2023-01-25 [DMFA #2101] - "In A.D. twenty-one-oh-one..."

[techmaster-glitch]

"swearword was beginning" 

...come on, it lined up just too dang perfectly to NOT do. The halls of the Ancient Internet would never forgive me for passing up that opportunity. 



Ratings change and paleontologically-old memes aside, yeah, hoo boy, this is a very good and necessary reminder for all of us that, while Dark Pegasus might seem all "charmingly super-logical and pragmatic yet oddly insightful" now, he has still done some truly heinous shit that he's never really been held to account for.

...Well. Uh. I guess he actually has, from the last three(? was it three?) times he was killed by adventurers for exactly this same reason, it's just that he just keeps coming back.

...So in that light, Aliph's sudden willingness to actually give this guy a shot at him reads something like...I dunno, "This is far, far from the first time I've been in exactly this scenario, for exactly this reason. Many have tried, a few actually did succeed. Will you be one of the many failures...or will you be success number four? Bring it and show me what you're made of, kid." I guess?

Cuz yeah. Aliph says it all himself... despite his emotional distortion, bunnyboy has very good reasons to be doing this.

It's a thorny situation all right.

[WhyNot?]

According to the Wayback Machine it was in 2015 between December 18th-22nd that Pai Gon went, apparently switched out for the Patreon. That's a somewhat unique case of the struggle between morals and money I suppose.

I actually did notice that they'd gone, I think I'd been talking about the Censor Pandas in general with someone, and then when this update rolled along I assumed it had been fairly recently and in preparation for it to have a vaguer range...then scrolled down to the rant box and realized, nope!

That aside it is neat to see this subject pop-up. It feels kind of like two halves of the comic that have been kept mostly separate have crashed together: The side that plays Demonic characters actions for laughs or has sympathetic talks through their cultures lens VS The side that goes over how the actions and political power of Demons in general effects people.

It's always felt carefully structured that Demonic characters would only ever act in the former when the only people present were others who'd feel that way and avoid ruining the mood with the latter always taking a broader view rather than touching on anything a specific character might have done, basically avoiding narrative conflict even as they did the exact things the others were railing against.

Which makes someone showing up to point out that, no, the actual characters are just as much that sort of people such an interesting little twist. I mean, if you think about it, DP is currently using his wealth and political influence to have a safe haven from his various crimes.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

...So in that light, Aliph's sudden willingness to actually give this guy a shot at him reads something like...I dunno, "This is far, far from the first time I've been in exactly this scenario, for exactly this reason. Many have tried, a few actually did succeed. Will you be one of the many failures...or will you be success number four? Bring it and show me what you're made of, kid." I guess?

Cuz yeah. Aliph says it all himself... despite his emotional distortion, bunnyboy has very good reasons to be doing this.

I dunno. Notice how the shield Dark Pegasus put up was in front of the bystanders, not in front of himself, and he basically tanked the hits without a care, or even possibly noticing. I think Dark Pegasus feels like he's holding out his hand on his opponent's forehead, while they swipe fruitlessly at him - and not without reason. No, I'm wondering if Peggy is providing bunnyboi with "more rope" to hang themselves with, by letting them flail around and damage/risk bystanders.

Dark Pegasus plans. That's his key thing, right? So he's figured out this bunny, has identified what he's doing, and promptly has a plan pre-prepared to slot the bunny into, and you can bet that the plan is not what you expect. Certainly it won't be what bunnyboi expects. Pretty sure it won't be what Bella expects, either. And maybe Regina will learn a thing or two about preparing for rampages, too. No objection to using the single action to complete multiple objectives, that's something that, to Dark Pegasus, is Just One Of Those Happy Little Accidents.

I mean, if you think about it, DP is currently using his wealth and political influence to have a safe haven from his various crimes.

Is he, tho? He's going shopping in a secure environment, sure; but he's not (directly) purchasing the security, and the security is not there for his benefit. I grant you, he's the creature sponsoring this area, but that means he's effectively providing the security, not benefiting from it. Remember that the Adventurers are there to protect the Beings, and to make sure that "The Dark Lord[7] doesn't go on a rampage[2]." If someone were to bring on a hit on him in town, I suspect that they'd be there[5] to make sure the hit didn't take out any bystanders, but wouldn't lift a finger to help him, and not just because he's not one of the townsfolk they're being paid to protect and serve[4].


