OOTS #1043 - The Discussion Thread

[Peelee]

Actually, if they were cooked in an oak fire and marinated in garlic and holy water, but kept extra rare, they might qualify as tartare, which means he could still use them to kill the vampires... what Vampire could resist the delicious sent of bloody steak with a heavenly aroma?

"Tartare" generally means raw.

[theNater]

Frankly I think it likely that her repairing damage to the the ships inner walls likely took all night...

Based on what?

It also seem irrevalavant as to whether Bandana should have stuck around to oversee items on the ship during the day - again any random thing that might occur where a firm management decision would be needed.

Time going wonky is relevant because Bandana being gone for a couple of hours is different from Bandana being gone all day.

(she didn't even know to pay them until one of them reminded her)...

At which point she got them paid extravagantly for minimal work.

[Kish]

I would also point out that "didn't remember to pay them" could also be rephrased to "didn't realize that she was the only one on board who was counting 'paying for the bulk of our really expensive ship repair' as something that meant anything."

[DaggerPen]

Were Andi really secure in her claim to the ship and viewing Bandana as just a kid getting experience, one might imagine she would be a little more patient and willing to explain to the kid making newbie mistakes who's already landed them a cushy payday regardless.

[Jasdoif]

Were Andi really secure in her claim to the ship and viewing Bandana as just a kid getting experience, one might imagine she would be a little more patient and willing to explain to the kid making newbie mistakes who's already landed them a cushy payday regardless.

Perhaps Merchtopian Julio's view on job security reflects in-universe Julio's?

[Corneel]

I'd also like to point that Dancrilis' complaints about Bandana aren't reflected in Andi's comments about the situation in the comic. She hasn't complained about Bandana gallivanting off during repairs, not taking her management duties seriously or forcing Andi to supervise repairs while sleep deprived.

So whatever the relative value of Dancrilis' reasoning about Bandana's fitness for command of the vessel, it is not in evidence in the comic that Andi follows the same reasoning.

So even if Dancrilis, despite most people disagreeing with him, is right about Bandana's competence, as far as the comic shows his beef with Bandana is not Andi's beef with Bandana.

[Jasdoif]

...as far as the comic shows his beef with Bandana is not Andi's beef with Bandana.

Beef? You think Andi's not sharing her steak?

[Corneel]

Beef? You think Andi's not sharing her steak?

Why should she. Everyone has their own st(e)ak(e).

[Jasdoif]

Why should she. Everyone has their own st(e)ak(e).

Well, if Andi has a beef with Bandana like you said, then Andi's clearly sharing her steak; why would she share with Bandana and not dancrilis? It sure doesn't look like there's too much at steak....I thought for a moment that maybe the cow was cursed with an accuracy penalty, but why would Andi eat any of a miss-steak?

[Corneel]

Well, if Andi has a beef with Bandana like you said, then Andi's clearly sharing her steak; why would she share with Bandana and not dancrilis? It sure doesn't look like there's too much at steak....I thought for a moment that maybe the cow was cursed with an accuracy penalty, but why would Andi eat any of a miss-steak?

There's more than one steak in a beef.

[Kish]

I'd also add that talking about Andi's working hard to repair the ship in terms of her having a legitimate grudge against Bandana smacks of "Bandana is wrong because she's Bandana." Bandana and the people Andi wanted to stop acting like a "ferry service" for arranged for the ship's repair; Andi spearheaded the movement to treat the repair being paid for as worth nothing to anyone but Bandana.

[Corneel]

I'd also add that talking about Andi's working hard to repair the ship in terms of her having a legitimate grudge against Bandana smacks of "Bandana is wrong because she's Bandana." Bandana and the people Andi wanted to stop acting like a "ferry service" for arranged for the ship's repair; Andi spearheaded the movement to treat the repair being paid for as worth nothing to anyone but Bandana.

Well if they hadn't played ferry service for the OoTS, they might not have needed those repairs, so the argument is not totally without merit.

[Squeeq]

You know, I feel like going into town and having a wacky and dramatic adventure with a bunch of PC's is probably exactly the kind of leadership skills that Julio was demonstrating to bandanna et al. throughout the course of his captaincy, considering that he has ferried Elan around after their training, and ALSO spontaneously showed up in the desert on explicitly personal missions both times, without a guarantee of real pay. Except for the fact that the crew would be fans of Julio and not Bandanna, I can't see how any of her actions are particularly different than what Julio could be assumed to be doing, considering his character so far. Not that we expressly know everything of course.

