Results 1 to 30 of 35
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2007-04-17, 11:29 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2006
- Location
- Annar
- Gender
"I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
Sounds like the kind of thing a tyrant would say....I mean, getting rid of free speech from one of your closest (and most trusted?) advisors, and making it sound like he was lucky to have the right to free speech in the first place? Jeez. At least Stanley only makes people call him Lord/Tool....
Thoughts?"Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand, I don't care, I'm still free, you can't take the sky from me. Take me out to the black, tell 'em I ain't comin' back, burn the land and boil the sea, you can't take the sky from me. There's no place I can be since I found Serenity, but you can't take the sky from me."
May the Force be with you.
Why are you standing in the courtyard holding a parasol painted like a bullseye?
Highlight: I prepared Explosive Runes this morning.
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2007-04-17, 11:36 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2007
- Gender
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
If it were me, and I was not looking forward to a question like that, especially when I knew the answer, and my adviser was as close as that, I would have said the same thing. Something to cut the tension and admit I knew the answer without answering it.
I am starting to think this Erf world is more of a shades of gray then good and evil. I like it.
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2007-04-17, 11:36 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2006
- Gender
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2007-04-17, 11:50 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2006
- Location
- Ypsitucky, MI
- Gender
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
However, keeping a vampire-ish creature in your army IS a sign of pure, unadulterated evil. Obviously horrendously evil, and vile, and wicked, and otherwise not-nice. Wretchedly foul, even. Disgustingly naughty. Repulsive, repugnant, and irreputable. <Insert more synonyms here>
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2007-04-17, 11:55 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2006
- Location
- Annar
- Gender
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
"Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand, I don't care, I'm still free, you can't take the sky from me. Take me out to the black, tell 'em I ain't comin' back, burn the land and boil the sea, you can't take the sky from me. There's no place I can be since I found Serenity, but you can't take the sky from me."
May the Force be with you.
Why are you standing in the courtyard holding a parasol painted like a bullseye?
Highlight: I prepared Explosive Runes this morning.
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2007-04-17, 11:57 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2006
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
Ansom's expression in the panel where he says that suggests he's saying it jokingly - as a way to move the conversation off the topic, yes, but because Ansom knows Vinnie respects him enough to take the hint, not because he was issuing an actual order. If he had been glowering when he said it, I might interpret it otherwise, but as it is it just looks like he's talking with Vinnie buddy-to-buddy, and made reference to his position of authority only for the sake of humor.
(In a similar way, Vinnie's use of "Boss" doesn't strike me as an underling's deference to authority so much as a conveniently respectful "nickname" of sorts.)Last edited by Psychonaut; 2007-04-17 at 11:59 PM.
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2007-04-18, 12:01 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2006
- Location
- Annar
- Gender
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
But in the last panel, Vinnie is so serious....And while it's true that matters are very serious, and they shouldn't be joking about the upcoming battle, he almost looks angry for having to obey someone who isn't smart enough to see that he's walking into a trap.
And Ansom should know as well that from a military standpoint, he can't shirk from a question like "do you trust this person?""Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand, I don't care, I'm still free, you can't take the sky from me. Take me out to the black, tell 'em I ain't comin' back, burn the land and boil the sea, you can't take the sky from me. There's no place I can be since I found Serenity, but you can't take the sky from me."
May the Force be with you.
Why are you standing in the courtyard holding a parasol painted like a bullseye?
Highlight: I prepared Explosive Runes this morning.
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2007-04-18, 12:08 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2007
- Location
- The frozen wastes
- Gender
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
I'm strongly of the mind that Ansom really isn't anywhere near as benevolent as he seems, but I gotta say that line came off more as banter with a friend than as an order from a tyrant.
"River" cancels eat: Food is problematic.
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2007-04-18, 12:08 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2007
- Gender
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." - Freud
I think more of us need to remember that.
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2007-04-18, 12:10 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2006
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
But in the last panel, Vinnie is so serious....And while it's true that matters are very serious, and they shouldn't be joking about the upcoming battle, he almost looks angry for having to obey someone who isn't smart enough to see that he's walking into a trap.
