A Friend, An Ally. <Spoiler-ish Speculation>

[Silverlocke980]

Just a note on Misty- who has stolen my freakin' heart, because her little broken, beaten design has just made me cry a whole bunch.

(I'm emotional for a big man!)

I think she's going to be terribly vital to Parson's plans, even more so than Wanda or Sizemore. Wanda is a "big" character, so we know we should be watching her... but what if it's all misdirection?

Misty, as one of the ones having direct control over the army, might be the most valuable ally Parson can get.

That he could get this ally just by asking her name also makes my heart break a little.

(Tears! And then some more!)

Thoughts?

[BarGamer]

Is it just me, or was she recently "croaked" or "raised from the dead?" Or is that un-croaked? Arg. Anyways, yes, she is so pathetically cute, it's like watching an ugly Rei Ayanami. Or something.

[Demented]

Malourished and captive, probably, but not uncroaked. Maybe even old, as someone theorized.

[Moik]

I got the feeling of wanting to give her a hug, a cup of hot chocolate, and tell her it'll be okay. It's amazing what they've twigged in people with the subtleties of this page.

[Moechi_Vill]

Yeah. I feel for her. Parson also wanted to let her go back to sleep. It's incredibly what one can get sometimes for a little bit of friendliness. Stanley doesn't give his employees a lot of sunlight, hmm?

[Ultimatum479]

She's loyal to Gobwin Knob and he's the Chief Warlord. She would've helped him even if he weren't being nice.

[SteveMB]

I think she's going to be terribly vital to Parson's plans, even more so than Wanda or Sizemore. Wanda is a "big" character, so we know we should be watching her... but what if it's all misdirection?

I'm reminded of Scientivore's idea of reading things in view of the very first narration sentence "It's the little things which make a difference sometimes." Perhaps Parson's treating Misty decently (possibly the first time anybody ever did) is one of those "little things".

[SteveMB]

Is it just me, or was she recently "croaked" or "raised from the dead?" Or is that un-croaked? Arg. Anyways, yes, she is so pathetically cute, it's like watching an ugly Rei Ayanami. Or something.

Her skin tone seems to suggest that, but that could just be the odd color effects of the light globe. I think it's more likely that she looks that way as a result of long-term poor conditions. (Stanley really is a son of a boop, isn't he?)

She's loyal to Gobwin Knob and he's the Chief Warlord. She would've helped him even if he weren't being nice.

If that were all there were to it, she could have gone back to sleep, as she was permitted -- indeed, ordered -- to do. No, she's trying to help the first person who treated her like a human being in Titans know how long.

[Strengfellow]

The whole "Uhm, what's your name" wasn't an act of kindness, it wasn't even a particularly friendly act it was just a basic courtesy said as automatically and as arbitrarily as have a nice day, with almost as much sincerity.

Parson asked because he has been conditioned to do so, he doesn't (yet?) feel comfortable dismissing people out of hand the way Stan and Wanda do.

Also we now confront Stanley's enslavement and mistreatment of his minions.
"Name? Just Lookamancer now. Was called Misty" Look at her face and yet Parson doesn't bat an eyelid and just politely dismisses Misty.

This exchange is viewed in a profoundly different manner by Misty, this is almost certainly the first time she has used or indeed had her name used in what must seem like an eternity.

Then to have the warlord send her to bed after apologising for waking her whilst he settles down to pull an all nighter spurs an uncharacteristic moment of confidence. How this impacts on the other Lookamancers will be very interesting

[SteveMB]

The whole "Uhm, what's your name" wasn't an act of kindness, it wasn't even a particularly friendly act it was just a basic courtesy said as automatically and as arbitrarily as have a nice day, with almost as much sincerity.

Parson asked because he has been conditioned to do so, he doesn't (yet?) feel comfortable dismissing people out of hand the way Stan and Wanda do.

Also we now confront Stanley's enslavement and mistreatment of his minions.
"Name? Just Lookamancer now. Was called Misty" Look at her face and yet Parson doesn't bat an eyelid and just politely dismisses Misty.

True. However, if anything, Parson acting reflexively out of what little social graces he possesses (remember, we're talking about a guy who didn't bother to put on a clean T-shirt, assuming that he has any, when his friends are coming to visit) makes the "little things" point all the stronger, I think.

This exchange is viewed in a profoundly different manner by Misty, this is almost certainly the first time she has used or indeed had her name used in what must seem like an eternity.

Then to have the warlord send her to bed after apologising for waking her whilst he settles down to pull an all nighter spurs an uncharacteristic moment of confidence. How this impacts on the other Lookamancers will be very interesting

Precisely.

