Parson . . . not a fan

[Machiara]

Hello all,

I've seen a lot of people on the forum say, in some form or another, that they are rooting for Parson. My question: why? He's a whiner. He has VERY questionable personal hygiene. He's rude.

Someone, please enlighten me! Why should I consider Parson anything other than a (large) roadblock for Ansom?

[Uzraid]

He's on Wanda's side?

[Khantalas]

He is the writer of Hamstard, THE Coolest Webcomic Around™?

[mikeejimbo]

Why? Because he's a rude whiner with questionable personal hygiene, is why.

[TinSoldier]

Hmm. I never took him to be a whiner. A slacker maybe. Someone who has enough intelligence to do whatever he wants to do but doesn't care to.

I find him to be more sardonic than whiny. I've known whiners. They ain't Parson.

Not that that makes him heroic, I'm just pointing that out.

[Erk]

We've never actually seen him whine at all, I would say whiner is very much the opposite of what he is. He has complained twice in the comic: once was after being asked to complain by Ashna, and his complaint was nothing probably 80% of us haven't said before: it was far more a matter of bringing him to the readers' heads than complaining. The second time, he had just been transported by a powerful spell and had a headache that looked in page18 panel5 like it could possibly make his head asplode. Give the guy some slack! Have you ever traversed the boundaries of reality and just shrugged it off and started commanding a hopeless battle with the threat of utter destruction hanging over your head?

He's also not all that rude, not openly. Just not deferential. I'm sure he will never be a consierge, but he's doing ok. And how can you not love him for his quick-thinking brilliance on page 20? The guy's a genius.

In real life, I would probably hang out with Parson but find him pretty annoying sometimes. In the comic so far, I love him. He rules.

[Machiara]

Hmm, maybe I'm not giving him the benefit of the doubt.

I thought he whined here, though:

---

[Parson says he's been preparing the game for "five solid months"]

"Five months? You really live for this, don't you."

"You have no idea."

"Why?"

"Whaddya want, a solioquy? You know why. Because my life sucks. My car is a rolling bomb. My job feels like an endless training film. Nobody reads my webcomic. This place is a hole. A condemned hole. For squatter hobbits. And to be honest, I don't find any of that stuff interesting enough to change."

---

Sure, Ashna asked him the question, but his previous comments begged that question. He was asking for an opportunity to whine. And he got one! Poor Parson, his life sucks. Well, it's not like he's mentally ill. Parson is very intelligent; he should be able to secure a challenging job and a decent living space. He just doesn't want to work, he'd rather play. I can understand the sentiment, but it's his choice to live the way he does. Ergo, he's whining.

I find it rude to be using profanity every other word in front of people you don't know. When you come through the gate, sure. But he's still using once he's engaged these people in regular conversation ("boop me in the boop").

We only have a few strips of Parson, so we are forced to draw our conclusions about him from a relatively small pool of evidence. Still, the authors (hi Rob and Jami!) are able to give us clues to character in that limited time, and those are the conclusions I draw from those clues.

Now, I do give Parson credit for having a sense of humor (see Stanley "tool" comment and "I said not to mention unspeakable," both of which were very funny). It takes more than a sense of humor to give me a rooting interest in someone, though.

[Erk]

Dude, he just got teleported from a metal folding chair into a tower in a fantasy world. He gets a free pass on "profanity useage" for the first few seconds, I would say. I never swear, and I'd cuss a bit too.

Like I said, if I knew him in real life I would find him annoying, though I would still like him for being intelligent and humerous and good at gaming. He does complain, but it's not whining as far as we can tell. Of course, we have no measure of the frequency or anything, but he more seems sardonic and a bit bitter than whiny to me. Look at Hamstard for more of his character: not whiny, just sarcastic, bitter, and cynical.

[Beleriphon]

I think people like Parson because of what has been mentioned, no in spite of what has been mentioned. Thus the humour.

[Ulrich_Brew]

When asked Parson tells others what needs to be said. Either for the sake of plot or even for introduction.

If you asked him a question on what was gonna happen, I'd want Parson to tell me because he wouldn't sugar coat it.

-scrubbed- negative personal comments about other posters constitutes flaming
-Erfmod

[DiscountNinja]

Yeh, I like Parson too - I think he's a funny guy, and hell, if I was sitting in an apartment with a car like his, I would complain too, and it's not like he asked her to ask him why his life was gaming. Sure he answered with a complaint, but only because it was true.

