I read this page and reached the bottom without even acknowledging that the word wasn't censored. Five seconds after finishing it my brain clicked and I went back to make sure I saw what I thought I saw.
An amazing ending! Sucks that its so long until book 2 begins...Its become a part of my life to check to see if there is a new page every day. I can't wait!!
Truth, and also truth. This has convinced me to join the Erfworld site.
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"I just ESP it a half-twist and. . ." Mark Clifton, "Star, Bright"
You're missing the point.
The use of the word **** is signifcant as each and every other time Parson cursed, we were greeted with a merry little 'boop'. An affect of the universe our Protoganoist found himself stuck in. Aftewr his long and harrowing trial and battle, he has a conversation with the universe there, and devlops a will strong enough to activly break the rules.
It is possible to use vulgarity in an artistic manner, you know.
I don't see it as an attempt at Dark and Edgy, but rather just that.
Art.
That was one point, the in-story point. The broader point was that it is hypocritical in our world (as in Erfworld) to sensor swear words and allow violence (even murders and rapes) to be shown in various media. A point SouthPark has also made in one wonderful episode about "sh!t".
That was one point, the in-story point. The broader point was that it is hypocritical in our world (as in Erfworld) to sensor swear words and allow violence (even murders and rapes) to be shown in various media. A point SouthPark has also made in one wonderful episode about "sh!t".
Also, don't feed the troll
You mean "the broader point may be", not "the broader point is".
I don't really think they were going for a cheap dig at censorship, and to be honest, I think if they were, it weakens the comic immensely.
It cheapens it from a comic about self determinism and free will and our place in the universe, to a petty squabble about saying **** on teh interwebz.
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Kender Spellthief.
LG Hellbred Cleric of Levistus. Fiendish Codex needed.
Low levels good but hope to reach epic.
Wizard developing his own school of magic.
Low levels good but hope to reach >18.
1 custom feat request but it isn't vital.
Interesting point about what one defines as profanity, too often forgot if one takes newscast as reference, wherever in the world you are.
Can't wait 'til book 2
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If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck... it might be Elan. They\'re about the same int range, but no self respecting duck would be caught dead with a kazoo
The whole guilt trip thing is particularly untenable. It's a game world. The people in it exist (pop) for the purpose of fighting and dying. There can't possibly be any guilt involved in making that happen and doing it well.
I do not see how Erfworld is fundamentally different from our own. I've always thought of it as a metaphor for our own history. Except that maybe our history is a lot more brutal.
And so ends Book 1: WaterFellowship of the RingsA New HopeThe Battle for Gobwin Knob. One thing is that in the protection of GK, only one major of the elite (Misty) died. So, I sort of say that Parson did manage to protect most of the "Player Characters" on his side, sort of.
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Ever seen a god that doesn't smite on demand that was worth a damn?
"It's good to know that anyone capable of melting faces is on the empires side..." Noah, Noah's Story, a Path to Greater Good.
If a halfling and a human have a child, do you get a half-halfling, a quaterling, a three-quaterling or a wholing?
I was kind of hoping to see the Tool return, be amazed, and declare his new plans for world conquest. Something that would at least give a solid direction to be anticipated. Now I'm left with literally no real idea what's going to happen next and won't get to find out for ages. Arg! Ultimate cliffhanger!
You consider two weeks to be "ages"?
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I seem to have the ability to misinterpret the most obvious of meanings and to completely miss the points of statements for no obvious reason. Just a warning.
In my opinion using the f-word is rude and never justified.
In your opinion that swear was important way to show parson's control over his own fate
Is my opinion right? For me it is. Is your opinion right? For you it is. I expressed my opinion that Erfworld tries too hard to be edgy and you call me troll.Well maybe that makes me a troll, I don't know. I do see the reason behind the swear and I see why you all thought it was important but I didn't. The great thing about life is that people can disagree and choose for themselves what to believe.
Jamin out
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Thanks to Kwarkpudding for the amazing Aran Avatar
Glad you think so, since it was probably supposed to be rude. At this point, Parson hates the world around him (more than he hates himself for what he has become) and lashed out at it with one single strike. It remains to be seen if that will be repeated, although I hope not so the moment will not lose its impact.
Never justified? Never say never.
Is it possible to have the same dramatic impact in an epic story without using a swearword? See God of War and God of War II. The game is full of violence, nudity and implied sexuality and it's as epic as they come, but it does not contain a single swearword that breaks the PG-13 level (the game is rated M or R, I'm not sure).
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I use black for sarcasm.
I don't care that I'm not free.
Like fire, hellfire
You can't steal the sky from me.
