Good Deeds Gone Unpunished - The Discussion Thread (Unmarked Spoilers!)

What I think is really tragic about O-Chul's story is that had he not prevented the war, Azure City may not have fallen. The cleric-turned-supreme-leader created the thriving hobgoblin civilisation Xykon encountered- had the previous leader stayed in power, the hobgoblins may have never grown so powerful.

Also, Miko's interpretation of what O-Chul was saying is a little bit of foreshadowing for her killing Lord Shojo.

"So... you are saying that if someone betrays Azure City, it's our job to stop them using whatever means we have at our disposal?"
"Uh, well, that's not exactly what I meant. I suppose, within the bounds of the law-"
"Thank you, Brother O-Chul. I think I understand now."

Of course, he couldn't have known. It was still the good move, even if it didn't work out in the long run.

That's assuming that Azure City could have survived a two-front war with the goblins and the Realm of the Dragon. It's very possible that O-Chul have Azure City many more years that it may not have otherwise had.

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Originally Posted by Peelee

That's assuming that Azure City could have survived a two-front war with the goblins and the Realm of the Dragon. It's very possible that O-Chul have Azure City many more years that it may not have otherwise had.

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Yeah, I agree. Even if Azure City *could* survive such a war it would be seriously weakened, maybe even to the extent that Xykon wouldn't *need* to assault it with an army to get what he wants--dude is scary, you know?

Can I just say that I love Kazumi and Daigo? Their banter, their relationship, the way their presence creates a contrast to the high-heroism ideal of typical roleplaying fantasy, it's all brilliant. I hope we get to see a flash-forward of them with their kid at some point; that would be cute.

That book was awesome. I know Zhou managed to survive the Hobgoblin invasin (because she's Zhou, duh) but I really hope she managed to bring O-Chul's family along and regroup with the Azurites.

Seeing Hinjo and miko call each other cousin was a bit weird. I hadn't realized that Shojo had actually adopted Miko rather than just serving as a distant Dumbledore-like mentor/father figure. Makes her regicide that much darker. And also makes me wonder how he didn't notice where she was headed sooner.

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Originally Posted by Peelee

I prefer 1/2 to .5, actually.

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I thought I had only bought the first half of the book for a moment, myself.

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Originally Posted by Mike Havran

I wonder what happened to the new Supreme leader of the hobgoblins. He was quite capable in the story and most likely it was him in strip 149, but we know nothing about him afterwards. I don't believe it's Jirix; they seem to have quite different personalities. But I still don't think he isn't scheming something in Gobbotopia.

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My first guess would be that he died in the Battle of Azure City, but I think that his connection with O-Chul may play a role in the conclusion of the Azuretopia arc. He probably could vouch for him and Hinjo to Jirix at least.

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Originally Posted by hamishspence

Maybe - but, the impression I got from How The Paladin Got His Scar was that "teaching right from wrong" was a Sapphire Guard problem - not a Paladin problem - hence Gin-Jun.

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Isn't that an everybody problem, though? Especially for a law-enforcing organizaion/group of warriors with magical powers and a mission.

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Originally Posted by Fyraltari

Seeing Hinjo and miko call each other cousin was a bit weird. I hadn't realized that Shojo had actually adopted Miko rather than just serving as a distant Dumbledore-like mentor/father figure.

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He didn't, actually.

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Originally Posted by The Giant

Miko is not legally Shojo's daughter, but he did "adopt" her in the sense of taking her under his wing and mentoring her. As was mentioned in the main comic, she was only 13 at the time, so she would have been living under his roof rather than being on her own. As a result, both Miko and Hinjo were told to think of each other as cousins. As adults, they no longer see each other in that light, because they are not actually cousins and Miko's general behavior in the interim has already brought strain to that relationship. I'm sure they had a big falling out at some point, but that's not what the story was about so I didn't show it. And to be clear, I don't feel like I need to spell this out in the text just so that everyone can feel like all the dots connect.

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Originally Posted by Jasdoif

He didn't, actually.

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You say tomato I say tomate.

Both are red fruits and thus would not be found in Azure City.

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Originally Posted by Kish

Both are red fruits and thus would not be found in Azure City.

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Gobbotopia should have no problem with them, though.

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Originally Posted by Kish

Both are red fruits and thus would not be found in Azure City.

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I beg to differ. :smallwink:

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Originally Posted by Emanick

Gobbotopia should have no problem with them, though.

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Are they Evil, though?

