this reads more like insecurity than narcissism. It’s still very self centred, but less about how he thinks he’s awesome, and more about how he sees this as getting how much of a prick he is rubbed in his face.
He’s accusing Byron of “virtue signaling.” It’s hilarious because it’s showing the people who accuse others of only doing the right for the prestige are the people who would do it.
And accusing someone of “virtue signaling” or talking about how you don’t do it is itself “virtue signaling.”
Dammit, I never had a big problem with Best before this strip, but this hits me right in the “nopes”. I have like zero patience or empathy for people who treat nice gestures as some sort of calculated attack to make them “look bad”.
Payet is self destructing as most narcissist do when they realize they are not the center of the universe, It’s actually a much more realistic approach to the heel-turn-face bit. To paraphrase a line from the Last Emperor “All you’re life, you thought you were better than everyone else. Now you think you are the worst of all!”
He’s explaining how he rationalised Byron’s behaviour, which he had to do all the time to keep his self-esteem bloated. Now he accepts/sees that Byron IS a better man
This is a way more realistic way he’s going to grow in. I’d rather have this than a complete caricatural turnabout: “okay, I’ve accepted that I was a bastard but I’m all better now, thanks for asking and now I wil give everyone a a good word and a hug and you’ve noticed that I am now a teamplayer? thanks for noticing that but is was nothing really just glad to help …”
I have to say, he could be worse. He could just be totally unrepentant, and reject any form of help without explanation, while claiming in a paranoid manner that “I know what you’re trying to do!”
I’ve dealt with self-absorbed, holier-than-thou types like that before. If you can’t deal with your own emotions at least enough to let yourself be helped, you’ve earned whatever hell you’re living in, and you’re best off hanging yourself, because no one else is gonna waste the effort when they can just shun you.
Meant to add: The only thing worse than what I just described is someone who attacks people who are suffering more than they are *after* rejecting any kind of help while acting paranoid that someone who is trying to help you is out to emasculate you and further lower your opinion of yourself.
To be fair, a big part of the reason he thinks that way is because he tried to beat the shit out of Byron in the middle of an avalanche just the night before, and he’s also well aware that the entire group pretty much hates him. They were all actively surprised when he risked himself to calm down a half-berserk Byron back when they were going for the Basin of Foresight, so he knows they thought/think of him as a selfish asshole who doesn’t give two shits about other people.
He’s not privy to Byron’s thought process about the gift like we are, and without that insight, the idea that the gift is only being given to him in order to prove a point is… actually WAY more likely than it just being because Byron’s trying to be genuinely thoughtful.
Eh, a Little …much…to late for that character growth Payet. at that Point now you have to make up for so much asshole behavior that the Comic will be over and done before you can actually archieve it.
But hey. if you want to help, stay with the snow elves, as there “protector” so that when the Group continue its travel we must never see you again in the Comic and can pretend you did good off Panel. please? pretty please?
“Pity me for being such a huge asshole and finally ‘coming to terms with it’ but yet somehow never actually making any sort of attempt to change despite acknowledging the reason behind why everyone hates me.”
That’s all I’m reading from Best right now. :/
MAYBE he could start right now; it’s never too late. And even if the only people he starts not being an asshole to are his other four group members, then fine; they’re the ones that matter the most. Then they might actually remember him when no one else wants to after he dies.
ITT: Best shows that he still doesn’t “get it”, and probably never will. He’s making progress though. He understands now that he’s an asshole, and he doesn’t want to be an asshole anymore, but he STILL can’t help making it “all about him”.
It’s both infuriating, and really really sad……because damn, it’s definitely hard to be Byron, but it has got to SUCK to be Best.
Great moment for Best. Sure, as a character, Best can be an ass, although he wasn’t much worse than Frigg at it. But his deeds always were noble. Even if it was because he craved fame and recognition.
Now, as a player, Byron’s is the worst. Creating the curse and the cultists, ugh.
i know you probatly meant your last sentence sarkastic but just in case you are not or someone else really thinks so.
If it were a D&D game it would really be more the fault of Dungeon Master then it would be byrons.
