I mean, let's be honest here. Parson figured out one or two neat tricks. That's it. He hasn't done anything that really indicates that he's that dangerous. Slately and his son both read that dosser and neither one of them saw anything particularly alarming. He's a clever strategist with a cool but not game-breaking artifact.
Nothing we've seen has indicated why Charlie is so terrified of him. I wonder what it is?
Last edited by Aquillion : 09-19-2012 at 03:57 PM.
I mean, let's be honest here. Parson figured out one or two neat tricks. That's it. He hasn't done anything that really indicates that he's that dangerous. Slately and his son both read that dosser and neither one of them saw anything particularly alarming. He's a clever strategist with a cool but not game-breaking artifact.
Nothing we've seen has indicated why Charlie is so terrified of him. I wonder what it is?
Maybe Charlie is not only from "stupidworld" like Parson, but may actually be one of Parsons friends from the gaming group?
What happens if someone wins the "game"? Is it "game over" for all of Erfworld? Does Parson return or does he just disappear? What happens to Charlie?
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Simple: He beat Charlie, and did it by clever strategy. He turned a matchup Charlie believed wasn't even possible to win into an overwhelming crushing victory. There's more, but that's the core of it.
Charlie is used to being the premier strategist, manipulating everyone around him with ease and never losing except to overwhelming force, and he has enough force at his disposal that even those defeats are rare and unlikely to happen any time he actually cares about it. Suddenly, with no warning, he's outplayed by a completely new player on the field, a new player who has also demonstrated the ability to see through Charlie's manipulations (not always, but often enough). And then, as if that weren't enough, this new opponent acquires a level of military resources at least on par with Charlie's own to go along with his brains.
Charlie's position as the world's top military is threatened in a way that has never happened before, and it's all Parson's fault. I suspect Charlie has never had any peers in military strategic command ability, weasel wording, and lateral thinking before, and the evidence Charlie has from Parson's brief time in Erfworld strongly suggests that Parson is Charlie's peer in all three. Parson's presence - and his refusal to join Charlie's side - has changed Erfworld from being Charlie's virtually unopposed playground to being a war between equals.
Yes, Parson only "figured out one or two neat tricks". The thing is, no one else in all of Erfworld would have even looked for those tricks, much less actually figured them out. Charlie might have, but he's the only one. Everyone else we've seen is bound by convention and assumptions, likely spawned with a mentality deliberately designed by the Titans to follow the intent of the ruleset they established rather than seeking the chinks in its design the way Parson does.
I mean, let's be honest here. Parson figured out one or two neat tricks. That's it. He hasn't done anything that really indicates that he's that dangerous. Slately and his son both read that dosser and neither one of them saw anything particularly alarming. He's a clever strategist with a cool but not game-breaking artifact.
Nothing we've seen has indicated why Charlie is so terrified of him. I wonder what it is?
Charlie is terrified Because Parson is good at what he does. Very good. He took a side that was by all rights entirely boned and about to fall, and turned it into a superpower. Lateral thinking is apparently not common in a world run by a set of generally-knowable rules.
And that's leaving out the possibility that he knows all the intimate details about Parson's summoning, and the factions/prophesies behind it. It's basically a guarantee he knew about the spell to begin with, and the knowledge of a "perfect warlord" alone would be cause for worry. If he knows a faction backed the spell for the specific purpose of turning said warlord against him...
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I think Charlie isn't afraid of Parson because of what he's already done, but what he has the potential to do. Parson has a mindset utterly alien to Erfworld, and in time he might break it completely. For some reason or another, Charlie really doesn't want it to happen.
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I think Charlie isn't afraid of Parson because of what he's already done, but what he has the potential to do. Parson has a mindset utterly alien to Erfworld, and in time he might break it completely. For some reason or another, Charlie really doesn't want it to happen.
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He saw it through the thinkamancy link available from the transylvitian bat. Note frames 1 through 3 of this page.
Which proves that Don King saw through the bat, but why assume Charlie did? There were at least half a dozen archons also looking "where the bat was" and Charlie could at least as easily still be able to monitor everything they see.
He's even demonstrated to Jillian that he could see "GK's new Chief Warlord" (Ansom) at the battle of Uniroyal. Where was the "bat" that let him see that? He also gave Jetstone a dossier with BeauCoup data on Parson. Of course he's not going to say how he got it though, and let his allies know the true extent of his intelligence on their "common enemy" - not if he can still parlay that into a win-win for himself.
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Appearing as several different villains....very subtle Charlie.
We would never trust these "avatars"... but we are from stupidworld.
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The progression into a chess piece starts before that, as he first loses his color, then becomes increasingly stylized with the radish on his crown assuming the traditional cross shape. Losing that is only the final stage. From the very beginning the symbolism is that he's becoming merely a piece in Charlies game rather then his own.
Yeah.
This strip is a masterpiece.
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Great analysis KA. I second all things you said
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Great analysis KA, I second everything you said here.
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If I have a player using Paladin in the future I will direct them to this. Good job.
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That's unless he has another, as of yet unknown reason, of course. Charlie is a really enigmatic figure; it's possible that the mercenary persona is just the tip of the iceberg.
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One reason that Charlie might fear Parson (in addition to many things already mentioned) is that he can *break* Erfworld's rules. Not think out of the box, but break the box. I don't think Charlie knows for sure, but I would be surprised he he didn't at least suspect it.
I want to echo the praise for the most recent strip of Erfworld. I know the webcomic had its ups & downs, including the gaps in the story, but Rob proved that he is on a high level.
