OOC: quick poll for my curiosity

[justwantsafety]

Poll for everyone, having played DDS or not:

I know what I think about this line in DDS. I'm curious as to how many other people interpret it which way, though.

The line is, while he's running away from the Embryon again, terrified, shaking like a leaf and stuttering: "I'll give you my territory and my hideout... Just leave me alone!"

I don't think he was thinking clearly either way, but the question still seems to remain...
[Poll #1561858]

For those not familiar with DDS, Harley's the leader of a faction that opposes the Embryon (the player-characters) who came into his base and were chasing after him. And later on in the game, the Embryon decide to vacate their current base completely, in favor of moving to a different one, for whatever that tells you of the rules about bases and armies.

I guess that's all that's immediately relevant. :|a Thanks in advance.

Comments

[justwantsafety]

Oh, totally. And yeah, that's pretty much what happened; you're not mis-remembering anything.

I'm pretty sure those might've been the only two scenarios that may have managed to register with him as possible too, really. I think, if he thought he had any chance at standing up to them to keep anything anyway, he wouldn't have just been stuck in a "scream and run" mindset. When all you can hope to escape with is your life... well. It doesn't help anything when that hope is slim, right?

I guess some of the part that I'm stuck on is the difference between deliberately thinking to do something that's to someone else's detriment (like deciding to leave his guys on the other side of those walls) and simply neglecting to think to do anything to their benefit (like order them all to pull back behind the wall with him, because it didn't even cross his mind to. Which is pretty fail in and of itself, IMHO.) It's like the difference between taking the last of the of pie just so no one else could have it, versus not leaving any pie because you didn't realize someone didn't get any yet. The former's kinda mean (and selfish) and the latter's just... well, it's kinda fail, is all.

Still a little stumped on how potential inclusion by association isn't thought of as being all that distinct from deliberate inclusion by clear specification, too. But then, by that point, I think Serph could've probably demanded that Harley become their jester, and Harley would've agreed if it meant he'd be left alive to do that.

TL;DR -- Serph should've had the option to try taking him up on his offer, so we could see how it might've gone. Maybe even make Harley join them. I'd have loved having him in my party, even if he sucked. lol

[prosecutes]

Hmm, in that case, I think of it this way: If before the whole thing at the beginning of the game, they had no emotions... how could Harley have known that it's bad to leave his men behind? If all they ever did was fight because they were promised something awesome for the winner, then all the alliances and strategical formations they formed were just that -- strategic rational thoughts. One such strategic tactic is the option of retreat. Another is surrender.

Emotions aren't rational. Harley just began to feel emotion when the attack on his base happened. With so many strange new feelings crowding his mind at once, I think his offer to surrender his base and his men was just another strategical tactic. Fear and panic overwhelmed any other emotions he might have felt then, so if he had lived longer in the game, perhaps he'd have felt guilt for it after the attack.

But he didn't, so we're left to wonder and hypothesize. When a character has so little going for them in canon, you can choose a lot of potential paths for headcanon. You can just as easily say he's a douchebag who would do the same thing again in Somarium.

So TL;DR and to answer your question: I believe Harley did intend to buy his freedom by selling his tribe, but in the state he was at the time, I don't think he would have necessarily understood that it was bad to do so.

[justwantsafety]

No arguments here. It's also just as easily said that he thought the Embryon would've forcefully taken everything, army included, anyway... but he might be allowed to keep his life if he didn't actively repel their takeover. Plus, the sooner it's theirs officially, the sooner they might not see a reason to continue attacking.

Surrendering might actually be doing his men a favor.