Jeez, Bandit, way to grind that axe forever. You KNOW his final berserking period was actively triggered by the cultists – that he was fine with Syr’s suppression serum otherwise – and you’re still pissed that he lives?
The cultists introduced the berserker demons. They overpowered Byron’s suppressant. … And they’re all exterminated or surrendered now.
Stop blaming him for their actions. And don’t try to play moral calculus when you couldn’t be bothered to assassinate the pint-sized tyrant BEFORE (or even after) he literally ran over his own subjects in a magic super tank.
In jail while talking to E-merl she blamed herself because she was in charge. Also while trying to find Byron she claimed fault. She does likely blame Byron to a degree since she seems to hate him a lot right now, but she does also blame herself.
One last time: Syr still has a major amends to make with Bandit. She mistreated and jailed Bandit over the “killing” (he was already dead, just a zombie ‘zerker) of Byron at the slaughter in the village. Bandit has a right to be afraid of Byron, more than anyone. And do we know yet in this epilogue if Byron still has some berserker in him still? Does he still have to take Syr’s potions to keep it in check? I’m saddened to see that the other guildies (well, apparently only Frigg) seem to demand that Bandit accept the fact that Byron’s back as part of the team. Bandit sacrificed her life repeatedly for her teammates, and now it seems is somewhat disabled!
If Bandit holds a grudge over Gravedust for resurrecting Byron then I seriously doubt there will ever be any reconciliation with Syr’ng. And it really doesn’t matter. Dean Reynolds is the leader of the gnomes and has a good working relationship with Syr’ng and she’s pragmatic enough to shrug off any pardon he grants. And Bandit’s record is clear so she can find a legitimate line of work now.
(If you’d said at any point prior to Bandit actually killing Byron, “I hope one day Bandit kills Byron and is universally recognized as in the right for it,” I could have told you right then that you should get used to disappointment. That you’re apparently expecting that perspective to be upheld right after two strips about how everyone loves Byron is even more incomprehensible.)
But she didn’t kill him. He was already technically dead, and possessed by the undead berserker demon(s). What she did is like staking your friend who’s become a vampire; he’s not your friend anymore. You do the memory of your friend a favor by staking him! And then when he was resurrected (a 2nd time), it was with the traces of berserker still in him. Thus my query about if he still has that, and still needs Syr’s medicine. To fault Bandit for being wary of Byron – who killed her once, and nearly did again later – is being rather harsh, I think. At the very least, Byron and Syr owe her an attempt at amends. Whether she is ready to accept it is another matter; but the ball is in their court.
Gravy seems to fault Syr in his narration about her “turning a blind eye” to this situation.
I’m honestly not sure why Syr is so mad at Bandit either. Even if Bandit could be said to have killed Byron, it’s not like she had much choice in the matter. Although equally, Bandit does know that Byron isn’t Byron when zerked, so I don’t get why she so unforgiving either, I would understand cautious and even just deciding he’s not worth the safety risk to be around and never speaking to him again, but being mad at Gravy for bringing him back is a bit odd to me.
Bandit stabbed Byron repeatedly while screaming at him DIE DIE DIE. Then when pried off him, she expressed loud dismay at the prospect of him being salvageable. Syr’nj said Byron was dead and she’d killed him, and she replied, “Good.” Twice. In this very strip, she’s overtly enraged that he’s alive again, which you’re calling merely “wary.”
So no…Gravedust’s comment that Syr’nj is not forgiving Bandit and Bandit still wants Byron dead (!) does not “seem to fault Syr” so much as express regret that three people he considers family will never be reconciled; Syr’nj–much less Byron–don’t owe Bandit anything; and, again, you can keep wanting Syr’nj (and apparently Byron, who you fault for breathing?) to accept that they’re as in the wrong as you believe they are, but considering I’m pretty sure this strip closes the curtains on Bandit’s relationship with both Syr’nj and Byron, you should get used to disappointment.
I think you misread this as well though. Byron does indeed owe bandit a lot, just not as much as she thinks (as she apparently thinks he owes her “a not coming back to life”) Syr does owe as well. My read is that Gravy just laments that neither side will make any attempt to heal the rift. Though I’m a bit surprised Byron hasn’t tried. He seemed the most congenial and reasonable of the three in this situation. It likely wouldn’t work since again Bandit is currently mad that he’s alive. I understood her rage at him during their battle but not her apparent continued rage.
Also I’m not sure why you think biggmac is faulting Byron for breathing? He didn’t say anything like that.
IMO, if you re-read the strips where Bandit did her “staking”, it wasn’t just the repeated stabbing that shows her mood. She outright implies that Byron should never have been resurrected, that his entire existence is a crime that needs to be amended. What happened in the cultist trap was less “staking a friend turned vampire” and more like “staking the asshole that you got you into a totally avoidable death trope”.
