Erfworld 78, Page 72

[SteveMB]

I think we broke Wanda....

[Lissou]

Wow. Feels like it's getting close to the end of a chapter, doesn't it?
I feel bad for W. She really looks terrible.

[teratorn]

I feel for Wanda. Oh well,she'll get over it. No tactical discussions about this one. I wonder why Stanley is breaking the link.

[Late Shift]

To me Stanley has shown a lot of character in this one... and for once the good kind. Looks like he might be making for his final stand.

[doliemaster]

Stanleys gone stupid .

[Ink]

Poor Wanda. Poor, poor Wanda. Look what you've done, Jillian!

But break the link? What is that about?

[PePe QuiCoSE]

well, the mention of the titan's makes me think about the arkentools more than anything else. So i think that Stanley has just scrapped the idea of conquering the arkentools through warfare and will try through another method, more arken-deserving. Maybe the arkenhammer can do things we don't know yet, who knows...
So, he just doesn't care about the rest of his stuff, minion, city, etc.

[JBrian]

Hmm, so failure is personal rather than situational? Wonder what that says about the situation Tool got them into prior to Hamster's arrival.

[Late Shift]

Stanleys gone stupid .

Why? With the circumstances, and his current position I would have done the same thing. He has no clue about the Meta like we do about Wanda. All three of them should be lucky they where not executed on the spot with what we know of Stanleys rage. He showed a great amount of restraint, and if I was him I would be banking on my final shot... trying for a duel.

[SteveMB]

I feel for Wanda. Oh well,she'll get over it. No tactical discussions about this one. I wonder why Stanley is breaking the link.

Right now, he'd rather wallow in despair than try to consider any attempt to salvage the situation. Ordering the Trimancer to break link might just be part of "kicking over the board" or it might be preparation to have the Foolamancer veil him while he "takes the Arkenhammer and gets out". (I think it's more the former in his current mood, but might shift more toward the latter later.)

[Sucrose]

Poor Wanda. Poor, poor Wanda. Look what you've done, Jillian!

But break the link? What is that about?

I believe that he's referring to the Trimancy setup itself. As for the strip itself...wow. That was a bombshell. If Parson's no longer going to be the Chief Warlord, then Goblin Knob is as screwed as Stanley thinks that it is.

And yes, poor Wanda. She may be an evil, evil being, but she just looks shell-shocked there.

[yoshi927]

I think Stanley's leaving.

[Xenon]

stanley has proven how much of an idiot-boss he really is.

the plot moves onward, and everyone is screwed now.

[Midgititp]

No, Stanley has not 'gone stupid' in my opinion.

He is realizing what most of us recognized long ago. Losing this battle effectively means that defending Goblin Knob is a lost cause.

Sure he could spend the next little while performing some delaying actions and losing some Dragons in hit and run forays against the Coalition. But in the end, he'd lose more Dragons for a cause that is lost.

In my opinion, he is showing a kind of sense that has been lost on many dictatorial leaders of his kind throughout history. In the words of OOTS, you gotta know when to hold 'em, and when to fold 'em, you gotta know when to walk away, and when to run.

I think he's planning on abandoning Goblin Knob. It'll be up to Parson to decide what to do from here on out, considering how badly messed up Wanda is right now.

[teratorn]

I believe that he's referring to the Trimancy setup itself.

At least we'll get to see Misty again.

[The Old Hack]

Poor Wanda. Poor, poor Wanda. Look what you've done, Jillian!

But break the link? What is that about?

The link was originally explained on page 47, as I recall. It may be for several reasons,
even tactical/strategical ones, but I suspect that Stanley is 'burning his bridges.' I
personally am more impressed by this than anything else Stanley has ever done,
and it does show that there is more to him than a ranting tin-pot little tyrant.
The glimmer we saw back when he originally faced Parson down with the power
of the Arkenhammer now proves to be the mere reflection of a true inner conflagration.

A smaller man (no pun intended) would have taken it out on his underlings. Stanley
didn't. For all his other failings, this at least shows that he has substance to him after
all.