[Kish]

Well if they hadn't played ferry service for the OoTS, they might not have needed those repairs, so the argument is not totally without merit.

I think that only seems to work on the surface. Piracy is dangerous. Substantially more dangerous than being a ferry service. Andi is exhorting the crew to get back to more dangerous activities; for her to argue for that at the same time as blaming Bandana for the recent damage to the ship would smack of the "throw everything at the wall and see what sticks" approach to the desired conclusion "Bandana shouldn't be in charge."

[Corneel]

I think that only seems to work on the surface. Piracy is dangerous. Substantially more dangerous than being a ferry service. Andi is exhorting the crew to get back to more dangerous activities; for her to argue for that at the same time as blaming Bandana for the recent damage to the ship would smack of the "throw everything at the wall and see what sticks" approach to the desired conclusion "Bandana shouldn't be in charge."

Surface reasoning sometimes trumps deep or true reasoning as far as convincing people goes.

[Iximaz]

I'm probably going to get lynched for saying this, but I think you guys are reading way too much into Andi saying she had a better claim to the ship than Bandana. Unless Scoundrél suddenly bites it/retires for good, it's irrelevant who's got a better claim to the ship. The line read more as a throw-away detail showing how much Andi cares about the Mechane to me, not that there's foreshadowing for an eventual mutiny or whatever.

But, you know, that's just my opinion.

[Kish]

That reads like you're thinking this is the first thing Andi's said against Bandana and people are jumping to conclusions based on it alone.

If that's accurate, there are multiple strips since they were introduced that it might be a good idea to reread--most of all this one.

If you knew that, and you just don't think that tension will ever be brought up again, my apologies for misreading you.

[Basement Cat]

I'm not sure...I'm starting to get the impression Andi's main issue is that she wasn't the one left in charge, and Bandana's the target of the related frustration because Bandana was left in charge.

Yeah, I'm getting a "Fury of the undervalued" vibe from Andi, myself.

She's older than Bandana and has 15 years of experience keeping the Mechane together only to have Julio put "the kid" in command? Throw in her working overnight getting the Mechane fixed while Bandana goes out with the PC's and it's not hard to see why Andi is smarting with resentment.

This being a D&D world Julio placing Bandana in charge could be attributed to Andi having a lower charisma than Bandana.

[Basement Cat]

I think Belkar has far more skillsets, than those. Murder, Cooking, Jumping, Animal Befriending, Recognizing Evil, Singing, Plot Driving, Surviving, Kobold Corpse Usage, Snarking, Comedic Timing, Taunting, Role Playing, Vocabulary abuse... and he is expanding the list all the time.

Please don't forget "Craft Disturbing Mental Image"

[DaggerPen]

Yeah, I'm getting a "Fury of the undervalued" vibe from Andi, myself.

She's older than Bandana and has 15 years of experience keeping the Mechane together only to have Julio put "the kid" in command? Throw in her working overnight getting the Mechane fixed while Bandana goes out with the PC's and it's not hard to see why Andi is smarting with resentment.

This being a D&D world Julio placing Bandana in charge could be attributed to Andi having a lower charisma than Bandana.

Please don't forget "Craft Disturbing Mental Image"

Just as a friendly heads up, in order to avoid double posting, there's actually an edit option available in each post! If you want to reply to an additional quote specifically, you can just click the 'quote' button and copy/paste the information there to a new response. Double-posting is generally considered a bit of a faux pas around here, since it clogs up the post page and makes skimming the thread for a post harder, among other reasons.

[Kish]

If you want to reply to an additional quote specifically, you can just click the 'quote' button and copy/paste the information there to a new response.

Or click the multiquote button (pair of quote marks next with a + sign next to it) for each post and then hit Reply to Thread, or hit the quote button for only the last one you want to quote.

[DaggerPen]

Or click the multiquote button (pair of quote marks next with a + sign next to it) for each post and then hit Reply to Thread, or hit the quote button for only the last one you want to quote.

Good point! I meant more for just if you need to edit it in after you've already posted, but if you're posting all at once, multiquote is the best.

[8BitNinja]

Allergies to wet silver bricks

This is a common one among werewolves and iron alike

[Iximaz]

That reads like you're thinking this is the first thing Andi's said against Bandana and people are jumping to conclusions based on it alone.