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Originally Posted by Fyraltari

Are they Evil, though?

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Yes. Yes, they are.

Random non-HtPGHS thoughts:

I was not expecting to tear up over Sangwaan. Damn.

Kazumi remains awesome and should demand a duel on a matter of honour and lemon squares.

Teen Lien is great.

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Originally Posted by Juggling Goth

Random non-HtPGHS thoughts:

I was not expecting to tear up over Sangwaan. Damn.

Kazumi remains awesome and should demand a duel on a matter of honour and lemon squares.

Teen Lien is great.

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I bet Teen Lien would appreciate Kazumi's lemon squares.

What teenager doesn't appreciate free food?

Reactions as I read the book.

• [page 3] Thog is alive! I knew it! And he learned some big words. Perhaps he chose to learn some after Roy used his intelligence to defeat him in a fight.
• [page 6] More architecture that isn't load-bearing! Roy would love it.
• [page 8] Is that a spirit of fire? Or a spirit of nature? It's hard to tell with no colors.
• [page 14] Wow, that grim reaper banana is scary.
• [page 16] Hmm. So they need a mindless construct, strong but dumb, to possess. Where can they get one of those?
• [page 18] Another character with a peg leg?
• [page 20] Hinjo looks strange for some reason. But I checked the online comics, and it doesn't look like he's changed significantly, once you account for the art upgrade after book 5.
• [page 22] Oh no. This is too close to an aesop for me to handle. I'll just have to ignore it when I re-read the story.
• [page 24] Kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty!
• [page 26] Haha, a giant rat.
• [page 28] It can … teleport Scruffy? Oh, so that must be the carbuncule thing that people have been talking about in other threads! I bet Redcloak has some hidden motive to summoning that pet for the MitD. Like, maybe he's actually suspecting that the MitD was involved in the Escape or something.
• [page 29] Dimension Door, I think. I think they didn't go very far. That drawing of the happy monster in the third panel is nice.
• [page 30] Is that the hydra buffet? Also, wow, this monster can use his Dimension Door ability a lot of times. Doesn't he have some sort of limit, like four times a day or so?
• [page 34] Look, gloves for three-fingered cartoon hands.
• [page 38] Ok, I think she's just making stuff up at this point, no longer telling real spoilers.
• [page 40] Therkla should have put his feet down when the son mentioned a girlfriend.
• [page 42] Lol at the statue.
• [page 47] More lol at the poison resistance stuff. And yay for the higher payroll.
• [page 55] Aaaah! A banshee! Or a hag or something, I don't really know. I guess after the non-threatening undead in the first story, we need a scary undead creature to balance the book.
• [page 62] This was a nice story, the one about Lien. Thank you, Giant.

I'll rest the rest of the stories later, perhaps tomorrow.

Update: continuing the book now.

• [page 67] This is why the Paladin ability Summon Conscience is so useful: captain O-Chul can get some use of even a deserting soldier using it.
• [page 79] This is starting to get too many people for a scout mission. They can't hope to be stealthy anymore.
• [page 80, Kapoor kills two hobgoblins in one attack] How did she do that? Oh, I see, she's a veteran rangers, probably high level, so she can do a full attack with two attacks.
• [page 89] A dolphin? In a river? How did that get there? Oh right, she's still a high-level ranger, she probably summoned it. Its nose looks a bit disfigured though.
• [page 98] Hmm, who's that hobgoblin leader? I don't think we've met him yet. Though he at least a headdress and sceptre and amulet like the other hobgoblin leader.
• [page 111] Another dolphin? And this time in a water reservoir? She can cast two level 3 spells a day? [page 112] Ah, I see. That was the scroll. I thought the scroll would just break down the dam.
• [page 116] The Gate spell works in the OOTS. [page 117] And the Candle of Invocation continues to burn after the Gate spell is cast using it.
• [page 124] We're getting a bonus story in a story!
• [page 130] Lol at the fifth panel.
• [page 132] Good, captain O-Chul has the unspoken plan guarantee on his side. I wonder if the plan is just talking the planetar off his engagement on account that it will start a war.
• [page 146] Another neck twist kill after Zz'dtri's death.
• [page 148] Hehe. Lord Shojo does some heavy burns.
• [page 150] "I'll'" is a typo for "I'll".
• [page 153] Yes! She did pay for the scroll!
• [page 160] That was a long story, but it was worth it. Thank you, Giant. Hello, Argent.