Also, Syr’ng has reason enough to hate on Bandit, if only for how she presented Byron’s death the second time. Murderers can be forgiven (rarely, to understate, but yes, on account of lack of intention or empathetic circumstances, and with time), but you would hardly forgive anyone clamoring, and keeping on clamoring that your loved deserves not to live and that their death is a blessing. It just insults their living, in a nutshell.
The only thing Byron is doing that Bandit objects to, is breathing. He didn’t even tell her “I wish you hadn’t killed me,” possibly because he was dead at the time.
Why do you think he owes her something? You say that he does but not why. He was captured by cultists who had specific knowledge of how to weaponize his illness from H.R. (effectively using a cheat code); if you think he’s at fault for not anticipating that, then it looks from where I’m sitting like you’re saying, as Syr’nj did way back after Bandit had killed Byron, that Bandit secretly always blamed him for his illness and that she was right to do so–which I would consider a horrifying position.
Bandit hates Byron for a lot of reasons, but the berserking never struck me as more than an excuse. The only thing Syrn’j owes her is a psychiatric evaluation and a medical explanation of how berserker demons work. Bandit blames Byron for carrying them, but he isn’t and has never been a unique case.
Here’s a thought though. I don’t recall ever seeing an explanation for why Bandit is alive after the fight with Harky. Just a story that Syr’nj didn’t believe. Did they resolve that?
Actually I had forgotten about that. They never really explained in the world how Bandit came back. That is indeed something I would like to see resolved. Obviously in game it would just be standard Mmorpg graveyard run, but if that’s happened a lot people would notice so something special must have happened for this case.
It didn’t seem sufficient because no one knew how exactly the Fireseye worked. We saw Harky restored to life because Tectonicus willed it, and Harky later said the Fireseye had “already done its work” on his body. We’ve also seen how it instantly transformed Penk.
It’s one part raw Tectonicus, one part troll regeneration, one part the influence of MMO corpse runs.
How is Bandit alive? Bandit, in the fight with Harky, had his blood on her wounds. Troll blood regenerates and keeps them alive. She was carried out with the rest of her dead “friends”playing possum and when the chance came;she booked it.
As a general rule, if one does something bad, even if one has no choice or one is not really in control, one at the very least owes those that action affected an apology/ explanation at the very least. Byron does owe her that, like it or not. Now she owes him the same and like you, I don’t get her being mad that he’s alive, but I also don’t really get Syr’s anger at Bandit. Bandit didn’t really have a choice either, Syr’s potion didn’t work on him. Bandit does owe her at least an apology as well since regardless of reasons she did kill Byron. Syr didn’t owe Bandit anything until she shot Bandit and tried to get her dishonorably discharged despite knowing what she knows about the situation.
Now they’ve all pissed in each others cornflakes and Gravy is sad that neither side wants to stop.
I appreciate that you’re not just taking the position that Bandit is right and Syr’nj is wrong like biggmac, but you seem to be perceiving a lot more ignorance among both the audience and the characters than I am.
I do not believe Bandit wants an explanation or considers that there is anything to explain.
I do not believe more of an explanation to the audience than Bandit already provided for her anger at Byron being alive again is necessary or warranted. She wants him dead. She spelled out that she thinks he should be dead. When someone shows an attitude entirely consistent with their stated beliefs I don’t see the logic in trying to figure out what their strange and mysterious reason for that attitude is.
Bandit had a choice. She could have said, “Sorry, but I had to kill him,” or if that’s too conciliatory for you, “Look at this place, you think I had a choice but to kill him?” Something other than “Good.” She could have argued, as biggmac did, that he was already effectively dead. She could, even now, not respond with fist-waving rage to him being alive again.
I actually would like more explanation of of her apparent hatred of Byron, as it’s not consistent with her actions and behavior before or since and it’s directed solely at Byron. She was upset about being killed the first time, but buy the the time of the big berserking incident she seemed fine with him, even initially tried to save him in the fight. Her blaming him during the fight and the “good” good comment were odd, but alone easily written off as her own rage at the whole situation. Especially when taken with her talk with E-merl later. Her “fist-waving rage” is indeed odd for someone who’s been otherwise sensible and even forgiving.
I’m struck by just how differently each person who has an opinion on the whole mess has read it. I see significant variation in each person’s account of what each character knew, said, and even did. It’s a polarizing thing, I suppose.
To be fair Biggmac we actually don’t know that Frig or anyone is demanding that Bandit accept that Byron’s back. We just seem them shouting. it’s implied that Bandit is shouting at Gravy, Frig just just as easily be shouting at bandit for that reason alone.
This page and the song-battle page implies that Bandit was still provoking Syr for daring to try to cure Byron instead of… I don’t know, mercy killing him? Yeah, jailing her for what she said when she was at a very emotional moment is one thing, but we’ve seen more than enough proof to know that even after Bandit calmed down she didn’t change her stance, which doesn’t help her prove her innocence when she’s being held on suspicion of murdering her comrade. The readers know she didn’t, but Syr only saw evidence that supported the conclusion that she did.
