An Open Letter to Miko Miyazaki

[truemane]

Dear Ms. Miyazaki,

Or should I say Ms. Miko? I can get never get straight which is your given name and which is your surname. In Japan they put the family name...

Never mind.

Let me start by saying that I'm a big fan of yours. Really. From your dramatic, highly verbose opening scene swearing vengeance before Hinjo to your recent choice to destroy the Gate everybody else has spent, like, a million strips trying to defend, I've been a loyal supporter.

I deeply respect your devotion to the ideals of the Sapphire Guard and your willingness to put yourself in danger to uphold Law and Order throughout the unvierse. Kids these days seem to have no morals or discipline at all, and it's just nice to see a nice young lady like yourself have some direction in life.

And taking down an entire PC Party single-handedly? Railroad Plot be damned, that's impressive.

However, in recent times I've found myself questioning the wisdom of your decisions and thought that maybe you were in need of a fresh perspective, a new set of eyes, an outsider's opinion (no, no...not THAT kind of Outsider, you Blackguard theorists).

I mean, really Miko, you seem like a smart young lady with a fairly decent grasp on the rules. How could you misinterpret the fact that you became a Fallen Paladin when you killed Hinjo? The SRD doesn't say Any Paladin loses her powers if she commits an act that seems Evil to all the people who are engaged in a grand conspiracy to destroy the Universe but is really Good because the Paladin in question is only voice of reason in a world gone mad now does it?

You know it doesn't. You read the books before choosing your class, same as we all did.
]
It says, quite clearly, that a A Paladin...loses all class abilities if she ever willingly commits an evil act.

That's pretty clear. We don't need to call Celia to help us out with that one. Evil and Good aren't relative concepts for you guys. They're absolutes. Seriously, you can't even Fall for committing an Evil act unintentionally or under magical enchantment anymore like you could in the 1st and 2nd Editions. That should really have been your first clue, even if the whole getting sent on long missions away from everyone else didn't clue you in.

So now you're a Fighter. With no Bonus Feats. And a couple of levels of Monk. As if Fighters and Monks aren't underpowered enough as it is. But whatever, right? Who needs that Aura of Good crap anyway? And the Paladin spell list is vastly overrated.

But I would also question the validity of your conlusions when you assume that everything in the universe converged to weaken the bars at the exact moment when you had to excape from jail. It seems to me that the Co-Creators of all Time and Space might have slightly more pressing matters than weaking iron bars for one chick who would probably be of more use in jail meditating than loose on the streets. But then, what do I know, right? I'm not a devotee of the 12 Gods, so maybe I'm deluded and YOU'RE sane. Maybe the word DOES revolve around you. I can accept that.

But Miko, Miko, Miko, what in the Holy Name of Burlew could have possibly possessed you to detroy that Gate?

I know you didn't think that because O-Chul was poised to strike at the Sapphire that meant HE was evil and so therefore Xykon was good or anything dumb like that. Despite what people think I know you're smarter than that. It may be a comic, but I'm sure you can tell the difference between a cool splash panel and a guy who's paralyzed without even making an Untrained Spot Check.

Maybe there's good reason for you destroying the darned thing. Like I said, I'm no 12 Gods Theologian or anything, and maybe you're the only one who knows the truth. But when you saw that Soon's Ghost had Xykon and Redcloak on the verge of death (re-death?), WHY DIDN'T YOU GO AND HELP THEM?

Destroy the Lich, kill the Goblin, THEN wack the Gate. No matter how convinced you were that the Gods wanted you to axe the thing, there's still basic priorities, right? The Gate's not an Epic Level Bad Guy filled with guile and tricks. It doesn't even have a Movement Rate, for the 12 Gods' sakes, Miko! It would have perfectly destroyable AFTER Xykon and Redcloak were dispatched to the Next World.

I don't know. I might only be a low level Fanboy without any ranks in Sense Burlew's Motives, but that seems pretty simple to me.

It almost looks like you're TRYING to encourage threads on your incomprehensible actions. Do you get a cut of the advertising revenue on the Forum or something? Or are you employed by his ISP? If not, then why, Miko, why? Not that it's your responsibility to explain yourself to us or anything, but if you'd just make sense once in a while we could all stop with the Miko...INSERT THEORY HERE threads and get back to important matters like debating whether or not Haley is really a Half-Celestial and flaming the three people who still insist that Belkar's alignment is a matter of discussion (I mean, really people, he's Chaotic Evil. Get over it).

Anyway Miko, I'm sorry if any of the above seems harsh or cruel. I really am a big fan of yours. I just hate to see good bandidth wasted on debating topics that could be easily solved with a little forethought on your part. I'm just looking out for you.

Sincerely,

truemane

PS: "Bumping Uglies" means "Having Sex." Think about it.

[Alfryd]

Thank you for that. However.


Seriously, you can't even Fall for committing an Evil act unintentionally or under magical enchantment anymore like you could in the 1st and 2nd Editions.
Actually, you can. But atonement is simpler.

But Miko, Miko, Miko, what in the Holy Name of Burlew could have possibly possessed you to detroy that Gate?
The perception that her side was losing, and thus it was the lesser of two evils? ...That, and her belligerent messiah-complex. It does seem distinctly odd that she smiled while fulfilling her grim duty. What was she thinking? 'Hooray, I get to achieve my divine destiny of rending a hole in the fabric of reality itself!'

But when you saw that Soon's Ghost had Xykon and Redcloak on the verge of death (re-death?), WHY DIDN'T YOU GO AND HELP THEM?
She was behind the throne. Couldn't see them. Of course, she might have made a few Listen checks, were she so inclined, which she wasn't. *sigh*

What I find much harder to comprehend is why she seemed to actively enjoy skewering Hinjo just after Roy's little intervention.

[Pax_Chi]

Dear Miko,

On our world, a country called Japan has a culture not disimilar to your own Azure City. It highly prizes honor, loyalty to one's leige and a dedication to duty that you would no doubt find appealing. In fact, they even have samurai, such as yourself. Now, in this country, when someone has done something questionable such as killing their lord and master or weakened the fabric of reality so that a god killing abomination can escape, there is a method to regain one's honor with no strings attached.

Its called seppuku.

Look into it.

Sincerely,
Pax Chi

[Terraxos]

Great post by the OP. I lack the eloquence to write something similar, so my letter would be somewhat shorter:

Dear Miko,

Your hopelessly misguided tendency to always grab the wrong end of the stick (at the worst possible time, too) was amusing at first, but by now has become rather tedious and very annoying. Please, just take a good, long look at your actions, realise that perhaps the gods might have been justified in de-Paladinizing you after all, and set out on that hard road to redemption. The sooner the better.

If, on the other hand, this is impossible, as you are utterly incapable of admitting that you can do wrong and making the necessary changes to your worldview; see the post above for an alternate suggestion.

Yours,
An ex-Miko fan

[theinsulabot]

Dear miko.

roy was killed by the lich attenpting to stop him. think about that.


also, look up sabine or a female brothel and gets some treasure type O. no one needs it more then you

[DreadArchon]

Dear Miko,

Your head is very pretty. Please donate it to the Belkar Chip Bowl of the Month Club.

Sincerely,

Joe Schmo
Secretary
Belkar Chip Bowl of the Month Club

[Ladorak]

Monks are underpowered? News to me

[Alchemistmerlin]

Dear Miko,
Please throw yourself bodily into the gaping maw of the Snarl so that you may be removed from all existence with no chance of resurrection. It would truly do you, the gods, the world, and the comic's humor a great service.

Sincerely,
Alchemistmerlin.

[BisectedBrioche]

Dear Miko,

On our world, a country called Japan has a culture not disimilar to your own Azure City. It highly prizes honor, loyalty to one's leige and a dedication to duty that you would no doubt find appealing. In fact, they even have samurai, such as yourself. Now, in this country, when someone has done something questionable such as killing their lord and master or weakened the fabric of reality so that a god killing abomination can escape, there is a method to regain one's honor with no strings attached.

Its called seppuku.

Look into it.

Sincerely,
Pax Chi

The Japanese still have their feudal system going? Wikipedia and the ranting of Otakus gave me a completely different impression.

[TheGreatJabu]

Notice:

Ms. Miko Miyazaki, it has been brought to our attention by certain parties close to you that, as of late, you have begun exhibiting several neuroses indicative of profound mental disturbance. As such, we would request that you check yourself in to a mental health clinic with all haste. In most instances this commital would be forced UPON you, but as your world is one dimension behind ours, we do not have the resources at this time to carry out such an act. We're all reasonable people here, so please be reasonable and take a few moments to read our concerns.

We are not readily aware of any practicing and/or historical mental health professionals in your region, but here we have several disciplines of psychology. One in particular, psychoanalytic psychology, could be used to express many of our concerns about your behavior.

In any situation where anxiety is overwhelming the conscious mind, our subconscious minds attempt to protect us using a series of self-constructed "defense mechanisms". One of the most common of these is denial, when your mind simply refuses to accept an inherent truth. You must admit, the 12 Gods did seem to punish your for striking down Lord Shojo. Attacking the heir to the throne (and a loyal friend from the Sapphire Guard) would also be viewed by most as an unscrupulous act. However, you seem to be refusing to accept any possibility of wrong-doing in these cases. This leads us to discuss another common psychological construct - the personal fable.

Everyone has a personal fable - it is most frequently noticable during adolescence. It is the erroneous belief that the situations and hardships you face are entirely unique and that no one, EVER, in the history of the universe, has ever experienced what you have gone through. You seem to be undergoing a somewhat delusional personal fable - you believe that no other paladin has been subjected to the trials you have, and as such you see everything about you as a clear sign from the Gods that you perform their will.

It is difficult to understand what you are being told. Every ounce of your being tells you that you are in the right, and that your actions are virtuous. Tell us then, Miko; what of the virtue of trust? You once were a noble samurai, sworn to your duty with faith and trust of your lord. You trusted your order of the Sapphire Guard. You trusted in the wisdom of its founder, Soon. Now you see yourself as being the only one you can trust. Years of experiencing first-hand the benevolence of those around you, and over a few days you trust no one. Does this seem reasonable? In our world, we have an expression about mental disturbance coined by a great scholar. "Insanity; doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." You have attacked Shojo and were punished by the Gods. You have attacked Hinjo and were punished by the Sapphire Guard. You have just attacked the Throne, which you had sworn to protect. Do you not expect to be punished for yet another brash and unlawful act?
These is hope for you. If you will check yourself in to a clinic, just for a few days, we can help you get to the bottom of what is bothering you. Don't you want to have your life back? To feel at peace again? If so, maybe the answers you seek won't be found from behind a sword.

Sincerely,
The Psychological Community of the Third-Dimension

[truemane]

The Japanese still have their feudal system going? Wikipedia and the ranting of Otakus gave me a completely different impression.

Pffft.

Like you can trust Wikipedia.

[Moody]

The perception that her side was losing, and thus it was the lesser of two evils? ...That, and her belligerent messiah-complex. It does seem distinctly odd that she smiled while fulfilling her grim duty. What was she thinking? 'Hooray, I get to achieve my divine destiny of rending a hole in the fabric of reality itself!'

Actually if you try to use Miko Vision(tm) it makes a lot of sense.

