Hi. After the last updates, an idea has been growing on my mind. How utter alien is Parson to the beings of Erfworld. This is just an alternate character interpretation, ok?
Lets begin from his summoning. If this was an standard fantasy setting, and the dark overlord resolved to sumon something, what do you think would apear? A Demon. But instead they got Parson. Of course, he even had unspeakable words. And in his world, that situation was just like a game, and expectedly he would take part in the battle just for pleasure.
A favorite quote of mine is this one:
"It was maddening, really. Until recently, Ansom had been regarded as one of the finest strategic planners in the world. And while he was still in charge of planning his side's conquests, and they were proceeding gloriously, his Mistress saw fit to vet his plans through...whatever Hamster was. Not Royal nor common, nor holy. Fish nor fowl. A deceiver in the service of the Titans, who might perhaps disbelieve in the Titans' existence. Maddening."
An Erfworlder apears as a adult, with all the knowledge in his mind. How long do they live? Transylvito capital was fabled because it had no been attacked in thousand turns... and it sounded ancient. Well, for Parson one turn is like one day, and one thousand is around 3 years? So Parson could conceivably say : i've got OVER NINE THOUSAND turns .
He is a power gamer, and what would a Demon give to its master, if not power? 23 turns of Stanley getting Dragons, and it started at 2-3, when Parson didn´t knew he could use his mathamancy to make predictions about the future, that he could use to guess where the dragons are. And more dragons = even more Dragons, with Stanley getting groups of dragons to relay.
And now there is even a legion of Doom, and he is their true planner. And his awareness of the world is increasing, he is even starting to manipulate Stanley and Charlie. And there is a Holy war to boot.
Comments?
Oh, yes, and about today update, well, i got another source of horror. I thought for a moment that Margie was interested in Parson, But now he got those sexy Undead girls... still thinking about it.
Edit: ah, yes, figured out. Parson's nightly routine was chatting with Sizemore... i can see Maggie's angle now.
Oh wow, yeah. Never thought about Stanley using dwagon relays to increase his hunting range. That could easily have a potentially exponential effect, and in, say, 50 turns he could be pulling in several dozen new dwagons per turn.
As for Parson...I follow your logic and tend to agree. From our perspective it might appear to be an inversion of the "Summon Uber Demon" trope, but on Erfworld, Jetstonian theology is "Good". A super-powerful, game-breaking Outsider like Parson would indeed be analogous to an Evil Outsider in D&D. But that's starting to drift into moral relativism, so I'll stop there.
Oh, yes, and about today update, well, i got another source of horror. I thought for a moment that Margie was interested in Parson, But now he got those sexy Undead girls... still thinking about it.
I still wouldn't put it out of the realm of possibility that Maggie is interested. She has a gamut of emotional responses (read via her eyes and tone) to the questions she asks about Parson's hang-ups.
She seems to admire him well enough (although all the casters do).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Erfworld
"Okay well it's like...what I was saying before. I've never had that power before, and I don't know how I feel about it. If I understand things right, I could just like, order an Archon to take off her clothes and drop to her knees. And she'd do it, right?"
Maggie's eyes did something entirely different this time, they sort of flashed. "An Archon, or any unit, Lord."
"Okay well...it doesn't work like that where I'm from," said Parson uncomfortably. "We actually have laws against that...against people in power taking advantage of their underlings or whatever. For that. I mean I seriously would not have expected to react this way to this situation, but it feels wrong to me."
Maggie smiled at him, her eyes crinkling. "What an utterly alien thing to think. But also, utterly charming."
"Graah. C'mon," Parson said, and continued up the avenue. They turned the corner at Maggie Street (the name had led to an interesting discussion on an earlier outing), and he saw the street was clear of Decrypted. "Y'know maybe if one of them was actually interested in me... But even then, I've got another problem. One that probably trumps the other two."
Maggie's tone darkened. "I see, Lord. Are you unable?"
Seems kind of suggestive if you ask me.
Last edited by LurkerInPlayground : 10-16-2009 at 06:29 PM.
Thanks for scaring my mind for life. Can you at least chip in some brain bleach?
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He fears his fate too much, and his reward is small, who will not put it to the touch, to win or lose it all.
-James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
Satomi by Elagune
Eh. Horror is something a person ought to develop a keen taste for. It makes a man of irony.
Of course, there are other, much less perverted interpretations. Namely, Parson bringing up his ability to command sex is actually a touchy subject for Maggie. That is to say, there is a moral sensibility there that is offended at the idea of exploitation, but it isn't largely understood in Erfworld culture.
Nobody really questions the notion of loyalty magic and even fewer question the divine mandate of royalty. It's just the way the system is in the eyes of most Erfworlders.
But Parson doesn't think like an Erfworlder, so he questions everything.
Last edited by LurkerInPlayground : 10-17-2009 at 12:31 PM.
