.

  16. Ash
    Ash
    March 16, 2011, 1:02 am | # | Reply

    If I am what?

    • Jean-Luc
      Jean-Luc
      March 16, 2011, 1:11 am | # | Reply

      Their god. It’s a reference to the previous strip.

      • ahdok
        ahdok
        March 16, 2011, 3:51 am | # | Reply

        It’s not so much a reference as a continuation :)

        • gangler
          gangler
          March 16, 2011, 5:59 am | # | Reply

          Indeed. See in point of fact this page takes place directly after the previous page. Like a sequel.

        • Jean-Luc
          Jean-Luc
          March 16, 2011, 9:59 am | # | Reply

          Oh I’ll pick your nit one day, you’ll see…

  17. randonimity
    randonimity
    March 16, 2011, 2:08 am | # | Reply

    I love that the screen we’re shown “breaking” is that of Best’s *w* AND I DON’T KNOW WHYYYYYY

  18. Daniel
    Daniel
    March 16, 2011, 2:15 am | # | Reply

    anyone else getting Tad Williams’ “Otherland” vibes here?

    • barsukthom
      barsukthom
      March 16, 2011, 8:35 am | # | Reply

      Nope. But we may be looking at a “Quag Keep” event here.

  19. Katlamos
    Katlamos
    March 16, 2011, 2:20 am | # | Reply

    Woah. The colors man.

    And yeah, laptops are a bitch to fix. if the screen goes, you just have to get a new one

    • ahdok
      ahdok
      March 16, 2011, 3:52 am | # | Reply

      For heaven’s sake guys! this guy runs a company that makes the equivalent of World of Warcraft, and you’re saying “good thing it only cost them £347?

      This company earns millions of dollars, £347 is nothing!

      • Malificus
        Malificus
        March 16, 2011, 6:55 am | # | Reply

        $347. Not £347

        • Hawk
          Hawk
          March 16, 2011, 9:44 am | # | Reply

          Maybe D is evil because he’s a pinch penny.

        • ahdok
          ahdok
          March 16, 2011, 1:18 pm | # | Reply

          They’re worth the same amount when computers are concerned.

      • Thor
        Thor
        March 16, 2011, 12:04 pm | # | Reply

        Hey, it’s 347 dollars. That’s real Canadian cash, not some fiddly Third-Word currency.

        • Hawk
          Hawk
          March 16, 2011, 1:18 pm | # | Reply

          I thought Canadian money was a looney or something. ./ignorant

          • gangler
            gangler
            March 16, 2011, 1:49 pm | # | Reply

            It makes me feel weird when I think that I remember when the looney was put into place. It’s just such a fixture now. Canada doesn’t use bills for single or double dollars. It’s practically a definitive characteristic of our currency.

          • Locke
            Locke
            March 16, 2011, 10:13 pm | # | Reply

            Everybody knows what Canadian currency is, Hawk. They use maple leaves, duh.

            *is shot*

            • Geigan
              Geigan
              March 16, 2011, 10:32 pm | # | Reply

              Looks like his money wasn’t good here.
              /sunglasses
              YAAAAAUGH

            • Hawk
              Hawk
              March 17, 2011, 8:06 am | # | Reply

              Maybe they use maple liquor. I’d agree to be paid in that stuff. It’s fucking amazing.

      • Whatev
        Whatev
        March 17, 2011, 8:01 am | # | Reply

        Probably the real cost is that he’s going to have to replace that thing himself. He can’t exactly just tell the IT staff to go into the super-secret lab.

    • Fren
      Fren
      March 16, 2011, 6:52 am | # | Reply

      Man, you can replace a laptop LCD panel. It’s not that hard.

    • wingsofwrath
      wingsofwrath
      March 16, 2011, 8:00 am | # | Reply

      Heh. My brother got a lucky break on that one.

      His screen shorted out and the people form the Laptop Service Centre told him “get a new one, it’s cheaper”.
      Coincidentally, my sister had spilled a whole wine bottle on her laptop about a month prior and completely obliterated all the main components, but the screen had remained unaffected, so my brother took that apart and found out that the only differences between the screens were a few mounting screw holes in the chassis. Both screens where exactly the same model, manufactured by the same company in Taiwan, and, mind you, one laptop was a Dell and the other was manufactured by Asus…

    • Warriormon87
      Warriormon87
      March 17, 2011, 2:18 am | # | Reply

      the colors. they do nothing.