And as I’m sure it’s been said – Bandit’s even more at fault there. She knew as much as Byron and Syr’nj did, and she could have very easily argued that Byron needed to stay away. She had enough authority to probably make it happen. She let Byron go out into a potential trap just as much as Syr’nj did, so if she was even more worried about the berserker curse then it’s crazy to think that those who were confident in its suppression should have done more than she did.
Between the two, Bandit’s the most unreasonable. Syr’nj has every right to be suspicious of someone who declared her husband’s death to be “good” while repeatedly bringing up previously unvoiced concerns over and over again as though they were a sure thing from the start, even though she made every appearance of otherwise accepting Byron. Bandit is… what, mad that Syr’nj would be very upset with the person who killed her husband and spat in her face about it?
My selfish wish would have been to see more of this meeting, or at least as it exists, just with dialogue. Bandit’d been part of the comic since the first page, I sincerely hope we get a better scene with her before the end.
I do wonder what happened to him. He dehumanized the World’s Rebellion races more thoroughly than anyone else in the entire comic; it’s hard to see him just accepting the new order. It seems equally unlikely, however, that the sky elves kept him when they flew away, or that he tried to single-handedly fight the Peacekeepers, or that Syr’nj ordered him executed without him doing so.
When did Brag dehumanize the Rebellion. No saying he didn’t, but I don’t remember him doing it, much less more than Sundarr. –Wait did he eat them at some point? I seem to recall him eating almost everything. So that might be what you mean. In which case, after his berserking, I actually think he would just accept it. From the last time we saw him he was to wracked with guilt from eating poor rabbit while berserk, that I doubt he’d give the new order much thought at all.
I don’t think one off hand line is more than Sundarr’s willingness to let them destroyed by the soul destroying corrupter beast. Or really more than anything any of the other adventurers said or did. At any rate Braggidacio, if free and not berserk and no longer wracked with guilt from his berserking, would very likely go along with the new order simply because Byron was a part of it.
And if “let them all be destroyed” was an unchallenged throwaway line of Sundar’s, I wouldn’t have said Braggadocio was uncontested in dehumanizing the World’s Rebellion. But as it was, Sundar found out and perforce accepted, at least grudgingly, that the leaders of his guild were all “savage lovers.”
Braggadocio has never had to deal with the idea that the World’s Rebellion is made up of people, even implicitly. Never conversed with anyone who showed any sign of thinking that there could possibly be a problem with treating the World’s Rebellion like wild boars: dangerous but potentially tasty animals.
Sorry, but one throw away line is not enough to condemn him so. One joke is not enough to assume that he had even considered eating them. Let alone only consider them food and be unable to accept them as anything but enemies. Braggadacio’s personality was one that would happily follow along with the people he trusted, like Byron or Sundar so if both of them told him that the new way was a good idea, it’s easy to imagine him going along with it after some debate and perhaps a bar fight. There’s very little reason to assume anything else.
…Okay, you seem to have an investment in Braggadocio that I don’t really understand.
We’re not in a court of law (and he’s not even a real person). Unless you have some actual evidence of him viewing the World’s Rebellion as people, I’m not going to agree to refrain from pointing out that he dehumanized them completely. Is this a belief that being cheerful and friendly (to one’s friends) is incompatible with being racist? That belief will get you far in real life, but not to anywhere good.
You seem to to have some investment in him being a monster which i don’t understand. That’s fine, I guess, and his throw away line is certainly dehumanizing, but you really are reading a lot more into it than I. It really really isn’t enough to even assume the end you envision for him.
Also on a reread I’m not sure what you’re talking about with the “court of law” stuff. No one is asking you to refrain from anything. At any rate, you’re moving goal posts here. The original discussion point was whether or not Braggadacio could accept the new order. I believe he could be reasoned with, I never said he wasnt racist in the past, just that his off color joke is not as character defining as you seem to read.
Not quite, he was sky jail because he was dangerous and no one knew if the berserk could be cured or not. He just happened to agree, so would likely turn down release, but I don’t think it was ever offered. He does view his life as over.
Well, what else could we expect? Penk is a born-Troll & after Tectonicus put vestment on him, he became a Master Troll. It really was nothing more than a matter of time before T would point that out, wasn’t it?
;)
Races should be forced to mix so that new bonds can be made. Except the gnomes. No one wants to mix with those little weirdoes, they can have their own town.
The visit that Gravy is remembering and writing about was shortly after the end of the war, so Bandit was probably just still recovering from her gunshot wound. We don’t know if Bandit has a permanent disability, yet.
I don’t know if we shall ever meet face-to-face at some errant con or other emporium, however I want it to be known that should fate ever bring us together…words will be spoken sir.
