Rusty & Co.
Monstrous Misadventures! Updated every Wednesday at noon, EST.
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The way they don’t seem to look at their opponent and using unlikely weapons reminds me a LOT of Madeline.
This is supposed to be contemporaneous with Hotel Formicidae so Madeline is accounted for.
*Hotel Califormian
That pose in the last panel looks like something Maddie would do too, but I don’t have time to scrub the archive for an example right now. Maybe they were trained in the same style.
I’m willing to believe he might be Maddie’s “Sensei” — maybe even her DAD!!!?!
Impossible, his name isn’t Dadeline.
No, it’s Brad the Dad.
@[someone]:
Well, considering Maddie’s “Alignment”, it would make sense for him to work under an alias…?
That one breaks me every single time I read through.
This guy is GOOD.
He runs the black market, so he’s probably Neutral at best.
Skilled though.
And he obviously just arrived from visiting an oarhouse.
Smells like a Lawful Neutral Monk
I think the author is poking some fun at all the people (myself included) who assumed Stabs would be perfect for this mission, by showing her acting like a total idiot instead
Definitely some Chaotic Stupid behavior lately. Even moreso than Anti-Madeline.
Eh, this is Stabs in combat. Her out-of-combat skills are more useful for this.
Your out-of-combat skills being more useful than your combat skills is kind of problematic when you’re too hot-headed to avoid combat.
Indeed. Too much murder, not enough hobo.
Does supply plot-twists, though
This usually works for her. She’s very good at it.
Even if you’re capable of winning a fight, starting that fight without thouroughly verifying whether your opponent actually deserves to die is a good way to lose your Good alignment. Even for Chaotic Good characters.
I feel like being imminently dragged into a torture room (by giant shark thing) might be one of those times where lethal force is morally acceptable.
Too bad she didn’t figure out that Nuff isn’t actually trying to torture her. Mimic figured that out and is trying to tell Stabs, but she ain’t listening.
I would argue that Stabs is really more of a Chaotic Neutral. See how she attacked Derek (a cleric who’s as Lawful Good as they come) in Level 8:
https://rustyandco.com/comic/level-8-89/
https://rustyandco.com/comic/level-8-90/
https://rustyandco.com/comic/level-8-91/
A Chaotic Good would be more like Robin Hood, robbing the (hopefully wicked) rich to feed the (hopefully benevolent) poor. Or fighting crime as a vigilante, or a corrupt government as a rebel. Stabs sure ain’t spending her loot on running a charity or orphanage here, and if you want her help fighting for a cause, you’d better have a healthy wallet to pay her fee (or be a very persuasive paladin). But to her credit, she does have a sense of decency, like when she thought Dinkum sent Presti, Rusty, Mimic, and Cube to their deaths:
https://rustyandco.com/comic/level-5-9/
So, Stabs may be Chaotic Neutral, but she’s a Good-leaning Chaotic Neutral. Just don’t try to arrest and/or interrogate her or her cousins.
Dang it, Stabbs! If you’d just listened to Boxford, we could be getting some plot progression here!
In panel 5, that is definitely not Princess’ hip.
Also, the Princess would rage in combat. (Monk with some Barbarian traits. She rages more than Robespierre.)
It seems like *STABS* is the one who has some Barbarian traits here, going full-on rage (I don’t remember Stabs being this frenzied before; not that I’m complaining, let’s see how the story goes, but I don’t remember her losing her cool like this before)
Anyone is capable of getting angry. What makes barbarians special is that their anger actually accomplishes something useful. That does not appear to be the case for Stabs here.
I agree. This looks to be more a reaction of desperation, not strategy. But there’s definitely precedent for Stabitha responding with deadly force at the first sign of opposition.
https://rustyandco.com/comic/level-8-90/
https://rustyandco.com/comic/level-7-25/
https://rustyandco.com/comic/level-10-10/
Doesn’t even take opposition, really.
https://rustyandco.com/comic/level-5-6/
Yeah, just the suggestion of opposition sets her off.
I think this one implies a fight, too… it doesn’t look like Stabs went quietly, between panel 5 and 6.
https://rustyandco.com/comic/level-8-136/
With all the references together like that, I’m actually seeing a pretty strong pattern… Stabs gets very violent if she thinks she’s about to lose her freedom. So, chaotic alignment confirmed, I guess?