    • Valdrax
      Valdrax
      March 17, 2011, 5:04 am | # | Reply

      Thing is that I can’t help but think, “A laptop? Pffft. Now some sort of ‘built into the wall multi-screen job? THAT looks expensive.”

  20. ahdok
    ahdok
    March 16, 2011, 3:53 am | # | Reply

    You can’t get them out because you forgot to establish a safe-word before you started.

    • kenneth
      kenneth
      March 16, 2011, 4:15 am | # | Reply

      Armageddon?

      • ahdok
        ahdok
        March 16, 2011, 1:20 pm | # | Reply

        “Sir, what do you mean by Armageddon?”

        “Armageddon outta here.”

    • randonimity
      randonimity
      March 16, 2011, 5:07 am | # | Reply

      Or maybe a really tough fire wall?

    • gangler
      gangler
      March 16, 2011, 6:08 am | # | Reply

      Maybe he just forgot his password?

    • Hawk
      Hawk
      March 16, 2011, 9:45 am | # | Reply

      oh man, now I have the last teaser for that godawful “Idiot Abroad” show in my head. That guy had a RIDICULOUS safe word…I don’t think it was even a word. Gah!

    • Thom
      Thom
      March 16, 2011, 10:46 am | # | Reply

      Call Arcano-IT! A robed nerd enters, his very being emanating waves of techno-rectifying energies.
      “Sir, have you tried closing the book, opening it, and reciting the incantation once more…?”

      • centuriancode
        centuriancode
        March 17, 2011, 4:48 am | # | Reply

        The three Rs of technomancy: re-read, re-open, re-write?

    • JarrysKid
      JarrysKid
      March 16, 2011, 11:06 am | # | Reply

      Lost the can opener.

  21. gangler
    gangler
    March 16, 2011, 6:07 am | # | Reply

    Interesting interesting. So he’s not in control of the situation and has no idea what’s happening. Meddling in forces he does not understand for fun and profit. I can dig it. Good building block for exciting times. Let’s see how it’s used.

    Aside from that I don’t see too much development. Imply that the world might maybe possibly be a fabrication, then imply that potentially the world might perhaps be real.

    Nothing close to reliable information has happened these last two panels, and yet I still feel like I’ve learned, and I don’t doubt the significance and relevance of these last two pages at all. Well done.

  22. Facecity
    Facecity
    March 16, 2011, 6:28 am | # | Reply

    It’s “In’o do rha”, not “In’o do cha” you fool!

    • barsukthom
      barsukthom
      March 16, 2011, 8:36 am | # | Reply

      In-a-ga-da-vida, bay-bee!

    • barsukthom
      barsukthom
      March 16, 2011, 8:38 am | # | Reply

      Inna-gadda-da-vida, bay-bee!

  23. FoolishOwl
    FoolishOwl
    March 16, 2011, 6:36 am | # | Reply

    Wow. I’m wrong again.

  24. Kom
    Kom
    March 16, 2011, 8:38 am | # | Reply

    I don’t know why but for some reason I broke into a wide grin when I read this page, I’m pretty sure Byron’s flipping out was the last time that happened and here I thought I was losing interest in this comic. Jolly good show, guys.

  25. Dain
    Dain
    March 16, 2011, 9:39 am | # | Reply

    Just realized, aside from the wizard D’wentin what Sundar briefly and obliquely referenced… Daedalus is the only real wizard we’ve seen so far. And a technomage at that.

    • gangler
      gangler
      March 16, 2011, 9:58 am | # | Reply

      Yeah, magic has been referenced in such a way that we know it exists within the universe. The sky elves. The cultist’s talking amulet. The Sundar conversation you mentioned explaining the local economy. As a whole though it doesn’t really get used. Syrnj plays the role of a cleric/mage in some ways, and Gravedust has some mystical talents, but in point of fact the party has no caster type and we don’t really see them elsewhere.

      I group that with the ways they eschew the trappings of generic fantasy. The first on screen caster type being a technomage would certainly be in keeping with that.