I see him as an intelligent man who has little interest in anything but his gaming, and he's not so much rude than he is sardonic, like TinSolider said.

Not to mention there's only been 22 comics, so there's not been a lot of time for people to see him develop, I think it's going pretty good. Especally when you consider that people start webcomics and do 4 or 5 times that number of strips and still don't have the popularity this one does.

(Is there anyone besides me who thinks Jillian and Parson sound like an interesting match? :) )

[Learnedguy]

You will like Parson becouse he is a big fat person. Like Santa Claus. And Santa Claus is jolly. Do you not like jolly people? If you don't like Jolly people, then that means that you are a jolly-not-liker. And if you say this, then you will complain. Like Parson. And if you complain like Parson, that means..Santa, is that you?!

[Sewer_Bandito]

I like Parson

A)Because he's on Wanda's side.

B)Because he wrote Hamstard.

C)He's lazy.

What's not to like about him!?

[Hilary Moon Murphy]

Why do I like Parson? Because he's bright and funny. I'm a sucker for intelligent men with great senses of humor. Yes, he has some serious flaws (a weight problem, and a problem dealing with the real world.) If he were my friend in real life, I'd be very concerned for him but I would still enjoy hanging out with him at a gaming table.

I think that Erfworld will transform him as much as he is about to transform Erfworld. Besides, Ansom's plush infantry scares me.

Hmm

[Mick_the_Rogue]

Why like him? Because he's funny and a gamer....The quintesential (sp?) gamer if pop culture is to be believed (which it is not). He is the everyman, the 'typical gamer' thrown into spectacular circumstances. Perhaps Parson is meant to be flawed because we're supposed to see part of ourselves in him, and therego we root for him...I mean do you really see any part of yourself in Ansom, Wanda or Stanley (please please be no on the last one). You may see personality similiarities, but ultimately Parson is the only 'real' person there, and obvious intended to be the sympathetic hero

But whatever, Mick's tired

And just to make an arguement, I don't like Ansom:smalltongue:

[Maryring]

I don't like him because he appears to be filled with apathy. That is a personal choice, based on the fact that "there is only one thing we must fear more than evil men, and that is the apathy of good men". Apathy is the bane of the world and I absolutely LOATHE apathy.

That does not make me dislike the comic. This is only my view of one of the characters in it.

[Mick_the_Rogue]

Well keep in mind he still likely think he's in a coma or had a stroke or something, I mean wouldn't you?

And besides, in chess and these types of strategy games, sometimes you have to sacrifice a pawn (or a legion) to win the game overall, he's just playing as he normally would, thnking that everyone else in Erfworld is simply a delusion of his imagination (whether it is or not has yet to be seen)

Oh...by the way (parenthesis are fun!)

[Krytha]

Parson will die of disappointment if he ever gets out of there.

[TinSoldier]

Hmm, maybe I'm not giving him the benefit of the doubt.

I thought he whined here, though:

---

[Parson says he's been preparing the game for "five solid months"]

"Five months? You really live for this, don't you."

"You have no idea."

"Why?"

"Whaddya want, a solioquy? You know why. Because my life sucks. My car is a rolling bomb. My job feels like an endless training film. Nobody reads my webcomic. This place is a hole. A condemned hole. For squatter hobbits. And to be honest, I don't find any of that stuff interesting enough to change."See, I don't see this as whining, really. At least not by my definition. I think it is more of an observation of his own life, not even a complaint really.

Of course, I've got kids. I know what whining really is.

[mikeejimbo]

I don't like him because he appears to be filled with apathy. That is a personal choice, based on the fact that "there is only one thing we must fear more than evil men, and that is the apathy of good men". Apathy is the bane of the world and I absolutely LOATHE apathy.

That does not make me dislike the comic. This is only my view of one of the characters in it.

Meh, I can't say I care about apathy one way or another. I don't see why you would hate it or feel it's the bane of the world, though.

On another note, I see TinSoldier's avatar has changed. I miss Kore :smallfrown:

[Moechi_Vill]

Whiners can be intelligent, caring people with lots of buff. My ADHD and Aspies usually gets confused with it.