[Zeku]

It's clear that Stanley either never understood the strategy that was being implemented, or he has gone into fatalism mode, which would be more of a sideways progression for him, at least as far as his personal character goes.

We know the fact that the Bs are still alive is irrelevant, because the warlords are dead. While this does mean that ordering the Bs to retreat is probably necessary, Stanley giving the order so quickly means he either already has a backup plan, or he already has a backup plan and he is also completely insane.

Perhaps we've lost sight of the fact that Stanley is a true bad guy, and that his schemes are going to manifest themselves in a very ugly way before all this is finished.

The link broken means that the battle is over in Stanley's eyes. Gobwin is just going to defend while his next plan is implemented.

Who was at fault? I would have to say Parson, for depending on intel from Wanda. Why is Wanda so distraught? We are assuming there is some kind of sick relationship between Jillian and Wanda, but she shouldn't be 'internally' upset if that were true and Jillian is still alive. Or alternatively, the true side of Wanda's weakness is revealed, that without the willing submission of Jillian she feels worthless? This is by far the most confusing part of the story to me, I still haven't figured out what Jillian experienced when the next day ticked over in the dungeon.

[K2]

Break the link...wow

[Bongos]

...kind of a let down of a strip.

I understand Stanley's reaction, Wanda and Hamster are supposed to be better than that.

Wanda really failed, which caused Hamster to fail.

It seems like Wanda and Hamster may no longer be part of Gobwin Knob? I don't know, and part of me does'nt care. Between the extreme story shifts, and the time between updates, if this comic was'nt on the OOTS site I would probably quit reading it.

...but I've been reading it literally since the first post, and since it is on the OOTS / Giant site I'll guess I will still read it.

[Ink]

I love the compassion that Parson shows Wanda and the panel of Parson carrying Wanda out. What next for the happy trio then? If Stanley takes his Arkenhammer and gets out, will Parson take over command of the city and try to defend it, I wonder.

[ShiningTed]

ZOMG that just went in a direction i did NOT expect...

Woah. Looks like the Battle for GK is officially over. Tool's bugging out.

[Rhuna_Coppermane]

Hmm...

How about this for a possibility?

Spoiler

Show

Stanley takes the Arkenhammer and leaves. Hamster, Wanda, and Sizemore(?) are left to defend Gobwin Know on their own, sans dwagons. Plot advances from there, and whether they are booped or not is more than I am willing to try to guess at this point.

Oh, and Wanda's all broken because she loves Jillian, and Jillian chose Ansom over her.

[SteveMB]

Hmm...

How about this for a possibility?

Spoiler

Show

Stanley takes the Arkenhammer and leaves. Hamster, Wanda, and Sizemore(?) are left to defend Gobwin Know on their own, sans dwagons. Plot advances from there, and whether they are booped or not is more than I am willing to try to guess at this point.

Spoiler

Show

If any of them (almost certainly Wanda, when she pulls herself together enough to function) realize that Ansom is really motivated by personal animus against Stanley, they might consider a "He went that-a-way, oh, and would you consider some kind of truce?" approach, depending on how loyal they (again, mostly hinging on Wanda) actually are to the Tool personally.

I understand Stanley's reaction, Wanda and Hamster are supposed to be better than that.

Well, Parson did fine; he clearly had some kind of idea about how to proceed next turn when the Tool ordered him to shut up (and it's possible that he is now physically incapable of speaking against orders, just like last time).

Wanda, obviously, is in a state of shock. She had already turned and walked away from the table as the current page begins -- it occurs to me that if she zoned out after her plea to take Jillian alive was rejected (and before Ansom's arrival in the battle), she might not be aware that Jillian is in fact still alive.

[PhantomFox]

If Stanley does pull a bunk and leaves, you have a very interesting situation on your hands. You no longer have Parson working for the 'bad guys'. Functionally, he's an independent force now. Though without the arkenhammer (and by extension, the dwagons) he'll have to build up an army of his own.

I think this whole section is just a very long setup for the main story where Parson is his own side, assuming everything goes as perdicted.

[israfel420]

I'm going back to a prediction I made like 40 strips ago.