  26. Hawk
    Hawk
    March 16, 2011, 9:47 am | # | Reply

    I think ol’ D forgot something. He made up this game world (or so he thinks) and developed this great game (or so he thinks) but it seems to me that what he did was rush forward with the shiny new technomantics and either didn’t budget for, or didn’t bother with, any research…

    • Jean-Luc
      Jean-Luc
      March 16, 2011, 10:01 am | # | Reply

      I suppose all the money was spent on huge candles.

      • JarrysKid
        JarrysKid
        March 16, 2011, 12:35 pm | # | Reply

        And mustache grooming supplies.

        • ahdok
          ahdok
          March 16, 2011, 1:21 pm | # | Reply

          And that tie

          • randonimity
            randonimity
            March 16, 2011, 10:08 pm | # | Reply

            I would have thought lighting effects XD

          • Hawk
            Hawk
            March 17, 2011, 8:07 am | # | Reply

            yep. it was the tie. too much D and not enough R in his R&D department….

  27. UnfoldedOrigami
    UnfoldedOrigami
    March 16, 2011, 9:54 am | # | Reply

    It is painfully obvious why he is not succeeding… he is using Windows.

    • Karishi
      Karishi
      March 17, 2011, 7:42 am | # | Reply

      Ah, but if we’d been dealing with an Apple-based universe there’d have been no room for land-sharks, or Frigg.

      I could see Linux, though. A very do-it-yourself universe.

  28. UnfoldedOrigami
    UnfoldedOrigami
    March 16, 2011, 10:00 am | # | Reply

    Onwards to speculation… When D tries to bring them back, Best’s screen malfunctions…. can this be a result of the Uber Relic/Artefact he was about to dig out? Can the Blue Spirit be the Villain? Or even Best himself after getting hold of said Relic/Artefact and suffering some catharsis?

  29. Brent Felzien
    Brent Felzien
    March 16, 2011, 10:18 am | # | Reply

    Well that’s it, I think I’m done.

    I was content to read the comic while it was a Sci Fi ghost-in-the-machine epic, but now there is a fantasy element? I think it’s time to move on. I mean, I gave it a chance for three whole pages but obviously the creators are more interested in making their own comic then pandering to my specific niche.

    And it’s not like my entire self-image is completely entangled in my need to complain about everything on the internet. But if you don’t change your style, story, web design, personal appearance and the name of your first born to my every whim, then I will keep talking about how much I hate it and am not going to read it… even though I obviously still am.

    • JarrysKid
      JarrysKid
      March 16, 2011, 11:11 am | # | Reply

      I object to your complaint, and your suggestion that this comic is not perfect in all ways. I insult your intelligence, belittle your taste in clothing, and question your sexuality.

      • ahdok
        ahdok
        March 16, 2011, 1:23 pm | # | Reply

        non-sequitur

        • FoolishOwl
          FoolishOwl
          March 16, 2011, 11:31 pm | # | Reply

          Using the non-sequitur as an excuse to go on a tangent, I will now pontificate elaborately on my newest theory, which will be thoroughly disproven by the next page of the story.

          • alicemacher
            alicemacher
            March 17, 2011, 6:29 am | # | Reply

            *Hem, hem.* This is my theory. By A. Macher. Bracket Miss bracket. This is my theory, and it is mine, and what it is too.

    • alicemacher
      alicemacher
      March 16, 2011, 1:40 pm | # | Reply

      I am now going to whine about your whining. Following this, another commenter will whine about my whining about your whining.

      Then a chain of puns will begin, and order will be restored.

      • ahdok
        ahdok
        March 16, 2011, 1:50 pm | # | Reply

        Okay lil’ Colfax. Enhance your calm.

        • alicemacher
          alicemacher
          March 16, 2011, 3:53 pm | # | Reply

          I tried, but the woman telling the story in that comic made my lower regions anything BUT calm. >.<

      • Valdrax
        Valdrax
        March 17, 2011, 5:00 am | # | Reply

        That’s totally hypocritical. I’m going to passive-aggressively complain that it’s not fair for you to whine about whining because that too is whining, and at least *my* whining is *pure*.

        • alicemacher
          alicemacher
          March 17, 2011, 6:27 am | # | Reply

          I do enjoy a fine whine. Particularly with cheese(y puns).

    • Abcus
      Abcus
      March 16, 2011, 5:51 pm | # | Reply

      I’m not sure . . . but I THINK I smell sarcasm.

      Just a whiff.