Cause he would use Byrons “Character flaw:Berserker” and spin a whole tragic tale around it for Story plot reasons. so as i see it, neither the curse nor the cult would be his fault. it would be more right to blame fate for it.Byron is just playing the Cards he is dealt with.
And yet, if Byron’s D&D character didn’t list curse and berserker. Maybe the tale would be different. Their award was to be fully written into the story.
Some of these comments are bugging me so I’m going to do some rambling:
Does Best even need to be redeemed? Just what did he do wrong?
He’s a braggart. Both WAV and Best were competent adventures seeing as the are roughly the same character class and played by the same person (IRL). Way back in the sepia world during the interview with the five the
one controlling Best said he had whole bunch of stage personas.
Payet Best is not an Inherently unlikable person. Frigg gets along with him. Both Best and Byron, at times, can do good things and be huge assholes.
The difference between the two of them is Byron is a leader and Best is a loner.
This Axemas is a morale boosting/team building thing. Byron needs the team to work together and right now that includes Best, so if he has to help someone through an identity crisis he’s gonna do that.
Best might be an asshole, but right now he’s their asshole. It’s just as important a body part as any other.
I agree 100%, he doesn’t NEED to be redeemed, but he seems like he might want to be? He acknowledges that he’s been a jerk, and that Byron’s niceness reminds him of this ALL the time, but otherwise, he’s not really ever *trying* to change despite it seeming like he wants to. So, you’re right: maybe Byron can help him and maybe they can even be friends.
Being another entirely different (and far more selfless) person is probably the jarring constrast that beat this into him sooner: He was a different person, and everybody liked that guy so much more! But more then that, he legitimately FELT different as WAV. Being somebody who needed to feed his own insecurities by being the greatest thing ever and then being somebody who never had anything to prove to himself like that has to have been very sobering. A forced injection of empathy for somebody who always had very low levels. Sure he’s Best again, but he’ll never be quite the same.
A properly functioning asshole spews shit outwards rather than inwards.
Similarly, it is one thing to be a huge jerk and another to unapologetically do things for emotional reasons that seriously harm the group (smashing the basin, trying to strangle Byron during an avalanch that iirc he contributed to causing).
So while he might not need to be redeemed in terms of not being a jerk, he does have to work his way up to ‘self-centered braggart’ from ‘self-centered braggart who almost wipes the party every so often through sheer ego’.
…Huh. I didn’t expect Best to have the self-awareness to recognize that he had been a complete asshole to everyone around him. And that he readily admits that Byron is the better man is a huge step for him.
Payet is still the Best asshole, but he’s less full of shit now.
I feel bad for Byron. I completely understand trying to do something for someone you completely fail to understand and then have that backfire. Sisters, man.
“uh…thank you?”
though it’s kinda damning him with small praise…
Byron may be the better man, Payet; but you’re the Best!
Woah… Character growth. Payet might not be the best after all. %) Or Maybe, Which Payet is Best Payet?
Neato!
“I’M the inconsiderate asshole here?”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a succint summary of narcissism.
this reads more like insecurity than narcissism. It’s still very self centred, but less about how he thinks he’s awesome, and more about how he sees this as getting how much of a prick he is rubbed in his face.
He’s accusing Byron of “virtue signaling.” It’s hilarious because it’s showing the people who accuse others of only doing the right for the prestige are the people who would do it.
And accusing someone of “virtue signaling” or talking about how you don’t do it is itself “virtue signaling.”
How can it be virtue signalling if you know that doing it will result in negative attention rather than positive?
Dammit, I never had a big problem with Best before this strip, but this hits me right in the “nopes”. I have like zero patience or empathy for people who treat nice gestures as some sort of calculated attack to make them “look bad”.
Payet is self destructing as most narcissist do when they realize they are not the center of the universe, It’s actually a much more realistic approach to the heel-turn-face bit. To paraphrase a line from the Last Emperor “All you’re life, you thought you were better than everyone else. Now you think you are the worst of all!”
PB is just having a momentary lapse of denial. Temporary sanity. It will soon pass.
