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

Maybe just flip a coin next time, dude.

Chapter 48 – Page 30

on September 8, 2017
Chapter: Chapter 48
└ Tags: Ardaic, Frigg
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Discussion (74) ¬

  1. biggmac
    biggmac
    September 8, 2017, 1:24 am | # | Reply

    Frigg: “*gasp* It’s old Ardaic, the washed up warrior guy!”

    Ardaic: “Yep. I would have gotten away with it, too, if not for you meddling kids (especially Taro).”

    • Kaela Opalheart
      Kaela Opalheart
      September 8, 2017, 12:28 pm | # | Reply

      ESPECIALLY Taro.

  2. Insufferable Nerd
    Insufferable Nerd
    September 8, 2017, 1:24 am | # | Reply

    Silver’s great, but you can’t beat that gleaming gold standard.

    • Arvo Katsuya
      Arvo Katsuya
      September 8, 2017, 1:54 am | # | Reply

      Wait. We’re missing someone.

      Where’s the Bronzed Narcissist?

      • brasca1
        brasca1
        September 8, 2017, 2:00 am | # | Reply

        Well Best might fit your analogy, but he’s more golden than bronze.

        • Gordon
          Gordon
          September 8, 2017, 2:16 am | # | Reply

          No, he’s shit.

          • CjRayn
            CjRayn
            September 8, 2017, 4:12 am | # | Reply

            Hehehehe.

            He’s time and time again shown himself to be the most competant of them all. It’s only been his ego that got in the way, and now that he’s let go of that he’s gonna be awesome.

            • noerartnoe
              noerartnoe
              September 8, 2017, 8:31 pm | # | Reply

              No, no. He’s not being rude (and even if he is, he’s right in an unintended way). Best is shit. A Shit Elf, that is. It’s been established (I forget when, it’s in the comic somewhere.)

              • TachyonCode
                TachyonCode
                September 9, 2017, 6:52 am | # | Reply

                Way back when he was first introduced, as I recall. Right after a brief narrative monologue about Elves. Or somewhere along those lines, if I am not mistaken.

      • Fenlander
        Fenlander
        September 8, 2017, 3:06 am | # | Reply

        They are still in the armoury admiring themselves in a polished bronze mirror.

    • Nathanyel
      Nathanyel
      September 8, 2017, 7:17 am | # | Reply

      However, contrary to popular belief, Gold is the very antithesis of Silence.

      • MidnightDStroyer
        MidnightDStroyer
        September 9, 2017, 2:13 am | # | Reply

        You got that backwards…Silence IS Golden, not the antithesis of it.
        ;)

        • tejon
          tejon
          September 9, 2017, 8:55 am | # | Reply

          con•tra•ry adj. opposite in nature, direction, or meaning.

          • MidnightDStroyer
            MidnightDStroyer
            September 14, 2017, 9:34 am | # | Reply

            The way he put it, the word “antithesis” is used in conjunction between gold & silence. “Contrary” was used in conjunction with “popular belief.” My statement still stands in truth.
            ;)

    • Ishmael
      Ishmael
      September 8, 2017, 12:36 pm | # | Reply

      Ah, but gold is just an ugly yellow rock in the face of platinum’s purity.

    • Bromic
      Bromic
      September 8, 2017, 8:51 pm | # | Reply

      William Jennings Bryan would beg to differ!

    • MidnightDStroyer
      MidnightDStroyer
      September 9, 2017, 2:12 am | # | Reply

      Ah, just give me a couple of sets of adamantium claws & I’m good…

  3. Rogahar
    Rogahar
    September 8, 2017, 2:07 am | # | Reply

    I sincerely hope this ends with Frigg smacking him one for being a moron before encouraging him (in her usual crude way) to join them and put an end to Taro’s madness.

    • eldestdawn
      eldestdawn
      September 8, 2017, 10:32 pm | # | Reply

      Where’s the upvote button?

  4. SteelRaven
    SteelRaven
    September 8, 2017, 2:12 am | # | Reply

    It’s funny how blind faith can leave you… well, blind.

    • Chris
      Chris
      September 8, 2017, 8:43 am | # | Reply

      Just don’t stare too long, or you can get tunnel vision!