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2007-04-18, 02:21 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Mar 2007
- Location
- Old Blighty
- Gender
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
I have to agree. It sounds more like a friendly joke than a tyrannical command, and Vinnie seems to be looking serious to get Ansom to realise that he is serious. Not angry. I'd guess V&A are close friends.
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2007-04-18, 02:58 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2007
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2007-04-18, 03:56 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2005
- Location
- Northern Virginia
- Gender
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
I don't think he shirked the question at all -- it seems clear to me that this was a way of saying "I'm really not sure".
That's my read on it -- Vinnie chuckles before continuing the conversation. Also, note the initial exchange:
Vinnie: "One more time to charge to Zamussels' rescue, Prince? Or are you goin' there to croak her with your bare hands?"
Ansom: "Heh. I don't know, Vinny. Maybe I'll decide when I get there." (emphasis added, and note that Ansom's expression is certainly not that of someone who actually has murder on his mind.)
They're bantering.Last edited by SteveMB; 2007-04-18 at 05:07 AM. Reason: Additional Reply without second message
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2007-04-18, 11:00 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jun 2005
- Location
- Spain
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
The abilities of the Force: Control, Alter, Delete.
Zombie Apocalypse if and only if Cake.
My Little Dashie made me cry.
Be the Ultimate Ninja! Play Billy Vs. SNAKEMAN today!
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2007-04-19, 01:11 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2006
- Location
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
It's really somewhere between a joke and a command. Ansom doesn't really mean he forbids Vinnie to ask him difficult questions, but it's not totally lighthearted, either--it's an uncomfortable joke meant to deflect the discussion from something he's not happy thinking about.
Vinnie's expression is serious because he's really not satisfied with that. He thinks his old friend and commander is in grave danger, and doesn't want him sticking his fingers in his ears, even temporarily.My latest homebrew: Gastrus
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2007-04-19, 04:40 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2005
- Location
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
People have really got to stop reading so much into Stanley and Ansom's various passing comments. Not everything these two say is a comment about the legal or moral situation in their respective countries. You may have noticed also that people see what they want to see in these circumstances. It's not evidence, it's confirmation bias.
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2007-04-19, 06:02 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2006
- Location
- Dublin, Ireland
- Gender
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
"Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point."
~~~ C. S. LewisFirst Mate on board Hinjo's Junk
Theological Advisor of the Hinjo Fan Club
Shark Smiter of the O-Chul Fan Club
GitP Folding Team
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2007-04-19, 06:49 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2005
- Location
- Northern Virginia
- Gender
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2007-04-19, 11:05 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2007
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
I think Ansom's response is more of an "I'd really rather not think about that because I might not like the answer." deal. Blissful ignorance. Given he's romantically interested in Jillian, it's a perfectly normal thing to do; blatantly overlook a love interest's faults in favor of holding up this image that they are perfection incarnate.
As far as the candor of the comment, I think he was being flippant. He seems to allow Vinny a great deal of linguistic freedom, more as one would a friend than a minion. It has the air of humorously dodging the question, not "Shut up meatbag."
As for the last panel, I don't think Vinny is at all annoyed he has to say that. I expect Ansom already knows this; having Vinny say it out loud emphasizes how obvious a gambit it is. But Ansom will probably go ahead with his galant rescue anyhow. Because he seems the type to do so.
Oh, and to be fair, on page 39 of the comic, Stanley gives Parson permission to speak. So he's not exactly ruling from a democratic/republic standpoint either.
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2007-04-19, 11:30 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2005
- Location
- Northern Virginia
- Gender
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
There's certainly an element of that (though being unable to give an immediate and straightforward answer to the question "Do you trust so-and-so" pretty much is an answer, and I think Ansom realizes that).
It's interesting to compare this exchange to the previous occasion when Vinnie asked Ansom a question (about his true motives for opposing Stanley) to which Ansom didn't want to give a straight answer. Vinnie was more insistent on pressing that question, and Ansom seemed more uncomfortable confronting it. It's as if that question were more important and/or more troubling than the current question (whether Ansom trusts Jillian), which seems rather odd. Is it just that they were under more stress at the time, or is there something more to it?Last edited by SteveMB; 2007-04-19 at 11:33 AM.
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2007-04-19, 12:25 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2005
- Location
- Denmark
- Gender
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
What i find interesting is what seems to be Vinies point in the last panel.