Yes, this was the comic I was thinking of: she does, indeed, QUICKLY show a willingness to use force; but she didn’t actually ATTACK. That’s why her sudden desire to attack seemed, to me, a little out of character. — But, as Carbide said, maybe if there is a perceived threat to her freedom, she gets unhinged. That would be an interesting trait for a PC …
Hmm, interesting. You entered a different name, but the forum still shows you with the same autogenerated avatar as before.
I had been impressed by how the forum is able to give people autogenerated avatars that look meaningfuly different from person to person while still being consistent from day to day for the same person, and figured it must use some hash function based on your personal data.
This shows that the hash function can’t be based on your username, but it could still be your email address or maybe your IP address (the former seems more likely, since the form explicitly asks for it and implies custom avatars are normally bound to it).
I guess I could test this easily enough by entering a fake email address, since I’ve never noticed any actual checking that the address is real, but I think I’ll play nice and stick to the rules for now. Maybe someone here legitimately has two email addresses.
Hmm, a badass in a long coat and broad-brimmed hat who swings an oar when riled up? Even if the look isn’t directly inspired by Charon from the Hades game, its close enough to remind of that, and that makes me happy.
“hhhhhrrruhh”
Whoever it is, it’s someone who’s disguised. That’s a disguise. Very obviously. So if it’s someone’s dad or something, why would they need to?
Madeline’s been shown to be an expert combatant, but I don’t see her as being even passable at subterfuge.
Plus, it has to be someone Mimic knows. It’d be the only reason why he’s acting so calm and trying to get Stabs to stand down.
My money is still on the Princess. Brute force is her usual style, but we’ve never been told the extent of what she can do. Plus, she’s not exactly in danger here, nor would she want to overtly hurt them. No need for rage-fueled brutality.
It doesn’t HAVE to be someone Mimic knows. He may be hoping that talk will work better than fighting, when they are surrounded by so many foes.
I meant to say this last week: the fact that each of her knives has a unique appearance that’s consistent from one panel to another is a really nice touch.
This ‘Nuff fellow is an extra-oar-dinary combatant.
Groan.
no, he only has the one.
With a row-bust fighting style.
Yes you get the sense that ‘Nuff is only showing a little boat of his/her combat skills. ‘Nuff could probably easily keel them anytime he/she wanted to, and there would nothing that Stabs or the others canoe about it. Maybe that knowledge of her helplessness is what caused Stabs to kayak under pressure.
Headstrong, but half(ling)-cocked.
She’s the best she is at what she does. But what she does isn’t very nice.
Anyone notice by the way that color has been creeping in little by little to what started as a purely sepia level?
In his hat – is that a plot hook?
Or is he really Captain Hook?
Calling it now, this guy is a Monkfish.
I guessing the Princess in disguise. Mimic is way to “let’s hold on here” and he’s the only one who ever seems to know what she’s up to.
Thing is, ‘Nuff’s playing too “nice” for the Princess. When the Princess throws down, she goes for the all-out bloody beatdown. Defensive combat like what ol’ Rag is demonstrating here isn’t her style, unless she spent the past six months practicing self-restraint while also setting herself up as the head of the Black Market incognito. Of course, the Belt of Genre-Changing is in effect, so no telling what effect it’s had on the Princess, if any.
His eyes do not deceive him, because he’s not seeing with his eyes…
Just realised that this is the Wizard of Oars… groan.
What if Brad the Dad is Madeline’s father AND Tarta’s father! Conceived at a three day summer soltice music festival. The girls just look like their mothers. I mean, weren’t drunk hippies referenced?
I’m a bit puzzled by Stabitha. Wouldn’t a Rogue from a family of Rogues be a bit better at navigating the politics of the underworld / black market than this? She must really believe that they intend to kill her or torture her for info if she isn’t even willing to *try* talking when she’s this ridiculously outnumbered.
Heck, the boss wants to take them to a private room. Wait til you’ve got him alone to strike at least. If she wins this fight she just has to move on to all his henchmen who are *right there*
Archive binged. I am up-to-date. Good thing Wednesday is tomorrow.
P. S. I like the noir touch.