Of course, there are other, much less perverted interpretations. Namely, Parson bringing up his ability to command sex is actually a touchy subject for Maggie
Nope, that's actually a more perverted interpretation.
Nope, that's actually a more perverted interpretation.
Why do you think anyone studies Thinkamancy?
It's not their fault, they were just popped that way! And thinkagrams are very useful.
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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.
Huh... that's true, casters seem to implicitly trust Parson most of the time. Even when they have many reasons not to (Sizemore for example)... I wonder...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ertier
A good background is like a skirt. Short enough to keep my interest, but long enough to cover the important bits.
Also, considering that he was a warlord representing a side and had been fleeing a battle, it could be violating their neutrality, which could be very dangerous.
__________________
He fears his fate too much, and his reward is small, who will not put it to the touch, to win or lose it all.
-James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
Satomi by Elagune
Huh... that's true, casters seem to implicitly trust Parson most of the time. Even when they have many reasons not to (Sizemore for example)... I wonder...
Because Parson values their input?
Because he doesn't treat them like chattle?
Because he's an intellectual who cares about the pursuit of truth?
Last edited by LurkerInPlayground : 10-19-2009 at 04:03 AM.
Is it just me or have the text summer updates really added to the depth of the ErfWorld characters? I mean, I really enjoyed the comic before them but now I think it's my favorite. Maybe we've got to get Rob to write a book...
I am LOVING the summer updates. I didn't get into ErfWorld for the first go-around in comic form... you needed a bit of an archive binge in order to appreciate the scope of the series. But then I went through the whole thing in a go, and it was brilliant start to finish. And these summer update snapshots are really fantastic.
I can't get enough of the Charlie/Parson EyeMs.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zyphyr
They don't actually love Gold, they only say that to get it into bed.
Is it just me or have the text summer updates really added to the depth of the ErfWorld characters? I mean, I really enjoyed the comic before them but now I think it's my favorite. Maybe we've got to get Rob to write a book...
Because Rob doesn't like thought bubbles. I can't remember where he said it, but if you look closely, you will notice that nowhere in Book 1 is there any hints as to any of the characters' inner monologues or personal thoughts. Meanwhile we actually do get to see what the characters are thinking in the summer updates.
__________________
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.
I am LOVING the summer updates. I didn't get into ErfWorld for the first go-around in comic form... you needed a bit of an archive binge in order to appreciate the scope of the series. But then I went through the whole thing in a go, and it was brilliant start to finish. And these summer update snapshots are really fantastic.
I can't get enough of the Charlie/Parson EyeMs.
If you haven't checked out Partially Clips yet, Rob's clip-art comic, do it. You'll see a lot of the same intellectual wit that shines in Erfworld. I've rarely laughed as hard with another webcomic.
Because Rob doesn't like thought bubbles. I can't remember where he said it, but if you look closely, you will notice that nowhere in Book 1 is there any hints as to any of the characters' inner monologues or personal thoughts. Meanwhile we actually do get to see what the characters are thinking in the summer updates.
That makes a lot of sense but there's still a descriptive quality to Rob's prose that it's hard for me to imagine coming across in a comic.
Oh, yes, and about today update, well, i got another source of horror. I thought for a moment that Margie was interested in Parson, But now he got those sexy Undead girls... still thinking about it.
I am LOVING the summer updates. I didn't get into ErfWorld for the first go-around in comic form... you needed a bit of an archive binge in order to appreciate the scope of the series. But then I went through the whole thing in a go, and it was brilliant start to finish. And these summer update snapshots are really fantastic.
Of course, there are other, much less perverted interpretations. Namely, Parson bringing up his ability to command sex is actually a touchy subject for Maggie. That is to say, there is a moral sensibility there that is offended at the idea of exploitation, but it isn't largely understood in Erfworld culture.
Well if you remember, back in book one, Parson at one point, out of ignorance, basically commanded Maggie to kill herself, and she nearly did. Sounds like a touchy subject to me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LurkerInPlayground
I actually view the Decryption process as a kind of resurrection, owing to Wanda's new mastery over the forces of life and death.
Well, in it's literal sense, it is un-killing something, so it is a resurrection as opposed to a raise-dead sort of thing.
Well, in it's literal sense, it is un-killing something, so it is a resurrection as opposed to a raise-dead sort of thing.
Oh good. Semantics.
The point is, Parson wouldn't be banging a cold and rotting thing if he decided to shack up with an Archon.
If it quacks like a hot nubile woman and walks like a not nubile woman and has all the past memories of a nubile woman. . .
Well, the body is intact, warm and doesn't stink.
Good enough.
Likewise, Prince Ansom is virtually as he was before. Minus the fact that his personality has changed and his flesh is fed by the unholy energies of Croakamancy.
Last edited by LurkerInPlayground : 11-03-2009 at 01:48 PM.
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Parson Gotti: Eldritch abomination
But now he got those sexy Undead girls...
still thinking about it.
Derailed in the best way, thank you good sir.
Sauron vs. Voldemort 