She sees the two bad guys who she believes are trying to destroy the world (red cloak denied this and xykon didnt fill her in on his reasons) surrounded by the bodies of her fallen comrades whos only goal in life was to defend the gate. The last living member of the order is frozen in front of the Gate in an attmept to destroy it. It is clear the gods WANT the gate destroyed because the order tasked with defending it has been massacred by 2 "bad guys" who are driven to destroy the gate, the only conclusion is the Gods want the gate to be destroyed and have let the Saphire guard be destroyed in order to achieve this. it is clearly Miko's destiney to complete the gods wishes and destroy the Gate.

Crazy yes but with Miko all too feasable...

oh and hi all :smalltongue:

[Alfryd]

Actually if you try to use Miko Vision(tm) it makes a lot of sense.
I know Miko thinks she's doing the right thing (and arguably is, in the sense of 'making the best decision with limited available data,') but were I in her place I still wouldn't enjoy it. Rending a chasm in the fabric of spacetime is not something to be taken gladly.

Like you can trust Wikipedia.
There is no Japan.

...and over a few days you trust no one.
That seems a tad uncharitable. This has been building up gradually, certainly over weeks and probably over years, with many critical events interposing between her former, by and large rational, state, and her current delusions of grandeur. Rich's specific words are that she was 'pushed across what had been a line she didn't cross.'

[Kreistor]

Dear Ms. Miko Miyazaki,

You are a flawed character. You aren't even aware of what your flaws are. Here is a short list:

First and foremost, you lack spirituality. And now you're angry, because you think that kneeling and praying is a sign of spirituality. That is a trapping of spirituality, not spirituality in and of itself. Despite your proximity to the spiritual paladins and clerics of the Sapphire Guard, you have the mistaken belief that intelligence has some correspondence to spirituality. This is most critically not so. You must approach the gods with humility, and yet you ask them to confirm what you already know, instead of showing you truth. Spirituality is in your heart, not your brain, and you have ripped out all attachments to your heart. Intelligence is not spirituality. You are repeatedly trying to "figure this out". That's the wrong solution for a spiritual being. the gods are trying to speak to you, Miko, but they aren't speaking through the cracks in a cell bar or the words of an old man. They are speaking in your heart, and you have deafened yourself to them.

Second, your ego has progressed to hubris. High position is not a sign of the favour of the gods. You have taken that to be a sign that the gods want you to do something, when it is merely a sign that they allowed you to be exceptional. The moment you lost the humility in your heart is the moment you Fell, no matter when the gods chose to strip you of your powers. Pride goeth before a Fall, after all.

Be very happy, Miko, for you do have a destiny now, but it is not to benefit good. You will cause destruction to all you care about, and never accept that others played no part in it. Your actions destroyed the one man that could have saved Azure City from Xykon's forces. Your actions have now ended the Sapphire Guard permanently. You will goon to become a force of evil that will possibly destroy the entire world, all in the name of your own ego.

You're an excellent character, Miko. I look forward to the pain and suffering you will cause, and your ultimate defeat at the hands of the Orer of the Stick.

Sincerely,
Kreistor

[Ladorak]

Dear Ms. Miyazaki

I bet you don't normally get so much mail. Ignore those other guys, they all work for Greenhilt and shall be smited forthwith. Keep up the good work kid, someone has to fight the good fight and who better than the chosen one?

Your most humble admirier,
Ladorak

P.S. The Lich's phylactery is inside Mr. Scruffy, go get it

[truemane]

Dear Ms. Miyazaki

I bet you don't normally get so much mail. Ignore those other guys, they all work for Greenhilt and shall be smited forthwith. Keep up the good work kid, someone has to fight the good fight and who better than the chosen one?

Your most humble admirier,
Ladorak

P.S. The Lich's phylactery is inside Mr. Scruffy, go get it

I'm sorry. I know it's spam, but that's Quoted for Comedy.

Inside Mr. Scruffy? LOL. I'm still giggling.

[Alfryd]

...smited...
Smote. It's pronounced smote.


Spirituality is in your heart, not your brain, and you have ripped out all attachments to your heart. Intelligence is not spirituality. You are repeatedly trying to "figure this out". That's the wrong solution for a spiritual being. the gods are trying to speak to you, Miko, but they aren't speaking through the cracks in a cell bar or the words of an old man. They are speaking in your heart, and you have deafened yourself to them.
While Miko's severe emotional repression does indeed, paradoxically, skew her conscious analyses and lead to massive confirmation bias on her part, the Gods no more have a hotline to her endocrine system than to her waking mind. I fail to see how the former has more spiritual authority than the latter- on the contrary, Miko's emotional core has often fuelled her outbursts of bloodlust and delusion.

Your actions destroyed the one man that could have saved Azure City from Xykon's forces.
There is precisely no evidence for this.

[Raven T.]

Ms. Miyazaki:

First off, congratulations. You have succeeded in committing yet ANOTHER evil act. If you come to your senses, I doubt you would find a priest willing to cast Atonement, no matter what you do.

I would also like to take this time to let you know something: those voices in your head? Yeah, it is not the 12 Gods giving you instructions. You are just twisted in the head.

Sincerely,
The Raven,
Unofficial 13th God of the Southern Lands.

[dehro]

uhm... alfryd...

really...no offence meant..but it seems to me that you are on some sort of crusade, poised to defend Miko in from any possible menace or criticism ...herself included.
I'm not saying you are wrong, but you certainly go to some lenghts to "cover up" for the character..
therefore...is Alfryd "realworldish" for Miko?

[Kioran]

Dear Miko,

First and foremost, I feel sorry for you. I feel sorry for the distrust and disrespect shown you by just about all of your peers and superiors and maybe even for the disrespect from the OoTS, allthough that was a reaction to fate pitting you against each other. But what I feel most sorry for is that you have, over the course of several events, degraded from a consistent but flawed character, maybe a tortured hero or unintentional villain, to an instrument of flawed plot bending.

Seriously, I wouldn´t be all too stable If people which I consider precious to myself were openly disrespecting or distrusting me, like Shojo or even your peers like Hinjo did. I would be outraged if they stepped in to save a homicidal maniac who tried to kill me and then even let him go without immediate trial. Necessesities or not, it would have been fair to let you, at least, know the reasons, even if you were inclined to disagree.

In that case, I can even understand a growing amount of delusion leading to the slaying of your onetime mentor. It was imprudent, but not even necessesarily harmful in the long run, and maybe sometime others, and most importantly you yourself, will grant you forgiveness.
It is a sad thing, but it is done.
I can even accept that the fact that no necessisties whatsoever apparently justified your release when those who sought to slay apparently come out clean enrages you to no end. Yes, that is actually quite humiliating, apart from being stupid.

But we both know that what you now did does not make sense at all. It rivals passionately tearing at Redcloaks garments in unlikelyness and stupidity. It is almost as ridiculous as an attempt to get Xykon to enable your selection of the "Lichloved" feat. It serves no purpose at all, apart from being entirely unlikely and shocking.
Which I think was the entire point. Fanboy or not, the only reason I could fathom for this, even considering mad reasoning, which I am prone to myself, is it´s unecpectedness, the way in which this subtlly but clearly defied all prediction. Like a Giant spiting all those angry voices below his knees.

I think you have sinned and made mistakes, and I think it would even be reasonable for you to be punished for your weakness or flawed judgement, allthough I heartily wished for your redemption. I think punishment coming your way might be just and a step along your path to enlightenment.
However, I don´t think you ever deserved to be made to act ridiculously out of Character, pushing you beyon any possibility of salvation, moreso than even the slaying of O-Chul would have done. I don´t think any deserves to be pushed too far in the wrong direction for ulterior motives or even storytelling. This is a sordid thing.
Everyone, you, the OoTS, Shojo, even the Author had valid reasons. It all came to a convergence which now damaged everything Miko beyond repair. It´s nobodies fault, at least not solely, like so many things. But it is unpleasant and left you as a broken husk of yourself, unable to love and mourn(Roy?) despite all the insults, unable to live with yourself and feel even despite the hardships.

This is it. Nobody ever deserves your fate, and yet there are moments when the weight of the circumstances bring it all to this point. Now you are done, and, with all due respect, you deserve a final act of mercy:

Kind words, and swift and painless death.

For your sake, for your worlds sake and lastly for the sake of the narrative.

Wished it had been evitable.

Sincerely,
Yelthrin

[Quikngruvn]

Feh. I wouldn't waste the keystrokes in typing up a letter to Miko. She's just shred it like she did V's bill to "that paladin".

Though I'm not completely ruling out a "Twelve Gods what have I done?" type of epiphany, it's only slightly more plausible than Belkar helping an old lady across the road without slitting her throat afterward....

[roadkiller]

I'm actually sort of disappointed that no one has done this yet. Very well.

Dear Miko,

I prepared Explosive Runes this morning.

Sincerely,
Roadkiller

[Ridureyu]

Somehow I doubt that Miko is going to read this letter.


"Miko! Stop smiting your mail!"

[BRC]

My Theory of Miko's Thought Process

As a paladin she was bound by an oath to defend the gate. She is now a fallen when she walks into the throne room and sees O-Chul frozen in a position about to destroy the gate. She thinks this
"Ah-HA, The twelve gods made me fall so I wouldn't be bound by the oath to defend the gate, and could destroy it here! It all makes sense."

And to her it does, remember that she feels
A: That she has a grand destiny to fufill
B: That she is infalliable.
Now she feels justified in killing Shojo, because, according to her thought processes, the twelve gods didn't make her a fallen because she killed Shojo, but so she would no longer be bound by the oath.

EDIT: also, My first post!

[teratorn]

But Miko, Miko, Miko, what in the Holy Name of Burlew could have possibly possessed you to detroy that Gate?
Because she is still good and as such finished the task started by another good character. She clearly failed her listen checks, not a big surprise.

The rest of the letter forgets the main thing about Miko. She can not understand how good can associate with evil. Not the neutral character making an occasional evil act, but something evil to the bone. The only explanation she could think of is that characters associating with Belkar are also tainted with evil. What she doesn't understand is that, as Roy said when they were trying to break from prison, they are stuck with Belkar. Note that everyone wanted to leave him behind. They can not unleash him into the world and as member of their team they can not kill him.

It's nearly impossible for her to understand this because she was conditioned to kill evil on sight. Thus her problem with Hinjo siding with the halfling.

[theinsulabot]

I'm actually dort of disappointed that no one has done this yet. Very well.

Dear Miko,

I prepared Explosive Runes this morning.

Sincerely,
Roadkiller

heh heh, well somebody had to do it right?

[kirbsys]

Dear Miko,
I would like to second the idea of seppekku and in fact give some simple instructions:
First: Kneel on your knees with your Wakizashi or Tanto in front of you.
Second: Use whichever blade it is and make a horizontal slash across your abdomen.
Third: Provided you have the strength take the blade and thrust it vertically into the chest, upwards.
Fourth: Have another standing by with a katana to decapitate you. There are PLENTY of people who would be willing, if not over-joyed, to get the chance to do this.
Sincerly,
Someone Who Thinks This is a VERY Good Idea

[Kreistor]

Because she is still good and as such finished the task started by another good character. She clearly faild her listen checks, not a big surprise.

Failed or ignored is yet to be determined.

[Ralfarius]

Dear Miko,

Get out.