PB is jelly, then?
Instead of a glowy shirt, Byron should have given him a baseball bat.
… Darn. You. I will be earwormed forever.
He’s explaining how he rationalised Byron’s behaviour, which he had to do all the time to keep his self-esteem bloated. Now he accepts/sees that Byron IS a better man
This is a way more realistic way he’s going to grow in. I’d rather have this than a complete caricatural turnabout: “okay, I’ve accepted that I was a bastard but I’m all better now, thanks for asking and now I wil give everyone a a good word and a hug and you’ve noticed that I am now a teamplayer? thanks for noticing that but is was nothing really just glad to help …”
I have to say, he could be worse. He could just be totally unrepentant, and reject any form of help without explanation, while claiming in a paranoid manner that “I know what you’re trying to do!”
I’ve dealt with self-absorbed, holier-than-thou types like that before. If you can’t deal with your own emotions at least enough to let yourself be helped, you’ve earned whatever hell you’re living in, and you’re best off hanging yourself, because no one else is gonna waste the effort when they can just shun you.
Whereas, at least Best is sort of trying to express himself instead of bottling it all up like a moron.
Meant to add: The only thing worse than what I just described is someone who attacks people who are suffering more than they are *after* rejecting any kind of help while acting paranoid that someone who is trying to help you is out to emasculate you and further lower your opinion of yourself.
To be fair, a big part of the reason he thinks that way is because he tried to beat the shit out of Byron in the middle of an avalanche just the night before, and he’s also well aware that the entire group pretty much hates him. They were all actively surprised when he risked himself to calm down a half-berserk Byron back when they were going for the Basin of Foresight, so he knows they thought/think of him as a selfish asshole who doesn’t give two shits about other people.
He’s not privy to Byron’s thought process about the gift like we are, and without that insight, the idea that the gift is only being given to him in order to prove a point is… actually WAY more likely than it just being because Byron’s trying to be genuinely thoughtful.
This is why Byron should hug him now. Manly hug. And say, we’ve both grown through our multiple deaths.
It’s never to late to pull ones head out of ones ass.
Just saying.
Eh, a Little …much…to late for that character growth Payet. at that Point now you have to make up for so much asshole behavior that the Comic will be over and done before you can actually archieve it.
But hey. if you want to help, stay with the snow elves, as there “protector” so that when the Group continue its travel we must never see you again in the Comic and can pretend you did good off Panel. please? pretty please?
Uh…he got gifts for everyone dude. He would have also got gifts for the Rebel Champions if they didn’t leave before he could set things up.
…Can we have another character? I think this one’s defective.
Wav was nice, maybe he can rip himself out of Best.
Actually….THAT would be awesome
Just Payet forward.
“Pity me for being such a huge asshole and finally ‘coming to terms with it’ but yet somehow never actually making any sort of attempt to change despite acknowledging the reason behind why everyone hates me.”
That’s all I’m reading from Best right now. :/
MAYBE he could start right now; it’s never too late. And even if the only people he starts not being an asshole to are his other four group members, then fine; they’re the ones that matter the most. Then they might actually remember him when no one else wants to after he dies.
>Byron /plays Arkeera’s tiniest violin. “Check it out! I’m a musical warrior, too!”
ITT: Best shows that he still doesn’t “get it”, and probably never will. He’s making progress though. He understands now that he’s an asshole, and he doesn’t want to be an asshole anymore, but he STILL can’t help making it “all about him”.
It’s both infuriating, and really really sad……because damn, it’s definitely hard to be Byron, but it has got to SUCK to be Best.
I wouldn’t mind Best’s life. All you would have to do for it to not suck is not act like him.
Hey, I think Payet Best and Wav might be the same person!
I want Wav back.
Great moment for Best. Sure, as a character, Best can be an ass, although he wasn’t much worse than Frigg at it. But his deeds always were noble. Even if it was because he craved fame and recognition.
Now, as a player, Byron’s is the worst. Creating the curse and the cultists, ugh.
