Annotated 50-12
Penk lists the others’ names in order of seniority–which here means how long they’ve been representing their people, whether they did it on the War Council, were Heads of Houses, or made their “debuts” here. Gondolessa was allied with Harky first, followed by Gobligno; then Reynolds and then Syr’Nj joined the Heads of Houses; next, Gravedust and Groff succeeded their predecessors on the council. After the war finished, Byron was appointed governor of humans for reasons we’ll get into; and finally, the sky elves (and shit elves) realized Clair was the only choice to lead them through this phase.
We almost went with “Governor Byron” on the theory that Byron’s punnish last name might be too distracting. I don’t know what I was worried about.
From Heads of Houses to race-leaders. With the exception of Syr’Nj, everyone here is not only representing but also commanding their own faction, and Syr’Nj is next in line, so close enough.
Penk’s last line is partly inspired by the first thing Big Boss Harky ever said to him. “Help me greet another day…” is a strange hello, an odd mix of command and humility. It’s an imperative, yet a statement that the Big Boss would welcome help, whereas some authorities on high would disdain such help.
FB: Sir Groff’s thinking, “Oh, Gods, why didn’t he list his own name with everybody else’s?? I want to say it’s Big Boss Pink or Big Boss Punk, but BOTH OF THOSE SOUND WRONG!”
For some reason ‘Elder’s Eldest’ is giving me the giggles. It’s a heck of a title.
Sir Groff is giving off the vibes of someone who is wondering if he’s in the right room….
Oh, he is definitely wondering that. Surrounded by great leaders he long deferred to, an archmage, and people who literally came back from the dead has to be a little intimidating.
Now that she has responsibility, Clair’s mouth is finally in the right part of her face.
I didn’t recognize her!
Where was it before?
“With the exception of Syr’Nj, everyone here is not only representing but also commanding their own faction.”
I got that Byron was representing human interests on the council, but it’s only now that I realize he is actually leading the humans.
Somehow it is a bit difficult for me to imagine Byron commanding an entire people, even though he made an exceptional field leader and guildmaster.
Also, this moment of Penk addressing Byron as “Governor Hackenslasher” is one of my favourites of the comic. I’m happy you kept it!
The difference between Harky and Penk shows up in “we get to live and breathe” vs. “we get to chart tomorrow.”
Governor Hackenslasher is not more distracting than Governor Schwarzenegger.
Kur’Ik isn’t taqgged.
Fixed!
I can’t help but wonder how would this play out in the long run, though, bearing in mind that some of those leaders are from longer living species than other. Clair and Syr’Nj (and perhaps Gravedust) are going to be in their positions for a very long time. They can tentatively work alongside several generations of leaders from other races. I think that would rub some of the shorter living guys the wrong way…
This looks like an oligarchic system where the representatives would probably be voted upon over the years, so it is likely that as situations evolve the peoples’ needs will change and so too shall the seats.
People don’t get to vote on oligarchs, until they bring out the pitchforks.
Having some long-lived and rather stoic people is probably a good idea when there’s a Don Goblino in the mix.
I mean, goblins are gonna gobble, gotta be someone to counter their most egregious transgressions, while letting them get away with enough to keep them at the table.
Big Boss PinkPunk has a ring to it though.
I take it the FB blurb is a joke, and to me it looked like Groffy was feeling selfconscious about being mentioned in the same breath as all these other people.
Yeah, the FB blurbs are definitely non-canon. I joke, but there’s no way that anyone who fought in the World’s Rebellion does not know Penk’s name by heart.
Just notice that Penk seems to be the only one here who hasn’t changed out of their battle gear since the war. Wonder if that means anything, or if that’s just the traditional way to dress for Trolls.
Also, Byron does strike me as an odd choice. Mind you, I don’t know any better suited human off the top of my head (mainly because most of the other human characters we know used to play pretty unhealthy roles in Gastonian politics before), but Byron never struck me as the type of person who would do particularly well in this kind of role. Leading the adventurers’ guild, sure, but certainly not dealing with boring old regular politics.
Yeah I think he’ll kind of stumble through, helped a lot by Syr’Nj and his hero status, until someone better comes along. But what Penk will say about his value to the transition is valid.