[Alfryd]

really...no offence meant..but it seems to me that you are on some sort of crusade, poised to defend Miko in from any possible menace or criticism ...herself included.
Partly, I delight in playing Devil's Advocate, and as the most detested character on the boards, Miko naturally calls me like a siren.
Partly, I find her to be frequently unjustly maligned, or out of proportion to her sins, and that people overlook and/or warp her redeeming qualities to fit their own agenda.
And partly, I have some personal reasons to sympathise with her position more than most.
Besides, it's untrue. People make plenty of perfectly valid criticisms of Miko which I am content to leave unanswered, and now and then I'll directly argue against her position.

...maybe a tortured hero or unintentional villain, to an instrument of flawed plot bending.
I've sometimes gotten that feeling myself- her recent nervous breakdown seems less a tragic development than a plot device for relieving the author of the burden of making sense- but thus far I'm prepared to give Rich the benefit of the doubt. It's conceivable he'll manage to explain her underlying motives in some lucid fashion at a later date. Gods willing.

[Lord Zentei]

Monks are underpowered? News to me

It is? Well, it's the truth.

And great job, OP.

[Ar-Sakal]

Dear Miko Miyazaki,

You are not helping the cause of the Paladin and the bias other characters have on us. Please, just take the Blackguard level so we can have an excuse for your actions.

Sincerely,

Paladin Guilds and Orders all accross Dimensions, Realilties and Universes

cc: Jedi Knights and other lawful good orders

[Dolohov]

You know, it's not actually clear that Miko knows that the gem is a gate. A lot has been kept secret from the Paladins, after all.

[TheGreatJabu]

Strange...my browser is seemingly incapable of quoting Alfryd's previous post. Oh well. Old-fashioned way it is!

Alfryd said:

Partly, I find her to be frequently unjustly maligned, or out of proportion to her sins, and that people overlook and/or warp her redeeming qualities to fit their own agenda.

Personally, I believe he's right. It's so easy to watch someone else's fall and think "Man, this person just plain sucks and obviously has lost their marbles". It's called "fundamental attributional error". Everyone has the tendency to attribute the failures of other people to internal forces (personality, lack of ability, etc.) and failures in themselves to external forces (the situation, extenuating factors). Having these beliefs isn't wrong or bad - everyone has that tendency. You just have to realize that this tendency exists and to make a conscious effort to "walk a mile in their shoes" before judging someone.

And if you're a student of psychology (or history, for that matter), you can always be afraid of what anyone is capable of if all the wrong pieces come together at the wrong time.

Still, I think it's fair that we make fun of characters as being "flat" when they are, in fact, 2D. Wonk wonk.[/pun] :smallsmile:

[pcgneurotic]

Personally, I believe he's right. It's so easy to watch someone else's fall and think "Man, this person just plain sucks and obviously has lost their marbles". It's called "fundamental attributional error". Everyone has the tendency to attribute the failures of other people to internal forces (personality, lack of ability, etc.) and failures in themselves to external forces (the situation, extenuating factors). Having these beliefs isn't wrong or bad - everyone has that tendency. You just have to realize that this tendency exists and to make a conscious effort to "walk a mile in their shoes" before judging someone.

Eloquent and true. I still say she's a stone-cold bonker though. I know the type all too well- she's just like my sister-in-law. Christ, what I wouldn't give for that woman to fail a spot check crossing the road... :smallsigh:

[RealMad]

I believe that the most annoying cliche in writing is that girl or sidekick that was told to wait outside, then comes into the battle and then forces the hero to save them.

Granted, Miko does not fall exactly into that cliche but she is exactly the same type of annoying. You just want someone to shoot her with a bazooka already.

I'm actually quite disappointed in the writing of Miko's character. Her plot twists do nothing more than frustrate the reader in that same way that the idiot sidekick does and, at this point, nothing short of her realizing her lunacy and killing herself would give a reader any satisfaction. Her actions are not entertaining and, to me at least, they're not even frustrating. It's truly more disappointing than anything else because surely there's something less cliche that you can do with Miko than turn her into the constant monkey wrench.

I think Mr. Burlew has written Miko into a corner here. It's seppuku or turn her into a villain. I don't even want to see her redeem herself and stay alive. She wants to make up for what she's done? She can disembowel herself, then maybe it's even stevens.

[TreesOfDeath]

Dear Miko

So which one of these letter righters are you going to smite first? Cause their all saying your wrong, which means their evil. Oh and I her u lyk mudkip

[Kaziel]

It's seppuku or turn her into a villain.Hold on a sec... she isn't a villain right now? All the clichés "Oh ho ho, I'm so evil! Muahahaha!" characters aside, few people who would qualify as evil would think to themselves "I'm so evil!" They see themselves as good, or right at the very least. Being evil doesn't mean you think you're evil, you can justify your actions to yourself (just like Miko does now). As far as I'm concerned, she's already a villain, even if she doesn't realize it.

[GTRanger]

I still find it kind of weird since

A) Miko's actions didn't bother me much in this one, except that Xykon and Redcloak escaped. Obviously, if they didn't escape and Xykon is truly destroyed, there isn't much left to have a comic about, huh?

B) I don't remember (though maybe I didn't look) everyone hating on the OotS for destroying a gate or two.

C) I don't remember (though maybe I didn't look) everyone praising Xykon for saving the world by stopping O'chul from destroying the gate and causing the world to end.

D) So like...the only explanation I see is "well, she did something that wasn't necessary" when it kinda seems like part of the inexorable flow of plot anyway, i.e. all the gates being weakened. It just makes me sad that people get upset when someone was ALREADY about to do it anyway. As people have said, seeing a paladin frozen at the last second (see Xykon's speech about O'chul really thinking he had a chance for a sec.ond) and completing his job for him seems kind of logical.

Especially since Soon was handling his job well. If he'd just finished his job instead of being distracted, and Miko had destroyed the gate, you'd still be left with one or two other ones, and all you'd have to worry about is Nale (ha) basically.

Or am I out of my mind? :P

*edit* And I ESPECIALLY don't see the logic in people being like "Oh well, the world's over" when that didn't happen on previous gates either.

[CardinalFang]

I think all of the people who keep calling her "insane" need to take a closer look at the definition for insanity. She does not have a mental problem. She does not believe that she is more than one person; she does not hear voices; she does not suffer from hallucinations. She does not actually HEAR or SEE the 12 gods. She simply believes that they are communicating to her. She's not insane; she's just wrong. And there's a big difference.

Look at Thog by comparison. Thog is so childish and innocent (in a way) that it can be argued that he doesn't understand the difference between right and wrong. He's just as happy eating ice cream as he is subjugating dwarven blacksmiths. Miko DOES know the difference between right and wrong, and is simply mistaken about the nature of her actions and decisions. That's why you could plead that Thog is mentally incompetent in a court of law, but Miko would never get away with that. She would simply insist that the court was corrupt or didn't know the whole story. She is perfectly sane. She is just wrong.

[Kreistor]

Partly, I find her to be frequently unjustly maligned, or out of proportion to her sins, and that people overlook and/or warp her redeeming qualities to fit their own agenda.

Yeah, completely out of proportion. It's not like she has murdered her Order's master (oh, wait, she did-- Shojo), attacked an unarmed friend (oh wait, she did -- Hinjo), and attempted to murder someone who was sompletely unable to defend himself (oh, wait, Belkar was, though admittedly Miko didn't know it).

Murder 2 and two counts of attempted murder gets her the chair in many places in the states. Not out of proportion whatsoever.

Oh, and add this one to the list: No, wait... this one deserves its own thread.

[CardinalFang]

Hold on a sec... she isn't a villain right now? All the clichés "Oh ho ho, I'm so evil! Muahahaha!" characters aside, few people who would qualify as evil would think to themselves "I'm so evil!" They see themselves as good, or right at the very least. Being evil doesn't mean you think you're evil, you can justify your actions to yourself (just like Miko does now). As far as I'm concerned, she's already a villain, even if she doesn't realize it.

That's what makes her so different from Team Evil and the Linear Guild. They know they're evil antagonists, but in their own ways, they're laughably incompetent, or stereotypical, or overcomplicated. They're the humorous villains, who make the plot funny and supply a bunch of one liners and punchlines.

Miko is the serious antagonist, on a difficult and, frankly, believable mental journey. She will never say "Oh well, we lost today boys, time to leg it back to the secret underground lair and plot some more while stroking a long-haired, white kitten." She believes she is right, and that anyone who stands in her way is evil. TE and the LG know that what they are doing is wrong, and anyone who stands in their ways is simply annoying. They supply the humor, and Miko supplies the drama.

[Kioran]

I've sometimes gotten that feeling myself- her recent nervous breakdown seems less a tragic development than a plot device for relieving the author of the burden of making sense- but thus far I'm prepared to give Rich the benefit of the doubt. It's conceivable he'll manage to explain her underlying motives in some lucid fashion at a later date. Gods willing.

Oh, I think she had reason for snapping or at least going a little off the rocker. Let us review what we know about her from qoutes and exposition in the comic and try to make some reasonable extrapolation thereof:

- She was raised by monks, but taken into custody and further training by the Azure Guard at the age of 13
- She has been a member of the Sapphire Guard since then
- Her exact age isn´t known, but since Nale is 23 and Elan is his twin, we can expect the OoTS and Miko to be 20-25 Years old or the Elven/Dwarven equivalent of that age, making her a young adult which has served a substantial part of her life in SG
- The fellow members of the SG don´t particularly like her and are more comfortable with her not around (Hinjo said so), making her a rather islated figure
- Since that is the case, professional respect(this will be important) as well as the default politeness that comes with it and her devotion to the cause and Lord Shojo were her emotional sustenance
- This makes her somewhat awkward and socially inept, but highly zealous since she is sustained more on Faith than on human warmth

This is the Situation pre-OoTS. Now let us see what they have done with her and she with them:

- She has been tracking them as wanted criminals and heard unsettling things about their purported nefarious deeds(even if it was the LG)
- She offered them surrender and, since it didn´t come up immediately, rushed in and savagely attacked them(As is necessesary if you want to survive 1 vs. 6 against powerful opponents), but granted quarter when Durkon effected surrender
- After a slightly incredulous, but actuallly correct explanation she agrees to take them in if the come peacefully
- Both parties are mutually wary, with good reason, with the exceptions being Durkon(who, by the way, treated her with more sincerity, respect and courtesy than most other Characters) and Roy(for obvious - even to socially awkward and inept Miko - reasons)
- She takes quite controversial and even a little nonsensical stances on their Gold or usual way of doing things and is harsh in the delivery of criticism, further alienating most of the Order
- After the Inn Story her strong disapproval and ensuing sermon make the already disgruntled Order openly defy her, rejecting the terms of their "relationship" up to that point, topped off by Roy strongly rejecting her after she admitted the possibility of having feelings for him
- A bitter and almost lethal fight ensues, whih further deepens mutual wariness and animosity

Please note that, as a single bit of not absolutely provable piece of specualtion, I think Miko actually started to harbour feelings for Roy, even if not openly, feelings which are hurt by Roys strong rejection. That´s were we are in AzC. Now from thereon:

- Belkar murders a Guard and appears to be triyng to kill her (actually, he doesn´t really try since he does not finish her off when he has the chance) which she can, from her point of view, barely prevent
- After she spectacularly defeated Belkar and tries to finish him off, she is stopped by the OoTS intervention, at which mutual resentments are brought to daylight (along with another strong rejection by Roy).
- She also states, quite clearly, that she (correctly at that) thinks that Roy is sanctioning evil behaviour through protecting Belkar, and refuses to accept group loyalty as sufficient grounds to tolerate Belkar
- She hesitates one panel before attacking the OoTS
- She is stopped from savagely laying into the OoTS, this time with final intent to kill, only by oredr from Shojo, which she obeys, albeit under protest and seething with rage

I speculate, again, that she hesitated to attack mainly out of respect for Durkon (Not out of consideration for Roy since she is rather angry with him and correctly suspected that Roy would be willing to kill her in the ensuing fight). Please note that from this time on things deteriorate rather fast.

