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2016-09-14, 01:09 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
You say that like the rest are good at IC/OOC separation
I take your point though. With the exception of Damien, Rube, and possibly Shelby, the group seem to treat their respective characters as just themselves (admittedly to varying degrees), something that has lead to taking personal offence for IC actions in the past. Rube expresses the opposite end, finding himself only able to be expressive as Azula rather than as himself.
There is! It's just after Zuko joins, and is amongst the Boiling Rock and the Sun Warriors episodes. The pair go off to find the man who killed Katara's mother, and Katara uses Bloodbending for the last time in the series.Last edited by Comissar; 2016-09-14 at 01:10 PM.
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2016-09-14, 01:42 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2007
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2016-09-15, 01:34 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
All too true. Even Damien, who as you said is the best roleplayer, has still come to view his character as an extension of himself, and a way to explore his own demons and fears.
Dungeons and Dragons: It's therapeutic or you're doing it wrong.
Ah, forgot about that! Definitely excited to see how that plays out.
My writing is generally limited to limericks, bad jokes andsnarkydiplomatic emails to customers.
Thank you though.
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2016-09-15, 02:34 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2012
Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
Well, I always see my characters as being facets of myself (and I may have said as much up thread, I forget), but I don't take it as far as "I'm literally playing me running through this campaign world". It's hard to imagine playing a character that doesn't in some way represent a portion of my own personality, the few times I have tried rapidly lead to disinterest.
I also think Damien still has a very clearly defined boundary between himself and Zuko, he seems to be the most aware that the things that happen to Zuko are not things being directly aimed at him. I think he's also the only one in the group who's not called Manny out on being a killer DM (which he can be at times), and again I'd attribute this to his much clearer boundary between IC/OOC.
Boiling Rock should be fun too, Suki will join the Gaang, which makes me wonder if she'll be an NPC or if there actually will be a new PC coming in. Also, wondering if these PC+Zuko episodes will be DM'd by Damien rather than Manny.
@MasterofAeons - I don't write anything, just enjoy picking things apartLast edited by Comissar; 2016-09-15 at 02:36 PM.
GLaDOS Avatar and Pokémon Sig. by me
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Leah and Saura, Summer Rose, and Firebrand by me
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2016-09-15, 02:59 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
I play much the same way. In this case though, especially in Book 3, it seems Damien is using Zuko to help him explore his own psyche in a more deliberate way, drawing parallels between the two of them (although sometimes only at the prompting of Manny or Rick).
I think Manny in a way is partly responsible for the weakened barrier between IC and OOC for the players. He frequently used NPCs as an obvious mouthpiece for himself, which causes the PCs to react in a personal way.
Yeah, he definitely has a barrier, but as I said he's also using it as an opportunity to look back at his life and evaluate his current state of mind.
I agree with you 100% regarding Damien's relationship with Manny. I think his main problem with Manny was what happened with Rube. Damien seems protective of him now (which is adorable) and doesn't want Rube to be manipulated/hurt by Manny.
hmm..."Manny", "manipulate"....hmm... [/idle thought]
Manny already hinted that Suki would be a new player didn't he? I remember Sokka getting excited by a new girl potentially joining the table.
I'm thinking those sessions might be DM'ed by Manny with Rick's assistance again (like the last one they did "together").
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2016-09-16, 11:17 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2007
Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
Yeah, when Lex said he planned to leave the table, Manny started dropping hints about a girl he knew coming to join as Suki.
SpoilerIt was easy to miss it in the chaos of Rube's dilemma, but on page 661, Manny admits he lied about that.
http://dandaangvanced.tumblr.com/pos...luctant-dragon
"News flash, idiot! I lied! I always lie!". . .
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2016-09-17, 10:52 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2012
Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
So it seems like Manny is trying to force Mac into roleplaying through overwhelming force. I have to be honest, I forget how this episode ends in the actual series, so I'm curious to see what the resolution is here.
GLaDOS Avatar and Pokémon Sig. by me
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Leah and Saura, Summer Rose, and Firebrand by me
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2016-09-19, 10:41 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
Well that was a somewhat unexpected conclusion. Mac didn't even get to use bloodbending.
