Book 2 – Text Updates 026

[balder]

New One is up.

[DevilDan]

Zhopa's back!

[Hefesto]

So, it seems Stanley doesn't act all mighty and high everytime, huh. The piker he once was is still there.

[ftl]

You can't cut us off like that! What thinkagram did Stanley get? What's the revelation about FAQ and Stanley that's being dangled in front of us?

[yuffiek]

You can't cut us off like that! What thinkagram did Stanley get? What's the revelation about FAQ and Stanley that's being dangled in front of us?

That would have been Wanda's thinkagram saying "There's this city called Faq hidden away in the mountains. You wanna come conquer it?"

[Lamech]

He seems stressed out by the battle. Hmm... I guess Stanley isn't as bad when he isn't trying to play overlord. Probably never should have been made heir.

[Sareln]

This is interesting - I wonder if we'll get more of Stanley's side of the FAQ affair, or if we'll be left with this as the view moves back to the battle...

[Atomic]

TINFOIL HAT TIME...

That would have been Wanda's thinkagram saying "There's this city called Faq hidden away in the mountains. You wanna come conquer it?"

Or perhaps it was Charlie, orchestrating this whole series of events from the get-go... That would explain quite a lot.

In an effort to acquire the Arkenhammer, Charlie alerts Stanley to the presence of a small empire not far away (not realizing that Stanley was Saline's Heir). Seeing this as a golden opportunity to expand their borders, Stanley takes Sizemore (Maggie and Misty are off having a tea party?) to raze FAQ's three cities and start a new side, or maybe just to upgrade them? I dunno. Something silly like that.

Right after Stanley conquers the final city, the Hobgobwins and Gobwins turn on Saline IV (with the aid of Charlie's Archons) and take over Gobwin Knob. When Charlie realizes Stanley was Heir Designate, he pulls his Archons back and leaves the Gobwins to defend Gobwin Knob... Enter Stanly, returning with a handful of casters and an army of Dwagons. Easy as key lime pie.

...

Or, you know, it could've been Wanda.

[cdrcjsn]

I get the feeling that seeing how the Twoll's fabrication special works is the important point of this update.

Last time, Zhopa took an existing object to make a picnic basket. This time, he had extra materials on hand. Is this Parson's influence, or has he always had extra stuff on hand? Can a bunch of twolls working together create larger objects? Say a catapult, or even a portable tower they can construct/deconstruct every turn?

Parson had all summer to create new weapons and equipment, even if only for testing. I wouldn't be surprised to see some in use.

[homeosapiens]

ha, first page! I ll edit later
Stanley seems a bit off the rocker now. Since when he is not mad when loosing? For now he is...

[Nows7]

Should that much chest hair be open in the kitchen? Shouldn't he be wearing a hair-net?

[gameboy1234]

Stanley has a high-chair? That's awesome.

[gaiaswill]

I wonder why Stanley felt conquering Faq should be kept a secret in the first place?

[Malanthyus]

...

What. The. Fuck.

You should have just changed the title to "this is a tease".

It was entirely pointless to bring up his involvement with FAQ, doesn't advance the story, and only serves to frustrate the reader base by simply reminding them of what you're not going to tell them yet.

Edit: Apologies, I made an ass out of you and me by assuming that this was a stand alone update. I am sorry about that and hope you and Xin both feel better soon.

[splintermute]

"Zhopa the twoll held a cleaver in one thick hand, and eyed Stanley the Tool. With the palm of the other hand pressing down, he minced a pile of radishes."

Obvious symbolism is obvious!


Also, I liked the suspense of this update - one of the biggest cliffhangers now is when (or if), exactly, Stanley will break free of Maggie's suggestion and try to reassert control of the battle. Also, if he realizes what was done to him, he will likely be very angry, and the all the units nearby might be susceptible to disbandment. Without even knowing it, Zhopa was playing a very dangerous game.

It's interesting that Zhopa calls him Lud instead of Tool - presumably a mispronunciation of Lord, but it could be an allusion to Ned Ludd, the ultimate anti-Tool. Is it because he was popped after Stanley gave the "call me Tool" order?

The drawing of Zhopa's face reminds me of the work of Kris Straub.

[tgo]

I wonder why Stanley felt conquering Faq should be kept a secret in the first place?

He probably didn't want anyone to know about his secret flight plan. Keep in mind, his backup plan in case he lost Gobwin Knob was to flee to Faq and create a new side, presumably hiding there until he was powerful enough to take back Gobwin Knob. If one of his warlords found out about it and then was captured and turned, that plan suddenly becomes useless.


But, with Faq being refounded, and Don King knowing its location, there is no reason at all to keep his exploits there a secret any longer.

[DunkelMentat]

I was worrying about Stanley reacting poorly to the spell that got him out of the war room but it would appear that he has reconciled himself with being gone by telling stories of his past triumphs. A fitting way to make that work and excellent writing as usual. Happy July everybody!

@those who didn't like it: bollocks to you, sirs and madams! Your lack of appreciation for quality work is sad. I bite my thumb at you. : P

[djharr]

Why would the tool not want to talk about the whole FAQ thing? Could it be that he was under a spell of Thinkamancy put on him by someone that has since been overwritten by the new one that Maggie put on him? Who would want to prevent Stanley from talking about the conquering of FAQ? Could it be that there was someone involved who didn't want their involvement known and that this person used Thinkamancy to prevent Stanley from spilling his guts out about it to the first Twoll that fixed him a bologna sandwich?

I may be in tinfoil hat area, but I think this whole thing smells to high heaven of Charlie, lending a STRONG push to the idea that he is behind the WHOLE war.

David

[Sixty]

Hmm, Zhopa mentions that the turn seemed to be over early. While we know the truth, this doesn't seem like a huge surprise to Zhopa and seems to indicate the possibility that turns do have a natural maximum length of time (If a turn can be over early than that would seem to imply that it has a normal length of time). Of course it could just mean that to Zhopa it was a very short turn compared to other turns and that Stanley usually waits longer to end turns.

[Dr Pepper]

"Okay, I gawt vis weird finkagram whem I was out inna field..."

Now, that's a teaser!