Book 2 – Page 31

[oslecamo2]

It's entirely possible Jillian gave this advice specifically to increase the chances of Wanda surviving. Of course, this would continue the volte-face from Book 1 to Book 2 with respect to this character's competence and subtlety, but I'm sure it will be chalked up to her new Queenness or something.

Well, we know that Jillian is still atracted to Wanda. Like she pointed out, there was no need for the initial parley if she just wanted the croackmancer's head on a stick. She even offered the chance of ganking on Jetstone togheter.

Also, she's been dealing with Charlie, wich is a masterfull weaver of lies, and Don King, wich loves to act from the background. Even with Jillian being a hotblooded barbarian, it would be almost impossible she didn't learn a trick or ten from them.

I do think there is a reasonable explanation for this course of action from the "smartest tactics" point-of-view, however (I made this point in the most recent text update discussion thread), which I would find slightly more palatable as a motivation for Jillian's advice. After all, we know she's good in battle, albeit rather unimaginative. Or at least, that was at one time one of her weaknesses. I'm just not so sure any more.

It's my personal theory that as units in Erfworld level up they get smarter(mental stat increase?). A stabber is a drooling idiot wich only cares about stabbing, but that chief croackmancer is capable of orchestating a masterfull plot that will change the face of Erfworld.

Jillian being promoted to queen probably came with nice bonus to her mental stats wich allowed her to see things beyond "stab with sword, eat, sex, sleep, repeat". And again she's been under Don and Charlie's personal tutorage for a lot of turns.

Stanley clearly rolled pretty poorly on the mental stat increase. Well, he's not even a noble after all.

[askafroa]

I'm not terribly fond of Jillian as a character, but from what we've been shown so far I think that it is entirely in character for Tramennis to like her. He seems to chaff at the expectations placed on royals (being shown to make jokes of serious situations, and to simply be quite rude.) If he has no interest in landing on a throne, it seems to me that encountering a ruler who recklessly leads her side into battle and lacks any social refinement whatsoever would be a comfort to him.

He simply strikes me as being similar to Jillian, but to a lesser extreme (and without the anger that seems rooted in her character even before her side ended.)

So to me at least, it simply makes sense for her to appeal to him.

addition: It's also possible he's simply playing politics, he seems quite shrewd and may simply use his mannerisms as a shield for that. Assuming both Faq and Jetstone survive the current war his being on good terms with Jillian would keep a diplomatic line open with Faq whose queen clearly dislikes his father. That wouldn't explain his comments to his own men however. It could always be some of each though.

[Ansan Gotti]

It's my personal theory that as units in Erfworld level up they get smarter(mental stat increase?). A stabber is a drooling idiot wich only cares about stabbing, but that chief croackmancer is capable of orchestating a masterfull plot that will change the face of Erfworld.

Jillian being promoted to queen probably came with nice bonus to her mental stats wich allowed her to see things beyond "stab with sword, eat, sex, sleep, repeat". And again she's been under Don and Charlie's personal tutorage for a lot of turns.

Stanley clearly rolled pretty poorly on the mental stat increase. Well, he's not even a noble after all.

It's an interesting theory, and I kind of like it. That said, again, more setup and exposition of such a concept would have been far preferable, IMO.

I'm not terribly fond of Jillian as a character, but from what we've been shown so far I think that it is entirely in character for Tramennis to like her. He seems to chaff at the expectations placed on royals (being shown to make jokes of serious situations, and to simply be quite rude.) If he has no interest in landing on a throne, it seems to me that encountering a ruler who recklessly leads her side into battle and lacks any social refinement whatsoever would be a comfort to him.

He simply strikes me as being similar to Jillian, but to a lesser extreme (and without the anger that seems rooted in her character even before her side ended.)

So to me at least, it simply makes sense for her to appeal to him.

I'm not even disputing that Tramennis might be inclined to like her. It's just a little bit much, you know, after having half of the world being in love with her already.

[askafroa]

I'm not even disputing that Tramennis might be inclined to like her. It's just a little bit much, you know, after having half of the world being in love with her already.

I understand the feeling, just expressing that in this case it makes sense for those two particular characters to hit it off. And while it seems like Faq is doing quite well at the moment, there seem to be few characters who genuinely like Jillian. We have Ansom still having some feelings for her despite his decryption (and if possible may be turned shortly), we have Wanda who obviously has strong emotions towards her but who seems through her possessiveness to have the potential to be incredibly vindictive making her emotions towards Jillian potentially more dangerous than helpful to Jillian, and we have Vinnie whose relationship with her seems to have started out of mutual grief so who can say where that will lead with Ansom a factor again.

Beyond that she has the support of Transylvito and Charlescomm but it's unlikely that Don King or Charlie see her as anything but a tool, and both seem like they'd be willing to stab her in the back the moment it became advantageous to them. Interesting question, Charlie is paying Vanna's contract I wonder which of them ultimately calls the shots for her.

Frankly, and maybe this is wishful thinking (it probably is given that I get the feel that Jillian is a favored character) I can see the potential for very bad things in Faq's future.