- After being dispatched to the dwarven lands only to be captured by Xykon on the returning leg of the journey, she narrowly escapes (she doesn´t know Xykon wanted her to and wouldn´t expect it, since it brings Xykon no advantage, and playfulness or cruelty are not part of her repertoire of tactics)
- She hurries to return to AzC, to warn them of impending doom
- She then overhears Lord Shojo admitting he has been lying to her and the entire Azure Guard, apart from admitting that he used Miko to get access to the OoTS

Please note that this is, though expedient and maybe not strictly evil, more harmful than it initially looks. Besides stating that he didn´t trust Miko with the truth, he denies her professional respect (by clearly stating that he had the OoTS brought to him because he had more confidence in their ability to fight Xykon, which is incidentally, Miko´s job).
What´s worse, he actually sends her, an honorable Paladin, with fake orders to apprehend the victims of a wrong accusation. this is not violating Paladin code, it also endangers Miko by putting her on worse footing with the OoTS than is strictly necessesary(Maybe the fights could have been avoided alltogether........). To compound this all, Belkar is still in the room, free and armed, held in impunity despite being a murederer and attempting to kill her.
All in all, Shojo does a thorough job of shattering Miko´s faith in him. That he had his foot in his mouth didn´t actually help. She fights of Xykon, comes home with warning, once again taking pride in her power and usefulness, only to be (indirectly) told that she is more of a nuisance in which he places little faith, and all that by the mentor she adores, if in a platonic way. Hinjo woulddn´t have been able to stop her, since these two have never been friends (only comrades in Arms), and he actually seems a bit patronizing.

So I think Miko snapping is no big wonder after that amount of insult and emotional trauma. I don´t even doubt she is in denial about being fallen, since this would constitute in even her beloved gods being callous and unforgiving towards after the beating she has taken. Hinjo even compounds this by allowing all criminals, espacially Belkar, to fight for the city while having her rot in a dungeon(though presumably due to oversight, not evil intention), stripping from her pride as a defender of Azure City.

However, I have problems with believing she is stupid, ignoring her opportunity to kill Xykon and Redcloak in favor of unnecessary smashing the gate.


I believe that is the point at which she acts crassly out of character. Anyone disagree?

[Meditating Mike]

Dear Miko, fallen paladin.
I am lawful good, a paladin who have never fallen I might add and I wish to tell you a few well chosen words.
First of all, you show yourself to be under the influence of two vices, the stepping stones to evil namely wrath/anger, and vanity/pride.
You have shown pride, a lust for vengeance and while every good paladin is taught the value of mercy, tolerance and forgiveness, the stepping stones of good you have shown yourself to be very intolerant and unforgiving as well as showing a lack of restraint, self control, control over your emotions and unwillingness to mediate or compromise.
You have also denied the truth and spoken untruth.

Intolerance is one potential but important path towards evil.
We paladins know that even if a monster or person detects as evil we cannot just smite them.
We know that many times a situation calls for restraint, patience, logic, tolerance, negotiation, persuasion, listening and thought.
Smiting evil is not always the best choice of action when dealing with evil.
We paladins should avoid violence and killing and only seek to do battle to protect freedom, when protecting of the world, it's people and ourselves.
Above all we have a duty to our god/gods, to the worlds, to it's people and ourselves and every duty is equally important, none being greater than the other.
You are what we paladins like to call a traitor and a betrayer, you betrayed your oath, yourself, your liege and your city.
The path towards redemption should you seek it begins with humility and a true desire to repent and correct the mistakes you have done.
Should you seek redemption and succeed I will welcome you back to the paladins.
If you continue down the path of intolerance, untruth and evil I will gladly smite you.

Yours sincerely, paladin Mike.

[Cywar]

Dear Miko...

Miko, can you see this beautiful white jacket with the arms bound to the back? It is a test of the gods. Only the chosen will be able to unlock its hidden powers. Just try it on, come on, it fits perfectly...

[MadMadMad]

Dear Miko,

Since your character seems to be based on a Samurai, I suggest that you look into look into a tradition that seems to be based on Seppuku. That is, you should kill yourself. Ritually. Perhaps across 3 or 4 panels.

Really, it would be best for all involved.

Warmest Regards,
MadMadMad

[dehro]

Dear Miko,
I would like to second the idea of seppekku and in fact give some simple instructions:
First: Kneel on your knees with your Wakizashi or Tanto in front of you.
Second: Use whichever blade it is and make a horizontal slash across your abdomen.
Third: Provided you have the strength take the blade and thrust it vertically into the chest, upwards.
Fourth: Have another standing by with a katana to decapitate you. There are PLENTY of people who would be willing, if not over-joyed, to get the chance to do this.
Sincerly,
Someone Who Thinks This is a VERY Good Idea

she's a woman...If I remember my readings correctly, women samurai slit their own throaths, and that's about it

[Ridureyu]

Didn't they have to pierce their own wrists?

Moot point because the one paladin girl seppuku'ed traditionally.

[David Argall]

From the cell of Miko Miyazaki

Being granted a temporary leave from my duties, I may answer some of your suggestions.

Many of your suggestions are hate-filled and sinful. I shall pray that you atone for your misguided attitudes.

On the particular subject of Seppuku, I can combine the answer with that for the suggestion I engage in lewd activities. I have duties, and may not indulge my personal pleasure if I neglect them in the process. This is obvious in the case of Seppuku. I of course can not carry out most of my duties unless I am alive. And so I may only engage in Seppuku with the permission of my superior. I have role in making that decision.
As to the more depraved activities suggested, such are honorable only under proper lawful conditions. While there are women whose honor comes from doing the dishonorable, I have been spared that fate. I must restrict such activities to honorable conditions with an honorable man, something I have found a shortage of.

Now there is much argument about my destruction of the Gate. My basic answer is that hindsight is 20-20. To the extent I was in fact wrong, you are assuming I knew what I had no knowledge of, and no safe way of getting that knowledge. Soon was about to defeat both the lich and Redcloak? I have fought them. The lich defeated me rather casually and the vile goblin was a serious foe I was lucky to defeat. Assuming Soon was about to win simply went against the evidence, as many competent authorities have noted.
We might note the laws of drama as well. [If the criminals of the OOTS are permitted to refer to such, I may use them in defense of that which is lawful and good.] The chief evil can not be destroyed before the climax. Accordingly, tho it looked bad for the lich at one point, there was a way for it to escape its richly deserved fate and the view that Soon was about to destroy it was an illusion.
Whether or not the lich could have been destroyed, keep in mind that there was an army of hobgoblins in the city. Assuming we could have stopped them from reaching the Gate is optimistic. We could have made them pay, but reach it, they eventually would have. That would mean that some lesser monster would have attempted to open the Gate. Whether he would have succeeded in controlling the Snarl or not, the result would have been unacceptable. Even in cold blood, destroying the Gate was the best option.
Many of you seem to have the mistaken idea that preserving the Gate was the prime motive of my former order, but this is mistaken. That was merely the most desired goal. If we achieved it, all would be well. Alas, circumstances did not allow us to achieve that goal.
But much as we wanted to preserve the Gate, we recognized there were worse dangers. If the Gate fell into the hands of one like the lich, we faced 2 fates, both unbearable. If opened rashly, the Snarl would get loose, and all would be lost. If opened carefully, the vile one opening it would get world shaking power, and would use it monstrously. Neither fate was to be allowed. As we all knew, it could become necessary for us to destroy the Gate in order to defend it. And it became my fate to make that defense.
[Some of you may be surprised about my knowledge of the Gate's nature, but while we tried to deny that knowledge to others who might misuse the knowledge, we could not deny it to ourselves and carry out our duty. My, and my fellows', knowledge is no doubt flawed and incomplete, but we had to know enough to know when it was necessary to destroy the gate instead of fighting to keep the evil ones away.]

Now many object to the execution of Lord Shoto. This was entirely necessary and done out of duty. The details of his crimes need not concern us. Suffice it to note that his nephew was willing to depose him and arrest him on the spot, subjecting him to a possible death sentence.
"Possible" is why I had to administer justice immediately. The evidence before us was clear, but we would have had to try him in courts designed and perverted by him. Quite simply, he would have escaped justice. I had to administer summary justice.

That brings up the removal of my paladin status. I am only mortal and can't know the ways of the Gods. I must confess to not being sure why that was done, tho I fear I may know almost exactly. It was not a punishment, but rather so I could carry out my duties better.
Now what I fear is that as a paladin, I was sworn only to defend the Gate here, and not to interfere with the other gates. But with the Gate here destroyed, that duty, while still a necessary duty, is now of much lower priority. We must restore the Gate and defend the new one, but that will take time, and in the meantime, we must defend the remaining gates.
As a paladin, I would still be bound by my oath, and would have to stay here. But as a former paladin, I can respond to my larger duty and go to the defense of the remaining gates. Accordingly, the Gods were blessing me by removing the barrier keeping me from doing my greater duty.

What I fear is how I shall have to carry out those duties.
Those contemptable criminals, the Order of the Stick, are apparently on their way to a gate and to my horror, I will likely be ordered to go with them. Just why is hard to be sure. I could be simply guarding them and preventing further crimes. It might be my sorrowful fate to have to lead them and use such flawed tools. I can hope, or rather wish, I can lead them to the Light, but I fear that is far beyond my ability.
That does bring up the subject of that horrible halfling. As a paladin I do not think I could stand all that contact with that monster. It would have been a duty too hard for me. Now I can manage to swallow a little more bile and put up for him as long as necessary. I can only pray that will be short, but...

Now to the self-declared paladin, you have clearly been corrupted by those who call themselves Neutral or Chaotic Good.

Mercy and forgiveness are virtues only in certain conditions, chief among them being the contrition of the sinner. If he has not in truth repented, there can be neither mercy nor forgiveness. Even when he has, they may be denied for reasons as lessons to third parties. The Law is the Law and we may not be merciful or forgiving in enforcing that. [There are of course laws that are not true laws because they are not merciful, but that is a different subject.]
Tolerance? Tolerance a paladin virtue??? Is there a value more chaotic? You are tolerant of evil? Of chaos? Is there some duty to tolerate violations of the Law? to tolerate evil? The question answers itself. The paladin does not tolerate anything that necessity does not force.
An unwillingness to compromise? A paladin is supposed to compromise with evil? I am to allow sins every other day? No! Compromise is unpaladin! You are either wrong or right, not half-wrong.
As to a lack of restraint, self control, control over your emotions? If I did not have such I would have arrived at the city with a pile of bodies, and would have certainly killed the OOTS later even if I had brought them in alive. Given their crimes, I can only wish I was not so self controlled.

When you say "Smiting evil is not always the best choice of action when dealing with evil.", you are acknowledging the obvious, that it usually is.

As to "We paladins should avoid violence and killing and only seek to do battle to protect freedom," how can you say such a chaotic thing? Freedom is the very definition of chaos. There is no freedom for a paladin, only duty and violation of that duty.