This fire in my skin
And even if you throw me to Abyss.
This burning desire
I'll take back the sky eventually.
Is turning me to sin
Call me Rose, or The Rose Dragon. Rose Dragon is someone else entirely.
As someone who read the first few strips way back when and thought "what a waste of time" and gradually changed his mind as things progressed I've now come full circle. A brilliant, unexpected, and yet totally appropriate ending. It accomplishes the incredibly difficult trick of changing the way you look at everything that's gone before without changing anything that actually happened.
One of my complaints along the way has been the lack of almost any characters (other than Sizemore and to some extent Vinnie) that could be considered admirable. Parson has now joined that list big time.
In my opinion using the f-word is rude and never justified.
I fully acknowledge your opinion, and heartily support it. A question for you, however:
Did any of the graphic violence appear justified to you? Did it disturb you as much as the swear word did?
If not, did you ask yourself why a word that, while rude and coarse, refers to an act of procreation bothered you much more than numerous scenes of wholesale destruction, and what that says about our society in general?
looks like parson is finally free of a great many restrictions. not just the censorship- probably a lot of other rules of the realm as well. a Player.... well this will be interesting.
Erm ... no.
Why does everyone assume that ... just because he broke Erfworld's control for one fleeting second .. that he is now permanently free?
It may have been a one time thing brought on by extreme emotion and stress. He's still *in* that world. When the next book starts, we may find he can't swear again. And then he may spend the next book or three trying to figure out how he broke free of the control of Erfworld -- of Fate Magic -- and still longer do it again.
One second of free expression is not freedom. It may take the next book -- or many books -- for him to become truly free. Who knows? Perhaps when he does, he can also free the rest of Erfworld as well. God Emperor of Dune, anyone?
But other posters are right -- There is a time and place for swearing, and THIS is why you swear. Not as a meaningless amplifier every third or fourth word because you lack appropriate vocabulary. In context, it's a powerful expression of the will of the individual defying Fate, a moment of freedom against the overwhelming determinism of Life that is Erfworld. If I were an English major instead of a software engineer, that last panel would give me fodder for many, many critical essays.
Y'know, there are things I haven't liked about Erfworld. There are things I still don't like about it. But I will say this for it: It has artistic merit. It's great entertainment, but there's some real honest-to-goodness *thinking* that went into it. I applaud the authors.
You mean "the broader point may be", not "the broader point is".
I don't really think they were going for a cheap dig at censorship, and to be honest, I think if they were, it weakens the comic immensely.
It cheapens it from a comic about self determinism and free will and our place in the universe, to a petty squabble about saying **** on teh interwebz.
No I meant what I said. Parson spelled it out for you:
"You're fine with this obscenity."
The point is not saying f... on teh interwebz as you so eloquently put it. The point is hypocricy.
this is totally AWESOME!
A great book, and a greater end. Parson's inner strenght and the real comprehension of his situation, gives him the power to break (probably once-in-a-life?), the language laws of erfworld.
Finally, Parson had his uncensored cuss word, and it's not even christmas, but i doubt that he's happy about it.
Again, a great ending, also very well drawn.
Thanks
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Very well then I contradict myself. I am large, I contain multitudes. (W.Withman)
Things that increase my self esteem:
Spoiler
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kaiyanwang
Great analysis KA. I second all things you said
Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeYounger
Great analysis KA, I second everything you said here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryu_Bonkosi
If I have a player using Paladin in the future I will direct them to this. Good job.
Quote:
Originally Posted by grimbold
THIS is proof that KA is amazing
Quote:
Originally Posted by PairO'Dice Lost
Killer Angel, you have an excellent taste in books
I'm not sure if I think it'd be a good idea for Parson to start cussing more. On the one hand, cosnidering how much he said Boop, it'd be kind of odd. On the other, it would lessen the impact of this strip. Then again Parson cussing and Erfworlders reactions to it could be used to add even more emphasis how alien he is.
No I meant what I said. Parson spelled it out for you:
"You're fine with this obscenity."
The point is not saying f... on teh interwebz as you so eloquently put it. The point is hypocricy.
Pfft. "The point is" again.
You think the point is. You don't know any more than I do. You're guessing intention. You are perfectly entitled to your opinion, but stating it as fact is just silly. (After all, the internet has been know to block those wands of detect thoughts).
Personally, I think him breaking that bond is a a tiny window into how he is breaking the hold the universe has on him through sheer force of will.
"I can fight the universe, I will fight the universe and I will win" is what it seems like to me, to you it seems like the end of the fight. "I can say ****! Yes! How cool is that!"