      • Kaela Opalheart
        Kaela Opalheart
        September 8, 2017, 12:30 pm | # | Reply

        Tunnel blindness?

  5. Pink Freud
    Pink Freud
    September 8, 2017, 2:17 am | # | Reply

    That thing on Frigg’s chest, for generations henceforth and onward, shall be my family crest.

    • ledaeth
      ledaeth
      September 8, 2017, 3:05 am | # | Reply

      Boobs? Good choice!

      • Nightsbridge
        Nightsbridge
        September 8, 2017, 11:44 am | # | Reply

        Classy.

    • The Gorram Batguy
      The Gorram Batguy
      September 9, 2017, 4:34 pm | # | Reply

      What were they called again? The Holy Order of the Flipping Bird?

  6. random whatever
    random whatever
    September 8, 2017, 2:24 am | # | Reply

    Look Ardiac is the only one (probably) that knows that Taro pizzined his old man. I was supprised he was loal this long. I expect that the Centurion and the Frigg are gonna doubleteam the all destroying Cyclops. I just hope that our favorite berzerker can avoid swllowing one of them Spitfire truck faces this time around.

    • Nathanyel
      Nathanyel
      September 8, 2017, 7:26 am | # | Reply

      Byron walks over to the Spitfire truck, bends down to pick it up and examines the face of it.
      Byron: The weight of such a burden… … It must be mine, for there is no other to–
      Ardaic: Byron! You hold a grim destiny in your hands, brother … but it is not your own.
      Byron: Ardaic… By all that is holy…
      Ardaic: The machine’s flame… sealed my fate… The world of the living can no longer comfort me.
      Place the demon in my mouth, Byron. Forevermore – I will be the jailor of the damned.
      Byron: NO, old friend… I cannot…
      Ardaic: DO IT BYRON! You and these brave heroes have your own destinies to fulfill. This last act of service… is mine.

      • Insufferable Nerd
        Insufferable Nerd
        September 8, 2017, 8:14 am | # | Reply

        Until a few expansions later, anyway, when he comes back to help reforge his amulet for the final war against HR’s cultists. Super pandering on Hurricane’s part, there.

        • Nathanyel
          Nathanyel
          September 8, 2017, 10:26 am | # | Reply

          And you wonder whether he’s controlled by the Spitfire truck… but you don’t care, because you are empty… like him.

      • JSStryker
        JSStryker
        September 8, 2017, 12:59 pm | # | Reply

        Nice rework of Tirion and Bolvar’s talk atop Icecrown Citadel after Arthas was killed.

  7. MechaBill
    MechaBill
    September 8, 2017, 3:14 am | # | Reply

    I thought there would be more of a transformation from Silver Centurion to Ardaic, but nope. He just takes off his helmet and his eyes turn from blue to brown.

    • Mujaki
      Mujaki
      September 8, 2017, 4:06 am | # | Reply

      Lenses built into the helm?
      Silver Centurion’s secret “Silver Sight” sees the safety of his city’s citizens sabotaged. Still he stood spitefully silent, surmising to strike the snakes that stand against him. But as the Savage Sister’s salty speeches sizzled, her single-minded strength showed a sobering sign that the Silver Centurion’s service wasn’t suitable for the city’s scandalous, sophomoric sovereign. Swallowing his substantial pride, the Silver Centurion signals a cessation of this superfluous struggle.

      • Jean-Luc
        Jean-Luc
        September 8, 2017, 5:05 am | # | Reply

        The Silver Centurion suit was designed by J.J.Abrams.

        • Gordon
          Gordon
          September 8, 2017, 9:36 am | # | Reply

          That can’t be right.

          Unless I missed an update consisting entirely of lensflare.

          • Nathanyel
            Nathanyel
            September 8, 2017, 10:27 am | # | Reply

            Oh, there are a lot of lensflares… inside the helm.

      • Insufferable Nerd
        Insufferable Nerd
        September 8, 2017, 8:17 am | # | Reply

        Simply spectacular soliloquy, sir. I salute you.

  8. John Haslach
    John Haslach
    September 8, 2017, 7:43 am | # | Reply

    Ardaic… You are an idiot. Seriously, I would have thought that seeing Taro kill his own family would have been the red flag that your government is screwed up.