      Cheers,

      Cote

  30. Hornet
    Hornet
    March 16, 2011, 10:50 am | # | Reply

    Well at least things start to make sense.

  31. Loyal
    Loyal
    March 16, 2011, 10:50 am | # | Reply

    Perhaps it WOULD have worked, except that Best is still alive and well.

    • Sentora
      Sentora
      March 16, 2011, 11:07 am | # | Reply

      It’s simple. We must…*shades on* Payet forward.

      • Phil
        Flo
        March 16, 2011, 2:59 pm | # | Reply

        YYYEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAH!!!

        • Novijen
          Novijen
          March 17, 2011, 12:21 am | # | Reply

          *music by The Who*

  32. Locke
    Locke
    March 16, 2011, 11:06 am | # | Reply

    Cost of most recent attempt, $347. Cost of last attempt, over $2,000. Cost of having imprisoned five poor, unfortunate souls in a virtual purgatory? Priceless.

    • FoolishOwl
      FoolishOwl
      March 16, 2011, 11:31 pm | # | Reply

      I endorse this product or service.

      • Locke
        Locke
        March 17, 2011, 3:03 am | # | Reply

        Okay, just let me get some info down on what you plan to use this for… Registration purposes, you understand…

        “Space Paranoids”? Alright. That sounds pretty harmless.

        • Rognik
          Rognik
          March 18, 2011, 3:29 am | # | Reply

          It’s “mostly harmless”, actually.

    • Karishi
      Karishi
      March 17, 2011, 7:39 am | # | Reply

      Ah; Didn’t catch that this joke had been done.

      • Locke
        Locke
        March 17, 2011, 11:01 pm | # | Reply

        That’s right, pal! This is like Monopoly, you’d better pay up for using it! Or trade me a railroad! I like the railroads! They’re key to winning the game!

        (It’s fine, really. Unless you really have a railroad to trade.)

    • Rognik
      Rognik
      March 18, 2011, 3:30 am | # | Reply

      For everything else, there’s Mastercard. Accepted most places, including parallel game-based world Arkterra.

  33. Thom
    Thom
    March 16, 2011, 11:06 am | # | Reply

    So it’s Best’s monitoring PC/Screen that goes Ka-bzzzzzzt! Was he trying to get Best out? Think this translated to anything in Best’s current experience?

    Another thing – We just saw interviews with all these folks. Are we thinking the interviews were filmed before they entered the tubes and became “trapped?” I’m remembering what [IRL]Byron said in his interview and that seems to make sense. He described his hope for what it would be, so I guess that means he hadn’t experienced it yet.

    • Rolan7
      Rolan7
      March 16, 2011, 12:48 pm | # | Reply

      I hope Best is OK!
      … what? I do!

      • Hawk
        Hawk
        March 16, 2011, 1:20 pm | # | Reply

        Ooooh maybe Best just got hit by random god-lightning!

    • ahdok
      ahdok
      March 16, 2011, 1:24 pm | # | Reply

      They were being interviewed before they started testing the system, this was made pretty clear at the time :)

      • FoolishOwl
        FoolishOwl
        March 16, 2011, 11:34 pm | # | Reply

        It seems like that was very public. I wonder how they’re covering up the problem.

        • ahdok
          ahdok
          March 17, 2011, 12:11 pm | # | Reply

          …Mostly by directing anyone who asks to the naked lady in Battlepug.

          • Thom
            Thom
            March 17, 2011, 12:28 pm | # | Reply

            0_0 ah… She has indeed answered all my questions

          • alicemacher
            alicemacher
            March 17, 2011, 10:30 pm | # | Reply

            Works for me.

  34. Kitsune Dragoon
    Kitsune Dragoon
    March 16, 2011, 11:11 am | # | Reply

    Somehow, this strip makes me content. Still weary of the direction the strip has taken, but this serves as some consolation and renewed some of my interest in the series.

  35. zed
    zed
    March 16, 2011, 11:54 am | # | Reply

    I was saddened at the way the whole “reality” shift was going, until this page. Excited for more!

  36. Thor
    Thor
    March 16, 2011, 12:09 pm | # | Reply

    I’d just like to note that that is a really awkward way to open a door like that. First he has to push the handle down with the wrong hand, then he pushes the door open with the back of his arm.

    No wonder he has to hold onto the doorframe to keep from falling into the room!