[7] DP or someone "like" him. Nobody said the Adventurers weren't speciesist.[1][8]
[1] Speciesist? Specist? Whatever. They're picking on DP because of his species, not because of his actions or race.
[2] Not that he has any intention of doing so, mind - much as Bella would delight in bringing him in.[3]
[3] Phwoah! Can I get a woop woop?
[4] Don't think I didn't notice that slip in there, Ambaaargh. ;-]
[5] With popcorn. Heck, they might even bring enough to share - although I can't see them[6] sharing with Regina, given their attitudes. Although the Mom from the shop would definitely, so who knows?
[6] The adventurers, that is. The rest of the townsfolk are much more blase about Demonfolk wandering around spending money in their stores.
[8] Dammit, the forum parses the 0th tag as formatting instructions. Bleh.

[PhycoKrusk]

I will add that, at least to the best of my recollection, every time Dark Pegasus had been brought back to life, he was always "not quite right." That is, every time he came back, he wasn't the same as he was before. Whether that's because of an imperfection in the resurrection process or because he was shaped by his experiences (or even if that's actually correct) had never been clarified.

Perhaps he's always been like this, but simply never had Regina so directly in his life. He always was different from the rest of the family, and while that never bothered him because he knew exactly what he was "supposed" to be, Regina is also different from the family and is struggling with it intensely. Maybe he's found someone through whom he can pass down his legacy, and all the better because it will be displacing his brother's legacy at the same time.

Or maybe art is a lie and nothing is real.

[The One Guy]

Hmm, "Despite the emotional distortion."  So even if his reasons do have a solid foundation, there's still something more going on behind the scenes.

[Radagast]

I dunno. Notice how the shield Dark Pegasus put up was in front of the bystanders, not in front of himself, and he basically tanked the hits without a care, or even possibly noticing. I think Dark Pegasus feels like he's holding out his hand on his opponent's forehead, while they swipe fruitlessly at him - and not without reason. No, I'm wondering if Peggy is providing bunnyboi with "more rope" to hang themselves with, by letting them flail around and damage/risk bystanders.

Dark Pegasus plans. That's his key thing, right? So he's figured out this bunny, has identified what he's doing, and promptly has a plan pre-prepared to slot the bunny into, and you can bet that the plan is not what you expect. Certainly it won't be what bunnyboi expects. Pretty sure it won't be what Bella expects, either. And maybe Regina will learn a thing or two about preparing for rampages, too. No objection to using the single action to complete multiple objectives, that's something that, to Dark Pegasus, is Just One Of Those Happy Little Accidents.

Honestly, I think he's actually being pretty upfront about his choice.  Remember, Demon culture puts a premium on shows of force, even when they themselves are the targets of that force.  Eg, Kria saw Mehlata's attempts to kill her on Undead Island as a fun diversion (With her near success being - and I quote - "So. Completely. AWESOME!").  And per Demo 101, the combination of Demons having a "rule of power" philosophy and being so hard to kill tends to mean that they don't have much in the way of a revenge mentality.  If someone fails to kill a demon, no real harm done.  If someone succeeds, then that obviously means they were worthy. 

And for Aliph specifically, he's shown himself to be someone who values rationality and efficiency.  A conclusion that basically amounts to "hmm...not entirely accurate, but you make a good case for your action.  Carry on." tracks for him. 

[Merlin]

ah the censor pandas were always so much fun. love em

[ProfesseurRenard]

ah the censor pandas were always so much fun. love em

I must have missed the appearance of these buggers.

[WhyNot?]

ah the censor pandas were always so much fun. love em

I must have missed the appearance of these buggers.

You can read what their deal was and see them here. There were cameos in comics like here and here and I know Pai Gon has shown up in the background of 'examples of Creatures' shots but I can't recall the specific strips.

Also, naturally, Tape has Fa-Teen still up on the PF site right at the bottom.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Honestly, I think he's actually being pretty upfront about his choice.  Remember, Demon culture puts a premium on shows of force, even when they themselves are the targets of that force.  Eg, Kria saw Mehlata's attempts to kill her on Undead Island as a fun diversion (With her near success being - and I quote - "So. Completely. AWESOME!").  And per Demo 101, the combination of Demons having a "rule of power" philosophy and being so hard to kill tends to mean that they don't have much in the way of a revenge mentality.  If someone fails to kill a demon, no real harm done.  If someone succeeds, then that obviously means they were worthy. 