I think this is the first time we've seen Manny well and truly give up like that. Before if he got frustrated he'd just get more sadistic or railroad-y.
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2016-09-29, 09:59 PM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2015
Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
* Remembers Manny forcing the players to choke down lutefisk during the first season *
Yep, I think you could be correct there. Yep, I really do.
Didn't Manny drug Rick a couple of times during the first season? I'm thinking that maybe Rick should consider himself lucky that Manny isn't knocking him unconscious or giving him hallucinogens for the dream sequences anymore. Wasn't there even a brawl in the kitchen at one point?
(Sorry for the late reply.)Last edited by eschmenk; 2016-09-29 at 10:02 PM.
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2016-09-30, 08:19 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
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2016-09-30, 12:57 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2012
Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
Well, I think this is the first time I've been officially pointed out in a webcomic, so just want to say thanks to the author! You even managed to spell Comissar without the extra m!
Incidentally, I feel like Full Metal Alchemist would make for a fantastic campaign setting, but you'd need to run it for a group who're unfamiliar with it to properly hit all the right notes.
Spoiler: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood SpoilersThe reveal of both the existence of Homunculi, and the fact that they're running the country are both huge things that would be awesome 'wham' moments for a campaign I think.Last edited by Comissar; 2016-09-30 at 12:59 PM.
GLaDOS Avatar and Pokémon Sig. by me
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Leah and Saura, Summer Rose, and Firebrand by me
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2016-09-30, 01:09 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2007
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2016-09-30, 02:38 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
Congrats on the mention! ^_^
Rick is getting into a lot of heavy stuff in the last couple of comics. I hope the other players can show enough maturity and responsibility to take him seriously. I think Shelby and Damien will be called to action pretty easily, but Mac and Lex may be harder.
Poor Rick. He needs a big hug.
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2016-09-30, 06:16 PM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2015
Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
Grats!
Yes he does. But he needs a smack upside the head, too! And a kick in the ass. And for the other players to convince him that he's wrong rather than help him, IMO.
Somewhat ironically that's a matter of Rick muddling the distinction between IC and OOC again. In his mind, Rick is the hero who needs to save the day and he's stressing out over all that responsibility just like Aang did. Granted, it's Rube, rather than the entire world that he's trying to save, but he has the same basic attitude as Aang. However, Rick's reality is very different! He's not a hero. The person he wants to save doesn't need his help. Unfortunately, Rick doesn't understand that, so he's causing problems for himself and everyone else.
[NOTE: I originally wrote this more tentatively, but after reviewing the Island episode, I'm more convinced that I read things (mostly) correctly. I reworded some parts (and the previous paragraph(s)) and just struck some parts out.]
Damien, who may live with Rube and certainly spends much more time with him than Rick, doesn't think that Rube needs saving. I'm pretty sure that he's right and Rick is wrong. Manny, his brother, doesn't think Rube needs saving either, AFAIK. (I'm not clear if Rube is living with Damien or at the YMCA now. YMCAs used to have dorms.) Given Praxis, I'm not sure I know how reality works there, but it does seem awfully arrogant of Rick to assume that he can judge how broken Rube is or for Rick to think that he and his friends are so important that they could break Rube as easily as Rick theorized they did. Rick (and the others) were certainly wrong about Rube not being able to talk. What makes Rick so sure that he knows so much more about what's going on with Rube this time? It seems that Rick is the one who's out of touch with reality, if anyone is.To the extent that Rube is acting like he thinks he's Azula, he may just be testing the others or just intentionally messing with Rick.I'm not sure that's the case (given Praxis, I'm not sure if it's possible to be sure of anything) but I wouldn't rule it out.
To put Rick's arrogance another way, Rick tends to talk to Rube like Aang talks to Appa -- as if Rube was more of a pet than a friend. Yes, Rick is a really nice guy who means well, but I can't blame Rube for resenting the way Rick treats him andI could understand why Rube might choose to mess with Rick, given that Rube can't get Rick to treat him with more respect. [EDIT: Apparently Rube pretended to be Azula not because Rube resented how Rick was treating him, but as a crutch (he was still uncomfortable) and perhaps because he wanted to keep Rick as a friend. Still, I had the basics right.]