[BLANDCorporatio]

Frankly, and maybe this is wishful thinking (it probably is given that I get the feel that Jillian is a favored character) I can see the potential for very bad things in Faq's future.

Yes, indeed, the fact that Jillian is so obviously the darling of Almost Anyone in Erfworld, the time is ripe for

TIN FOIL HATS!

My idea- Jillian has been croaked. What you see is actually Shub Niggurath wearing Jillian's skin, preparing Erfworld for the coming of the Great Old Ones.

Stanley will inadvertently cause Azathoth to wake.

Charlie will be eaten first.

And it will be up to Parson to save the day.

[DoctorJest]

Also, it's just me or Tremessis just went from a smartass to a drooling idiot in a few pages? He should know that Wanda is THE target to take down now.

He's been waffling between smartass and drooling idiot since his introduction. There are times he seems like a sarcastic genius and other times he seems like a petulant five year old.

[BLANDCorporatio]

Also, it's just me or Tremessis just went from a smartass to a drooling idiot in a few pages? He should know that Wanda is THE target to take down now.

He's been waffling between smartass and drooling idiot since his introduction. There are times he seems like a sarcastic genius and other times he seems like a petulant five year old.

*sniff* It's good to know I'm not alone.

[Ansan Gotti]

Missed this earlier.

She is grating on my nerves, and I usually like her! The other characters are divided between liking her because ... idunno...

Which is precisely my point. Or one of them, really.

At least she's hopefully exited for awhile so y'all can stop screaming "Mary Sue" every time she talks. Not every author's darling character deserves that.

I would like to note for the record that you are the very first person in this thread to use that term.

[shadowdemon_lord]

To me, it makes perfect sense that Trammennis is idolizing Jillian a bit. What she's done is quite impressive. Going from Barbarian queen to leader of a fairly powerful faction that is expanding rapidly in short time. She did through careful use of powerful connections, intelligent alliances, and diplomacy. I think even beyond her love for Wanda, her reluctance to fight her directly also lies in her realization that such a fight would likely see most of what she has built destroyed, assuming she survives the conflict. She's seen the brilliance with which Parson defended GK, she's familar with Wandas power and determination, she knows of the capabilities of Jack, and of course then she must take into account the massive flight of Dwagons. As much as it's being played off as she wont attack in respect for Wanda, I think she also doesn't want to be used as a shock troop and cannon fodder for Jetstone. She's doing what she can for them at little cost to her, to uphold the idea that she is an ally. However,she wants to walk out of this with her power intact, and that means not having her Megalogwiffs eaten by Dwagons as much as it does maintaining alliance with the powerful.

Still, despite her efforts I predict the ultimate fall of Jetstone, which will likely turn GK attention to Don King (after some mop up of other more minor members of the Coalition, if the coallition even survives the destruction of jetstone). This will put a more direct threat on Jillian, and get Don King to apply pressure on her to help out in more meaningful ways.

Also, Rob has shown little qualms about doing bad things to any character, regardless of how much he seems to like them. I wouldn't be so hasty to assume that Jillian will escape disaster forever.

[SteveMB]

preparing Erfworld for the coming of the Great Old Ones

You mean the summoning of some dangerous creature from Beyond? Been there done that....

[badninja]

Oh hell, here I thought that T had some intelligence, and he does something that only helps GK in the long run. I see Ford's plan is going to have an effect and maby, just maby he will croak T just before he gets dusted so that Jetstone has no heirs left when they fall. What surprised me was the fact that Jillian told them that Toolism is all Stanly and Wanda does not believe it, When it is really the other way around actually. As Jillian makes her departure I hope she finds some GK forces in reserve and looses her boy toy in the in-suing battle. I get the feeling the only way RCC 2 is going to win this is if they listen to Charlie, but as long as old Stately sits with his inflated ego on the throne they are doomed.

[michaelcoyote]

"...like to hope I'd be half the queen she is" HAH!

unless signamancy changes his height, he probably already is

Bwhaha

[Vorteks]

Hah! Awesome. Totally awesome page.

[Reclaimer]

"...like to hope I'd be half the queen she is" HAH!

unless signamancy changes his height, he probably already is

LMAO. Outstanding.

The only thing I find redeeming in this particular instance of Jillian-praising is that it's Tremmennis doing it. Since he's not one of my favourites, whatever, I'm starting not to care anymore (which btw is BAD).

But when Maggie starts going teawwy eyed for Jillian, my rage will be ... well nerdy or something.

I would like to see what Parson thinks of her, but at the same time I'm afraid.

Parson doesn't love her at least, he doesn't seem to care either way.

He's at least aware of her existence. Insofar as he actually cares about winning engagements, I'd imagine he thinks she's a major pain in the ass.

At least she's hopefully exited for awhile so y'all can stop screaming "Mary Sue" every time she talks. Not every author's darling character deserves that.

Fair point. I think he likes Wanda more, though (She's up there on my favorites, too). Any attachment to Jillian might be incidental to that.

[fruityjanitor]

Well I liked this page.