Then you say "Above all we have a duty to our god/gods, to the worlds, to it's people and ourselves and every duty is equally important, none being greater than the other." You manage to contradict yourself and be wrong at the same time.
By saying "above all", you are saying some duties are greater than other, which you then deny. And that is wrong. There are greater duties and lesser duties. It can be complex, very complex, determining what is the greater duty at any given time, but it must be done and it can be done.

I pray for your eyes to be opened.

[Meditating Mike]

I would like to applaud the writing of David Argall/Miko.
That was spot on and really funny-good.

[Wonton]

I would just like to say that I officially HATE Miko now.
Before I disliked her somewhat for being annoying and liked her somewhat for often creating funny situations.

Now, however... :smallfurious:
I officially DESPISE Miko.

Is there a club for people like me? :smallconfused:

[Kreistor]

Well, I don't mind responding to part of David/Miko.

Dear David/Miko,

Rejoice! For you need not fear that you will be ordered to go to another gate with the Order of the Stick. That can never happen.

For, you see, you have a trial to attend, and given your strict adherence to the Laws of Azure City, I am certain you would attend as the laws require. For though you feel you were correct in attacking Lord Shojo, Lord Hinjo, and an unarmed Belkar, you have yet to prove your innocence to the Judge. But, ah, you feel the judges are corrupt in Azure City? Well, in that case, you are no longer part of the social order in Azure City, and can not be ordered by anyone, except by force of arms. I wonder how many guards you will kill in order to escape. Belkar only killed one: I expect you'll be more than happy to beat that particular record. I imagine that little crack in the bars you found would have been more than enough justification to kill any guards in your way, had any been present. the gods, of course, speak in the tiny details of reality, not into your heart.

So rejoice! Either you'll be spending the remainder of your days incarcerated or you no longer have a superior to order you anywhere! Doesn't the freedom of the criminal feel marvelous?

Sincerely,
Kreistor

[Woof]

You know, it's not actually clear that Miko knows that the gem is a gate. A lot has been kept secret from the Paladins, after all.

In that case why in the world would she suddenly decide to destroy a stone throne with a sapphire ornament? Feeling the need to let off steam? :smallconfused:

[Vampire_Boy]

Dear Miko,

I have been totally loving your character development in the recent strips. Please continue on this very same path and ignore those who speak of 'hope of redemption'. It will be much more satisfying watching you slide all the way into the darkness, and only realizing what you have done when it will be much too late to atone, and you will die a grisly death and end up roasting in the deepest pits of Hell.

So in short, GJ Miko.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Dear Miko,
I prepared maximized explosive runes this morning.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e0/Nagasakibomb.jpg/250px-Nagasakibomb.jpg

[kpenguin]

Dear Miko,
I prepared maximized explosive runes this morning.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e0/Nagasakibomb.jpg/250px-Nagasakibomb.jpg

Dear Miko,

I prepared maximized, empowered, heightened, explosive, widened, twin explosive runes this morning

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Wolf_rayet2.jpg

[Kioran]

Dear Miko,

I have been totally loving your character development in the recent strips. Please continue on this very same path and ignore those who speak of 'hope of redemption'. It will be much more satisfying watching you slide all the way into the darkness, and only realizing what you have done when it will be much too late to atone, and you will die a grisly death and end up roasting in the deepest pits of Hell.

So in short, GJ Miko.

Oh, she´s already there. You can forgive yourself for evil acts in what is little more than a lashing out against people and things that have hurt you physically and emotionally on a serious lvl. You can forgive yourself deviation from duty fuelled by rage or despair.

What you cannot forgive yourself is massive incompetence at your chosen duty when others ever rely on you, even if they don´t admit it. Repeatedly and seriously ****ing up the truelly important things means they were right not to trust you


She can be responsible for slaying Shojo(not as big a loss as many think), she could (and should) have killed Belkar, hell she could have even cut Hinjo to pieces. It would have had a reason, and while being an evil act and lack of restraint, also understandable to a certain degree.
But needlessly destroying the gate you were sworn to protect while allowing the BBEG and his Stooges to flee? Yurusenai.
Absolutely unforgivable, seen as this was not a rash act, but the actual result of contemplation. It would have taken 2 rounds alone to do the deed(1 move to go up to the throne, 1 move/standard action to pick up the Katana/disarm O-Chul --> one standard action to smash the gate + maybe one move into position). She had time to contemplate, she didn´t, and betrayed the trust of the world.
Even if she ever comes to her senses, she must realize what she has done. She´ll not be a leader or paragon, hell, she´ll even stop being a powerful Paladin in the sense that she failed when it was most important, in spectacular and stupid fashion.

Some things can´t be forgiven, and for some things you never forgive yourself. And that is precisely why Seppuku was introduced - a way to end all dishonor with finality. Since this is not going to happen somebody should kill her for her own good.

[thehothead]

Dear Miko.
When it get's to the point where CE people despise you, and not for lawful OR good actions, I think you may be doing something wrong. Of course it's not YOUR fault you were doing something wrong, someone obviously lead you into it. But if you find out what you're soing wrong, you can fix it, then get revenge on whoever caused it for inhibiting some destined for great things such as yourself

from,
thehothead,
he who shall reign on your parade,
and master of piemancy


(I don't agree with what I wrote. This is just being manipulatory in such a way that would produce the "you may be right" result.)

[David Argall]

Dear Miko,

Rejoice! For you need not fear that you will be ordered to go to another gate with the Order of the Stick. That can never happen.

For, you see, you have a trial to attend, and given your strict adherence to the Laws of Azure City, I am certain you would attend as the laws require. For though you feel you were correct in attacking Lord Shojo, Lord Hinjo, and an unarmed Belkar, you have yet to prove your innocence to the Judge.
But, ah, you feel the judges are corrupt in Azure City? Well, in that case, you are no longer part of the social order in Azure City, and can not be ordered by anyone, except by force of arms. I wonder how many guards you will kill in order to escape. Belkar only killed one: I expect you'll be more than happy to beat that particular record. I imagine that little crack in the bars you found would have been more than enough justification to kill any guards in your way, had any been present. the gods, of course, speak in the tiny details of reality, not into your heart.

So rejoice! Either you'll be spending the remainder of your days incarcerated or you no longer have a superior to order you anywhere! Doesn't the freedom of the criminal feel marvelous?



Comforting one

While I thank you for your words of hope, I fear you have overlooked a few factors that will condemn me to my fate of nursemaid to a gang of psychopaths.
The "trial" you mention will likely be over within minutes, and is likely to last no more than an hour. I shall probably have to plea guilty. While I am innocent in the eyes of the greater good, that does not mean I am not guilty of technical violations, and even technical violations are violations. So if Lord Hinjo words the inditement properly, there is no choice but to plea guilty.
Moreover there is my duty to the city. While a paladin must tell the truth, that does not mean she must be honest, at least when a misunderstanding serves the greater needs. Here, my insisting on the greater truth of my innocence would merely undermine the authority of Lord Hinjo, who, for his many faults, is still the legal lord, and the best ruler for the city. Accordingly I have a duty to plea guilty.

While I might hope for a death sentence, I fear Lord Hinjo will not be so kind. He has been deluded by those scoundrels, whom he will dispatch to the next Gate with his blessing. Sadly for me, he is no completely deluded, and recognizes these fools will need guidance, if not jail cells, and so he will officially exile me, and less officially order me to assist/restrain those monsters, an order I can't refuse.

As to breaking jail, I am sure the gods will send me a sign if that is necessary. And of course a powerful proof of that sign is that I am able to break out without hurting, much less killing, any innocents along the way. Sadly, I fear that sign will also be an order to hunt down the Order of the Stick, and, in the unlikely event they have done no crime worthy of a death sentence, take up the duty of their guard.

[Ridureyu]

Dear Miko,



Enclosed is a bouncy ball inscribed with a rune of insanity. Notice that it does not affect you. What could this mean?


P. S. You're hot.

[Rhyeira]

Congratulations... of all the countless Miko threads that sprang into existence quite recently, you managed to create the only one that I found worth reading. Nice job.

[Skyserpent]

Monks are underpowered? News to me

You need to get to the Gaming (d20 and General RPG) Board. Now. Figure out what class balance means. I refuse to go into it here.


Oh and Miko, I still trust that you'll make the right decision at one point or another...

(The right decision may or may not involve your guts and a three feet of steel)

[Meditating Mike]

If Miko truly meditated then she would be very resistant to anger and wrath.
Some of the most basic meditation practices are about controlling ones emotions such as anger as well as truly understanding that emotion and realize you don't need it and letting it go.

To Miko: Please do not let your quest for vengeance cloud your judgment, let go of your hatred and instead try to seek peace and emotional tranquility.
Hatred serves no one but the forces of evil and is ultimately harmful, both to the soul which is tainted by it and to your surroundings.
Wishing to harm another living creature is evil since it is based in cruelty and selfishness.
Please for your own sake let go of your egoism and egotism and instead embrace humility, patience and kindness which are the building bricks of good.

Many people who are evil can be redeemed, even the halfling Belkar.
(Try using a permanent version of owls wisdom or a similar wisdom raising item) *hint hint I am not obvious at all*

[David Argall]

Dear Miko,

Enclosed is a bouncy ball inscribed with a rune of insanity. Notice that it does not affect you. What could this mean?

P. S. You're hot.

I am not a mage, and those I consult include quite respectable names who insist the bouncy ball can't be inscribed with a rune of insanity, despite the evidence before us, so I can give you no valid advice on the question.

If you want speculation, I may have simply saved. My levels of monk make my saves quite respectable.

Or the spell may have been negated somewhere in the process of delivery.

However, perhaps the most likely guess comes from your apparently combining a hostile approach, followed almost immediately by a [too] friendly comment. This suggests you had set the spell off while within range and are currently suffering its effects [which again would mean the spell was over long before it reached me].
I suggest you consult a cleric able to cast Heal.

[Snipers_Promise]

Dear David/Miko,

As a fellow solider, I feel deeply saddend by your fall. However, I can not say that it was not nessescary. You think the gods watch over you and mabye they do. However, I don't think the gods plan their day around your misfourtions. As a sniper and a caring man, I hope that you can see what is really happening. You may be right, but that is highly improbable. I have heard the saying, "War does not determin who is right, only who is left." Your battle does not prove you are right, only silences your oppents arugument. One more thing, Roy was killed attacking Xkyon. Answer as soon as you get the chance.

With all do respect,
Sniper's Promise

[plainsfox]

Dear Mr. Burlew,
Thank you for creating a tale that involves such characters as Miko Miyazaki. Characters that have gripped our interests and imaginations and inspire us to passion over their actions. Characters that seem to spring to life so throughly that people feel the need to compose open letters to them. These characters have engaged our sympathy, our anger, and our sorrow. Keep up the good work!

[Tolkien_Freak]

Dear Ms. Miyazaki:

Please tell all these forumers to stop making topics about you.

Thank you.

[StickMan]

I love you so much:smallbiggrin: :smallbiggrin: :smallbiggrin: :smallbiggrin: :smallbiggrin:

[Meditating Mike]

Being lawful and good means accepting your responsibility and admitting when your actions have caused harm and were wrong and then attempting to correct your mistakes.
Lawful good is the alignment which tries to protect freedom, because tyranny, forcing people and forced slavery is evil.
Miko feels anger, even wrath so ask yourself who is has the most freedom:
The person who is in control and who masters his/her emotions or the one who is ruled by and is essentially a slave to them?
Who has more freedom, the master or the slave?