Damien does seem to be genuinely worried about Rick, though, which I thought was nice.
LINKS:
(I'm assuming that everyone around the fire was telling the truth, as with the cartoon episode.)
http://dandaangvanced.tumblr.com/pos...acters-broken: Rube: "The only friend I ever had only liked me before I started talking and thinking. Now he wishes I really am retarded, because he needs to think he can fix me." I think it's pretty clear that Rube was talking about Rick there.
http://dandaangvanced.tumblr.com/pos...l-roleplaying: No longer around the fire, Damien talks about Rube having his act together and about Rube using Azula as a crutch. I think Damien is at least mostly right. And yes, Rube has gone back to being Azula again, but I think that's because he's still not comfortable being himself, not for the reasons Rick thinks. Rube may have more resentment than Damien understands, though.
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Another bit of irony is that, since Manny's game is at least analogous to the real-world cartoon series and the good guys won in the cartoon series, it's probably not all that bad if the players mix IC and OOC. If they do, then hopefully, the players will rise up and do whatever is necessary in the end. Unfortunately, Azula wasn't a happy camper in the end and Lex might wind up with a broken leg, so it might not be all that great, though. But it could be that Rube, after being non-expressive for so long, will relish the opportunity to act crazy, but it will just be an act, ormaybe it could be that Rube's been misdiagnosed all along and he really has major problems and the gaming will reveal it and let him get the help he needsor maybe he will be really pissed off and throw a temper tantrum. I don't know. Rick will hopefully get a chance to be a OOC hero, but I think he would be more likely to cure Manny of his addiction to power than to cure Rube.
There is a good chance that I could be completely misinterpreting things or misremembering them, so take what I said with a grain of salt.
I think I was remembering this. I just happened to bump into it thanks to the link in Master of Aeon's recent spoiler. Looking at it again, I don't think it really counts as a brawl, but a chair was broken.Last edited by eschmenk; 2016-10-01 at 08:39 AM.
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2016-10-04, 09:41 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
@eschmenk: so much yes to all of that!
"What if we erased part of his character sheet so he can't firebend anymore?"
Damien has solidified his place as my favourite character. ^_^
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2016-10-04, 04:52 PM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2015
Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
And now I think it's becoming clearer why Manny had access to anti-psychotic medicine that he could slip into Rick's drinks during the first season.
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2016-10-04, 04:55 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
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2016-10-04, 05:00 PM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2015
Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
But since something seems obvious now, I'm expecting things to shift at any time, yet again...
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2016-10-04, 05:00 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
That is how this comic tends to work.
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2016-10-06, 02:35 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2007
Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
Eschmenk is putting out some really good stuff. Rick has the best intentions of anyone at the table, but up until now just seems like he's never had any real ideas of what to do and just felt helpless about his position. It seems like the table is fought over by three major forces. The most obvious one is Manny, who basically smothers you in flavor text until you become a better player. It's done wonders for Damien and Lex, but has had zero effect on Mac. Opposite him is Rick, who kind of puts out a weak positivity where he can and sometimes just complains that the table needs some kind of glue. He takes it really hard that he can't fill that role, though I don't know why he can't step up more. And Damien and Mac are outside of that, but I think Damien is the stronger force. While Mac just wants things to go back to the way they were, most strongly in the first book, Damien's biggest goal is protecting Rube. I think it's pretty clear by this recent twist that Manny can't be the DM anymore. Someone is going to inevitably take over. But, if it's Rick, will he be ready now?
He's got his first real plan for the first time. His arc has been through confronting his own emotions and pushing away his destiny as a spotlight character, into becoming the voice of the table and undisputed main character - but under the huge (self inflicted?) burden of being up against the world's worst DM, trying to undo the damage that's been done to Rube. He's gone from blaming Manny directly - even punching the DM for being a giant jerk - into now saying "We all did this." He's being pretty responsible in saying that, as a member of the admittedly toxic table, that he isn't blameless in creating Rube. Is Rick finally on the right path and ready to save Rube, or is Eschmenk right here when he sides with Damien, who thinks that Rube doesn't need saving? Is this even a good plan?
