18/09/12 [DMFA #1337] - Not always the smartest

[MT Hazard]

Considering 'Behooves' mean advantage or benefit. Yes

... *checks dictionary*  Actually, that's only when it's used with a negative, as in 'ill behooves.'  Normal meaning is listed as 'duty or responsibility to do something.'  So kind of along the lines of 'This is something I've got to do/say.'

Considering how Dice reacts, it does seem most likely to still be the code word, though.

Ah, I just read the first definition which was

be·hoof
   [bih-hoof] Show IPA
noun, plural be·hooves  [hoovz] Show IPA.
use; advantage; benefit: The money was spent for his own behoof.

Rather than the extended definition which is

be·hoove
   [bih-hoov] Show IPA verb, be·hooved, be·hoov·ing. (chiefly in impersonal use)
verb (used with object)
1.
to be necessary or proper for, as for moral or ethical considerations; be incumbent on: It behooves the court to weigh evidence impartially.
2.
to be worthwhile to, as for personal profit or advantage: It would behoove you to be nicer to those who could help you.
verb (used without object)
3.
Archaic . to be needful, proper, or due: Perseverance is a quality that behooves in a scholar.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English behoven, Old English behōfian  to need ( behōf behoof  + -ian  infinitive suffix)

Synonyms
2.  benefit, advantage, serve, better, advance; suit, befit, beseem.

Say, is it just me, or is Skirmish making an 'I've got my eye on you' gesture in panel 4?

Definitely maybe, yes

[Ignuus66]

Say, is it just me, or is Skirmish making an 'I've got my eye on you' gesture in panel 4?

Yes, I noted that too, I dont think she is happy

[Plotting]

But if everybody has a gun and Creatures don't rampage or kill because anyone can kill them back without an adventurer, isn't that a good thing?

Not if you are an adventurer who has spent years training so that you can make a living by being an adventurer. Adventurers get payed for taking out Creatures who pose a real or imagined threat to Beings. If no one needs adventurers then everyone in the adventurers guild (a guild being a sort of early trade union organization) would be out of work.

[joshofspam]

But if everybody has a gun and Creatures don't rampage or kill because anyone can kill them back without an adventurer, isn't that a good thing?

Eh, Armed society is a polite society?

Only when the people are polite, I'm afraid. The thing is, sometimes it sounds like the Beings and Adventurers tend to have huge lapse in judgement and huge gaps in reasoning that at times put that make them have more in common with the people during the Salem witch trials.

Don't know if it would be wise to give some of them access to any tech much more advanced then what they already have available. Edit: I'm just worried that the Beings of Furrae might not be ready for the field of power to be level from what we've seen from just BOB thus far.

[Lying Foo]

They're already in an armed society, and a rather impolite one.  It's just that most of the populace have brought rubber chickens to a gunfight.

[Prroul]

Also, if there is a war breaking out between Beings and Creatures, Jyrras may have just branded himself a 'creature lover', and receive attacks from BOTH side. From the Creatures, because they realize the potential threat Jyrras's weapons have if the Beings use them, and from the Beings for being a dirty Creature-Lover.  Being stuck in no-man's land fielding an army of one is NOT a good place to be, no matter how good your tech is. As one general once said: quantity has a quality all its own.

Jyrras has some strong allies... Kria and Dan are two of them. But that's not gonna help him against highly trained Creature assassins. Ones with a whole boatload of magic AND skill to bypass security. Or, failing that, enough firepower (from Dragons, that can be taken quite literally) to burn the whole property down, security systems be damned.

This is probably exactly the scenario which Mab was fearing.

[AmigaDragon]

Since when do bees have hooves?

...an excuse to extract from an op which has already gone pear-shaped.

Where did that phrase ever come from? Why is pear considered to be a bad shape? They're tasty!

[Lying Foo]

Also, if there is a war breaking out between Beings and Creatures, Jyrras may have just branded himself a 'creature lover', and receive attacks from BOTH side.

I think that ship sailed when he fell in love with two incubi and a demoness.

[Starcat5]

Oh my Faust, Amber actually updated MID-WEEK!   It's the end of the world! Panic!  

And given your last post (and my response to it) don't you think it might a good idea to apologize?

