Arc #55: The Trial in Heaven

EvanAierkan · Post by **EvanAierkan** » Mon May 28, 2012 6:16 pm

Sinder wrote:corgi angst

That would make a good catchphrase.

Mon May 28, 2012 6:28 pm

rickgriffin wrote:
Sinder wrote:also, "fast track to heaven" is a heck of a way of saying "your lifespan has been reduced to a quarter of its former expectancy"
Hush!
valerio wrote:
rickgriffin wrote:"Dark Paladin" is in the same sense of the FFIV Dark Knight class that Ceicil is. It doesn't mean he's necessarily a harbringer of EVIL powers, just "dark" ones.
err, how could 'dark' *not* to be associated with 'evil' when talking about magic?
Because dark is just a metaphor for evil. It's also a metaphor for sadness, isolation and loneliness, none of which are inherently evil.

Black magic is evil. dark magic is emo.

Dissension wrote:A lot of people were confused and disappointed by the most recent comics, if the number of negative comments is a reliable indicator of such. Given that many of those were from a handful of individuals, some of whom suggested dropping the Cosmic Nerds altogether would be the best resolution, I cannot say how representative that is of the entire fan community. Imagine, though, as I've asked in previous comments, the impact all that negativity must have on Rick.

I, for one, found this arc very interesting and exciting. It was definitely fun! That others did not share my enthusiasm for the story is disappointing.

I liked it as much as I like every other arc that Rick writes.

rickgriffin wrote:I know that distance from the action plays roles in the story, especially given that several arcs I've written have been much better received after-the-fact. I'm not saying I'm gonna stop, I'm just saying I'm feeling demotivated at the moment.

*hugs the furret to try and remotivate him*

Liam wrote:
Dissension wrote:A lot of people were confused and disappointed by the most recent comics, if the number of negative comments is a reliable indicator of such.
To be frank, I feel bad for playing my part in cutting this arc short now that things begin to clear up...

pretty sure he planned for it to only last a month anyway.

So who would be the next best choice for a dark paladin? Who, other than king, is lonely and sad, perhaps to the point where even a little bit of power would be preferable to his current lot, perhaps to use it to kill Bino and his whole family? It's Tiger.

PhoenixAsper · Post by **PhoenixAsper** » Mon May 28, 2012 6:30 pm

ChewyChewy wrote:The thing is, all art is communication. The problem is when there is a communications breakdown--if the one communicating (the artist) and the one being communicated to (the audience) don't agree on a common language, then there can be antagonism between the two. On the one hand, the audience had certain expectations given the advertising of the art, which failed to meet those particular expectations, and so the audience feels betrayed, misled, even lied to--and so they feel antagonism toward the artist. On the other hand, the artist had certain intentions which the audience didn't appreciate, and so the artist feels unappreciated, unable to live up to the audience's expectations, helpless and at the mercy of people who don't know and don't appreciate how much time and effort goes into their work and don't cushion their criticism with honest compliments--and so they feel resentful of the audience.

It helps when both try to meet each other halfway: the artist by giving a clear idea of the intention of the comic (without resorting to spoilers, of course), and the audience by trying to make sure they know what "language" the art is in. Like if you want to say someone is "a great woman", DON'T say "una mujer grande".

You know what I mean?
"Yeah."
Huh?
"Yeah."
Huh?
"Yeah."
Huh?
"Yeah."
Huh?
"Yeah."
Huh?
"I know what you mean!"

YES! YES! THANK you!

This is precisely what I mean, and precisely how we likely got to this sorry situation. I can tell you I felt almost exactly like this around two and a half years ago, although that was also the fault of my own naivete. I can tell you it's worse when you invest yourself too much in the thing (and two and a half years can seem like a long time indeed), and it's also worse when you think your expectations are going to be broken again. After all, it happened once already, what's to stop it from happening again? It's not a good line of thought to get locked into. I should have been more blunt with some questions THEN, but I was always afraid to approach Rick, for fear of causing this VERY thing to happen.

GameCobra · Post by **GameCobra** » Mon May 28, 2012 6:51 pm

RandomGeekNamedBrent wrote:*hugs the furret to try and remotivate him*

*pouts*

justacritic · Post by **justacritic** » Mon May 28, 2012 8:01 pm

valerio wrote:
Sinder wrote:driven by corgi angst and his insatiable lust for gryphon blood
this sounds SO epic

*clap clap clap*
You sir are awesome

copper · Post by **copper** » Mon May 28, 2012 8:22 pm

I am finding this arc to be my favorite of all the arcs. I love this kind of exposition. I hope this does not end for a while yet. I am really excited to finally get some info o n the Cosmic Game and how fairly Pete has actually played. He was stuck in a corner, and Dragon kept pushing him further into it. He did what he had to do to win.... makes perfect sense.