How much more can things change? What do we have, ten episodes left until Korra?. . .
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2016-10-06, 08:32 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
What I meant was that how to interpret things can change quite a bit pretty quickly. Just as for example, recent pages (898 and 899) make it look as if Manny has gone psychotic. I checked the episode because I suspected the screenshots had been messed with, but no, those were hallucinations that Aang had because he was extremely sleep deprived. Just for the sake of an example, what if we found out that Rick's tiredness cause him to hallucinate everything on those pages. Now all of the sudden Manny wouldn't have been psychotic. I don't actually expect that, but things like that do seem to happen sometimes. I think it's just that the characters each have a unique viewpoint, so their narratives aren't consistent and the "information" that we have to interpret tend to vary depending on the situation and which character is driving the narrative at the time.
As somewhat of another example of something that could make things look very differnt, I just spotted that I misremembered some things in the earlier comment. It turns out that Rube is living with Rick, so maybe Rick is in a much better position to judge Rube than I thought. And there Manny is acting like he really believes Rube could get lost in Azula's personality. And just a few pages earlier, Rick calls Manny a "psychotic idiot." At the time, I wouldn't have thought that he really meant the "psychotic" part, but now I think he did.
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Page 900: DAMMIT RICK! Never say, "What could go wrong?" or "Why should we be afraid?" even if you have a Shelby!
SpoilerI'll easily believe that Rick's plan can work on Manny since Manny thinks it can work (and it's easy to see where the screencaps would come from to show it), but I'll have trouble accepting that Rick's plan could work on Rube unless Rube becomes convinced that it will work. Maybe if, after he's cured at the very end, Manny goes to Rube and apologizes and tells Rube that he loves him and Rick apologizes for talking down to him then Rube will relax and be OK. That won't fit the cartoon episodes, though. The author would have to get artwork from elsewhere.
I actually kind of dislike the way Rick and Manny plan to "fix" Rube because it seems very high-handed. They aren't giving Rube any choice in the matter. Should they be trying to "fix" Rube without his permission?Last edited by eschmenk; 2016-10-06 at 09:14 PM.
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2016-10-06, 09:28 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
There's something that's been bugging me for a while. Rick is a psychology student meaning he likely has not been liscensed as a psychologist. Despite this he's been attempting to treat Rube's laundry list of disorders. Practicing any form of medicine, including psychology, is illegal at least in the U.S. and will definitely prevent you from ever working in the field in any official capacity. Beyond chronic hero syndrome why is Rick trying to treat Rube himself rather than going to a professional?
I don't know everything merely everything of importance-Fidelias
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2016-10-06, 11:02 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
Rick is the Dr. Phil of this world. He doesn't have a license, but he's on the case!
No, seriously. Rick is in way over his head and totally should be stopped before he hurts someone. Ronnoc is right, Rick's good intentions are ultimately pretty negligent. Edit: He's at least aware that he has a chronic hero syndrome, but like Rube says, he's out to prove something more than anything. He wants for Rube to need his help, even though it might not be necessary.Last edited by DeadpanSal; 2016-10-06 at 11:34 PM.
. . .
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2016-10-07, 10:01 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
Like Master of Aeons said, the whole point here is that Rick *shouldn't* be trying to help Rube in the way that he is. He's still just a student, and he's treating Rube like a school project. What Rube needs is an actual friend, someone to support him. Once Rick finishes is training, then maybe he could help Rube in a professional way. Right now though, Rick truly believes that he's qualified to "fix" Rube. But he's clearly not. Whether or not Rube really even needs serious psychological help (and not just therapy or some good friendships) is up for debate too.
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2016-10-08, 06:55 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
This has been bugging me for a while too, but more because I think of Ricks actions sometimes are off character for him. I don't know that Rick shouldn't be helping Rube. I think there is room for him to be helping him as a friend, but Rick goes about it in a weird way. The way he talks about it is not the way a physiologist would especially in front of Rube himself. This idea if "fixing" a person is not the nomenclature someone as emotionally considerate and intelligent as Rick has been presented to us would use; so why does he?