So for score keeping, is Tobias the only KS character to appear in the comic and make all the way through? Or are their others that just didn’t appear as much. I am assuming the KS cultist guy is dead even if it wasn’t on screen unless shown otherwise because cultist and really it’s what he would have wanted.
It seems to me that there are still KS characters that never appeared at all. Unless they just weren’t tagged and put in the background somewhere and I missed them.
But I suppose there is still enough time to squeeze in Reverend Bink, Avidro, Beckitt, Darke Ivy, Gungier, and Rendermaw with this flash back format.
I don’t think all of them were intended to be in the comic, but it does seem like only the ones that all first appeared on the same page together survived,
Bandit. I love you. You’re a hero. But please. Let it rest. I was expecting E-Merl to be pissy when he found out Byron had been resurrected (again!) while Rachel couldn’t be. But he wasn’t. Neither should you be.
To be fair, E-meet was pretty upset that Rachel couldn’t be resurrected, but I think he eventually accepted that it was due to the nature of her death, that both her body and soul we’re beyond recovery.
Bandit is convinced that there is no way to completely contain the berserker thing. Last time Syr said it was under control, as far as Bandit knows it failed and got an entire village and god knows how many adventurers killed.
Basically, Bandit is not seeing Byron as a person, but as a walking timebomb. And she’s still angry that everyone seems to consider Byron’s life more important than those of the people he will, in her mind, inevitably end up murdering when (not if, *when*) he zerks out again.
I actually had to live with this resurrection angst in an roleplay game before. In the end it didn’t really matter if ‘Byron’ was at fault, he was constantly given pass after pass while my in character friends died or worse. I find it hard to blame Bandit here. You can come to resent those that get such passes when it seems all you manage to do is sacrifice more for less.
I think both parties (Syr and Bandit) have too much pride and are being immature about reconciling.
Bandit played a pretty big role in disarming Taro’s tank, so I do feel she is owed thanks for that. I suppose, though, that Syr doesn’t necessarily need to be the one to thank her. As long as someone does, and I bet Reynolds does. But it would be a nice lead-in to start maybe… talking to each other again? Hm?
And I can still see why Syr is mad, too. Why wouldn’t she be. Even if I think Bandit was justified in stopping the dude who was killing an entire village, (Byron) she was definitely in the wrong to tell Syr “Good!” when told she killed Syr’s husband. I can almost even see THAT being justified, too. Byron DID kill Bandit! That’s gonna leave a lotta trauma, and then he was zerking out and killing everyone again! The only bad part about her saying “Good!” to killing Byron, was that she said it to his widow; his widow who was her FRIEND. With that one word, she basically told Syr she didn’t care her husband was dead, thought it was even a good thing he was dead, and coming from a friend, that probably hurt Syr the most. I guess I understand why Syr wouldn’t even want an apology, actually, if Bandit would even give one. :(
It’s just as likely that Bandit is shouting at Gravedust for resurrecting Bryon for a second time while Rachael and many others aren’t coming back. That’s a lot of weight for anybody to carry, and she’s already on a stick.
I would have really enjoyed Scipio being used to tell us about any spiritual connection at all between the players who weren’t hooked into tubes and their avatars. I felt like they ought to have been connected in some way, and Scipio’s player isn’t rooted down by her body any more.
This trip to Gnometown was in the days shortly after the end of the war. “… during our revels…” Bandit’s wounds (physical and emotional) are still fairly fresh.
Hopefully, with time, she’ll chill out, and there’ll be a chance for reconciliation.
You’d think she’d have gotten a name change if she were allowed to walk the streets with pride. “Hero Keynes” or something.
Not gonna do much banditry when you need a stick and a helping hand to stay standing.
Something tells me that’s a challenge, not a total impediment.
“Martyr Keynes” has a nice, conciliatory ring to it.
“Pundit Keynes” seems appropriate.
Jeez, Bandit, way to grind that axe forever. You KNOW his final berserking period was actively triggered by the cultists – that he was fine with Syr’s suppression serum otherwise – and you’re still pissed that he lives?
The cultists introduced the berserker demons. They overpowered Byron’s suppressant. … And they’re all exterminated or surrendered now.
Stop blaming him for their actions. And don’t try to play moral calculus when you couldn’t be bothered to assassinate the pint-sized tyrant BEFORE (or even after) he literally ran over his own subjects in a magic super tank.
Bandit was in charge of the mission that got everyone slaughtered so blaming Byron is the only way she can not blame herself.
If I remember correctly, Byron even questioned her about bringing him along beforehand.
If I recall, she still blames herself anyway.
Shouting “This is all your fault, Byron!” before repeatedly stabbing Zombie Byron still stands out in head.
In jail while talking to E-merl she blamed herself because she was in charge. Also while trying to find Byron she claimed fault. She does likely blame Byron to a degree since she seems to hate him a lot right now, but she does also blame herself.