[Machiara]

I'm not saying I don't like the comic . . . I LOVE the comic. Rob and Jamie are like unto cartoon GODS. :D I'm just not sold on Parson yet. :smallcool:

[ElfLad]

I mean do you really see any part of yourself in Ansom, Wanda or Stanley (please please be no on the last one).
Advanced Detect Innuendo!

[Maurog]

Belkar would be proud.

[Karellen]

As far as I'm concerned, this is better than having a geek character who's good-looking, well-adjusted and charming. Such characters have merit, but generally speaking not as focus characters. I prefer a flawed and faintly pathetic individual over a pandering Mary Sue geek archetype; we've seen enough of those in hundreds of webcomics.

Frankly, I think it's necessary for him to be the way he is. "Main character gets pulled into magical fantasy world" is about the direst cliche of fantasy writing there is, and to get past that you need a fresh outlook. The outlook here would be that for our main character, being pulled into a fantasy world isn't an end-all solution to every single one of the issues he had in the real world, including his weight problem.

Besides, Parson's not that bad. He might curse a lot, but when he pulls himself together to respond to Stanley's queries on what he would do to save his city, he gives perfectly solid answers to his queries as to how he'd defend the city. I imagine we'll get to see him do (or, rather, think up) something really cool once the actual fighting stars. His contribution to the cause would be his genius mind after all, not running around waving a sword he learned to use for no good reason like in any cheesy fantasy novel.

[Pyrian]

I don't like him because he appears to be filled with apathy.

Don't mistake a difference in priorities for apathy. There is nothing apathetic about Parson. I've seen apathy - I've been apathy. What you're saying here is that apathy is not acting on the things YOU, Maryring, care about. Parson acts on the things HE cares about. He spends months building elaborate games, which by all witnesses are extremely well done. That's not apathy. That's not apathetic at all. That's focused, driven behavior.

He was probably dragged out of his world just a short time before he published the game that would have "made" him.

[Silverlocke980]

Parson is a whiner, a loser, and a geek.

But I want him to succeed. Why?

Because I want to believe that other people, just like him, can throw off the chains they have attached to themselves and live.

And if Parson can do it...

Well, there is no greater theme than redemption, and no greater story than a man rising above the problems he has placed himself in!

[Maryring]

Don't mistake a difference in priorities for apathy. There is nothing apathetic about Parson. I've seen apathy - I've been apathy. What you're saying here is that apathy is not acting on the things YOU, Maryring, care about. Parson acts on the things HE cares about. He spends months building elaborate games, which by all witnesses are extremely well done. That's not apathy. That's not apathetic at all. That's focused, driven behavior.
And don't give me intentions I never had. Parson appears (and I stress that word, APPEARS) to be apathetic because he admits to not wanting to do anything with his life. By your definition, I'd define about 99.9% of the humans on Tellus as Apathethic, which I do not. I'll admit that the vice of apathy is not my field of expertise, that would be virtues, I do believe that I know enough about Apathy to have a solid defintion of it and to be capable of backing it up. What you use to back up your argument, while vaild, is only an aspect of his character and personality. One energetic act does not make you energetic. Parson admitted, and I quote
"and to be honest, I don't actually find any of that stuff interesting enough to change." That is what I use as a base for my view of him as apathetic. I still believe he is, but he appears less so because of recent character development. It's as simple as that.

[Indon]

Personally, I like parson because he's, well, no easy way to describe it...

In modern western culture, we're fed so much fantasy fiction (and not _just_ us nerds, though we're extreme cases) that if something incredible and unbelievable ever did happen to us, we'd roll with it.

The 'normal person whisked away to an amazing world' plot is old as dust, but nowadays, normal people should know what they're doing in them.

Thus, I rather like Parson because he is the inevitable advancement of an age-old story character. The connetticut yankee of the 21'st century, I guess.

But I guess that's more a metaanalysis of Parson as a character, rather than just evaluating him based on personal merits... but hey, it's just a story.