The strip wove so many themes together, and the designs and pictures were first rate. Great job!
Which proves that Don King saw through the bat, but why assume Charlie did? There were at least half a dozen archons also looking "where the bat was" and Charlie could at least as easily still be able to monitor everything they see.
I'm not so sure of this. There have been several hints that Charlie is capable of tapping Thinkamancy transmissions, and none that he can just see out of a unit's eyes whenever he feels like it - not even the archons. When he was spying on Parson in Book 1, in fact, the archons were above the battlefield making the "Thinkagram gesture" with their hands, suggesting that he can't just see out of their eyes at any moment (let alone see through the eyes of enemy archons). Could be for some other reason like misleading people into underestimating the full extent of the Arkendish's power, but given this and what we've seen of the Arkendish's abilities so far, I find the idea of him tapping the bat's transmission more plausible.
Charlie is terrified Because Parson is good at what he does. Very good. He took a side that was by all rights entirely boned and about to fall, and turned it into a superpower.
Not really... The only thing Parson did was make sure GK lived long enough to see another turn. Turning GK into a superpower was done by forces he never knew about; Namely that Wanda would attune to the ArkenPliers which would give her the ability to instantly raise an army, and that the mountain he blew up was in fact stuffed with enough gems to make GK filthy rich. THOSE are the two factors that allowed GK to grow into a super power, and they were two things that parson knew nothing about... All parson knew, and was aiming for, was to make sure GK won the battle, which he did pull off...
Not really... The only thing Parson did was make sure GK lived long enough to see another turn. Turning GK into a superpower was done by forces he never knew about; Namely that Wanda would attune to the ArkenPliers which would give her the ability to instantly raise an army, and that the mountain he blew up was in fact stuffed with enough gems to make GK filthy rich. THOSE are the two factors that allowed GK to grow into a super power, and they were two things that parson knew nothing about... All parson knew, and was aiming for, was to make sure GK won the battle, which he did pull off...
Surviving that fight alone was impressive enough, though
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I guess what we would like to know (and probably won't) is whether
- Charlie sees Parson as a rival
- Charlie feels insulted by Parson snubbing him
- Charlie is afraid/threatened by Parson's rule manipulation
- Charlie is fully aware of TGMWTA's plans and aims to thwart them
- Some or all of the above
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Ya know? I think I'd about kill Rowling if she wasn't holding me hostage with that last book of hers...
I'm expecting the pawned Jetson king to be sent to assassinate Parson during peace talks that Parson and Tramenis will arrange. It will mirror the way Parson assasinated Anson quite nicely.
The signamancy in these calls continues to be interesting. Can't place two of the forms Charlie takes, though:
1 - Palpatine (Starwars)
2 - Victor Von Doom (Fantastic Four)
3 - ? (Connery's character from Highlander?)
4 - The Agent (Matrix)
5 - ? (No clue)
6 - Kahn (Star Trek: Wrath of Kahn)
7 - Betelgeuse (Beetlejuice)
8 - Jack (Erfworld) Heheh.
9 - Joker (Batman)
I like how they have generally have something in common with the forms next to them. It feels like a progression, not just complete randomness.
Also, it's interesting how Tremennis and Slately shift form during the meeting, but Parson did not. Was that another sign of his alien nature, or just because that aspect of the call hadn't been thought of at the time?
Edit: Oh, also: Last panel? Gorgeous.
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Also, it's interesting how Tremennis and Slately shift form during the meeting, but Parson did not. Was that another sign of his alien nature, or just because that aspect of the call hadn't been thought of at the time?
Edit: Oh, also: Last panel? Gorgeous.
Parson did shift form, though, from his Stupidworld clothes to that Star-Trek-esque thing, while entering the call with Charlie. Of course, he doesn't shift form during the call, but that also fits with Erfworld units entering calls with Charlie and then shifting forms, a la Tramennis getting the sunglasses and tie-dye shirt and Slately becoming a literal pawn.
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In my posts, smilies generally correspond to my expression at the time. As an example, means "huh?" and "Hmm..". Also, "Landis" is fine.
Also, it's interesting how Tremennis and Slately shift form during the meeting, but Parson did not. Was that another sign of his alien nature, or just because that aspect of the call hadn't been thought of at the time?
There is an interesting detail here: Parson was protected by Maggie during the talk with Charlie and Jetstone doesn't have a Thinkamancer. Make of it, what you like.
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Parson did shift form, though, from his Stupidworld clothes to that Star-Trek-esque thing, while entering the call with Charlie.
That would be Mork, from the planet Ork (here to observe your primitive civilization. Nanoo nanoo.)
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now deceased, being turned into pawn piece symbolize anything, possibly he's on Charlie's string?
P.S- How would you compare Erfworld to Yggdra Union since both of them are deconstruction of Strategy Games?
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I guess what we would like to know (and probably won't) is whether
- Charlie sees Parson as a rival
- Charlie feels insulted by Parson snubbing him
- Charlie is afraid/threatened by Parson's rule manipulation
- Charlie is fully aware of TGMWTA's plans and aims to thwart them
- Some or all of the above
I just don't believe the first three could explain it. Remember, Charlie is completely driven by beating Parson right now. As far as we can tell, he has no other motivation at all in this fight. He's investing large amounts of money, using valuable casters, sending several Archons of his own, and so forth, all for... what?
I find it hard to believe he'd be this determined to kill Parson purely over a snub or just because Parson manage to get one up on him, once.
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means "huh?" and "Hmm..". Also, "Landis" is fine.