One last time: Syr still has a major amends to make with Bandit. She mistreated and jailed Bandit over the “killing” (he was already dead, just a zombie ‘zerker) of Byron at the slaughter in the village. Bandit has a right to be afraid of Byron, more than anyone. And do we know yet in this epilogue if Byron still has some berserker in him still? Does he still have to take Syr’s potions to keep it in check? I’m saddened to see that the other guildies (well, apparently only Frigg) seem to demand that Bandit accept the fact that Byron’s back as part of the team. Bandit sacrificed her life repeatedly for her teammates, and now it seems is somewhat disabled!
Deep breath. Okay. End of rant.
Yeah I agree with you. And you didn’t include one sick pun in explaining yourself.
If Bandit holds a grudge over Gravedust for resurrecting Byron then I seriously doubt there will ever be any reconciliation with Syr’ng. And it really doesn’t matter. Dean Reynolds is the leader of the gnomes and has a good working relationship with Syr’ng and she’s pragmatic enough to shrug off any pardon he grants. And Bandit’s record is clear so she can find a legitimate line of work now.
Get used to disappointment.
(If you’d said at any point prior to Bandit actually killing Byron, “I hope one day Bandit kills Byron and is universally recognized as in the right for it,” I could have told you right then that you should get used to disappointment. That you’re apparently expecting that perspective to be upheld right after two strips about how everyone loves Byron is even more incomprehensible.)
But she didn’t kill him. He was already technically dead, and possessed by the undead berserker demon(s). What she did is like staking your friend who’s become a vampire; he’s not your friend anymore. You do the memory of your friend a favor by staking him! And then when he was resurrected (a 2nd time), it was with the traces of berserker still in him. Thus my query about if he still has that, and still needs Syr’s medicine. To fault Bandit for being wary of Byron – who killed her once, and nearly did again later – is being rather harsh, I think. At the very least, Byron and Syr owe her an attempt at amends. Whether she is ready to accept it is another matter; but the ball is in their court.
Gravy seems to fault Syr in his narration about her “turning a blind eye” to this situation.
I’m honestly not sure why Syr is so mad at Bandit either. Even if Bandit could be said to have killed Byron, it’s not like she had much choice in the matter. Although equally, Bandit does know that Byron isn’t Byron when zerked, so I don’t get why she so unforgiving either, I would understand cautious and even just deciding he’s not worth the safety risk to be around and never speaking to him again, but being mad at Gravy for bringing him back is a bit odd to me.
Bandit stabbed Byron repeatedly while screaming at him DIE DIE DIE. Then when pried off him, she expressed loud dismay at the prospect of him being salvageable. Syr’nj said Byron was dead and she’d killed him, and she replied, “Good.” Twice. In this very strip, she’s overtly enraged that he’s alive again, which you’re calling merely “wary.”
So no…Gravedust’s comment that Syr’nj is not forgiving Bandit and Bandit still wants Byron dead (!) does not “seem to fault Syr” so much as express regret that three people he considers family will never be reconciled; Syr’nj–much less Byron–don’t owe Bandit anything; and, again, you can keep wanting Syr’nj (and apparently Byron, who you fault for breathing?) to accept that they’re as in the wrong as you believe they are, but considering I’m pretty sure this strip closes the curtains on Bandit’s relationship with both Syr’nj and Byron, you should get used to disappointment.
I think you misread this as well though. Byron does indeed owe bandit a lot, just not as much as she thinks (as she apparently thinks he owes her “a not coming back to life”) Syr does owe as well. My read is that Gravy just laments that neither side will make any attempt to heal the rift. Though I’m a bit surprised Byron hasn’t tried. He seemed the most congenial and reasonable of the three in this situation. It likely wouldn’t work since again Bandit is currently mad that he’s alive. I understood her rage at him during their battle but not her apparent continued rage.
Also I’m not sure why you think biggmac is faulting Byron for breathing? He didn’t say anything like that.
IMO, if you re-read the strips where Bandit did her “staking”, it wasn’t just the repeated stabbing that shows her mood. She outright implies that Byron should never have been resurrected, that his entire existence is a crime that needs to be amended. What happened in the cultist trap was less “staking a friend turned vampire” and more like “staking the asshole that you got you into a totally avoidable death trope”.
Also, Syr’ng has reason enough to hate on Bandit, if only for how she presented Byron’s death the second time. Murderers can be forgiven (rarely, to understate, but yes, on account of lack of intention or empathetic circumstances, and with time), but you would hardly forgive anyone clamoring, and keeping on clamoring that your loved deserves not to live and that their death is a blessing. It just insults their living, in a nutshell.
He said Byron owes Bandit amends.
The only thing Byron is doing that Bandit objects to, is breathing. He didn’t even tell her “I wish you hadn’t killed me,” possibly because he was dead at the time.
