12/12/2011 [11-16] Leave your wounded Pride...

[joshofspam]

And your sword at the door.

I'm not really sure I would attend a party with vicious creatures like the Fey have shown some of  themselves to be thus far without some weapon.

Their technically always armed. So my guess it comes to some reason on diplomacy and rules when dealing with Fey. Wouldn't want some random agent taking the bait and starting an incident with a family member of a high seated part of the fey court.

[BabylonRanger]

Ah, but Max isn't technically going to the treaty renewal where all the fey are.  He's looking after the Queen's grandson at another location.  So while I could understand why he would want to take the sword, it would be better that he didn't.  Baby-sitters aren't supposed to bring weapons that ze kinder would be likely to fool around with.

[PhycoKrusk]

"Rules" is the way to look at it, sure. As I understand it, when fey swear to something, they have to uphold that promise, but are absolutely devilish when it comes to finding and exploiting loopholes. Thus, why agents- or Hunter at least- go without weapons. "Don't bring a weapon, don't look them in the eye, follow this list of dos and don'ts, and you'll be fine," as it were. It's a great plan, sort of like how Max not being at the treaty negotiations is a great plan. But then, you know the saying: "No plan ever survives contact with the fey." Or, something like that.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Wounded pride or not, the weapon is also a defence. You need both the weapon and the collar to make the full defence work.

And... you never know when you might need that defence. So if you're going to protect someone... take it all. You can leave it in the next room, but you'd be better off with it being nearby.

That's my take on it. But then, I was a scout, so that whole being prepared thing...

[Darc_Sowers]

If you're ordered to leave something behind and you bring it anyway, chances are very high that it will be confiscated. And, that you'll be reprimanded. It's a little hard to hide a sword down your pants. People tend to walk a little funny after that. 

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Was he ordered? I saw "you won't need it", not "you shouldn't bring it"

The former suggests you'll get laughed at for bringing it (until you actually turn out to need it after all); the latter implies a reprimand for disobeying orders.

That and my take on the whole thing is that the whole organisation has a fairly loose view on orders anyway; take the casual Friday scene, for example, with the ninja costume. My understanding (incorrect as it may be) is that while you're expected to follow orders, you're also required to think about them, and possibly "creatively misunderstand" them if necessary. Success is sufficient, as in James Bond's case, to overlook some irregularities in your orders.

... besides, you don't hide a sword down your pants. You hide it down your back, or side. That way you can be stiff and formal, and nobody suspects a thing. ;-]

[Darc_Sowers]

It was meant to be more of "you're not to bring it" but I'm still learning how to write and pace so, some things don't come across as I intend, unfortunately. As for the "casual Friday" thing, that was in the old 2003-2004 version I that is not cannon. The first page of Issue 4 is more how orders are seen in RCSI - http://www.codenamehunter.com/archive/2008/08/25. While Moraine may be willing to accept a bit of disobedience, the agents guarding the doors and enforcing the orders are not. Petty power plays and all that. All they'll know is Max isn't on the roster as Queen's Guard. Since he's not, no sword.

A sword down the back does sound like a plan, until you factor in the length of the sword and the tails. I think that might cause some problems. "Hey! Come back! You left your tail twenty feet back there!" 

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

It was meant to be more of "you're not to bring it" but I'm still learning how to write and pace so, some things don't come across as I intend, unfortunately. As for the "casual Friday" thing, that was in the old 2003-2004 version I that is not cannon. The first page of Issue 4 is more how orders are seen in RCSI - http://www.codenamehunter.com/archive/2008/08/25. While Moraine may be willing to accept a bit of disobedience, the agents guarding the doors and enforcing the orders are not. Petty power plays and all that. All they'll know is Max isn't on the roster as Queen's Guard. Since he's not, no sword.

It isn't canon anymore? Nuts. I always liked that particular strip; the concept of a donations box you can't find because the guy looking after it is doing exactly what you told him to amuses the heck out of me. *grin* As for the intention - I can see that's what the boss intended, I just don't see that Max will necessarily see it that way. And, well, I guess I tend to bend the rules a bit myself, so loophole hunting is something I tend to do, possibly when I shouldn't. ;-]

As for petty power plays... I can see how that would work. There's a strong temptation for those with little power to bend what they have to make others bow to their will, when they can. Although I expect Max's response to be "Sure, no problem. I'll just wait out here until you bring the prince out for me to look after." or something similar. *grin*

... not that I'm trying to tell you how to manage your characters, mind. Merely musing about possible interactions.

A sword down the back does sound like a plan, until you factor in the length of the sword and the tails. I think that might cause some problems. "Hey! Come back! You left your tail twenty feet back there!" 

Uh. You should leave it in the sheath, obviously. Sneaky, yes. Crazy? No. ;-]

It remains to be seen what happens (at least for those of us who haven't peeked at the subscriber area) and how much Max is going to regret not taking the sword with him. Even if he would have to leave it with the agents on the doors, or something, it'd still be closer than the other side of the city. And given how long it takes to get across town these days... Did you know they have a race every year to see how long it takes various methods of travel to get from one side of the central area to the other, and the person on the tube usually gets there fairly fast, compared to taxi, bus, walking, cycling, motorbiking, et al? It's surprising just how close in time all the various options really are - walking isn't that far behind taxiing...

[joshofspam]

I actually like how all the rules play off one another here.

On one side, you don't want you agents causing problems, you want the fey to not make it a point of trying to bait the agents, you also don't want to risk the Queen and Prince with a possibility of a power play.

On the other hand, this means the agents are mostly unarmed, the Fey are known for being devious sneaks about getting around rules and Max being on his own with the Prince sounds like someone would try to think around the rules to get at him or the Prince.

I guess it really depends on just how much sway the Queen has in her own house and how well behaved the Agents and Fey are. Should be fairly interesting to see how this all works out.

[Alondro]

He's not to bring the sword... but what about OTHER weapons?!  Or poison!  Or weapons made of his own flesh and bone crafted via chakra into ninja weapons!?  Or demons he's contracted that can do his bidding in exchange for soul when he dies!?

*is also good at exploiting loopholes*  I should have become a Wall Street executive!  *PURE EVIL!*