And I get saddled with Byron’s mug, ironically.
i know you probatly meant your last sentence sarkastic but just in case you are not or someone else really thinks so.
If it were a D&D game it would really be more the fault of Dungeon Master then it would be byrons.
Cause he would use Byrons “Character flaw:Berserker” and spin a whole tragic tale around it for Story plot reasons. so as i see it, neither the curse nor the cult would be his fault. it would be more right to blame fate for it.Byron is just playing the Cards he is dealt with.
And yet, if Byron’s D&D character didn’t list curse and berserker. Maybe the tale would be different. Their award was to be fully written into the story.
“But his deeds always were noble.”
Except for when he threw a bunch of children off the side of an airship as an anchor.
Or when he beat up a guy for saying they shouldn’t hang out anymore.
Or when he smashed a priceless artifact, that could have done his side a lot of good, because he was having a hissy fit.
Or…
This! this guy gets it.
Aaaaaaand Payet Best is now an interesting character again! Please make it last!
Also, hovertext, thank you for that mental image. It is now my headcanon. Frigg did the “honors”.
I do not have the ability to view the hovertext, seeing as how I’m using a touchscreen device. What does the hovertext say?
“No need to be so embarrassed by it, getting pegged is actually pretty vanilla these days.”
Some of these comments are bugging me so I’m going to do some rambling:
Does Best even need to be redeemed? Just what did he do wrong?
He’s a braggart. Both WAV and Best were competent adventures seeing as the are roughly the same character class and played by the same person (IRL). Way back in the sepia world during the interview with the five the
one controlling Best said he had whole bunch of stage personas.
Payet Best is not an Inherently unlikable person. Frigg gets along with him. Both Best and Byron, at times, can do good things and be huge assholes.
The difference between the two of them is Byron is a leader and Best is a loner.
This Axemas is a morale boosting/team building thing. Byron needs the team to work together and right now that includes Best, so if he has to help someone through an identity crisis he’s gonna do that.
Best might be an asshole, but right now he’s their asshole. It’s just as important a body part as any other.
:)
That’s accurate AND deep.
As deep as only the anal-probing aliens can know…
Bravo. I agree 100%.
I agree 100%, he doesn’t NEED to be redeemed, but he seems like he might want to be? He acknowledges that he’s been a jerk, and that Byron’s niceness reminds him of this ALL the time, but otherwise, he’s not really ever *trying* to change despite it seeming like he wants to. So, you’re right: maybe Byron can help him and maybe they can even be friends.
Being another entirely different (and far more selfless) person is probably the jarring constrast that beat this into him sooner: He was a different person, and everybody liked that guy so much more! But more then that, he legitimately FELT different as WAV. Being somebody who needed to feed his own insecurities by being the greatest thing ever and then being somebody who never had anything to prove to himself like that has to have been very sobering. A forced injection of empathy for somebody who always had very low levels. Sure he’s Best again, but he’ll never be quite the same.
A properly functioning asshole spews shit outwards rather than inwards.
Similarly, it is one thing to be a huge jerk and another to unapologetically do things for emotional reasons that seriously harm the group (smashing the basin, trying to strangle Byron during an avalanch that iirc he contributed to causing).
So while he might not need to be redeemed in terms of not being a jerk, he does have to work his way up to ‘self-centered braggart’ from ‘self-centered braggart who almost wipes the party every so often through sheer ego’.
Nicely said! :)
Damn, dude, that’s deep.
SORRY, I HAD NO IDEA YOU WERE THAT SELF AWARE?
Best? Not self-aware?
BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!
Chhhh. You crack me up dude!
…Huh. I didn’t expect Best to have the self-awareness to recognize that he had been a complete asshole to everyone around him. And that he readily admits that Byron is the better man is a huge step for him.
Payet is still the Best asshole, but he’s less full of shit now.
You are right. You REALLY are an asshole.
But who’s the better Elf?
So Byron…..bested him?
I feel bad for Byron. I completely understand trying to do something for someone you completely fail to understand and then have that backfire. Sisters, man.
Where did Best get those buttons? They seem to migrate around his coat…