Why do you think he owes her something? You say that he does but not why. He was captured by cultists who had specific knowledge of how to weaponize his illness from H.R. (effectively using a cheat code); if you think he’s at fault for not anticipating that, then it looks from where I’m sitting like you’re saying, as Syr’nj did way back after Bandit had killed Byron, that Bandit secretly always blamed him for his illness and that she was right to do so–which I would consider a horrifying position.
Bandit hates Byron for a lot of reasons, but the berserking never struck me as more than an excuse. The only thing Syrn’j owes her is a psychiatric evaluation and a medical explanation of how berserker demons work. Bandit blames Byron for carrying them, but he isn’t and has never been a unique case.
Here’s a thought though. I don’t recall ever seeing an explanation for why Bandit is alive after the fight with Harky. Just a story that Syr’nj didn’t believe. Did they resolve that?
Actually I had forgotten about that. They never really explained in the world how Bandit came back. That is indeed something I would like to see resolved. Obviously in game it would just be standard Mmorpg graveyard run, but if that’s happened a lot people would notice so something special must have happened for this case.
She explained it a long time ago. Some of the troll blood on Byron’s axe healed her up.
She speculated that, but even then it didn’t seem a sufficient an explanation. I recall Syr being suspicious of it.
It didn’t seem sufficient because no one knew how exactly the Fireseye worked. We saw Harky restored to life because Tectonicus willed it, and Harky later said the Fireseye had “already done its work” on his body. We’ve also seen how it instantly transformed Penk.
It’s one part raw Tectonicus, one part troll regeneration, one part the influence of MMO corpse runs.
How is Bandit alive? Bandit, in the fight with Harky, had his blood on her wounds. Troll blood regenerates and keeps them alive. She was carried out with the rest of her dead “friends”playing possum and when the chance came;she booked it.
As a general rule, if one does something bad, even if one has no choice or one is not really in control, one at the very least owes those that action affected an apology/ explanation at the very least. Byron does owe her that, like it or not. Now she owes him the same and like you, I don’t get her being mad that he’s alive, but I also don’t really get Syr’s anger at Bandit. Bandit didn’t really have a choice either, Syr’s potion didn’t work on him. Bandit does owe her at least an apology as well since regardless of reasons she did kill Byron. Syr didn’t owe Bandit anything until she shot Bandit and tried to get her dishonorably discharged despite knowing what she knows about the situation.
Now they’ve all pissed in each others cornflakes and Gravy is sad that neither side wants to stop.
I appreciate that you’re not just taking the position that Bandit is right and Syr’nj is wrong like biggmac, but you seem to be perceiving a lot more ignorance among both the audience and the characters than I am.
I do not believe Bandit wants an explanation or considers that there is anything to explain.
I do not believe more of an explanation to the audience than Bandit already provided for her anger at Byron being alive again is necessary or warranted. She wants him dead. She spelled out that she thinks he should be dead. When someone shows an attitude entirely consistent with their stated beliefs I don’t see the logic in trying to figure out what their strange and mysterious reason for that attitude is.
Bandit had a choice. She could have said, “Sorry, but I had to kill him,” or if that’s too conciliatory for you, “Look at this place, you think I had a choice but to kill him?” Something other than “Good.” She could have argued, as biggmac did, that he was already effectively dead. She could, even now, not respond with fist-waving rage to him being alive again.
I actually would like more explanation of of her apparent hatred of Byron, as it’s not consistent with her actions and behavior before or since and it’s directed solely at Byron. She was upset about being killed the first time, but buy the the time of the big berserking incident she seemed fine with him, even initially tried to save him in the fight. Her blaming him during the fight and the “good” good comment were odd, but alone easily written off as her own rage at the whole situation. Especially when taken with her talk with E-merl later. Her “fist-waving rage” is indeed odd for someone who’s been otherwise sensible and even forgiving.
I’m struck by just how differently each person who has an opinion on the whole mess has read it. I see significant variation in each person’s account of what each character knew, said, and even did. It’s a polarizing thing, I suppose.
To be fair Biggmac we actually don’t know that Frig or anyone is demanding that Bandit accept that Byron’s back. We just seem them shouting. it’s implied that Bandit is shouting at Gravy, Frig just just as easily be shouting at bandit for that reason alone.
This page and the song-battle page implies that Bandit was still provoking Syr for daring to try to cure Byron instead of… I don’t know, mercy killing him? Yeah, jailing her for what she said when she was at a very emotional moment is one thing, but we’ve seen more than enough proof to know that even after Bandit calmed down she didn’t change her stance, which doesn’t help her prove her innocence when she’s being held on suspicion of murdering her comrade. The readers know she didn’t, but Syr only saw evidence that supported the conclusion that she did.
And as I’m sure it’s been said – Bandit’s even more at fault there. She knew as much as Byron and Syr’nj did, and she could have very easily argued that Byron needed to stay away. She had enough authority to probably make it happen. She let Byron go out into a potential trap just as much as Syr’nj did, so if she was even more worried about the berserker curse then it’s crazy to think that those who were confident in its suppression should have done more than she did.