  37. Hawk
    Hawk
    March 16, 2011, 1:21 pm | # | Reply

    Somehow I really, really want to know what those windows are saying, on the different “player” screens. And what’s the error on Best’s?

    • ahdok
      ahdok
      March 16, 2011, 1:25 pm | # | Reply

      yeah, I’ve spent a few moments trying to enhance it, but- no dice.

      • Caitlin
        Caitlin
        March 17, 2011, 3:01 pm | # | Reply

        404: Shovel and will to dig Not Found

  38. Samuel
    Samuel
    March 16, 2011, 2:53 pm | # | Reply

    He forgot to put on his robe and wizard hat, duh.

    • Karishi
      Karishi
      March 17, 2011, 7:38 am | # | Reply

      Conversely, when next my wizard needs to cast something, I’m going to put on a fucking purple tie.

    • Hawk
      Hawk
      March 17, 2011, 8:09 am | # | Reply

      oh my god D is Bloodninja?! No WONDER he fails

  39. Timelost
    Timelost
    March 16, 2011, 2:55 pm | # | Reply

    TS: Arcanometric Tech Support, what is the nature of your magical malfunction?

    D: I’ve been attempting to extract five souls from a synthetic universe, I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong.

    TS: First thing sir, have you made sure your Seal of Forbidden Knowledge is in the “on” position?

    D: Yes that’s the first thing I checked.

    TS: Have you updated your Universe’s Drivers recently?

    D: Yes just last week.

    TS: In what phase of the moon did you attempt this ritual?

    D: Gibbous, but I don’t see what…

    TS: I’m sorry sir your warranty does not cover mistimed ritual repair, you might consider summoning a daemon for advice if you have a current copy of the Software Key of Solomon.

    D: You’re telling me there’s nothing…

    TS: I’m very sorry sir, the balance of this call will be deducted from your immortal soul.

    • Phil
      Flo
      March 16, 2011, 3:04 pm | # | Reply

      The length and quality of this post combined with your name equals one big fat fucking Gold Star. Kudos.

    • alicemacher
      alicemacher
      March 16, 2011, 3:54 pm | # | Reply

      Thunderous standing ovation

    • JarrysKid
      JarrysKid
      March 16, 2011, 4:44 pm | # | Reply

      I had to go get a hat, just so I could take it off to you.

    • Katlamos
      Katlamos
      March 16, 2011, 8:11 pm | # | Reply

      You sir, win the comments for this page. I tip my giant paper d20 at you

    • Jean-Luc
      Jean-Luc
      March 16, 2011, 10:45 pm | # | Reply

      That’s what I call time well lost.

    • Timelost
      Timelost
      March 17, 2011, 1:02 am | # | Reply

      Ha, at the time I didn’t know if I was being funny or stupid, it’s always a toss-up with me.

      Thanks for the positive feedback, I may risk attempting humor again some time, you have only yourselves to blame.

      • Hawk
        Hawk
        March 17, 2011, 8:10 am | # | Reply

        HUZZAH

    • ahdok
      ahdok
      March 17, 2011, 12:29 pm | # | Reply

      Have you tried unplugging one of them, and blowing down the connectors, then hooking them back up?

    • Thom
      Thom
      March 17, 2011, 12:35 pm | # | Reply

      You waxing gibbous!
      Scratch my feeble attempt, hilarious.

  40. athief
    athief
    March 16, 2011, 5:32 pm | # | Reply

    Why hello there, previously-unconsidered-even-in-the-comments-section angle. How are you?

  41. Angelina
    Angelina
    March 16, 2011, 9:14 pm | # | Reply

    Half the fun of this comic is the comments section.

    • Novijen
      Novijen
      March 17, 2011, 12:23 am | # | Reply

      Amen.

  42. Priegel
    Priegel
    March 16, 2011, 10:51 pm | # | Reply

    Finally worked out what he was saying in the first panel– they are anagrams:
    “Oh no, acid!”
    “Hack art skews!”
    …. well, maybe. :)

    • John
      John
      March 17, 2011, 10:03 am | # | Reply

      well one of those is right.

    • ahdok
      ahdok
      March 17, 2011, 12:22 pm | # | Reply

      Cast Wet Shark?
      Ask War Sketch?
      Ask, Wretch! ASK!