I don't think "Like I'd hope to be half the queen she is" is supposed to be interpreted as "Hey readers! Isn't Jillian the greatest character in this comic?!". He just sees that she does things differently from most royals (doesn't care about manners, willing to deal with non-Royals and supposed Toolists, etc.) and she gets results. Wanda & the Decrypted (as well as Parson and his unorthodox strategies) are like no force the Royals have ever faced before. To defeat them, they need to be willing to do things they wouldn't be willing to do before. I think Trem realizes that and I hope this is foreshadowing that he will soon be the ruler of Jetstone.

So I guess the reason people say that Jillian is Rob's favorite character is because lately, she is always getting what she wants. But during Book 1, it seemed like Ansom would always get what he wanted (Parson would get minor victories here and there, and then Ansom would absolutely crush him) but we all know that Book 1 didn't end very well for him...

[BLANDCorporatio]

preparing Erfworld for the coming of the Great Old Ones

You mean the summoning of some dangerous creature from Beyond? Been there done that....

Oh. Boop. You're right.

So I guess the reason people say that Jillian is Rob's favorite character is because lately, she is always getting what she wants. But during Book 1, it seemed like Ansom would always get what he wanted (Parson would get minor victories here and there, and then Ansom would absolutely crush him) but we all know that Book 1 didn't end very well for him...

Okay new theory.

Jillian (who actually is Jillian, for once) is the first Erfworlder to catch Megalogwiff flu. She then becomes very good friends with Sizemore, who unleashes the terrible Booger Golems on Erfworld. Their combined bio-hazard, sheer ick factor, and dance-bonus cancellation abilities makes them the most terrible weapon that Erfworld has ever seen. Janis tells Parson that the secret of Booger Golem construction cannot be allowed to only one side, so Parson, together with Charlie, steal the blueprints (after a very complicated spy operation), resulting in Cold War Peace.

[oslecamo2]

We have Ansom still having some feelings for her despite his decryption (and if possible may be turned shortly),

Actualy, Ansom seems to completely have cut ties with Jillian. When she says he's hers, Ansom answers simply "No, not anymore". No drama, no whinning, no excuses. He doesn't see her as a lover anymore but simply as a leader of other faction.

The reason he asked her to join them was because, well, since Jillian is a mercenary, and hand't killed Wanda in the spot, there was a chance she could be bought to their side. A very little chance, but Ansom was cornered and desesperate, and had nothing to lose in asking her, so he gave it a shot.

So he won't be turned any time soon. Like we saw on this strip, Ansom has kept mostly silent untill something "bad" was said about her Wanda, at wich point he started defending her. His loyalty is OVER 9000!!!! still.

This is, you may as well ask a dwagon to not fight to the death for Stanley.

Maybe the arkendish can brainwash tool-units like the pliers could change the archon's loyalty, but in that case Ansom would become Charlie's pet, and that would be even worse for Jillian.

[effataigus]

Charlie ordering Sammy to kill Ansom has definitely had consequences on Jillian's treatment of Charlie. Before Jillian was beating people about the head with her non-disclosure agreement even in situations where it would have been to her advantage to blab (to Wanda)... in this scene she reveals the main thing that Charlie indicated it was imperative for nobody to know for no obvious personal gain... specifically that he is working against GK. She said it in front of Ansom no less. Doubt Maggie can think-a-gram Ansom right now, but she certainly told Trem and a ton of listening units.

Random speculation: Jillian's force was enough to pose a small threat (or perhaps inconvenience) to Wanda's strike force. Wanda's strike force was enough to pose a threat to Spacerock and represents a significant fraction of GK's forces. Could Jillian's forces be enough to threaten GK (the city) right now? If not, how many archons would Charlie have to throw into the fray before it would be enough? With a quick call, Charlie could find out.

Jillian said she was headed "home" so I doubt that she is on her way to GK. Still though, I kinda like the idea of Jillian ending up on the wrong end of a Parson-atrocity.

[pSycHOtic chICkeN]

It's entirely possible Jillian gave this advice specifically to increase the chances of Wanda surviving. Of course, this would continue the volte-face from Book 1 to Book 2 with respect to this character's competence and subtlety, but I'm sure it will be chalked up to her new Queenness or something.

Which makes sense, actually -- in Erfworld, royal units really are different.

Differences in mental state might have something to do with multiple instances of torture and remote mind control magic. Concussions also impact clarity of thought. Of course we don't know enough about anatomy/internal medicine to know if a 10 story fall would cause a concussion in erfworld.

I thought Jillian's intuition and judgment was fairly sharp in book one. You may be suffering for monarchist propaganda. Barbarians are not stupid they are uncivilized. Jillian really did know which salad fork to use.

[Altima]

Reading this, I could actually feel myself groan and think to myself, "Yeah, everyone in Erfworld just loves their little Jillian."

I do hope that the next pages will stop focusing on her for a bit so we can get on with the, y'know, world deciding battle.

Also, looks like Charlie's general directive has been achieved--the RCC knows that they can hire him again, so the money will flow. And regardless of what's going to happen, GK will be on the defensive for a while.

On the bright side, maybe Charlie's Kingworld spell drained enough of his resources that GK can start finding Gobwins again. After all, all Stanley needs is one.