    • KarmaTheAlligator
      KarmaTheAlligator
      September 8, 2017, 4:42 pm | # | Reply

      Honestly, I would have thought the red flag would have been raised even before that.

      • Nyzer
        Nyzer
        September 8, 2017, 5:37 pm | # | Reply

        Depends what he’s thinking.

        Turning public opinion against the guild is relatively minor in the grand scheme of things, especially when it was apparently a push towards getting more people into military service (doubly especially since Ardaic is, of course, biased towards them). Note that the Heads did NOT sabotage the guild (as far as he’s aware), they just waited for the guild’s first big failure.

        He may not know anything about the assassin that went after Syr.

        He definitely doesn’t know about the deal with the cultists.

        Taro killing his own father is a sign that Taro is screwed up, and in urgent need of removal; however, Taro pointed out that Ardaic trying to move against him at that juncture would backfire no matter how it played out. He also pointed out that the country was still at war with the “Savages” – not a good time to be committing regicide. He probably thought the Heads could work with Taro for the time being, and focus on ousting him after the end of the war.

        Oh, there were definitely red flags, and I know he noted them. The question is whether he believes those issues are fixable, or even just tolerable. Especially when there’s no clear alternate path, besides joining the “Savages” – which, by the way, he has every reason to believe WILL commit genocide. Does he know there’s a new Warchief? Does he know of the new Warchief’s willingness to live and let live if the humans will just fuck off already? Does he know the dwarves ALSO went through a leadership change? Does he suspect the wood elves have gone back to hating humans? Some of these questions got a partial answer when he saw humans amongst their ranks, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone will be showing mercy to the Gastonian soldiers and civilians.

        He got so caught up with the threat of the war that he forgot the most important part of being a soldier – to protect people. Frigg had to risk her life playing baseball with a maginuke before he realized that. Bonus points, it also proved to him that she’s still the same person she was before – willing to step up to the plate to try to protect people. As opposed to a vengeance-driven killer.

    • Walcuray
      Walcuray
      September 9, 2017, 11:25 am | # | Reply

      -tips fedora-

    • brasca1
      brasca1
      September 9, 2017, 5:30 pm | # | Reply

      Ardaic chose the greater good over honor for many reasons. Gastonia is at war and removing Taro from the throne could create the kind of chaos that would deliver victory into the hands of their enemies and that’s if removal was possible. Taro has enough allies that quite possibly Ardaic would suffer the fate of another who tried to do the honorable thing in removing a boy king who ascended the throne due to treachery, King Joffrey. How did that work out for Eddard Stark? Ardaic is ultimately a good man in the service of a bad cause.

  9. DeePseudonym
    DeePseudonym
    September 8, 2017, 9:14 am | # | Reply

    Oh shit, he found Frigg’s one weakness.
    Genuine regret, and calmly accepting that someone else is right. She can’t stay holy-mad at THAT…..

    • Mujaki
      Mujaki
      September 8, 2017, 1:07 pm | # | Reply

      He took a tip from Lego Joker.
      “You can’t fight me, I’ve surrendered!”

    • Lirazel
      Lirazel
      September 8, 2017, 10:25 pm | # | Reply

      Sure she can! Look at the sour look on her face. She’s about to tell him to stfu. With ornamental details.

      • Sergei
        Sergei
        September 9, 2017, 1:18 am | # | Reply

        Omg she looks so bored and annoyed with the dramatic monologue. “Oh noes, my only weakness: death by old age!”

        • MidnightDStroyer
          MidnightDStroyer
          September 9, 2017, 2:18 am | # | Reply

          And then Frigg has that moment of clarity when she realizes that Ardiac won’t keep her from going to a tavern…

  10. Pit Friend
    Pit Friend
    September 8, 2017, 9:52 am | # | Reply

    Just remember, you could have twisted Taro’s head off and rolled it down the street like a bowling ball when he murdered his whole family but instead you stood by. Not only that but you helped the little monster consolidate power. Did you think he was going to change from a selfish, power mad freak once he got the power?

    Sorry Ardiac, you get to reap what you sow.

    • underappreciatednecromancer
      underappreciatednecromancer
      September 9, 2017, 3:41 pm | # | Reply

      Replace “Taro” with “Trump.”
      It still works.