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Mon May 28, 2012 8:54 pm

CaptainPea wrote:
Also I like Pete's puppeteering gesture when he says "no strings"

Wow, I never noticed that!

copper · Post by **copper** » Mon May 28, 2012 9:19 pm

Wanderer wrote:
CaptainPea wrote:
Also I like Pete's puppeteering gesture when he says "no strings"
Wow, I never noticed that!

That is also the basic anatomical position used in medicine. it is like that in all textbooks and such illustrating the human form.

Nightfirex · Post by **Nightfirex** » Tue May 29, 2012 1:24 am

And now as we get close to the end of the arc. I like this arc cause it show the personally of the character but development of these characters. I love the silly animal comedy but this is good stuff too. I can't help to feel satisfied that I was really close to what really happen and I understand Pete's motive. it was desperation (boy he was more desperate then my theory suggested but wow he was doing every loophole he can find) . Knowing that he made some bad choices and then tried to find loopholes and manipulate people to try and powergame. There were a lot of angry comments on the page and I think it be nicer to post my comment in here.

I don't think Pete is a pure 'jerk', he just made a lot of bad choices, looked in the wrong places and now it catching up to him, I think the best punishment is that he doesn't get Joel/King as his avatar and probably better yet spend some time with the low beings and see things from their point of view. I am sure if he would have spent time with some of the low being after he got out rather then trying to powergame to win, he would have found someone that would have been more then happy to participate in this game/duel and enjoyed it. And he could have found a class for the avatar that would have help him catch up since we know there are certain classes that can gain power quickly, this just showing that he more in the wrong on what he did, and I am sure Bahamut know and I am sure they know that we are watching this whole court case. But the point is We may not fully understand the goals of the game and may never see it fully played out but from this arc we understand Pete a bit better now. I think the punishment should help reflect of what being an avatar mean for those low-beings cause I think Pete lost sight of that all for the sake of winning a duel, and I think his loss of his previous avatar may be a reason for that but again just speculations.

Post by **Sleet** » Tue May 29, 2012 2:57 am

RandomGeekNamedBrent wrote:Black magic is evil. dark magic is emo.

Black magic isn't evil in Final Fantasy!

Also I made this for Rick with my lovely art skills. I think whatever you want to do with the comic is fantastic. I think it'd be very hard for you to mess it up!

PhoenixAsper · Post by **PhoenixAsper** » Tue May 29, 2012 5:49 am

That's. FANTASTIC.

And indeed, Pete's sentence should fit his actions. At the very least, he should be told to STAY AWAY from King, if that wasn't clear already, and then perhaps the duel pact should be annulled, but Pete is commanded to make reparations to the lives he hurt (indirectly for some) or face the full consequences of losing the duel pact. That's just me, though. Just as long as he doesn't get let off completely.

Oh yeah, and even after all this, he still has to face GK's judgment, too. Possibly.

Gren · Post by **Gren** » Tue May 29, 2012 10:29 am

Sleet wrote:
RandomGeekNamedBrent wrote:
CUTE DRAWING[/img]

You know, if you extend the right arm of your character to the other side, you also can say to him "trolls, trolls EVERYWHERE"

GameCobra · Post by **GameCobra** » Tue May 29, 2012 11:34 am

... *needs to draw better than Sleet. like. Now.*

cute pic though X3

valerio · Post by **valerio** » Tue May 29, 2012 12:36 pm

the cute!

Post by **Dissension** » Tue May 29, 2012 1:05 pm

Sleet wrote:

Sure, sure, eh, round-ears? ~_^

Post by **Sleet** » Tue May 29, 2012 2:45 pm

The police will never find your body.

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Tue May 29, 2012 7:41 pm

rickgriffin wrote: The thing is just that I feel like I can't satisfy people right now, so I feel like no matter how this ends it's going to be inadequate, so I'm just going forward with what I have written then figuring out what to do about it later.

(Then again I feel this of about 50% of my story arcs and yet people still like it, so it's probably nothing. But that's also why I try to keep arcs short)

I actually think this arc is really cool.
branch out all you want man it's your comic not ours.

PhoenixAsper · Post by **PhoenixAsper** » Tue May 29, 2012 8:22 pm

Just watch: by the end of this arc, MOST of us will be begging for a sequel. That's how it ALWAYS works.

DanTwelve3 · Post by **DanTwelve3** » Tue May 29, 2012 9:26 pm

RandomGeekNamedBrent wrote:So who would be the next best choice for a dark paladin? Who, other than king, is lonely and sad, perhaps to the point where even a little bit of power would be preferable to his current lot, perhaps to use it to kill Bino and his whole family? It's Tiger.

Now that's just harsh. Remember, Maxwell is part of Bino's family too

. And if Pete wants to create another Dark Paladin, Grapenut would be instant Darth Maximus. Hmm... that might fulfill Tarot's prophecy...

copper · Post by **copper** » Tue May 29, 2012 9:33 pm

Sleet's drawing skills are top notch. *claps for the fox*

I love every arc, especially ones that include detailed exposition and revealing mysteries. This has become my new favorite arc!

JeffCvt · Post by **JeffCvt** » Tue May 29, 2012 9:37 pm

copper wrote:This has become my new favorite arc!

With the exception of "Dog Days Of Summer", this too is my favorite arc.
I wish that Rick would keep it going longer, but hopefully another arc dedicated to the cosmic nerds will come soon.

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Wed May 30, 2012 12:03 am

Ok then I wonder what the last page is going to be? Maybe him at the game table with the rest of the players.

Wed May 30, 2012 12:04 am

That gavel panel looks familiar.

hah. fast hundred thousand years.

ChewyChewy · Post by **ChewyChewy** » Wed May 30, 2012 12:05 am

Wait...has he already served it?

RootsofOrigin · Post by **RootsofOrigin** » Wed May 30, 2012 12:07 am

Well. Looks like he learned his lesson?

RandomGeekNamedBrent wrote:That gavel panel looks familiar.

How so?

Wed May 30, 2012 12:08 am

ChewyChewy wrote:Wait...has he already served it?

yes. time has no meaning to the gods. it was a hundred thousand years but seemed like only a few seconds.

RootsofOrigin wrote:Well. Looks like he learned his lesson?
RandomGeekNamedBrent wrote:That gavel panel looks familiar.
How so?

Ace Attorney

RootsofOrigin · Post by **RootsofOrigin** » Wed May 30, 2012 12:10 am

Because they observe life subjectively rather than objectively. Meaning that Pete served those extra hundred thousand years as he saw it, while for everyone else it was only a brief moment.

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Wed May 30, 2012 12:11 am

Wait is he still barred from Heaven? Or was that only during his Solitary? (which considering he was in Solitary that would make no sense)

Wed May 30, 2012 12:11 am

I think he's still barred from heaven.

Post by **Dissension** » Wed May 30, 2012 12:13 am

Then... what's he doing there, hmm?

RootsofOrigin · Post by **RootsofOrigin** » Wed May 30, 2012 12:15 am

They'll probably kick him to the curb now.

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Wed May 30, 2012 12:15 am

Dissension wrote:Then... what's he doing there, hmm?

See that's what makes me think he no longer is but again then why bar him from Heaven at all?

Wed May 30, 2012 12:15 am

It only takes effect after he leaves. Or the court is not actually in heaven, but just outside it or in a different dimension.

Post by **Dissension** » Wed May 30, 2012 12:18 am

Alternately, Pete served his banishment and solitary confinement and is done with both now.

Wed May 30, 2012 12:19 am

I doubt the court would see fit to let him back into heaven so soon, subjective time or not.

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Wed May 30, 2012 12:30 am

Dissension wrote:Alternately, Pete served his banishment and solitary confinement and is done with both now.

It really could be this, It makes as much sense as beings that experience time subjectively using time based punishment.

copper · Post by **copper** » Wed May 30, 2012 12:31 am

What so soon? To us it was a panel, but to them, it was probably that hundred thousand years, which is meaningless to them. They still felt the time go by, even if it did not matter to them. Time has passed there, and the court might have made a decision. I mean, it IS a beaurocracy, but that slow? Come on....

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Wed May 30, 2012 12:33 am

copper wrote:What so soon? To us it was a panel, but to them, it was probably that hundred thousand years, which is meaningless to them. They still felt the time go by, even if it did not matter to them. Time has passed there, and the court might have made a decision. I mean, it IS a beaurocracy, but that slow? Come on....

Well they still haven't gotten the Watch from King and it has to be well over Millions for years for them.

Post by **Dissension** » Wed May 30, 2012 12:34 am

Um... the court already made a decision. Pete was sentenced and served his punishments, I think.

RootsofOrigin · Post by **RootsofOrigin** » Wed May 30, 2012 12:35 am

copper wrote:What so soon? To us it was a panel, but to them, it was probably that hundred thousand years, which is meaningless to them. They still felt the time go by, even if it did not matter to them. Time has passed there, and the court might have made a decision. I mean, it IS a beaurocracy, but that slow? Come on....

Only Pete experienced it, outside everyone else's perception of time, that's why it's subjective.