Perhaps, but bear in mind that Dark Pegasus isn't exactly normal for Demons. Maybe he will, maybe he won't; he's shown a pretty good line in ruining people's Demon-like expectations for him, after all.

At least, when it suits him to.

And for Aliph specifically, he's shown himself to be someone who values rationality and efficiency.  A conclusion that basically amounts to "hmm...not entirely accurate, but you make a good case for your action.  Carry on." tracks for him. 

Oh, for sure. Gloriously so. I'm just saying... I reckon he'll have another purpose up his sleeve, and maybe two or three. Respectfully sneaky fellow, he is.

[ProfesseurRenard]

ah the censor pandas were always so much fun. love em

I must have missed the appearance of these buggers.

You can read what their deal was and see them here. There were cameos in comics like here and here and I know Pai Gon has shown up in the background of 'examples of Creatures' shots but I can't recall the specific strips.

Also, naturally, Tape has Fa-Teen still up on the PF site right at the bottom.

Oh, those censor pandas.

[Hariman]

You know... I'm betting little miss adventurer bunny lion german shepherd and other had said "For the glory of killing you!" or something selfish, he would have punter her.

Her?

I think that's a her.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

You know... I'm betting little miss adventurer bunny lion german shepherd and other had said "For the glory of killing you!" or something selfish, he would have punter her.

Her?

I think that's a her.

I think I follow your meaning, but I suspect you left a word out somewhere, so I'm not entirely sure. D'you think maybe you could check and rephrase, and help me out?

[ProfesseurRenard]

You know... I'm betting little miss adventurer bunny lion german shepherd and other had said "For the glory of killing you!" or something selfish, he would have punter her.

Her?

I think that's a her.

I think I follow your meaning, but I suspect you left a word out somewhere, so I'm not entirely sure. D'you think maybe you could check and rephrase, and help me out?

Yeah, I think there's a word missing as well. Perhaps an 'if'?

[Hariman]

You know... I'm betting little miss adventurer bunny lion german shepherd and other had said "For the glory of killing you!" or something selfish, he would have punter her.

Her?

I think that's a her.

I think I follow your meaning, but I suspect you left a word out somewhere, so I'm not entirely sure. D'you think maybe you could check and rephrase, and help me out?

Yeah, I think there's a word missing as well. Perhaps an 'if'?

*Checks.*

I probably should have written "and other" in parenthesis instead of leaving them open, and I typo'd punted as punter.  Also a few other words for clarity should help.


So:


"You know... I'm betting little miss adventurer bunny/lion/german shepherd (and probably other creatures) had said "For the glory of killing you!" or something selfish, he would have punted her.

Her?

I think that's a her."

Probably makes more sense.

[ProfesseurRenard]

You know... I'm betting little miss adventurer bunny lion german shepherd and other had said "For the glory of killing you!" or something selfish, he would have punter her.

Her?

I think that's a her.

I think I follow your meaning, but I suspect you left a word out somewhere, so I'm not entirely sure. D'you think maybe you could check and rephrase, and help me out?

Yeah, I think there's a word missing as well. Perhaps an 'if'?

*Checks.*

I probably should have written "and other" in parenthesis instead of leaving them open, and I typo'd punted as punter.  Also a few other words for clarity should help.


So:


"You know... I'm betting little miss adventurer bunny/lion/german shepherd (and probably other creatures) had said "For the glory of killing you!" or something selfish, he would have punted her.

Her?

I think that's a her."

Probably makes more sense.

That's a bit better, though I'd still put an 'if' in front of "little miss adventurer".

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Probably makes more sense.

Little bit, thank you.

[Nightmask]

To be fair the village kind of IS his personal vacation resort, after taking it over from that idiot.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

To be fair the village kind of IS his personal vacation resort, after taking it over from that idiot.

Sure, but they don't know that, and he doesn't want them to know that, AND they never actually knew That Idiot, since he was planning on rampaging there at some point, whereas Dark Pegasus kinda... doesn't want to be bothered with it?

[Russec]

I'm torn between DP's amazing monologue and the imminent unpacking of Jyrras' everything. The pressure keeps building!

[Tapewolf]

To be fair the village kind of IS his personal vacation resort, after taking it over from that idiot.

Actually, that may be crossed wires.   Dark Pegasus acquired the village from the Fleshrend demons, who don't appear on the Soulstealer family tree.  I think what DP was actually saying was the Malle had used a vanity reserve to make himself look good - but most likely some other village.