[David Argall]

Lawful good is the alignment which tries to protect freedom, because tyranny, forcing people and forced slavery is evil.
You continue to want to call chaotic ideas lawful. Forcing people is not of itself evil, or good for that matter. It is what any officer of the law does on a constant basis. It is what you force people to do that is evil or good. You force them to clean up the mess that will cause a plague. How is that evil from any lawful view? You force them not to attack the innocent. Again, that is surely good from any LG view.
The master of the slave has a variety of duties relating to that. Abuse or neglect of such duties are quite common, and causes of evil, but the mere presence of slavery is not a cause of evil. There is no proper condition of mankind except slavery.



Who has more freedom, the master or the slave?
Neither. They are both slaves and merely have different duties.

[Firestar27]

Pffft.

Like you can trust Wikipedia.
You can trust Wikipedia. There was a study done. It is almost as accurate as the Encyclopedia Britannica. I know someone who put an article up about me. It was gone in 30 seconds. They remove junk. Their only problem is that they remove pages about webcomics.
http://news.com.com/Study+Wikipedia+as+accurate+as+Britannica/2100-1038_3-5997332.html

[Admiral_Kelly]

You can trust Wikipedia. There was a study done. It is almost as accurate as the Encyclopedia Britannica. I know someone who put an article up about me. It was gone in 30 seconds. They remove junk. Their only problem is that they remove pages about webcomics.
http://news.com.com/Study+Wikipedia+as+accurate+as+Britannica/2100-1038_3-5997332.htmlAnd we should trust that article because...?

Seriously, you have to be an idiot to believe that wikipidia is even 75% reliable.

[CynicalFelidae]

And we should trust that article because...?

Seriously, you have to be an idiot to believe that wikipidia is even 75% reliable.

Let's try to keep it civil, please? That and somewhat on topic. You want to debate the reliability of Wikipedia? Please make an alternate thread.

[NeonRonin]

To Ms. Miko Miyazaki:

Enclosed you will find the sum of five (5) gold pieces. These will cover train expenses so that you can go somewhere and drown yourself.

Soon Kim sends his regards as well; he'll be waiting for you on the Outer Planes with a kendo shinai, where you'll be getting the spanking you should have had as a child.

Have a nice day. :smallmad:

-The Greenhilt Memorial Foundation

[Kreistor]

Dear David/Miko,

You may plead guilty if you wish, but the Order of the Stick is guilty of no crime and need not plead such. The crime that Lord Shojo sent you after them for is not on any Azure City book (having been invented as a means to bring the Order of the Stick to Azure City only), which means that Hinjo cannot try them for it. There is no other crime they have commited that has not already been tried and sentenced. So, though Hinjo can punish you, he cannot punish them and place them in the situation you fear.

And, if you disagree with me that the fabric of the universe charge is a false crime, well, rejoice, since you are guilty of destroying a Gate, just like those you loathe in the Order of the Stick. The only penalty for that crime is death, as you told the Order when you captured them. So if they did commit that crime, you and they are all headed for the gallows, so the quest you wish to go on will be short and swift, not long and arduous.

Additionally, Lord Hinjo lacks jurisdiction beyond the borders of the region controlled by Azure City: his rulings cannot be enforced elsewhere. So once you reach the border, not only you are free of Azure City rule, but so are the Order of the Stick, so they can abandon you at their own whim. Of course, in areas with no rule of law, I can't imagine you waking up, except to some failed attempt on your life. It's not like you haven't attacked an unarmed member of the Order inspiring him to remove you before you could try again.

And still further, you have now commited yet another crime by esaping prison. That you could not be trusted to remain incarcerated of your own free tells Hinjo that you can not be trusted to obey his commands outside of prison either. In order to be trusted, you need to demonstrate that you will obey, and you have clearly no interest in obeying Hinjo based solely on his orders or requests. To be respected, you must respect in kind, and you violated that rule when you broke out. After all, you placed him in a vulnerable position when you began handing him your sword, ensuring that he was surprised when you changed your mind and cut him, while he carried no weapon in hand to defend himself with. Dishonourable tactics do not inspire trust.

And, finally, the agreement between the Order of the Scribble was that each of the protectors would not involve themselves with the defense of the others. That is why Lord Shojo needed the Order of the Stick in the first place, and invented teh charge to bring them to see him. They must go to Girard's Gate by choice, since Lord Hinjo cannot order them, or else he violates the treaty. You, as a member of those sworn to defend the Azure City gate, cannot defend the remaining two without violating that treaty either. He must use only willing adventurers with no trace to himself, and that excludes all members of the Sapphire Guard, present or past. Sorry, but if you approach either of the other gates, you are violating the rules Soon agreed to.

Of course, if you are still alive, you're landing well outside the walls of Azure City like O'Chul has. You ought to be vapourized, but no one will believe it for a while, so I give you the benefit of the doubt for the moment. You're free, you're out of Azure City, and I don't think you're coming back to face Lord Hinjo's wrath at escaping prison, something you were convinced was so evil back when it was the Order of the Stick in prison. (Your hypocrisy knows no bounds.) So you may proceed to Girard's Gate to destroy it, too, since it is clearly your destiny to destroy the gates, with all the repercussions thereof.

Farewell for now and maybe forever,
Kreistor

[David Argall]

Dear Miko,

the Order of the Stick is guilty of no crime.
The OOTS is guilty of many crimes, most of which they have not been caught at yet.


There is no other crime they have commited that has not already been tried and sentenced. So, though Hinjo can punish you, he cannot punish them and place them in the situation you fear.
He very much can if he desires, and he likely does. That horrid halfling was, according to what I hear, sentenced to 6 years, with 5 years off for defending the city, which means he is to be jailed for the next year unless Lord Hinjo pardons or paroles him. So he strikes a deal with the OOTS, and paroles that little monster on the basis of that deal. But as foolish as Lord Hinjo is, he may not be willing to trust the word of such criminals, and will insist on my presence to make sure that mass murderer does not strike again. So I can be ordered to go with them and they may have no choice but to accept my presence.


And, if you disagree with me that the fabric of the universe charge is a false crime, well, rejoice, since you are guilty of destroying a Gate, just like those you loathe in the Order of the Stick.
As was decided in the court case of the Order, the mere destruction of a Gate is not the same as violation of the laws against weakening the fabric of the universe. Their defense was that this weakening was, to their reasonable knowledge, the best way to prevent worse weakening or other worse disasters. Such would be mine as well, and Lord Shoto, Lord Hinjo, and every other authority have validated the duty to destroy the gate rather than let the lich control it.


Additionally, Lord Hinjo lacks jurisdiction beyond the borders of the region controlled by Azure City: his rulings cannot be enforced elsewhere.
The Sapphire Guard recognizes no borders. We roamed the entire world eliminate threats to the gates, such as information that they existed. Some criminal may find other criminals who will shelter him from our wrath, but that is merely a practical limit. There is no legal escape from our laws.


So once you reach the border, not only you are free of Azure City rule, but so are the Order of the Stick, so they can abandon you at their own whim.
Depraved sorts that they are, they may well try such. This is one reason I suspect Lord Hinjo will use some version of the Mark of Justice to make this very costly for them. He may have other ideas of course.


Of course, in areas with no rule of law,
There are no such areas. There are merely areas where the law is not properly enforced.


, you have now commited yet another crime by esaping prison.
As noted in an earlier message, this was authorized by a higher authority.


and you have clearly no interest in obeying Hinjo based solely on his orders or requests.
Of course not. No paladin obeys solely on orders or requests. That would quickly lead to being ordered to do evil acts. Our leaders are those who are not expected to give us such orders, but there are still orders we will not obey and so we can't obey solely on orders or requests.


you placed him in a vulnerable position when you began handing him your sword, ensuring that he was surprised when you changed your mind and cut him, while he carried no weapon in hand to defend himself with.
You try to make contradictory charges here, saying I both intended to attack from the start and also did not.


And, finally, the agreement between the Order of the Scribble was that each of the protectors would not involve themselves with the defense of the others.
The term was "interfere". That leaves a good deal of room for involvement.


That is why Lord Shojo needed the Order of the Stick in the first place, and invented teh charge to bring them to see him. They must go to Girard's Gate by choice, since Lord Hinjo cannot order them, or else he violates the treaty.
This represents a misunderstanding of the situation, both then and now. While the detail are complex, prior to the arrival of the lich at our city, the evidence that there was a threat to the gates was limited and suspect. Accordingly most attempts to investigate the other gates would be interference under the agreement. But now we know there to be a threat, and that means a great many activities are support, not interference.


You, as a member of those sworn to defend the Azure City gate, cannot defend the remaining two without violating that treaty either. He must use only willing adventurers with no trace to himself,
The reference to "trace to himself" means the activity in question was in fact criminal, which it was at the time for Lord Shoto. That is not a limit on Lord Hinto under different conditions.


and that excludes all members of the Sapphire Guard, present or past.
Actually it excludes neither. The Sapphire Guard is here to defend this gate, which means even now, its prime duty remains here. We are under no duty to reject any appeal for aid for example from the other gates.


Sorry, but if you approach either of the other gates, you are violating the rules Soon agreed to.
Since I have lived with those rules for over a decade and you have merely heard a 2nd hand account, and misquoted it, you will pardon me for thinking you wrong. The removal of my paladinhood allows me to leave the city and temporarily not devote myself to the gate here. It also removes much of the binding force of the treaty you mention.


Of course, if you are still alive, you're landing well outside the walls of Azure City like O'Chul has. You're free,
I of course am never free. I have my duty.


you may proceed to Girard's Gate to destroy it, too, since it is clearly your destiny to destroy the gates, with all the repercussions thereof.
That could be my fate. However, that will depend on the conditions at each gate. Certainly it is better they be destroyed than that the lich gain control of one.


Farewell for now and maybe forever,
Kreistor
I believe you will see much more of me.

[doliemaster]

Dear David/Miko

You know I understand you miko, I was once a paladin like you, regardless of me being in a different dimension an all. I fell because I did what was right and defended a large group of innocents and was stripped of my powers and killed. I wondered as I died why my gods let this happen and then as I awoke to my death I was offered a choice of becoming a death knight and accepted- now all is clear to me, you should look into becoming on as your gods divine will will be truly revealed to you, we also have an interdimensional death knight hangout if you accept and feel like hanging out, and in the case you don't feel like dying anytime soon talk to my corrospondents in your world the Linear guild a group of polar opposites of the order of the stick in your world that are quite the group of good guys who could help you defend the gates.

Sincerely yours,
Death Knight Danny.

[Meditating Mike]

The difference between me and Miko is that if I Fell, committed a crime or evil act I would go quietly when the law enforcement come to take me away and I would take the consequences of my actions and the things I did wrong.
I would accept my punishment because I would acknowledge that I committed a crime or evil act.
If possible I would pay my debt/dues and try to correct my mistakes and feel bad because I have done something which is clearly wrong.
I would feel awful if I had murdered someone or betrayed my city or liege.
I would never escape from imprisonment even if the doors were wide open because I would be even more dishonorable if I escaped like a coward instead of facing justice and my punishment.
The only exception to not escaping would be to save lives, prevent harm and to protect the innocent but I would march back into my cell after the rescue.