Between the two, Bandit’s the most unreasonable. Syr’nj has every right to be suspicious of someone who declared her husband’s death to be “good” while repeatedly bringing up previously unvoiced concerns over and over again as though they were a sure thing from the start, even though she made every appearance of otherwise accepting Byron. Bandit is… what, mad that Syr’nj would be very upset with the person who killed her husband and spat in her face about it?
… What reaction did she expect?
My selfish wish would have been to see more of this meeting, or at least as it exists, just with dialogue. Bandit’d been part of the comic since the first page, I sincerely hope we get a better scene with her before the end.
Like to see an epilogue on Bragadocio.
I do wonder what happened to him. He dehumanized the World’s Rebellion races more thoroughly than anyone else in the entire comic; it’s hard to see him just accepting the new order. It seems equally unlikely, however, that the sky elves kept him when they flew away, or that he tried to single-handedly fight the Peacekeepers, or that Syr’nj ordered him executed without him doing so.
When did Brag dehumanize the Rebellion. No saying he didn’t, but I don’t remember him doing it, much less more than Sundarr. –Wait did he eat them at some point? I seem to recall him eating almost everything. So that might be what you mean. In which case, after his berserking, I actually think he would just accept it. From the last time we saw him he was to wracked with guilt from eating poor rabbit while berserk, that I doubt he’d give the new order much thought at all.
“And who counts avians if you’re not stuffing a pie?”
I don’t think one off hand line is more than Sundarr’s willingness to let them destroyed by the soul destroying corrupter beast. Or really more than anything any of the other adventurers said or did. At any rate Braggidacio, if free and not berserk and no longer wracked with guilt from his berserking, would very likely go along with the new order simply because Byron was a part of it.
And if “let them all be destroyed” was an unchallenged throwaway line of Sundar’s, I wouldn’t have said Braggadocio was uncontested in dehumanizing the World’s Rebellion. But as it was, Sundar found out and perforce accepted, at least grudgingly, that the leaders of his guild were all “savage lovers.”
Braggadocio has never had to deal with the idea that the World’s Rebellion is made up of people, even implicitly. Never conversed with anyone who showed any sign of thinking that there could possibly be a problem with treating the World’s Rebellion like wild boars: dangerous but potentially tasty animals.
Sorry, but one throw away line is not enough to condemn him so. One joke is not enough to assume that he had even considered eating them. Let alone only consider them food and be unable to accept them as anything but enemies. Braggadacio’s personality was one that would happily follow along with the people he trusted, like Byron or Sundar so if both of them told him that the new way was a good idea, it’s easy to imagine him going along with it after some debate and perhaps a bar fight. There’s very little reason to assume anything else.
…Okay, you seem to have an investment in Braggadocio that I don’t really understand.
We’re not in a court of law (and he’s not even a real person). Unless you have some actual evidence of him viewing the World’s Rebellion as people, I’m not going to agree to refrain from pointing out that he dehumanized them completely. Is this a belief that being cheerful and friendly (to one’s friends) is incompatible with being racist? That belief will get you far in real life, but not to anywhere good.
You seem to to have some investment in him being a monster which i don’t understand. That’s fine, I guess, and his throw away line is certainly dehumanizing, but you really are reading a lot more into it than I. It really really isn’t enough to even assume the end you envision for him.
Also on a reread I’m not sure what you’re talking about with the “court of law” stuff. No one is asking you to refrain from anything. At any rate, you’re moving goal posts here. The original discussion point was whether or not Braggadacio could accept the new order. I believe he could be reasoned with, I never said he wasnt racist in the past, just that his off color joke is not as character defining as you seem to read.
didnt he get a page already?
they offered to release him, but he remains in the sky of his own choice; no good awaits him in his former home where “everything tastes like rabbit.”
Not quite, he was sky jail because he was dangerous and no one knew if the berserk could be cured or not. He just happened to agree, so would likely turn down release, but I don’t think it was ever offered. He does view his life as over.
Is sky jail even still a thing after the Sky Elves either went urban, or buggered off?
That is a very good question really.
See, I told you guys. Flashback.
I have walked down this road before…
https://s.iha.com/0019518816/Rothenburg-ob-der-tauber-Typische-gassen-von-rothenburg-ob-der-tauber.jpeg
holy crap, thats really it, isn’t it? Wow
heh “trolling”
I see what they did there…
When T decides to use the alt text as a line.
Well, what else could we expect? Penk is a born-Troll & after Tectonicus put vestment on him, he became a Master Troll. It really was nothing more than a matter of time before T would point that out, wasn’t it?
;)
I like Scipio’s leafy togs.
Races should be forced to mix so that new bonds can be made. Except the gnomes. No one wants to mix with those little weirdoes, they can have their own town.
Mixing races? Like a triathlon?
You could try a biathalon first, if you’re curious.
Bandit’s walking with a cane now? ; ;
she did kinda get shot…
The visit that Gravy is remembering and writing about was shortly after the end of the war, so Bandit was probably just still recovering from her gunshot wound. We don’t know if Bandit has a permanent disability, yet.
She did get shot by the little brat when she took down his tank…
Just…trolling you.
*deep measured breath*
I don’t know if we shall ever meet face-to-face at some errant con or other emporium, however I want it to be known that should fate ever bring us together…words will be spoken sir.
So for score keeping, is Tobias the only KS character to appear in the comic and make all the way through? Or are their others that just didn’t appear as much. I am assuming the KS cultist guy is dead even if it wasn’t on screen unless shown otherwise because cultist and really it’s what he would have wanted.
Wait — Isidro was alive last we saw him, but he was being arrested and didn’t get a tag.
Hmm, well there was that elf cultist fellow with the hammer. But guessing he was likely executed off screen.
Ahh, just reread and noticed you already addressed that. Sorry.
Hmm, the KS lion could conceivably still be alive, though he only appeared in flashbacks.
It seems to me that there are still KS characters that never appeared at all. Unless they just weren’t tagged and put in the background somewhere and I missed them.
But I suppose there is still enough time to squeeze in Reverend Bink, Avidro, Beckitt, Darke Ivy, Gungier, and Rendermaw with this flash back format.
I’m most surprised we never saw Avidro or Gungier. They both strike me as very east to slip into any scene featuring a lot of theor respective races.
I don’t think all of them were intended to be in the comic, but it does seem like only the ones that all first appeared on the same page together survived,
I am butthurt about this. Period.
Bandit. I love you. You’re a hero. But please. Let it rest. I was expecting E-Merl to be pissy when he found out Byron had been resurrected (again!) while Rachel couldn’t be. But he wasn’t. Neither should you be.
To be fair, E-meet was pretty upset that Rachel couldn’t be resurrected, but I think he eventually accepted that it was due to the nature of her death, that both her body and soul we’re beyond recovery.
-throttles autocorrect-
Yep. And he didn’t hold a grudge against Byron for getting a third chance at life, or against Gravedust for giving him one.
Also, E-Merl seems the type to accept bad news and just feel sorry for himself instead of getting mad and demanding justice.
Bandit is convinced that there is no way to completely contain the berserker thing. Last time Syr said it was under control, as far as Bandit knows it failed and got an entire village and god knows how many adventurers killed.
Basically, Bandit is not seeing Byron as a person, but as a walking timebomb. And she’s still angry that everyone seems to consider Byron’s life more important than those of the people he will, in her mind, inevitably end up murdering when (not if, *when*) he zerks out again.
I actually had to live with this resurrection angst in an roleplay game before. In the end it didn’t really matter if ‘Byron’ was at fault, he was constantly given pass after pass while my in character friends died or worse. I find it hard to blame Bandit here. You can come to resent those that get such passes when it seems all you manage to do is sacrifice more for less.
I think both parties (Syr and Bandit) have too much pride and are being immature about reconciling.
Bandit played a pretty big role in disarming Taro’s tank, so I do feel she is owed thanks for that. I suppose, though, that Syr doesn’t necessarily need to be the one to thank her. As long as someone does, and I bet Reynolds does. But it would be a nice lead-in to start maybe… talking to each other again? Hm?
And I can still see why Syr is mad, too. Why wouldn’t she be. Even if I think Bandit was justified in stopping the dude who was killing an entire village, (Byron) she was definitely in the wrong to tell Syr “Good!” when told she killed Syr’s husband. I can almost even see THAT being justified, too. Byron DID kill Bandit! That’s gonna leave a lotta trauma, and then he was zerking out and killing everyone again! The only bad part about her saying “Good!” to killing Byron, was that she said it to his widow; his widow who was her FRIEND. With that one word, she basically told Syr she didn’t care her husband was dead, thought it was even a good thing he was dead, and coming from a friend, that probably hurt Syr the most. I guess I understand why Syr wouldn’t even want an apology, actually, if Bandit would even give one. :(
It’s just as likely that Bandit is shouting at Gravedust for resurrecting Bryon for a second time while Rachael and many others aren’t coming back. That’s a lot of weight for anybody to carry, and she’s already on a stick.
Single best tooltip comment in the entire series. A++.
I would have really enjoyed Scipio being used to tell us about any spiritual connection at all between the players who weren’t hooked into tubes and their avatars. I felt like they ought to have been connected in some way, and Scipio’s player isn’t rooted down by her body any more.
This trip to Gnometown was in the days shortly after the end of the war. “… during our revels…” Bandit’s wounds (physical and emotional) are still fairly fresh.
Hopefully, with time, she’ll chill out, and there’ll be a chance for reconciliation.