Qua? *Checks last thread* Ah. Good point, actually. There may in fact have been better ways to point out that, ever since the comic switched to updating Monday/Friday, nearly every single time Amber missed an update, even if she SAID she'd make up the update later in the week/weekend, chances are the next update would land on the next scheduled Friday/Monday. ...baring additional missed updates, of course.

The latest blog entry, however, states that Amber now seeks to change this Status Que. Even going so far as making up for previously missed updates. (Presumably only the most recent ones.) To this end, I wish her only the best and most helpful of luck.

...an excuse to extract from an op which has already gone pear-shaped.

Where did that phrase ever come from? Why is pear considered to be a bad shape? They're tasty!

IIRC, it has it's origins in the rather sexist belief that women ruin everything. Pear Shaped = Birthing Hips.

[Eli_In_Chains]

IIRC, it has it's origins in the rather sexist belief that women ruin everything. Pear Shaped = Birthing Hips.

This suggests a colorful variety of origins, most of them revolving around trying to get a circle and ending up with a distorted pear-shape instead. Which, incidentally, is what happens every time I try to draw. XP Yeah, a lot of the terms that seem like they could have their origin in something offensive are actually from somewhere completely different. But in the end it's impossible to know much of the time, what with language being what it is.

[Hariman]

But if everybody has a gun and Creatures don't rampage or kill because anyone can kill them back without an adventurer, isn't that a good thing?

Eh, Armed society is a polite society?

Only when the people are polite, I'm afraid. The thing is, sometimes it sounds like the Beings and Adventurers tend to have huge lapse in judgement and huge gaps in reasoning that at times put that make them have more in common with the people during the Salem witch trials.

Don't know if it would be wise to give some of them access to any tech much more advanced then what they already have available. Edit: I'm just worried that the Beings of Furrae might not be ready for the field of power to be level from what we've seen from just BOB thus far.

Considering that Mab has a master plan involving Jyrras' gun/guns, I think it will be.

The sudden chaos of vengeance seeking beings causing CREATURES to need protection will force the justice system to reform and possibly even pass and enforce laws that protect ALL living creatures equally, instead of favoring creatures and whoever has money/power.

Plus, I can see Kria wanting to marry Jyrras to protect him. Or maybe it will be because Kria's turned on by a guy who can turn being "defensless munchie" into "Good. Bad. I'm the one with a gun!"

And I can see Jyrras accepting Kria's proposal of a loveless marriage, if just out of insane pragmatism.

But what I don't know is if Amber is THAT evil, so that might not happen. Okay, it PROBABLY won't happen.

But a guy CAN have his crazy theories, right?

[Tapewolf]

The thing is, sometimes it sounds like the Beings and Adventurers tend to have huge lapse in judgement and huge gaps in reasoning that at times put that make them have more in common with the people during the Salem witch trials.

Don't know if it would be wise to give some of them access to any tech much more advanced then what they already have available. Edit: I'm just worried that the Beings of Furrae might not be ready for the field of power to be level from what we've seen from just BOB thus far.

Well, the interesting thing about the guns is that they're made of magic-free material.  Some people have said that means that you can't repel the bullet with a forcefield and maybe that's true, but I'm not convinced it's a big deal since you can surely work around it by erecting a physical barrier magically.

What seems more interesting to me is that if the gun is not affected by magic, that means Creatures can use them, not just Beings.  And given the parallel with Salem, that might be a Very Big Deal.

[Mao]

Is it just me, or does it kinda look like Skirmish is doing the "I've got my eyes on you" thing in the fourth panel?

Qua? *Checks last thread* Ah. Good point, actually. There may in fact have been better ways to point out that, ever since the comic switched to updating Monday/Friday, nearly every single time Amber missed an update, even if she SAID she'd make up the update later in the week/weekend, chances are the next update would land on the next scheduled Friday/Monday. ...baring additional missed updates, of course.

The latest blog entry, however, states that Amber now seeks to change this Status Que. Even going so far as making up for previously missed updates. (Presumably only the most recent ones.) To this end, I wish her only the best and most helpful of luck.