[Kreistor]

Leaving the prescribed format for this thread, David?

Dear David/Miko,

A nations laws extend only to their own borders. The Sapphire uard may feel it has the right to operate in other nations borders, but other nations are sovereign in their own territory. Violating the laws there, as in kidnapping or any other crime, will result in charges in that nation. If the Sapphire Guard operates in other territories, it must do so legally according to that nations laws.

There is no law that can force another nation to enforce Miko's presence with the Order of the Stick. Removal of her is this simple: rent a room in an Inn, or a home. If you should enter that domicile, you are committing trespassing and can be charged under local laws. Hinjo's declarations are not enforcible elsewhere. Violence on your part to attempt to force the OotS to retain you is, of course, also a chargable offence.

You opinion of whether the OotS is guilty of anything is moot. Hinjo can only try them for crimes committed on his own soil, and none of those are pending. In fact, their alient efforts defending the city are more than enough proof that the OotS are innocent, especially with absolute proof of Elan's twin, which you have seen personally in jail. His companion, the demon, suggests much about the nature of his character.

I am glad that you agree with the Order of the Stick's defense against the crimes pertaining to the destruction of Dorukan's gates, real or otherwise. Since they are innocent, which makes you innocent of their crime, Hinjo cannot punish them in any way. they have not committed crimes on Hinjo's soil, and no crime elsewhere can be reasonably proven to have been Elan's instead of Nale's, especially considering Nale travels with an evil demon that can also change shape.

Your belief that a "higher authority" justifies violations of Hinjo's orders is exactly why Hinjo won't bother ordering you anywhere anymore. It makes you untrustworthy to everyone, and that means they cannot trust you to agree to any kind of deal of any kind to do anything. Roy's point, "Honey, we're out of milk" followed by "That must mean I am supposed to kill you" holds here. You are unpredictagble and therefore untrustworthy. Without trust, Hinjo can't reasonably expect you to go anywhere in peace.

SO, you feel that the removal of your paladinhood negates any oaths you have sworn? You swore those oaths, did you not? The gods showing signs of their displeasure with your actions is not enough to demonstrate that your actions are not their desires? That by killing Shojo you violated your Oaths? Some may feel that killing Shojo was evil, and that caused your downfall, but I feel that is the lesser reason. You acted dishonourably, grossly dishonourably, by attacking a defenseless old man, and that can cause you to Fall, too. That you had some justification may mitigate the evil nature of the act, but it cannot mitigate the violation of your honour and your oath. You killed your Master, a dishonourable act. His actions do not eliminate that dishonour under Bushido. Bushido considers such an act so vile, it can only be mitigated by Seppuku.

If you treat an Oath so casually, that you can turn against something you swore your life to, then no one could ever trust your word again. Hinjo must trust you if he is to give you an order, and your own words now tell him that you cannot be trusted, ever again. Your oath is meaningless, and so no order can hold you.

Sincerely,
Kreistor

[Kioran]

The difference between me and Miko is that if I Fell, committed a crime or evil act I would go quietly when the law enforcement come to take me away and I would take the consequences of my actions and the things I did wrong.
I would accept my punishment because I would acknowledge that I committed a crime or evil act.
If possible I would pay my debt/dues and try to correct my mistakes and feel bad because I have done something which is clearly wrong.
I would feel awful if I had murdered someone or betrayed my city or liege.
I would never escape from imprisonment even if the doors were wide open because I would be even more dishonorable if I escaped like a coward instead of facing justice and my punishment.
The only exception to not escaping would be to save lives, prevent harm and to protect the innocent but I would march back into my cell after the rescue.

It should be noted that Shojo, while being her liege and Miko thus his subject, his actions also broke the guards code and actually weakened the Sapphire Guard(By unnecessesarily risking the most powerful Paladin and killing a mid-to-high lvl Wizard), but more importantly undermined the moral and juristic structure of the SG.

Shojo didn´t particularly care about the SGs rules, but about the results and the mission(which is chaotic. Not Evil, but chaotic), and by rigging trials and repeatedly lying to his subordinates damaged the credibility and trust upon which the guard is build up. A Paladin Order are Paragons of justice because they do justice, upholding law and goodness in equal parts. Rigging trials, even for the greater good, does damage the justification for all Paladins action greatly. Paladins are loyal to the death because, for the most part, they can trust each other. Lying and using your Paladins for ulterior motives without their knowledge is a serious violation of that trust, and nobody should die for a cause they´ve been lied to about.

All this, Shojo did because he thought it was necessesary to ensure the Orders and gates Survival. It was no evil act, but it hurt the SG as an institution. And it remains a fact that he rigged one trial and delayed necessesary justicce in the case of Belkar.

Miko killing Shojo is mostly an evil act not because killing Shojo would be inherently evil (Killing a superior who is in gross violation of the Ideal and code you´ve been sworn to is lawful, big time, and not even lawful evil if it´s for the salvation of your order), but because of her motivation (hurt feelings). A Paladin should be above that, allthough this was really harsh on Miko(forgiving someone who has betrayed your trust to cooperate with people who have actively tried to kill you is hard. Way hard), since a Paladin is almost exalted.
Shojo had to go, that was obvious. But killing him would not necessesarily make you less LG.

As for attacking Hinjo and refusing justice to run it´s course: that is hard to forgive since it violates the code big time. It should, however, be duly noted that she was at that time emotionaly upset, already under attack(Roy!), and being patronized. You´d have to be a saint not to smack that ************(expletive deleted). Unfortunately, to avoid your fall, you´d have to be a saint.

A little respite would have done a lot of good to Miko, that is, respite before she was confronted with the fact that the whims of people who treated her pretty bad were more important than her loyalty of several years.

One of the things that makes Miko so appealing to some is that she´s (beside being relatively hot as far as stick figures go) the competent, if awkward, nerd. Who gets shafted repeatedly without doing anything others wouldn´t have done.
I wouldn´t know If I´d had the restraint she would have needed(probably not), and I have plenty of understanding for her actions up to 450.......

[Meditating Mike]

Do not forget that Shojo was largely innocent and very likely innocent of the crimes she claimed that he had commited, namely treason and conspiring with Xykon to take over Azure City and destroy the Sapphire guard.
She murdered a very likely innocent and unarmed man whom she claimed was evil when he was not.
From what we have seen he seemed to have the good of the city and it's people in mind even though his actions were not according to the letter of the law.
She also killed in rage and anger which is not a very spiritually, mentally and biologically healthy thing to do.

[Kioran]

Do not forget that Shojo was largely innocent and very likely innocent of the crimes she claimed that he had commited, namely treason and conspiring with Xykon to take over Azure City and destroy the Sapphire guard.
She murdered a very likely innocent and unarmed man whom she claimed was evil when he was not.
From what we have seen he seemed to have the good of the city and it's people in mind even though his actions were not according to the letter of the law.
She also killed in rage and anger which is not a very spiritually, mentally and biologically healthy thing to do.

As said, killing in rage because of hurt feelings made her fall, and justly so. A Paladin must be above such things and should not commit acts of violence without comtemplation or reflection.

However, Shojo was not innocent at all. Believing that would be very naive.
True, he didn´t conspire with Xykon - he did, however, betray the Sapphire Guard by effective using as elements in Plans that violated the tenets of their Guard and effectively putting his subordinates at the mercy of his mercenaries (In all effect, he sacrificed Miko[+ the Wizard guy] for the OoTS). This is treason of sorts since the Paladins, unlike those Hinjo sent on their last mission, did this unknowingly.
Selling out your subordinates is bad, even for a good cause. It will get you deposed (Please note that Hinjo agreed with Miko that Shojo was not suitable as commander anymore), and justly so. Shojo was CG, yes, but not snow-white, pristine good, just a brighter shade of gray (just like Miko incientally).

If you add in that Miko just barely survived Shojo´s machinations(while being threatened with death at the hand of the OoTS several times, some of which were very close calls) just to notice how he betrayed her - well, let´s say this takes inhuman restraint, restraint which most of us wouldn´t have possesed.
Bear in mind that unlike you, I´m not a spiritual person, so I wouldn´t know, but I think most of us would have slain Shojo as well in Miko´s position.

By the way: I don´t think this weakened Azure City all that much.......

[Tobrian]

This has been building up gradually, certainly over weeks and probably over years, with many critical events interposing between her former, by and large rational, state, and her current delusions of grandeur. Rich's specific words are that she was 'pushed across what had been a line she didn't cross.'

Think back at the scene when Miko first told the OotS about her own upbringing, how she was raised in a monastery, and when she was still a girl Lord Shojo came and selected her to become a member of the Sapphire Guard and took her to the city for paladin training. I remember I heard the first alarm whistles sounding in my head then.
I think the roots of Miko's "chosen one" complex started right there.

She was raised in a climate of unquestioning obedience to whatever Highest Authority was set above her (the 12 Gods, and Lord Shojo). Lord Shojo was not just a father figure for her, he was her Master, an Über-Father. She acted like a little girl that wants to please Daddy - being send away on long missions only means her Master trusts her and likes her more than any other paladin - and when that girl finds out that "Daddy" was acting behind her back (he lies!) and trusts some other guy (Roy) more than her, she feels betrayed and lashes out. She must punish him for what she sees as betrayal (never mind that Shojo never promised her anything, or wasn't in fact even a paladin and not bound to their codex), for no longer being PERFECT but merely human.

And because it is all about HER, and she is the Chosen One, his betrayal takes cosmic proportions, a crime against her is a crime against the Gods themselves.



Dear Ms. Miko Miyazaki,

You are a flawed character. You aren't even aware of what your flaws are. Here is a short list:

First and foremost, you lack spirituality. And now you're angry, because you think that kneeling and praying is a sign of spirituality. That is a trapping of spirituality, not spirituality in and of itself. Despite your proximity to the spiritual paladins and clerics of the Sapphire Guard, you have the mistaken belief that intelligence has some correspondence to spirituality. This is most critically not so. You must approach the gods with humility, and yet you ask them to confirm what you already know, instead of showing you truth. Spirituality is in your heart, not your brain, and you have ripped out all attachments to your heart. Intelligence is not spirituality. You are repeatedly trying to "figure this out". That's the wrong solution for a spiritual being. the gods are trying to speak to you, Miko, but they aren't speaking through the cracks in a cell bar or the words of an old man. They are speaking in your heart, and you have deafened yourself to them.

Second, your ego has progressed to hubris. High position is not a sign of the favour of the gods. You have taken that to be a sign that the gods want you to do something, when it is merely a sign that they allowed you to be exceptional. The moment you lost the humility in your heart is the moment you Fell, no matter when the gods chose to strip you of your powers. Pride goeth before a Fall, after all.
(snip)

Truer words were never spoken.

I'm becoming an advocate of kicking out the whole tedious manichaen good-vs-evil D&D system of wrongdoing and replace it with one based upon The Seven* Deadly Sins - Hubris is such an easy sin to commit for wizards and paladins alike. Basically it is vanity, but a far worse and delusional type of vanity than the vanity of, say, a bard who merely likes to oil his curls and wear pretty clothes to score with the ladies - or lads, or whatever floats his boat.

(* actually there are a few more, people can never agree on how many)

[Kioran]

Think back at the scene when Miko first told the OotS about her own upbringing, how she was raised in a monastery, and when she was still a girl Lord Shojo came and selected her to become a member of the Sapphire Guard and took her to the city for paladin training. I remember I heard the first alarm whistles sounding in my head then.
I think the roots of Miko's "chosen one" complex started right there.