[InfernalistGame]

I like him, but then, I've BEEN Parson, many times in my life, usually when I'm single and unemployed and stuck on SSI. In every functional point, I exhibit his characteristics in life, including being so sick of bothering with laundry that my shirts had developed that "has he been wearing that same shirt the whole series?" feel. Hell, atm, I'm down to two t-shirts I OWN. Apathy is a result o fbeing hardened and awakened to failure, the point you give up, IMHO. Parson was definately there. This is the prime reason he "would want to be here". Trading a life where a crappy customer service job, the bane of the intellectual, can be replaced by the ultimate dream, a new Sun Tzu for a world of fantasy and magic. I see the apathy fading quickly, though the social graces may have been permanently scarred by giving up on being seen as attractive and witty; and settling for overweight, smart and snarky.

Ask me more, if you like, argue if you will. But I -AM- Parson Gotti, in all functional points. And frankly, until you've gotten to that point in your life... it's not for you to really relate to and appreciate that degree of self-awareness that Parson has, when you realize the world is stacked against you, and decided to get out of bed every day solely to pour your soul into a story, just to please 'friends' you only see on game night. When you have no job satisfaction, no love in your life, no possessions you treasure... just a computer and a construct of imagination, dice and molded plastic to pour your creativity and intellect into, who no one will ever really see except the guys who come over to drink the sodas and eat the ramen you can barely afford and cover rent.

Not to be too poisonous about the topic, but frankly, I'm on the edge of getting flame-ish on this topic. And in the spirit of speaking frankly, from the point of view of Parson himself as only a man like me can... "BOOP you. Even with a window into my life... you don't know me. And you certainly are in no place to judge me. Life with this weight, this face, and this life, then tell me you wouldn't be snarky and apathetic too."

[TinSoldier]

I don't care enough to be apathetic.

[Sisqui]

I don't care enough to be apathetic.
You mean you are indifferent to the whole apathy thing? :smallwink:

[TinSoldier]

You mean you are indifferent to the whole apathy thing? :smallwink:Meh. Whatever.

:cool:

[Aimbot]

Actually Parson reminds me a lot of myself. I used to be overweight (I lost it pretty quickly going from an all male high school to a Co-ed college :smalltongue: ) I'm apathetic, I curse a lot, I make people laugh and have a(n often unintentionally) biting wit and my social skills leave a lot to be desired. I'm different in that I practice good hygiene and am smart enough to do well in college despite half-assing it. Oh, and I suck at DMing.

I like Parson because he reacts well to things that interest him. Sure, he sucks at real life, but put him in charge of an army of chibi-zombies and he kicks ass. It's not exactly his fault there weren't any job opportunities in medieval fantasy warfare, is it?

[Pyrian]

Parson appears ... to be apathetic because he admits to not wanting to do anything with his life.That is incorrect. What he wants to do with his life is to invent and play wargames. I think he was quite clear on this, so I don't see what grounds you have for that statement.


By your definition, I'd define about 99.9% of the humans on Tellus as Apathethic, which I do not.Tellus? What are you talking about?


...I do believe that I know enough about Apathy to have a solid defintion of it and to be capable of backing it up.Okay. What is your definition, and how would you back it up in this case?


What you use to back up your argument, while vaild, is only an aspect of his character and personality.Of course. But being "filled with apathy" is a general trait - it is successfully disproven with a single strong counter-example.


One energetic act does not make you energetic.The text was quite clear that making quality wargames is an ongoing habit of his, not a one-time event. A substantial series of energetic acts doesn't necessarily make you energetic either, but it pretty much rules out being "filled with apathy".


Parson admitted, and I quote
"and to be honest, I don't actually find any of that stuff interesting enough to change."That is what I use as a base for my view of him as apathetic.I don't see that quote as supporting an accusation of being filled with apathy. It supports being apathetic about certain things - however, everybody is apathetic about an essentially infinite number of things. A universal trait is not sufficient to establish being "filled with apathy".

The quote could have come from practically any driven, focused individual: musician, athlete, model, certain businessman, whatever.

A person focused on certain goals to the exclusion of others - is such a person "filled with apathy"? I don't think so.

[Geoff]

I've seen a lot of people on the forum say, in some form or another, that they are rooting for Parson. My question: why? He's a whiner. He has VERY questionable personal hygiene. He's rude. Are you implying that he might not be the reader-identification character?

[Maurog]

He is not rude, he's just honest.

[Sage in the Playground]

He is not rude, he's just honest.

Rudeness and honesty are often the same thing.

[Summer]

What he wants to do with his life is to invent and play wargames. I think he was quite clear on this, so I don't see what grounds you have for that statement.