I just suggest you keep in mind that 1) the updates have been nearly 3x larger for a while, so it's kind of expected that things might not quite be on time 2) that these updates are given freely and not 'owed' and 3) when you start using random CAPS LOCKED (see your previous post and above) words for emphasis it gives the impression of irritation, particularly in the method you've used it.  We know she said she would.  Emphasizing it just makes it look like you're trying to call her out or something ("Hey, you SAID you'd do this.  You didn't.  You're a liar.  You owe me/us").

That's just my take on it, but yeah, considering your words a bit more carefully in the future so as to not come off as being entitled and as acting like a jerk would benefit all I think.

[ANTIcarrot]

The phrase 'Mr Colt Made Everyone Equal' only works if guns are cheap. There is no indication that what Jyrras used is anything other than an expensive prototype. Even if they can be mass produced, guns are useless without an extremely large and reliable source of magically-inert metal-alloys to make the bullets from. Given these two requirements it's unlikely hand-guns will make a practical impact on this world in the near future.

I'd also question their ability to make a military impact, given how lone kooks can apparently easily create undead armies or battlemechs, and resurection spells aren't that hard.

Though given the ability of creatures to over react, they are more than capable of making a political one soon.

[Starcat5]

I just suggest you keep in mind that 1) the updates have been nearly 3x larger for a while, so it's kind of expected that things might not quite be on time

My posts to this point, poorly constructed as they were, were merely meant to point out the existing trend, which as been going on long enough (6~7 years?) that I have been conditioned to read "Update delayed, check back on 'x'" as "Come back Friday/Monday". The underlying cause, while important in the grander scheme of things, isn't relevant in this specific case and point.

{Added after reading point 3} This is not meant as some excuse, so much as an explanation for the convoluted chain of logic that went behind the creation of the two joke posts which have since crashed, caught fire, and exploded in my face.

2) that these updates are given freely and not 'owed'

*Does a lot of reply rewriting, cursing, and putting ice on pounded fist*
I at no point in my previous posts said or even implied such a thing. Please refrain from putting words in my mouth. Amber could walk away from DMFA right now and she wouldn't owe us jack ****. Mari Rose/Elevenbane walked away from "Wings of Change" mid-chapter in order to maintain a healthy social life, and I wish her well for it.

3) when you start using random CAPS LOCKED (see your previous post and above) words for emphasis it gives the impression of irritation, particularly in the method you've used it.  We know she said she would.  Emphasizing it just makes it look like you're trying to call her out or something ("Hey, you SAID you'd do this.  You didn't.  You're a liar.  You owe me/us").

That's just my take on it, but yeah, considering your words a bit more carefully in the future so as to not come off as being entitled and as acting like a jerk would benefit all I think.

*Reads point three after spending an hour pounding out a reply to point two*

...

Yeah, tone doesn't exactly come across well over the internet. I'm half-tempted to re-edit my reply to point two again, but the righteous indignation over being mortally insulted in point two has long since burned out, and point three has rendered it both moot and anticlimactic. It seems like every time I try to bring my iRL joking personality across over text, it all just comes crashing down in flames. Lets just declare this whole snafu the result of miscommunication over the underlying meaning of the relevant posts, and wash our hands/hooves/talons/claws of the whole convoluted mess.

*Spends another half hour replying to point three, adding an amendment to point one, and replaces any cases of "Caps for Emphasis" with "Underlined for Emphasis", before declaring the whole post unsalvageable and just hitting Post*

[Eboreg]

Even if they can be mass produced, guns are useless without an extremely large and reliable source of magically-inert metal-alloys to make the bullets from.

a) Jyrras's guns may be so powerful that magical barriers won't mean jack even if the bullet had some magic in it.

b) 100% natural material may be very easy to make when you have a 100% natural material.

I was always under the impression that a 100% natural material would create a very easy to make yet extremely effective armor.

[Starcat5]

Even if they can be mass produced, guns are useless without an extremely large and reliable source of magically-inert metal-alloys to make the bullets from.

a) Jyrras's guns may be so powerful that magical barriers won't mean jack even if the bullet had some magic in it.

b) 100% natural material may be very easy to make when you have a 100% natural material.

I was always under the impression that a 100% natural material would create a very easy to make yet extremely effective armor.

Except that EVERYTHING in their world is supersaturated with magic. One is more likely to find a rock which is 80% magic, rather than one that is only 20% magic. And magic is easy to cross contaminate. You want a 100% natural armor? You need 100% natural materials, and 100% natural tools to make it with. Mass production is going to be a nightmare.