Here's a thought.
During the chase Rube cautions the group saying "Rick is probably analyzing you", and later goes on to classify everyone like a psychologist would. Rube also makes a comment about handing him the campaign. Later Rube talks about wanting his friend back relating to Rick. I think at some point Rube and Rick spent more time together and Rube either got a hold of notes Rick had on the group or Rick talked about his professional thoughts with him and due to Manny's abuse, Rube's insecurities, and Rick's and the groups perceived pity towards Rube he uses that information to gain leverage for Azula and he begins to do just as much damage to the group as Manny does.
I think guilt may account for a lot of Ricks actions. Guilt beyond just shouldering a burden but actually doing something seriously wrong. Now if Rick shared his thoughts with Rube or left notes about and suspects Rube might have gotten a hold of them. He would feel responsible and that might account for some of Ricks odd behavior and detachments up to where we are now in the comic. If this is true I think this is where the "fix" comments are coming from.
This comic is rooted in the flaws of the people at this table. Manny to some degree actually had good intentions at the beginning. He wants to make these people, well at least Damian, better players. Along the way though he loses himself to the power of the DM Screen. I think 481 - Recurring Character puts a fine point on Damien's issues. He is stuck and Manny see's this. Shelby is a mechanic prodigy and has a mysterious and hinted at violent and shady past & reputation. She is also an apparent mentor of Mac's. Where Shelby is talented with game mechanics I think Mac is well learned. I think Mac shares a few of Manny's traits just with different motivations behind them. Lex starts off happy to be at the table gaming and acting out his most recent, apparently semi-flawed character concept, but more so he is a kind of lapdog to Mac really relying on her for a lot of things. Rick like Lex is at the table to be with friends and wants everyone to have a good time. I think flaws of innocence and a hero complex are too simple for this comic, so it makes sense to me to have Rick, the super positive happy guy at the table, actually making things worse.Last edited by Quillfeather; 2016-10-08 at 06:56 AM.
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2016-10-08, 04:10 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
I thought that was canon? I can't point to a page, but I seem to remember Azula using Rick's psych notes to exploit the party's weaknesses.
And even excluding everything else, psychoanalysing your friends by stealth is a pretty dickish thing to do.
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2016-10-08, 06:23 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
I couldn't find a direct reference and I don't recall Rick ever taking Rube to task on it. Considering his field of study I could see him writing down his observations just for himself. Now if he was talking to Rube about things and/or sharing his notes thats dickish.
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2016-10-08, 08:34 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
On the page immediately before the one I highlighted above, Rube claims he was exploiting Rick's notes to tear the group apart, then, as Quillfeather said, he classifies everyone as if he got the classifications from Rick's notes. I think that's probably what you are remembering. I don't believe Rube, though. I doubt that Rick classified himself in his own notes, and he unless it was an extremely recent and short-term observation, he wouldn't have said that he was "exhausted." (He was exhausted right then because Manny and Rube weren't letting him or the others sleep.) I also doubt that Rick only made negative comments about everyone, including himself. I think Rube was just messing with them, but it could be read differently.
As Quillfeather said, that was in the "Chase" episode, specifically pages 151 and 152 in the Book 2 cbr file.
I can't blame a psychology student for taking what they learned and wondering how well it might apply to the people they know, but I would agree that they should keep most of that analysis to themselves.
Having said that, I love the way Rick impersonated Shelby in the episode after that one:
Originally Posted by AangLast edited by eschmenk; 2016-10-08 at 08:59 PM.
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2016-10-09, 11:20 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: D&D Aangvanced (Avatar: The Last Airbender Screencap Comic)
Originally Posted by theconstantfangirl
LET! SHELBY! AND! LEX! GET! TOGETHER!
It's taking forever and I just want to see them end up together already. Everyone at this table is miserable and they could just be happy together!. . .
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2016-10-10, 01:34 AM (ISO 8601)
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