      • randonimity
        randonimity
        March 17, 2011, 11:26 pm | # | Reply

        I vote Cast Wet Shark 8D

  43. Jurisanne
    Jurisanne
    March 16, 2011, 11:22 pm | # | Reply

    Bandit failed Use Magic Device check…

    • Novijen
      Novijen
      March 17, 2011, 12:22 am | # | Reply

      Not by much though. Lets hope no ones are rolled now.

    • ahdok
      ahdok
      March 18, 2011, 5:42 am | # | Reply

      It’s not very effective.

  44. ahdok
    ahdok
    March 17, 2011, 3:53 am | # | Reply

    Oh hecta it all. I’m going for a beer.

    • alicemacher
      alicemacher
      March 17, 2011, 6:35 am | # | Reply

      In’o if that’s such a good idea. Do cha think?

  45. Karishi
    Karishi
    March 17, 2011, 7:36 am | # | Reply

    Five colored tubes: $2,430.
    Eight attempts releasing “gaming pioneers” from tubes: $3,912.
    Hush money to keep “gaming pioneers'” families quiet: $2,000/month, each.
    Full comprehension of arcanometry and associated godhood: Priceless.

    • Hornet
      Hornet
      March 17, 2011, 9:45 am | # | Reply

      There’s no death golds for imates or homeless.

    • Locke
      Locke
      March 17, 2011, 10:59 pm | # | Reply

      Yeah, whatever Hornet just said, buddy! I already made that joke! Granted, yours was in deeper detail and it’s not exactly original to begin with, I don’t appreciate people riding on my coattails!

      (My short, imaginary coattails…)

  46. Karishi
    Karishi
    March 17, 2011, 7:46 am | # | Reply

    I do wonder, given the shattering of Best’s screen, whether the reason he can’t get them out is the fact that Best isn’t presently dead in-game.
    If that’s the case, he’d have an altruistic reason to play the Adversary; he has to kill them all if he wants to bring ’em home.

    I expect his motivations are a little more selfish than that, though. That’s generally the way, with wizards.

  47. The Indomitable Eric
    The Indomitable Eric
    March 17, 2011, 9:28 am | # | Reply

    IA IA, CTHULA FTAGN.

  48. JarrysKid
    JarrysKid
    March 17, 2011, 10:05 am | # | Reply

    Drizzle, drazzle, drozzle, drome!
    Time for these five to come home!

    “Mr. Arcanomancer! I don’t wanna be a war-gamer anymore!”

    Dating myself?

  49. ahdok
    ahdok
    March 17, 2011, 12:25 pm | # | Reply

    Oh Mr. D… are y ou saying these gamers need to get out more?

    You are a card!

  50. drakvl
    drakvl
    March 17, 2011, 1:19 pm | # | Reply

    I’m thinking, the reason the screen that broke was focusing on Best is just that the only screen of importance at the moment is the one focusing on the only guy who’s still alive.

  51. Sineplex
    Sineplex
    March 17, 2011, 5:10 pm | # | Reply

    A moral framework has been restored. I can resume digesting this comic leisurely.

  52. Mic-Gold
    Mic-Gold
    March 17, 2011, 7:36 pm | # | Reply

    Only Dr. Doom mixes magic and technology with success, . . . with the exception of that whole scarred face thing.

  53. Locke
    Locke
    March 17, 2011, 11:47 pm | # | Reply

    Also, two hundredth comment on this page, just to round things off. OCD? What’s that?

  54. Trolldrool
    Trolldrool
    March 24, 2011, 12:46 pm | # | Reply

    For some reason this sort of reminds me of the 80s D&D cartoon.

  55. shagbark
    shagbark
    April 2, 2011, 10:09 am | # | Reply

    Oh no no no. We start in a fantasy, then it turns out to be embedded in science fiction, then that science fiction turns out to be magic-based fantasy.

    Sorry, that’s just silly.

    • The Sandman
      The Sandman
      August 4, 2013, 9:14 pm | # | Reply

      No, it only becomes too silly if that in turn is embedded in a series of sketches from a British comedy troupe of the 70s and 80s.

  56. lumzi23
    lumzi23
    September 8, 2013, 11:35 pm | # | Reply

    Confused but at least I am starting to like the story again.

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Guilded Age is co-written by T Campbell & Flo Kahn, and illustrated by John Waltrip. Site design by Samantha Kyle. Fonts by Blambot.com.
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