[Ignuus66]

Even if they can be mass produced, guns are useless without an extremely large and reliable source of magically-inert metal-alloys to make the bullets from.

a) Jyrras's guns may be so powerful that magical barriers won't mean jack even if the bullet had some magic in it.

b) 100% natural material may be very easy to make when you have a 100% natural material.

I was always under the impression that a 100% natural material would create a very easy to make yet extremely effective armor.

Except that EVERYTHING in their world is supersaturated with magic. One is more likely to find a rock which is 80% magic, rather than one that is only 20% magic. And magic is easy to cross contaminate. You want a 100% natural armor? You need 100% natural materials, and 100% natural tools to make it with. Mass production is going to be a nightmare.

once they get started it'll become much easyer.

[Prroul]

Not really, ambient magical levels in the atmosphere will make it exceedingly difficult to create a 100% Natural environment. You would need some way of removing magic from the area. And maintaining that to prevent it from seeping back in. That's a very nontrivial problem.

Then you have to have 'sterile conditions' protocol with regards to magically radiated materials. So you'd basically have to have a set of airlocks, wherin you have to change to 100% natural work clothing, to avoid magical radiation from seeping into materials from clothing and jewlery.

over 97.5% natural, however, would be much easier to produce, and would be difficult to work with by magical means.

[Nino]

*Spends another half hour replying to point three, adding an amendment to point one, and replaces any cases of "Caps for Emphasis" with "Underlined for Emphasis", before declaring the whole post unsalvageable and just hitting Post*

Honest criticism - next time instead of trying to save face by trying to convince other people of your motives by posting a huge defensive reply like this, the best (most socially graceful) thing to do is just to apologize and move on. Especially in a case where it's really easy to see why people might have a problem with your post - even if it was just a misunderstanding, when you post like this, it looks like 'the lady doth protest too much'.

Also Mao made some excellent points, and I definitely got the same vibe from your original post that he did. I've actually gotten frustrated at Amber's saying she would update mid-week and then not doing so - why not admit this? I just figured logistically though it takes her so long to do the late update that it would ALSO make her late for Friday's update by that point. So I think the feeling behind your post (if you did feel that way, which I guess you're not admitting, but we know you did) is (somewhat/debatably) legitimate. But what I think is that you posted something passive-aggressive like you did in the last thread because you felt like it would make you look bad if you just said "Hey, I kind of think it's uncool of her to get my hopes up like that", so you post something that you could go back and pass off as a joke because you don't know how to bring your feelings up in an adult manner.

But the thing is, posting something like that actually makes you look way worse than if you just came out and said what you felt. Sure, you might have had people come back and argue (hopefully constructively) with you on it, but at least you'll be standing by your opinions instead of kind of half-heartedly putting them out there in a passive-aggressive, sorta mean-spirited way. Oh and saying your humorous personality is just translating incorrectly over the internet is sooooo lame, that's the oldest excuse in the book augh

(also people totally do a ton of mental gymnastics to convince themselves that their motives were much better than what they were half the time just because they don't want to 'lose' an argument - I've totally caught myself doing this in the past as a defense mechanism)

Also, back on topic - my thoughts are that they're totally there for the covert mission of figuring out what Jyrras is packing, and Nite just called it in - behooves being the codeword for the mission end. Which makes the Merlitz thing a fabrication. Maybe? I have to admit I didn't see this one coming. But I'm kinda disappointed so far in the anticlimactic and extremely abrupt end to the confrontation, though intrigued. Amber's really good at throwing curveballs through unexpected character reactions.

[Eli_In_Chains]

Also, back on topic - my thoughts are that they're totally there for the covert mission of figuring out what Jyrras is packing, and Nite just called it in - behooves being the codeword for the mission end. Which makes the Merlitz thing a fabrication. Maybe? I have to admit I didn't see this one coming. But I'm kinda disappointed so far in the anticlimactic and extremely abrupt end to the confrontation, though intrigued. Amber's really good at throwing curveballs through unexpected character reactions.