Apathy is a lack of interest, or concern for the outcome of one's actions. He has concern: in a selective sense. He's just become disjointed from the conventional world and has abandoned his interest in it.

That's fair enough. I'd propose that there are more people living in his state of mind than a so-called 'normal' state of mind.

And as for his weight problem? Eat enough to make you happy, don't exercise, and drink a few full-sugar sodas (or beers) every day and you'll look like our hero in a year or few.

[Ave]

1. Well, Parson is the only 'real' main character in this plot.
2. He is very much like me, except the weight surplus.
3. I guess most of the characters are likeable. (but the majority of them are not main characters).

Strangely, enough, i don't like either of the tool-bearers - they got a bigger ego than their size.
Nor Jillian, she is too aggressive and silly. (Ok, except if she is really a sister of Wanda, and this is her only way to meet her regularly).

So, if asked who would I be in this story, it is definitely Parson :)

[Phoenix Talion]

Yeah. He's easy to identify with.

And dude, the Wanda/Jillian related bit? Totally agreeing.

[Mutiemoe]

Why like him? Because he's funny and a gamer....The quintesential (sp?) gamer if pop culture is to be believed (which it is not). He is the everyman, the 'typical gamer' thrown into spectacular circumstances. Perhaps Parson is meant to be flawed because we're supposed to see part of ourselves in him, and therego we root for him...I mean do you really see any part of yourself in Ansom, Wanda or Stanley (please please be no on the last one). You may see personality similiarities, but ultimately Parson is the only 'real' person there, and obvious intended to be the sympathetic hero


That's very neatly put, if not seeing oneself or identifying with him at least everyone reading comic based on so heavily on gamer pop culture has met someone a bit like Parson.:smallsmile:

[Andvare]

Because he is not hansom, emm not Ansom.

[Strengfellow]

The thing that makes Parson (in my eyes) a good likeable character is the very fact that he is flawed.
If you want boring, wholesome, anodyne, two dimensional hero's then I suggest read David Eddings.

[fangthane]

Parson's barely objectionable at all. You want a quality objectionable-hero-brought-to-another-world, look no further than Thomas Covenant.

[Darth Paradox]

Yeah, Donaldson pretty much set the bar with that one, didn't he? Oy.

[Indon]

I've noted before that Parson reminds me a lot of Hale Troy from the Covenant books.

[Strengfellow]

Parson's barely objectionable at all. You want a quality objectionable-hero-brought-to-another-world, look no further than Thomas Covenant.


That's a solid call there

[meep]

As TinSoldier said, Parson is not a whiner -- I've got kids, too, and one gets the concept of the difference between whining and complaining by the time the kids are speaking in complete sentences (heck, they actually start out with nonverbal whining, which is highly annoying, but it's not as annoying when you can tell exactly what they're whining about. "No, I want the =green= cup, and it's gotta have the green top! NNNOOOOOO not the yellow!") Parson knows that if he really cared, he could change the job and the apartment; he's not happy with them, but he's not doing anything about it and he admits that. He targets all his energy into crafting his games. (As amusing as Hamstard is, he obviously didn't put that much thought into it. Not compared to his games.) Some people would just sit around and watch Spike TV or something, so I say his exercising of his creative impulse shows something to admire him for.

I'm nothing like Parson (great job, husband and 3 kids, nice home, good food, not obese, not a gamer), but I've had lots of friends like him and I really enjoyed hanging out with them, because there was always interesting conversations and the humor was very good. Actually, there's one way in which I'm like Parson, or used to be like Parson -- insulting people to their faces without them getting I'm insulting them (this used to be a popular pasttime), and, of course, the ubiquitous geek-refs. I've dialed back the smart-aleckry as I've gotten an audience of little kids who will annoy me to death with the same behavior (it's in the genes... how can we escape?), but I still have a soft spot for that kind of person.

So far, of the characters, I like Bogroll and Parson the most. I like Bogroll for his earnest stupidity, and I like Parson because he seems entertaining and smart. The other characters don't have that much that interest me yet, other than wondering why Wanda is stuck working for such a Tool. Parson is the only "real" person amongst the characters so far, but I expect there will be some more character development with Wanda and Jillian soon. I'm not too impressed with Ansom's strategy, and Sizemore is just a nebbish.