Parson is an unknown quantity in Erfworld. What I mean by this is that no one can see his stats. That tells me he exists outside the game mechanics of Erfworld. He has armor, he's big, and he "snacks on Gwyffons and eats Marbits for breakfast". If defeating Gwyffons really is as asy for him as eating a peep like we saw in the begginning then I surmise the following.

Stanley will leave as others have suggested, and Ansom and the coalition will not accept a truce from Wanda and/or Parson. My original prediction is that based on the evidence we will see Parson forced to fight the coalition personally when the battle spills into GK. When that happens, Parson will literally be unstoppable. Like God mode Doom on Roids. Enemy attacks will simply bounce off of him(or possibly tickle), and he will will possess the strength of the Titans themselves.

Wouldn't that be awesome to behold!?!?

[Alfryd]

I feel bad for W. She really looks terrible.

Good. I hope she suffers appropriately.

To me Stanley has shown a lot of character in this one... and for once the good kind.

Wanda fracked up. That is a legitimate point, but her miscalculation was just that- a miscalculation, combined with some very bad luck. Otherwise, Stanley is doing what he normally does- blame others for the consequences of his own past failures.

Who was at fault? I would have to say Parson, for depending on intel from Wanda.

Who the hell else was he supposed to rely on intel from, and how was he supposed to know who to trust?

A smaller man (no pun intended) would have taken it out on his underlings.

Excuse me, but threatening underlings with death if they bother you and dismissing them from service is taking it out on said underlings.

[dfpiii]

We're speculating that Stanley might leave GK, but is that possible? If GK falls, doesn't that mean that none of his units have support any more and... what? Stop existing? Does that perhaps count for Stanley too? If his last base goes, does the Tool go too?

[Porthos]

What a Tool! Blaming your underlings when a well-thoughtout plan goes belly up? Sign of a weak, weak leader, if you ask me.

The only redeeming thing he did was not killing them. But that hardly makes Stanley a good leader here. What he should have done is realized just how much Parson and Wanda's plans were working and say something like "Fix It."

But no, he decides to pull the "You Failed Me, Therefore You Are Worthless" card. It's pretty obvious to me that His Toolship has never read the "If I Were An Evil Overlord" list.

[Elaro]

I'm going back to a prediction I made like 40 strips ago.

Parson is an unknown quantity in Erfworld. What I mean by this is that no one can see his stats. That tells me he exists outside the game mechanics of Erfworld. He has armor, he's big, and he "snacks on Gwyffons and eats Marbits for breakfast". If defeating Gwyffons really is as asy for him as eating a peep like we saw in the begginning then I surmise the following.

Stanley will leave as others have suggested, and Ansom and the coalition will not accept a truce from Wanda and/or Parson. My original prediction is that based on the evidence we will see Parson forced to fight the coalition personally when the battle spills into GK. When that happens, Parson will literally be unstoppable. Like God mode Doom on Roids. Enemy attacks will simply bounce off of him(or possibly tickle), and he will will possess the strength of the Titans themselves.

Wouldn't that be awesome to behold!?!?

I'm noticing that pretty much every option that Parson laid out in his Klog have been used/are on the table in the actual strip. "Standard Siege": What Stanley was/is going to do; "Counterattack": Was what Parson was doing, it was also "Fool's Mate" (at the end of their turn, croak Ansom), "Hidden Weakness" (the enemy's fog of war), "Superweapon" (dwagons!), "Big deception" ("... it's empty.") and Sabotage (wreck his siege engines, save the world.); "Retreat": What Stanley considering doing if things went pear-shaped; "Call the Cavalry": What Parson wanted Charlie to be.

The only options that haven't been explored is "Diplomacy", "Insurgency", and "Divide and Conquer". Now that Stanley out of the picture, so to speak, "Diplomacy" can happen, and maybe that option will cause dissension in the ranks ("I realise that an alliance this extensive is a hardship to all our sides..."). Additionally, perhaps the "Insurgency" option can be explored during or after the battle for Gobwin Knob.

All of this to say, I think israfel is on to something.

[Girl Wonder]

Good. I hope she suffers appropriately.

Moved and seconded!