If that were the case, though, what's Skirmish doing still looking PO'ed at Jyrras as they leave? Other than that, though, it does explain a lot. We'll probably have to wait and see; the way I see it, the two possibilities (leaving because Kria is protecting Jy, or leaving because their mission was done) both have their minor issues. It looks to me like either one is equally likely.

[Tapewolf]

Also, back on topic - my thoughts are that they're totally there for the covert mission of figuring out what Jyrras is packing, and Nite just called it in - behooves being the codeword for the mission end. Which makes the Merlitz thing a fabrication. Maybe?

I doubt it.  They seemed far too determined to kill 'Cubi for it to be a Jyrras investigation and they had no reason to believe Jyrras was there at all.  In fact, they seemed to operating on the assumption that the 'Cubi who murdered Merlitz would be the one and only person in the inn at all.

[Eboreg]

What I'm saying is that it's probably impossible to add magic to a 100% natural material making it easy to create more 100% natural material with a 100% natural filter.

[Alondro]

Jyrras' name is known because of spies!  Spies are everywhere!   

[Tylor]

I don't think Jyras using gun is that big deal, actually. So, an item shooting projectiles, so what? It may be a little more compact than crossbow, and packing roughly same amount of punch, so nothing world-breaking, compared to huge robo-gryffons and such. It can be only important if it can be mass-produced, and even we don't know it for sure.

[Ignuus66]

I don't think Jyras using gun is that big deal, actually. So, an item shooting projectiles, so what? It may be a little more compact than crossbow, and packing roughly same amount of punch, so nothing world-breaking, compared to huge robo-gryffons and such. It can be only important if it can be mass-produced, and even we don't know it for sure.

The moment he comes in with that gattling gun, (http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_367.php) then things will really get hairy. But remember this: The gun is smaller than the crossbow, stores more ammunition, is more accurate, has a longer range, does not need training to use, and is actually more dangerous than crossbows not to mention reloading it is simple. (if It works like an actual pistol)

[Jasae Bushae]

As awesome as the last few pages have been i wanna add it would be cover page material for a roving reporter if they were lucky enough to catch this exchange XD http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1134.php

[Tylor]

The gun is smaller than the crossbow, stores more ammunition, is more accurate, has a longer range, does not need training to use, and is actually more dangerous than crossbows not to mention reloading it is simple. (if It works like an actual pistol)

Nothing of this is known for sure. The fact that the look of this things resembles our pistols, does not mean it automatically has same capabilities.

[Lying Foo]

IIRC, it has it's origins in the rather sexist belief that women ruin everything. Pear Shaped = Birthing Hips.

I thought the leading theory was that it was RAF jargon (which is why it didn't catch on in the US); since practice maneuvers, such as loops and Immelmans, might form a pear shape when done clumsily, it came to mean a similar failure in more complex ones.

[Nino]

I don't think Jyras using gun is that big deal, actually. So, an item shooting projectiles, so what? It may be a little more compact than crossbow, and packing roughly same amount of punch, so nothing world-breaking, compared to huge robo-gryffons and such. It can be only important if it can be mass-produced, and even we don't know it for sure.

Well I think it's more a magic/nonmagic thing than a gun/other weapon thing, since basically magic can trump mundane weapons but if you make pure nonmagical weapons they go right through magic, like it doesn't even exist. But obviously it being a gun heightens the treat because you'll want your nonmagical death thing to be able to be very efficient at killing things.

Actually wait, this is a great opportunity for me to bring up my tinfoil hat theory that Earth is actually a part of the DMFA universe where most or all of the humans from Furrae went off too. And it's just a world where EVERYTHING is 100% natural, so even though magic TECHNICALLY exists it just is never observed here - like dark or antimatter or something. Because humans are like weres in human form, where they have 0% propensity for magic but are also completely unaffected by it, like it doesn't even exist and can't touch them because they (we!) are entirely nonmagical beings - and thus were driven from Furrae because that is an extreme threat to creatures.

So Earth is kind of the antithesis of Furrae - where basically everything in Furrae has SOME magic, nothing on Earth has ANY magic - or else it's just not able to be utilized by the creatures living here. Also that's why humans have fairy tales, because they either used to know Fae from Furrae and kept that cultural heritage (also also maybe furries could be the inspiration for all those weird Egyptian gods, huh? huh?)

tldr; DMFA is the best story ever.