[Zanaril]

He's a funny, sarcastic anti-hero. You don't have to like them, but you do enjoy watching them confuse/insult/ridicule the other characters.

[Shott]

He reminds me of myself. = )

[dakiwiboid]

And I love how often Stanley's too dim to even know that he's being twitted. In real life, I wouldn't like Parson very much, in fact, I know some guys just like him, and I don't like them, but he's kind of endearing in this strip.

[Woot Spitum]

He's the anti-Drizzt, and that's good enough for me.

[Wolf53226]

Other than disagreeing with you on the whiner comment, he reminds me of a number of people, thus he seems real to me.

And giving an honest estimation of your life when asked is not whining, which is about all he does. He would be a whiner if he brought it up, but since she asked, she should be ready for an honest answer.

[Tarvok]

Yah, I wish I had Parson's drive. I don't even keep up my weekly posting to my blog these days, let alone spend five months not only working on, but completing a single project.

[Closet_Skeleton]

I think he's a much more enjoyable character now that he isn't in control. As a DM he was a bit of a git.

[Thes Hunter]

I must agree in part with the OP.


Though I can see Parson being set up as the protagonist, and as such I do want to see him do well....

I am also very happy that the cocky, whiney, thinks he knows everything and is better than you because he beat this and that game, little whiner has gotten his comeuppance.

Ok, maybe it's just me, but this kind of behavior is so common in gaming/fandom that is just irritates the crap out of me. I have coined it the nerd low self-esteem elitism.

So I can't wait to see if Parson actually learns from almost being burniated by a dwagon.

[Woot Spitum]

I don't remember Parson ever bragging about his gaming prowess or knowledge. I do remember a guy stuck in a boring, repetitive grind who really wanted to be somewhere else.

The sort of person that just has to be sucked into a weird and wild adventure.

[Scientivore]

anodyne

Thank you for introducing me to a new word (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/anodyne)! I take it from the context that you're using the denotation of blandly inoffensive with a connotation of numbing. That's a useful term; I'll have to remember it.

[Gitman00]

Why like him? Because he's funny and a gamer....The quintesential (sp?) gamer if pop culture is to be believed (which it is not). He is the everyman, the 'typical gamer' thrown into spectacular circumstances. Perhaps Parson is meant to be flawed because we're supposed to see part of ourselves in him, and therego we root for him...I mean do you really see any part of yourself in Ansom, Wanda or Stanley (please please be no on the last one). You may see personality similiarities, but ultimately Parson is the only 'real' person there, and obvious intended to be the sympathetic hero

QFT. Reading this thread, what I see over and over, with individual variations, is: "I can relate to Parson," or "I know someone like Parson." Back when Parson was first introduced, I saw this post:


One could argue that Parson's arrival is the least original thing that has happened so far in the strip. It is a very old plot device to have someone from the real world enter a fictional one. So why are we so excited that this has happened?

One word: accessibility.

Parson provides the reference point by which the readers can relate to a very surreal fictional universe. He's a brilliant, flawed, entirely believable character. A lot of us can see at least a part of ourselves in the character, or if not, then someone we know. We can laugh at Stanley, drool over Wanda, and scoff at Ansom (I mean, seriously, a radish for his coat of arms?), but we can sympathize with Parson. That's what brings it home.

[Pepz]

Well, enjoyed reading this thread a lot :) should have done so when it first started tho I guess :)

I like Parson because....well as it has been said before, he remind me of me :) and my friends (one in particular, who is even to lazy to get a crappy job and a driving bomb :) ). Even though it's more relating to, than liking....

And yeah, there is a reason why Parson is liked, he's close to ourselves and who we know :) he's quite down-to-earth, which is nice to see in a main character :) Other characters in erfworld that are down to earth are Bogroll and Sizemore, as seen in 1.13 (/http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0013.html) and, Hey Presto, those characters are also very well liked :)

btw, if you really want to see Mary Sues stretched to the max, try reading Harry Potter -_- another "person dragged into fantasyworld-novel"

[Yahzi]

Meh, I can't say I care about apathy one way or another.
Must... resist... irony... :smallbiggrin:


I don't see why you would hate it or feel it's the bane of the world, though.I think it was Ellie Wiesel who said that the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference.