3329 And So It Begins
Wow, hacker-person. Thanks for the changes you made here. That’s…. that’s pretty funny.
It’s not like I don’t have other things to worry about y’know…. updating this site, taking care of my family, trying to keep us all alive and safe.
Kind of you to give me a new difficult thing to work on.
Thanks a fucking bunch.
Asshole.
EDIT:
Oh god. You know what? I’m too mentally exhausted to bother. What with the isolation/pandemic shit that’s going on and the shootings nearby this past weekend, trying to come up with ways to educate/stimulate/entertain two kids all the time and feeling like I’m going nowhere, I just don’t have the motivation to try to sort out the shit this hacker did to the site. This was a place I retreated to when I wanted to feel like I was doing something and it’s been invaded and crapped all over. I can’t right now.
I’ll fix it sometime and start updating again but I just want to crawl away and cry right now. And I’ve got too much to do. I’m sorry readers. I’ll get back to you when I’m able to pull it more together.
-Rich
EDIT-EDIT:
Okay… so I wasn’t hacked. Apparently it was a browser cache issue that was distorting my website on my browser. Thank goodness for having a second computer on hand to check it with. I’m losing it here people! ARgh.
Called it. Go Runt 😛
There’s a chance of a rout here, if enough people rebel on Ranna’s side. What’s she gonna do then? Bring out the left tit?
At this point it’s gonna take full frontal.
!
Poor Ranna, she just can’t seem to get ahead so Runt has decided to help her along XD
Our little boy king is growing up!
(To the theme of Road Rovers)
"Hackin’, Slashin’, Mistress cappin’
Aristocratic Runt!"
Runt: "That’s me!!"
I like how these heel-face turn were done. For queen Lotharia it’s natural to face her given what Ranna has done to Charlotte. For Runt was subbtle and natural the way in which he "changed" sides.
These were good examples of why the evil forces should compensated adequately their minions and not to command through fear and threats.
What happened to Charlotte? She didn’t appear since Ranna woke up. In her last panel she looked unconscious or sleeping, but not dead.
Or was she just a mindless body as prison for Ranna and died, when the goddess got her own body back?
She might be in coma, slowly dying from hunger …
I doubt that any good. At best Ranna stole Charlotte’s body and kidnaped her tribe.
Fairly sure one of the Dewdrop’s killed her, thus freeing Ranna to return to her original body
According to Ranna, Charlotte's spirit is in the afterlife, and she promised to put it back where it belongs if Lotharia behaved. Given her betrayal last strip, I'm assuming that Ranna didn't keep her side of the bargain.
If SHe doesn’t know who the rebels are, how are the DMs supposed to? Really, ranna, you need to think before you snap out orders! A good leader keeps emotions in check, not letting them rule your decisions, even if you are frustrated and a victim of your own sphere of influence. just wow, i am very disappointed in you.
I am not disappointed in the slightest with the drawing, especially the skewed perspective that shows Kurassa and Ranna so splendindly! so talented and creative 🙂
And of course, Kurassa would not be Kurassa if he hadn’t positioned himself on the battlefield to look up Ranna’s skirt.
Ranna has never seemed to be particularly stable or well thought out though, and now with all the different gods she’s consumed, she has dozens of different portfolios all clashing against one another, adding to her own original portfolio of chaos and cruelty. She might be struggling to keep it all together even without the constant upsets.
Yeah! Bravo, King Runtherd!
"And so it begins."
Bonus points to anyone who guesses where I pulled that line from. It’s so short that there’s a lot of possibilities, I’m sure, but I’m only thinking of one source right now. 🙂
I’d play along, but there is a hole in my mind.
t!
My shoes are too tight.
Ooh – you went obscure!
t!
And you no longer know how to dance?
Thinking Lord of the Rings, and the Battle at Helm’s Deep.
It is from my favorite TV show, Babylon 5, spoken by Kosh. It looks like t! is familiar with it as well.
Ah Kosh. Such wonderful quotes.
Babylon 5 was a really epic TV series rife with prophecy and foreshadowing, and a deeply rich world and story telling. 🙂 And no small element of silliness and humor. So it is an entirely appropriate reference at this juncture and in this place.
The avalanche has started… but it turns out the pebbles all voted beforehand.
It’s over because we’ve decided it’s over. Now get the hell out of our galaxy! Both of you!
I loved Sheridan so much in that moment. He finally said what everyone had been thinking the entire series. 🙂
P.S. You folks are awesome for getting the B5 reference, especially t! for responding with another great quote. I love that series and need to re-watch it one of these days. 🙂
Man, I have been saying "And so it begins!" in that voice for so long i had forgotten where it had come from. I am glad you all got it because i would have been second guessing myself for weeks.
"My faithful Rannites!"
She has none. She never inspired faith.
When your most reliable asset is *Kurassa*, you have nothing.
Which is what she’s earned.
t!
That is also why she was having to gobble magical energy. True gods exist and are powered by faith and worship. How many living, non-brainwashed, true worshipers do you suppose she has?
Will the ‘good guys’ attack or just sit back and watch the chaos on the ‘chaos side’?
They should definitely attack, but, well, who?
I think this is an appropriate time to snark, "We’ll take the winner," and watch the show. 😉
Kurassa is a safe choice. Everybody against Kurassa.
I mean, even if he IS about to betray Ranna like all her other flunkies, he will still need to be put down, so may as well do it now and avoid the rush.
Runt is a lefty? I completely missed it in previous strips if it was drawn this way.
Or was he originally drawn right-handed, but the panel was flipped because it fit the dramatic positioning better?
This reminds me of V. Even the people who managed to mostly overcome the reptilians’ brainwashing discovered things had changed about them — like a previously righthanded person finding themselves suddenly favouring their left hand.
And Runt did go through Dark Mistress conditioning a ways before he finally got his notion…
Runt is like Snape. Everybody hated him until he tragically gave his life to save others. I wonder if Runt’s fate is nailed to a mast as a result.
I think I stopped hating Snape well before then. Prisoner of Azkaban gave him a solid reason for hating the Marauders, and he’d been rescuing Harry ever since Philosopher’s stone. It was clear that he was a much more complex character than most were giving him credit for.
I always liked Snape. First he seemed to be a good villain, but I think by the end of the first book it was clear he was more than that. If I recall well, later I had doubts about which side he is standing on, but that made him all the more interesting.
As for Runt, I wonder whether his move was brave or stupid. Maybe both. He stands right front of a bunch of Mistresses, who likely won’t be impressed by the decapitation of the their comrades, while the people who would fight on his side stand some distance apart.
I found Snape would have worked best as the teacher everyone hated, who you find out is the one who cared most about his pupils. A level of compassion he hid behind his repulsive behaviour. A drill sergeant who would rather you hated him and lived than win your love and get you killed.
Runt is more like the butterbar lieutenant that you don’t trust, who would be lost without his sergeants correcting his mistakes, who eventually learns from his mistakes to become the officer men follow because he learned the hard way how to lead.
The thing about being a sadistic jerk is eventually people get sick of it I mean just look at hitler
By this point, Ranna is just asking for it. :p
When did Runt become competent?
When Runt has an actual goal that he can face. He is a good leader as we saw in the litch of the rings. He is not a good politician though, as Vivay was able to just manipulate him. He’s almost like a more moderate Eric III int hat way.
Runt wasn’t around until after Lich of the Rings. He first appeared In the tournament to replace the king that happened as a result of that arc.
"It ain’t true, kid."
This proves that Runtherd has been faking it all along.
Some of us have known that since that tourney all those years ago
Rich, I don’t know what the hacker did, so congratulations on making it go away. And yeah, it can be draining even at the best of times. So thank you, thank you, thank you for still delivering such a fulfilling tale!
I hope you can find someone to help you keep the site clean, someone you can help keep things up and running, and so on. I live too far away to offer my services, but I hope someone lives close enough to you to help.
Once again, thanks! You make many, many people happy!
Thanks, Fnordius. All it required was clearing my browser cache. I’m a magician.
Whew!
Is fixing the forums an option, or are you just going to delete them? They haven’t worked for half a year.
I don’t want to delete them. But to be perfectly honest I have no idea how to even begin trying to fix them. I’ll have a look later tonight, but code is a daunting thing for me.
Make it a programming class project for your kids. Sad as it is to say, the first spam post means they get an A.
Two with one shot !
Add then together and double the points
Ah, but if he’d seven in one blow, that would’ve been something.
This is the problem with being a god of Chaos… You straight up cannot have any control over the results of your actions. If you did have control, you wouldn’t be a god of Chaos. Control is anathema to your own power base.
If it’s any consolation, Rich, I was a computer programmer by trade and that doesn’t make it any easier. Sometimes when I explode at the computer my wife slowly moves out of the room to a safe distance. 😀
Word! I have a degree in physics, and I am fighting a really weird and illogical cooling and fan control problem with my computer right now. It Just Makes No Sense!
At least you have a valid excuse, lol. My degree is in software engineering. I have no excuse.
Don’t you just claim it must be a hardware problem?
Sometimes it is, but then we have to break out the oscilloscope, find the circuit schematics and prove it to the hardware department. Then the hardware department don’t believe you, do their own tests and come back and admit they got it wrong, but you still have to rewrite all your software. 😀
*huggles*
We’re all struggling right now, you are not alone. Just because I don’t say this often enough: Thank you. Your amazing world and characters help me (and doubtlessly countless others) stay sane in this ever increasing shitstorm we call reality.
Stay safe and stay sane.
In all seriousness, if you need to take a break, I’m sure we’ll all understand.
This stay at home thing is stressful for a lot of people because, even though we’re in the 436th (okay 6th) week, it’s still a lot to get used to, especially when governments keep waffling over easing restrictions or not (I’m American, so I speak from that experience).
We’re having to do everything at home and for most of you that’s not normal (it is for me because I’m mobility challenged, so I wasn’t getting out much to begin with and I would never wish this lifestyle on anyone).
That being said, I’ve set up the viewing tower for the battle and will be showing Charlie Chaplin & Harold Lloyd features until you’re ready to continue.
Squuuuunches
Indeed, like Fang FanGirl said, if you need a break we will understand.
It has been a tough time enough time for everyone having to deal with how much life has changed because of the pandemic. For folks like yourself, Rich, having to also take care of children at home while taking care of work related things, doesn’t help. Then with all of that, there’s the horror of those shootings in Halifax just a few days ago. Sending lots of warm hugs to you and my deepest condolences to the people of Halifax.
Fang Fangirl, I’d love to join you at your viewing tower. You have wonderful tastes in movies. Might you be interested in also showing some Buster Keaton? How about some Marx Brother and W.C. Fields movies, as well?
I’ll bring plenty of popcorn, both buttered and unbuttered. The unbuttered is for your boo. I have no idea what Captain Fang would like on popcorn, and I’m not sure I want to know. But please tell me, anyway. 🙂
My collection has all of them!
You have an excellent collection!
Any Laurel & Hardy flicks?
Also very much second this. Take care of yourself and your loved ones.
I think my all time favorite Chaplin was ‘One AM’, a really amusing short about the hazards of coming home drunk. Wow… I just realized that is over a century old now.
You guys are the best. Thank you for your concern and the kind words. I was pretty wrecked this morning and my threat to take a leave of absence was mostly because I couldn’t really update until I’d gone through the horrid notion of sifting through computer code until I’d replace or fixed the mess left by my imagined hacker.
However, since that was not the case and is instead something to do with my chache flow (harr-harr) it seems I worried unnecessarily and instead got my site back up and running with a quick fix and then experienced an outpouring of kindness.
So, no, I won’t be deliberately taking a break from YAFGC anytime soon. When I get a chance to draw these characters, even in the dire situation they’re in now, it’s a mini vacation to a world of my own making, with my children/friends of my own making, the bad ones and the good ones. And of course, all of you.
So thanks for being my break. I love you all.
Even you, Guesticus. 🙂 I’m glad you’re safe and you’re still here.
We love you too Rich, take care of yourself, and pause to take deep breaths now and then. We will weather this storm.
Well, I’m glad the "hacking" was just a false alarm, nobody needs such pointlessness in such a stressful time.
And Ranna’s army being defeated by Ranna’s army while their enemies look on with amusement is the best thing ever. If you’ve ever played the old Doom games, you probably know that there’s an unbeatable tactic consisting in running in circles around the demons until they kill each others; this is the same kind of hilarity.
We’re all losing it, Rich. The whole world. Laugh, cry, scream, do whatever you need. We’re here week after week for you because you’ve been here week after week for us. Truly, I’ve read your comic on a funeral trip, then while under threat from a malignant narcissist, then while awaiting closing on the house…Your world gave me a smile when there were no smiles left. And I totally missed what was going on today when it was happening. Was it today? What day is it even? I need a new can of silly string.
Kurassa doesn’t even need to have betrayal of Ranna planned. He’s been consistently shown as someone who takes shortcuts and does sloppy work. Even his intentional betrayals foul up somehow.
I’m not as eloquent as the others, nor as active but I would like to say thank you for continuing to update the comic and I look forwards to seeing what happens.
Just remember to take care of yourself too.
You know. I’m still wondering just how many of those soldiers are too distracted with looking up/trying not to look up Ranna’s skirt to notice that there’s a rebellion going on.
Ranna’s upskirt is no big deal – she’s wearing Spanx.
"Because even a Chaos Goddess deserves a little control."<TM>
t!
No big deal.. are you seeing the size of that woman?!
That booty is downright BIBLICAL.
Seeing those spanx would probably be worth the epic smiting that you’d get for it. And we’re talking biblical
"She has left the house without Lycra on her thighs since she was 14."
"She was raised right."
"She’s the Goddess of Chaos & Cruelty!"
"So? It doesn’t mean she wants to run around the battlefield with two pigs wrestling in a blanket under her skirt…"
(My apologies to the author of Steel Magnolias…. but it was too tempting)
Hi Rich,
I do IT support for a living. Doing it enforced remotely is a real head scratcher sometimes, when you cannot actually see what people are doing to make a problem it feels like doing a jigsaw blindfold (I’m sure this is a corner, but is it ground or sky?). However, one consistent problem is people are living in their web browsers at the moment and not clearing cache, and in some cases never actually closing the browser or turning off the computer for a month.
Caches clog up, memory leaks, tabs crash, plugins fall over, whatever it is the big stateful systems we are living through at the moment, just like us, benefit from the occasional complete break and refresh. Or, in other words, turning things off and on again really does make a lot of problems go away 😉
Glad you got to the bottom of it all and didn’t lose your head completely. A little panic seems perfectly warranted under the circumstances, it’s bad enough going through current times without an armed lunatic in the vicinity. Take care and thanks for all the great storytelling which is helping a lot of people, myself included.
what happened to Gren and Bob? they were the main characters of this series, but as the scope and scale continued to grow it feels like they were left behind. I wanna see more of my cute gobbo girl.
They are still around, we will see what they have been up to since the end of Meegs soon enough
Thank you, Rich, for making me laugh, scream, ogle, and cry for more than a decade. I am very sorry to hear about the shooting in your area – as if there wasn’t enough shit to deal with right now.
If you need a break, take it 🙂
Rich,
You have brought me such joy for years with this web comic.
Take care of yourself and your family.
Totally understand your stress. Your comic is rather good, the pencil marks for your planning provide character. Wish you all the best for you and your family