She was raised in a climate of unquestioning obedience to whatever Highest Authority was set above her (the 12 Gods, and Lord Shojo). Lord Shojo was not just a father figure for her, he was her Master, an Über-Father. She acted like a little girl that wants to please Daddy - being send away on long missions only means her Master trusts her and likes her more than any other paladin - and when that girl finds out that "Daddy" was acting behind her back (he lies!) and trusts some other guy (Roy) more than her, she feels betrayed and lashes out. She must punish him for what she sees as betrayal (never mind that Shojo never promised her anything, or wasn't in fact even a paladin and not bound to their codex), for no longer being PERFECT but merely human.

And because it is all about HER, and she is the Chosen One, his betrayal takes cosmic proportions, a crime against her is a crime against the Gods themselves.

Don´t forget that he sent her out with wrong orders based on trumped up charges which led to two violent, potentially lethal confrontation with the Order (I don´t think they would have had a problem with killing Miko in second fight if the opportunity presented itself) or protected someone who has actually tried to kill you from the law while giving him your job.
Besides, I bet most of the SG were operating under the assumption that Shojo was bound to the code. While you may know your own class, it has been established throughout the comic that it is not visible from the outside.
I don´t know about you, but if I invested much of my time and risked my life for a job, I´d at least expect some degree of respect and trust, but maybe that´s just me..........

[Meditating Mike]

I find it odd that Miko doesn't seem to have high ranks in what are the for me typical skills of a paladin namely diplomacy, heal, sense motive, knowledge nobility and royalty and knowledge religion.
For example she didn't know about lich regeneration and the phylactery thing.

I don't hate Miko and I am not one of the Miko haters.

[Kioran]

I find it odd that Miko doesn't seem to have high ranks in what are the for me typical skills of a paladin namely diplomacy, heal, sense motive, knowledge nobility and royalty and knowledge religion.
For example she didn't know about lich regeneration and the phylactery thing.

You are right - Paladin mainstays like Sense Motive or Knowledge(religion) seem very poor - on the other hand she obviously has ranks in Ride, a rank in survival(potentially ohter cross-class skills as well), and I bet some of her Monk mobility skills as well(didn´t she tumble in the second fight with the OoTS?).
That makes her a poor Paladin as far as the classic role is concerned(especially Sense Motive would have helped a lot). But bear in mind that she is a specialist courier/tracker(If initially for other reasons than her skills) and also a loner, with the Paladins MAD and poor Skill ranks. She wouldn´t have much Skill points after specialization.......

Edit: forgot Spot and Listen. Monks get these, and who would frop them for Knowledge(religion) when operating alone?

[David Argall]

Dear Miko,

A nations laws extend only to their own borders. The Sapphire uard may feel it has the right to operate in other nations borders, but other nations are sovereign in their own territory. Violating the laws there, as in kidnapping or any other crime, will result in charges in that nation. If the Sapphire Guard operates in other territories, it must do so legally according to that nations laws.
The Sapphire Guard recognizes no such borders, nor the validity of these laws of other countries when they interfere with our holy mission. If you wish an analogy with your world,... these nations are in fact mere states, and we are the federal government. You may check our past record if you desire. http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0277.html


There is no law that can force another nation to enforce Miko's presence with the Order of the Stick.
There is no practical force. The laws exist. They are merely not enforced by the various derelect regimes in other lands.


Removal of her is this simple: rent a room in an Inn, or a home. If you should enter that domicile, you are committing trespassing and can be charged under local laws. Hinjo's declarations are not enforcible elsewhere. Violence on your part to attempt to force the OotS to retain you is, of course, also a chargable offence.
These laws are not binding on a member of the Sapphire Guard on a valid mission if they get in the way of carrying that mission out.


Hinjo can only try them for crimes committed on his own soil, and none of those are pending.
As Leader of the city, Hinjo can only try them for crimes committed within city jurisdiction. As noted, he is also leader of the Sapphire Guard, and these limits do not apply to him in that office. The reference to "pending" is misleading, as that unspeakable monster has been found guilty of a crime within the city and still faces jail time, entirely inadequate time, but still jail time.


In fact, their alient efforts defending the city are more than enough proof that the OotS are innocent,
No such proof of innocence is created by such actions. These actions may be judged proof of reform or of other virtue, but they do not create any innocence of previous crimes.


Since they are innocent, which makes you innocent of their crime, Hinjo cannot punish them in any way. they have not committed crimes on Hinjo's soil,
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0420.html


and no crime elsewhere can be reasonably proven to have been Elan's instead of Nale's, especially considering Nale travels with an evil demon that can also change shape.
This exaggerates the legal difficulties. Among the conterpoints is that Elan, while definitely a criminal worthy of extreme punishment, is not able to stop talking about his crimes. Accordingly, any prosecution will start with his confession, or his description of the crimes of his fellows.


Your belief that a "higher authority" justifies violations of Hinjo's orders is exactly why Hinjo won't bother ordering you anywhere anymore. It makes you untrustworthy to everyone, and that means they cannot trust you to agree to any kind of deal of any kind to do anything.
My trustworthyness is the same as any paladin. I obey, but I do not obey unlawful or evil orders. As with any paladin, I will tell Hinjo if I deem his orders valid, and if I deem them so, as I expect to, I will obey them. That makes me no worse or better than his other options.


SO, you feel that the removal of your paladinhood negates any oaths you have sworn? You swore those oaths, did you not?
Of course, and of course I know the wording of them. They virtually all contain the verbalage "...as a paladin....I..." As I am no longer a paladin, I am not bound by such oaths. As I have said, I assume this is precisely why my paladinhood was removed, so that I might do things that paladins of the Order are blocked from doing.


You acted dishonourably, grossly dishonourably, by attacking a defenseless old man.
Nonsense. He was a criminal and one in danger of avoiding just punishment. Accordingly I administered justice. It is something I, and most other veteran paladins, have done many times to "defenseless" criminals.


You killed your Master, a dishonourable act.
Nor was he my master at that time. He had been removed from all such offices and accordingly was related to me merely as to any civilian.
You also assume that my oaths were personal, which they were not. I swore loyalty to the gods and to the Guard. Any oaths to the man leading the Guard were just that, oaths to the office, not to the man.

[ARMOURERERIC]

Dear Jim Rome,

Do you think it is possible that we can get Ms. Miko to do a TV commercial for us?


Sincerely,

Zoloft
Wellbutrin
Oxycontin
Olanzapine
and Ritalin


Any clones out there?
Bud Light Real Man of Genius, Mr Barry Bonds used steriod injection needle collector

[Senex]

Dear Miko,

Given your high Cha and your penchant for dramatic, plot-shattering actions, have you ever considered taking a few levels in Dashing Swordswoman?

-Senex.

[Meditating Mike]

Does Miko really have a high charisma?
Nobody seems to like her and she certainly isn't charming or have good social grace.
Have she used any high level paladin spells?
Maybe her wisdom is low as well because she doesn't seem to be very perceptive, wise and usually do not use many paladin spells or am I mistaken?

[Kioran]

Does Miko really have a high charisma?
Nobody seems to like her and she certainly isn't charming or have good social grace.
Have she used any high level paladin spells?
Maybe her wisdom is low as well because she doesn't seem to be very perceptive, wise and usually do not use many paladin spells or am I mistaken?

She has lay on hands, which emans she does have a positive Charisma modifier, apart from being shown as having superior saves (monk + divine grace, still, if divine grace then positive Charisma mod.). How high that charisma is is diffcult to determine, but then, how charming woul Xykon be if you met him in Person? For me, Charisma is very much presence and influence, whether positive or negative. Miko has lots of presence.......
But her Charisma might also be only 12.

As for Wisdom - there has never been proof she has good wisdom - allthough her choice of class as well as the fact that she offered Belkar to compare Wisdom mods (In a perfectly unmalicious fashion btw.) lead me to expect, again, positive Wisdom. That she doesn´t cast any Paladin spells may have two reasons:
- First, she may be Monk 6/Paladin 10 or somesuch which doesn´t grant her access to many high lvl spells anyway
- Second, Paladin spells are mostly not worth your actions if you fight alone.

My general belief, based on her exploit and the fact that she, up to now, never failed a save, is that Miko has quite awesome stats, with above-average Intelligence, good strength, Wisdom and Charisma. Trouncing the entire OoTS would have been much more difficult without these.

[Snipers_Promise]

This is one of the few threads about miko worth reading. I think she has High Carsima but she dosen't use it.

[truemane]

This is one of the few threads about miko worth reading. I think she has High Carsima but she dosen't use it.

The Sniper speaks truth! You can have a high Charisma, and still act like a jerk. She's obviously attractive, and is probably quite nice in an intense sort of way when she's not actively engaged in cleansing the Earth of Evil.

Which is when she's sleeping...

[Kreistor]

David, if you're not taking part as a part of the premise of this thread, I have no interest in this style of aargument here.

[Alfryd]

Wealth-by-level guidelines would also give her access to an impressive suite of items by then. In the geekery thread I pointed out that Miko was able to Lay on Hands for over 75 damage, indicating she probably has a cha-boosting item of some variety, but even then needs cha of 16 or better. She's also able to cast 1st-level divine spells, so her wis is at least 11.

I'm assuming that Miko has high cha in the same sense that Belkar has respectable int- it's simply masked by her more glaring psychological deficiencies. She does, however, have an iron will and the ultimate body, so that helps.
Both PCs and NPCs in the OotSverse appear to have point buys of 35 or so, so Miko's aren't too far from the ballpark.


I think the roots of Miko's "chosen one" complex started right there.
The roots, yes. But her complex hadn't previously developed to the point where she ignored or warped all evidence contrary to her preconceived conclusions. It may be somewhat irrational to suppose that the Gods have a particular destiny in mind for you, but to our knowledge it didn't severely impair her judgement when it came to practical matters, nor during her earlier encounters.


:miko: Nonsense. [Shojo] was a criminal and one in danger of avoiding just punishment.
Wait... wait. I thought you said Roy tricked Shojo?
Hey! This is kind of fun!

[Snipers_Promise]

We cant let this thread die.

Dear Miko,
I am deeply saddend by your death. I will sceadual a proper burial.

With all do respect,
Sniper's Promise

[David Argall]

David, if you're not taking part as a part of the premise of this thread, I have no interest in this style of aargument here.

If you have a thread of letters to X, letters from X are perfectly in theme.

If your objection is to defenses of Miko, you are just out of luck. None of the threads are restricted to one opinion.

[Kioran]

If you have a thread of letters to X, letters from X are perfectly in theme.

If your objection is to defenses of Miko, you are just out of luck. None of the threads are restricted to one opinion.

I think I agree with Kreistor on one point: you might be right in many points of your defense, but pretending to be Miko is presumptuous and annoying to read.
Otherwise, as said, I actually agree with you on most things Miko.

[David Argall]

you might be right in many points of your defense, but pretending to be Miko is presumptuous and annoying to read.
Otherwise, as said, I actually agree with you on most things Miko.

Well, if I don't make a letter from Miko, who will? We certainly don't want our writer wasting his time on such. And as mentioned, writing to implies a need for writing back.

Now you may be able to make an argument that Miko would not make a particular argument, but such does not seem to be the complaint. Please inform me if you see anything Miko would say or would not say.