[JazzManJim]

Look at her face and yet Parson doesn't bat an eyelid and just politely dismisses Misty.

I wouldn't call it simply a polite dismissal.

Parson has to realize at this point that he actually can boss these little creatures around (with one or two notable exceptions). He knows that he could have Misty stick around and help him if he wanted to. He made a conscious decision to apologize for waking her up and to make sure she knew that she could go back to sleep.

I think that belies a great deal more decency inside him than his lack of social skills would lead us to believe he has.

[Simons Mith]

Her skin tone seems to suggest that, but that could just be the odd color effects of the light globe. I think it's more likely that she looks that way as a result of long-term poor conditions. (Stanley really is a son of a boop, isn't he?)

If that were all there were to it, she could have gone back to sleep, as she was permitted -- indeed, ordered -- to do. No, she's trying to help the first person who treated her like a human being in Titans know how long.

Yeah, I felt sorry for the three wretches chained to the gaming table as well. And I spotted the poor state they were in when they were first shown. And Stanley is a son of a boop. But in this case I think it's an unintended consequence; the map table is in a room with no natural light. Erfworld, I suspect, is constantly at war. Well, it's a wargame world, after all. All day, the lookamancer toils at the gaming table helping the overlord, whoever he is, fight his battles. At night, the gaming table is shut down, but the room remains guarded round the clock, and being a lookamancer the game table room will be where she sleeps. So she probably hasn't seen the sun - or even the outside of that room - since she became a lookamancer.

Seeing as Stanley treats all his troops like counters to be moved about a map, it would literally never occur to him to take steps to improve the conditions of servants/slaves/captives such as Misty. But of course, even if Stanley's maltreatment is simply due to his total obliviousness to the plight of other beings, that does not make it any less horrible for them.

I also agree with those who think this is a little thing that may make a big, big difference.

[Closet_Skeleton]

This comic has a knack for endeering you to minor characters the moment you meet them.

[Runolfr]

She's loyal to Gobwin Knob and he's the Chief Warlord. She would've helped him even if he weren't being nice.

The Chief Warlord gave her permission to go back to sleep. She's helping because she wants to.

[Ultimatum479]

If that were all there were to it, she could have gone back to sleep, as she was permitted...

The Chief Warlord gave her permission to go back to sleep. She's helping because she wants to.

Misty seems confused when Parson asks about her name. She doesn't seem bitter, upset, resigned...just confused. She doesn't feel mistreated by Stanley. She thinks that her life is completely normal; ceaselessly toiling for her superiors without regard for her own health is her duty, and she doesn't seem upset about performing that duty. Thus, it's as natural for her to help her Chief Warlord as it would be natural for you to eat when you're hungry: it's a habit for you to find something to eat when you want to eat, and it's a habit for her to try to help the higher-ranking Knob-ers when they seem to require assistance.

If she seemed more upset about Stanley's control over her, then I'd be more inclined to agree with you guys. As it is, Parson's habitual politeness will soon develop into genuine care for the well-being of Misty if she helps him out, which will probably in turn spark some sort of rebellion within Misty against Stanley. But currently, she has nothing against her Overlord.

[TiamatRoar]

No one ever said she had anything against Stanley.

[Runolfr]

I genuinely think that Misty is helping Parson more out of a sense of gratitude (for treating her as a person) than out of a sense of duty.

[charles]

I agree that she's pale from lack of light, but she could simply be a little old rather than malnourished and worse for wear because she's woken up in the middle of the night.

Those chains may not be restraints but devices that draw energy from the "mancers" to power the table (one mancer shows the illusion, one tells the first what to show and the last keeps Stanly informed and relays orders to troops). The chains may simply help link their powers to work together.

I definately think that Misty is probably knowlegable of game mechanics thanks to watching that table, etc. Hopefully she can finally help Parson out with that side of Erfworld rules.

[Moechi_Vill]

Who-what three chained to gaming table? *decides to look through archive later* thnx ;^_=

[SteveMB]

Who-what three chained to gaming table? *decides to look through archive later* thnx ;^_=

As shown in the flashback of the Lookamancers finding Jillian and putting together a dwagon squad to collect her and the scene of them reporting the loss of the spidew squad.

[Fineous Orlon]

I'm reminded of Scientivore's idea of reading things in view of the very first narration sentence "It's the little things which make a difference sometimes." Perhaps Parson's treating Misty decently (possibly the first time anybody ever did) is one of those "little things".

**Seconded**