  11. Narratorway
    Narratorway
    September 8, 2017, 12:36 pm | # | Reply

    “Also, I’m…old. I’m fucking old, man! I just…damn! My back is fucking MURDERING right now and you kids! You can just fucking play whack-a-mole with cosmic cannon fire all day can’t ya? Not me! Fuck that shit! I took a desk job for a REASON!

    *sigh*

    I swear man…goddamn kids these days…whew!”

    • MidnightDStroyer
      MidnightDStroyer
      September 9, 2017, 2:22 am | # | Reply

      As the comedian Gallagher would put it: “That’s a trick that God played on everybody. He gives you your youth to learn how to do all sorts of fancy shit. Then you get old & you try it again, just to stumble away saying, ‘Damn. I can’t do that shit no more.'”

      • underappreciatednecromancer
        underappreciatednecromancer
        September 9, 2017, 3:41 pm | # | Reply

        Wait, you’re quoting Gallagher? I didn’t think anyone was still a fan of his after he dived into the self-worshiping bigotsphere years ago.

        • MidnightDStroyer
          MidnightDStroyer
          September 14, 2017, 9:40 am | # | Reply

          That came from some of his earlier work. Haven’t been following his doings for, oh about 15 or 20 years, maybe?

  12. LookieLouE1707
    LookieLouE1707
    September 8, 2017, 3:58 pm | # | Reply

    Wait, we still haven’t gotten past the whole “the savages are going to slaughter everyone inside the city walls” thing yet, have we? I mean, he has no way of knowing that the adventurers’ restraint extends to armies of other races they don’t control, which have plenty of reason to pursue revenge. Heck, even Penk doesn’t really know his armies will restrain themselves in the heat of passion. This is the kind of revelation you implement before battle, not during it.

    • Schneidend
      Schneidend
      September 8, 2017, 6:54 pm | # | Reply

      Penk has more than established that he can and will kill people who aren’t in keeping with the Rebellion’s new direction.

  13. Psolo Ghoti
    Psolo Ghoti
    September 8, 2017, 6:07 pm | # | Reply

    About friggin’ time, Ardaic!

  14. Schneidend
    Schneidend
    September 8, 2017, 6:55 pm | # | Reply

    Yes! I was right!
    Finally, Ardaic. First sensible thing you’ve down in a bunch of chapters.

  15. underappreciatednecromancer
    underappreciatednecromancer
    September 8, 2017, 9:37 pm | # | Reply

    He sounds like somebody who voted for Trump coming to his senses after seeing the madman he put in power.

    • MidnightDStroyer
      MidnightDStroyer
      September 9, 2017, 2:25 am | # | Reply

      Jeez, why you got to bring in all of that binary-political dividing stuff in here? You’re ruining a good story narrative.

      • Tsapki
        Tsapki
        September 9, 2017, 6:28 am | # | Reply

        Pretty sure the political tones have always been there. Much like Star Trek, the allegory was always there, some people just like to pretend it isn’t.

      • underappreciatednecromancer
        underappreciatednecromancer
        September 9, 2017, 3:39 pm | # | Reply

        Remind me again what’s between Nazis and not-Nazis? Even Godwin says they’re Nazis.
        Middle Ground Fallacy, bro.

  16. BW
    BW
    September 8, 2017, 11:07 pm | # | Reply

    Frigg = Level 9000 Pally

  17. minando
    minando
    September 9, 2017, 3:59 am | # | Reply

    I dunno.. Frigg’s coat of arms seems pretty civilized to me. I mean, you see it EVERYWHERE in our centers of civilisation.

  18. belatedEpiphany
    belatedEpiphany
    September 9, 2017, 10:49 pm | # | Reply

    Dont just yield, Ardaic, go clean up your mess!

  19. Jordan
    Jordan
    September 10, 2017, 3:01 am | # | Reply

    Ardaic reminds me of Harky. Both are/were basically good people at heart and served as their civilization’s respective champion, but lacked the ability to adapt and change. Hopefully Ardaic can pull it together and work with Frigg and the rest of them.

  20. Eric
    Eric
    September 11, 2017, 4:11 pm | # | Reply

    Kudos to those who called his surrender because of Frigg doing what he should have done.

    Love her expression in the last panel – “There is a war going on, you know that right? Are you going to talk all day?”

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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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