The first makes him a hero, ready to undo creation to rebuild a better future for this world. The second makes him a 7 year old who just figured out what the word means and is giggling to himself.
You may also wish to consider why it is the erfworld creators seem to agree so strongly with you when you're doing the interpreting. It may not be a coincidence.
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Gnome Illusionist. Preferably with Cityscape allowed.
Kender Spellthief.
LG Hellbred Cleric of Levistus. Fiendish Codex needed.
Low levels good but hope to reach epic.
Wizard developing his own school of magic.
Low levels good but hope to reach >18.
1 custom feat request but it isn't vital.
Now, a cluster of f-bombs all smacking into each other both cheapens the word, and just sounds just vulgar. Tropes are not bad, and if vulgar is the way you want to characterize a character, then spray and pray with the f-word is a great way to do that. Now all through the series, Parson has been 'trying' to swear. Now he succeeds, breaking the rules. This laser guided f-strike is part of that freedom, and the delicious tension it provides while we wait for the next installment is 'what else can he break'?
This doesn't mean he's going to get permanently bestubbled, spout Duke Nukem one liners, and become Mr. Chunkwad McBeefcake.
No, this is about freedom.
I don't like swear words,I actively avoid using them.
But this, in my opinion, is a well wrought use of a word in the English language. A word that through overuse would become tiresome, but is used well here, in my opinion.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Calanon
Raven_Cry's comments often have the effects of a +5 Tome of Understanding
You snipped an important part. "You don't know any more than I do."
I figured the following paragraph would be obvious interpretation without further elaboration. Evidently not.
__________________
Looking for a PBP 3.5 game.
PM me for more details on any of the below characters, or see here
Spoiler
Gnome Illusionist. Preferably with Cityscape allowed.
Kender Spellthief.
LG Hellbred Cleric of Levistus. Fiendish Codex needed.
Low levels good but hope to reach epic.
Wizard developing his own school of magic.
Low levels good but hope to reach >18.
1 custom feat request but it isn't vital.
Excellent end for the chapter. Parson is pissed and NOT going to take it anymore. He is out to change the world around him and not be a tool.
Cannot help but think this is exactly what Janis was looking for AND if Parson was brought by Erfworld, what Erfworld may want as well. Erfworld may not like what it is now. but cannot change itself. So it may be using Parson to force a change. Time will tell.
You snipped an important part. "You don't know any more than I do."
I figured the following paragraph would be obvious interpretation without further elaboration. Evidently not.
I'm talking about how you interpret Simanos' post in a way which really doesn't seem to be what he meant.
Parson is rebelling against Erfworld for many reasons, which include both the hypocritical nature of it ("you're fine with this obscenity" is definitely calling it on its hypocrisy, being fine with gruesome violence and mass-scale massacres, but making everything look cute and child-friendly -- until half-melted bodies start falling down from the sky) and his affirmation of free will ("I won't be a gamepiece").
Those two elements are there. Simanos points out the former, and you think he views it as just Parson doing a Beavis & Butthead routine. That's definitely not it.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Midnight Roamer
I think he did the only morally acceptable thing by killing everyone.
It may have been a one time thing brought on by extreme emotion and stress. He's still *in* that world. When the next book starts, we may find he can't swear again. And then he may spend the next book or three trying to figure out how he broke free of the control of Erfworld -- of Fate Magic -- and still longer do it again.
This is a valid point. We don't know if this is permenant.
...
Since I've been mentally inserting appropriate words instead of boop from day 1, I didn't even notice Parson wasn't censored when I read the comic the first time.
Quote:
why a word that, while rude and coarse, refers to an act of procreation bothered you is considered offensive much more than numerous scenes of wholesale destruction, and what that says about our society in general?
Regardless of the comic, regardless of whatever opinion you have on F, B, S, other B, other F and other S words, this is a point worth thinking about. Just like pornography being seen more disturbing than carnography, there's simply no nonstupid answer to that question, and I'll put dough where my mouth is: A cookie to anyone who can answer me that.
I'm also quite compelled to say FU to those who don't like the use swearwords, but that'd be too immature...
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Hmm, so not liking a strip is trolling, and is indicative of inferior intellect? Ayup, even with all the rules here, it's still the ol' internet.
Well, no one was called a troll for "not liking the strip." rather there were some unjustified accusations made and a few closed minded comments made that drew a negative response. If someone just came on and said, "The ending just didn't do anything for me." then they would not have been accused of trolling.
There is a difference between not liking someone and hitting them because you don't like them.
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"If I could just interrupt your stunningly dysfunctional group dynamic for a moment to interject." -- Erfworld
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