Vinnie says by th word: "Do you trust me?" he gets an affirmative answer to which he says: "Then don't go this time,boss. it's what they're expecting."
Basicly, what i read out of this is: "this might very well be a trap, i can go alone, so you and the aliance won't be in danger".
This is a very interesting thing for a mob like vampire dude to say :)
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2007-04-19, 02:49 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2004
- Location
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
Hark! An avatar drawn by Kate Beaton!
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2007-04-19, 03:04 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Sep 2006
- Location
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
There's whole classes of "impossible orders" that can't be carried out.
Like "I order you to not read this order".
There's also physically impossible orders. Like "I order you to become 100 ft tall." "I order you to never die." (Pretty useful order before combat, otherwise)
And there's probably rule breaking orders as well. "I order your stats to be the max high, have a million hit points, and never take damage" and "I order you to always hit and for your opponents to always miss."
Orders are also subjective in their interpretation. Look at the problems when Parson was ordered to laugh at Tool's jokes but couldn't tell which were actual jokes and which were not. Probably as one improves at your own ability to interpret and bend orders to your own means (as Wanda has), an order like this would be so subjective that it would be ignorable.
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2007-04-19, 03:07 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jun 2005
- Location
- Memphis, TN, USA
- Gender
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
I got the impression he was basically saying "Look, I don't really know the answer and I'm starting to get uncomfortable, can we please change the subject?"
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2007-04-19, 03:07 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2005
- Location
- Northern Virginia
- Gender
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
I agree; Vinnie doesn't need to spell out what he's really asking (for Ansom to stay behind and let him take care of this). I suspect that they've had this conversation before, given that Ansom flying to the rescue is an established pattern.
It seems to me that if Ansom's (stated) reason for going himself is one of noblesse oblige, it ties back to their previous conversation -- in Ansom's worldview, taking such traditional responsibilities seriously is one of the reasons why nobles are suited to rule and commoners aren't. (The fact that Vinnie is also a noble doesn't count (pun unintentional); some things you just have to do yourself.)Last edited by SteveMB; 2007-04-19 at 04:45 PM.
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2007-04-19, 04:05 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2006
- Location
- Argentina
- Gender
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2007-04-20, 07:25 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2005
- Location
- Northern Virginia
- Gender
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
Speculation:
SpoilerThat would be all the more true if my suspicion that the battle plan Ansom described to Jillian isn't exactly the real one -- if so, he was presumably hoping to prove his doubts wrong but feeling that he couldn't risk the possibility that they were right. He wouldn't be at all happy about it, and would not appreciate the reminder.
At this point, we can but wait and see.Last edited by SteveMB; 2007-04-20 at 10:24 AM.
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2007-04-20, 10:08 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2006
- Location
- In deNile
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
Ansom was joking around with Vinny. Hence Ansom's face in that panal, and Vinny laughing in the next one. They both know it's a difficult subject, and Vinny appreciates the jokery.
Awesome Avatar by Shattersnap.
Spoiler
Many thanks to El Goonish Shive for the banner image.
Give a player a fish, and he’ll probably try to sell it to an NPC fisherman.
Teach a player to fish, and next week he’ll show up with the book, “The Complete Adventuring Fisherman”. He’ll start hunting for some monstrous leviathan to catch and enslave, and he’ll be dual-wielding two fishing poles.
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2007-04-23, 08:52 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2007
- Location
- Somewhere
- Gender
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
This is a joke, right? You did actually read and comprehend the comic, right? You noticed that he did, in fact, take Vinnie's advice? He was joking with his buddy. It's obvious that Ansom sees the value of Vinnie's advice, even if it does make him have to consider difficult questions that he'd rather not think about.
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2007-04-23, 11:01 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2006
- Location
- Annar
- Gender
Re: "I hereby revoke your permission to ask me difficult questions."
"Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand, I don't care, I'm still free, you can't take the sky from me. Take me out to the black, tell 'em I ain't comin' back, burn the land and boil the sea, you can't take the sky from me. There's no place I can be since I found Serenity, but you can't take the sky from me."
May the Force be with you.
Why are you standing in the courtyard holding a parasol painted like a bullseye?
Highlight: I prepared Explosive Runes this morning.