If that's accurate, there are multiple strips since they were introduced that it might be a good idea to reread--most of all this one.

If you knew that, and you just don't think that tension will ever be brought up again, my apologies for misreading you.

The latter. Yes, I think Andi's got reasons to be upset with Bandana, but not to the extent people are making it out to be. Even if Julio had handed control over to somebody more competent, people would have been dissatisfied with a change in the status quo. I'm 99% certain that it's just adding a bit of depth to the world and characters, and that it's not foreshadowing an eventual confrontation. (And if there was a confrontation, it would be more along the lines of "Hey, you're kind of not running things the way we like, so shape up, B" and not "I'm taking over as the captain now, k?")

[DaggerPen]

This is a common one among werewolves and iron alike

And... iron?

[Takver]

The latter. Yes, I think Andi's got reasons to be upset with Bandana, but not to the extent people are making it out to be. Even if Julio had handed control over to somebody more competent, people would have been dissatisfied with a change in the status quo. I'm 99% certain that it's just adding a bit of depth to the world and characters, and that it's not foreshadowing an eventual confrontation. (And if there was a confrontation, it would be more along the lines of "Hey, you're kind of not running things the way we like, so shape up, B," and not "I'm taking over as the captain now, k?")

Ooooh, I totally disagree. I mean, it sounds like you're saying that Andi doesn't have a good enough reason to cause serious trouble for Bandana (and our heroes.) And I agree with that. Andi's nursing a frustrated sense of entitlement that doesn't seem to entirely reflect reality. But this?

I'm 99% certain that it's just adding a bit of depth to the world and characters, and that it's not foreshadowing an eventual confrontation.

No way. Andi's problems with Bandana and the misuse (to Andi's mind) of the Mechane have come up in at least six comics (952, 961, 965, 988, 1028, 1043.) In the more recent three of those, by my judgment, this tension is a major focus of the strip. This is a plot point that's being developed. It started out with little snipes (Andi refusing to call Bandana "Captain," Bandana telling Andi not to get her knickers in a twist) and has escalated. In 1028, Andi tries getting the rest of the crew to side with her, but they're mollified by the money Roy offers them, which serves to divide her from them. In this comic, we learn more about her sense of protective ownership for the Mechane, her belief that she has been personally wronged by Julio's choice of Bandana as acting captain, and her continuing dissatisfaction with the general situation aboard the ship. In short, she's clearly being set up to blow. If this has all been just for a bit of flavor, that's bad writing.

[skim172]

Y'know, if we're gonna analogize the management structure of a fantasy pirate airship to that of a modern office environment, then I suggest that Andi lost out on the promotion for not correctly filing her TPS reports.



Meanwhile, Bandanna has never forgotten a single one of her co-worker's birthdays and she brings her special homemade cookies to the department potlucks, while Andi always brings just napkins.

And of course, Bandanna observes her workplace dress code so fanatically that she changed her own name to reflect the most iconic garment of the pirate life (a bandanna). Meanwhile, Andi wears a scarf. Imagine! A pirate wearing a scarf! It's not technically against the rules, but it is rather looked upon unfavorably by management. But no matter how many company-wide memos we send out subtly referring to the importance of enthusiasm and team spirit, some people just can't be bothered to reflect pride, passion, and flair in their professional dress.

And y'know, Andi NEVER forwards the company email chain letters. *shakes head*

[Basement Cat]

Just as a friendly heads up, in order to avoid double posting, there's actually an edit option available in each post! If you want to reply to an additional quote specifically, you can just click the 'quote' button and copy/paste the information there to a new response. Double-posting is generally considered a bit of a faux pas around here, since it clogs up the post page and makes skimming the thread for a post harder, among other reasons.

I know. I didn't mean to mess up. My toddler niece jumped on my lap and I got distracted.

Oops.

Thanx for the friendly reminder. It's much more pleasant here than on some sites' forums.

[DaggerPen]

I know. I didn't mean to mess up. My toddler niece jumped on my lap and I got distracted.

Oops.

Thanx for the friendly reminder. It's much more pleasant here than on some sites' forums.

No problem! Toddlers can do that sort of thing XD

[Peelee]

No problem! Toddlers can do that sort of thing XD

For a second, I thought you meant "toddlers can give polite heads-up," and I was all sorts of confused.