You do realize that Tarquin wasn't the one who killed his latest wife under mysterious circumstances, right? It was actually Vaarsuvius. She had black dragon blood from the Girard clan.
But it wouldn't surprise anyone if he was responsible for the deaths of several of his other ex-wives.
Yes I knew about that part. But he there's another scene where he mentions one of his wives getting "cold feet" before getting married and then it cuts away to him torturing his wife with a freeze effect to get her to marry him.
Not to mention that he partially betrayed the city state ally I mentioned because the female ambassador refused his entreaty for a marriage.
Overall, it was left vaguely done and for comedic effect, but I agree that it's no surprise that his nine wives have generally had "accidents" when it suits his manipulations.
narrative schizophreniaSo I take it that you don't like "Captain SNES"?Don't know if I like it or not. I only read a few webcomics because I find so many of them so derivative. From the links I've found about the comic it sounds like it might be worth reading, but it also sounds like just another example of the "human sucked into the fictional world" trope that has hundreds, if not thousands, of examples available. Maybe SNES is the ultimate example of the trope and I should abandon reading things like "Erfworld" in favor of SNES, I dunno. I don't have enough time to read a couple dozen webcomics, and I don't have enough interest to keep track of that many, and I have found Theodore Sturgeon's Law to apply particularly well to self-published materials of any sort.
(Heh, I say that as I am working on my final edits for my own self-published fantasy/sci-fi novel...)
I might check it out. It looks like it's been around for over a decade so to do it right I'd have to go back to the start and read all the way to the present, and that might take days that I don't have to invest.
Sigh. You either missed the joke there (which is one of those that doesn't translate upon explanation) or something.
Also, that reply of yours sounds really... unpleasant. I know you've had posts before explaining that you don't always come across right on forums like this, but dude, that post sounds arrogant.
It's not the mention of your writing - that's actually really cool. I think it's the casual dismissal of things with similar tropes.
To let you know, tropes are pretty cool. Just because a work follows them, doesn't mean it's derivative - at least not in the pejorative sense.
Captain SNES is a really well-made work. It suffers tremendously from a form of Narrative Schizophrenia, although not the kind that you mentioned. More clearly, it's got over a dozen different plot threads that it's following now.
I'm not encouraging you to follow it and forsake other comics. It was mostly a humorous mention based off of your side comment.
ANYway. This is a great comic, eh? :)
EDIT:
** spoiler omitted **...
Tactics:
There's probably a trope there somewhere.
I say what I mean and I mean what I say. If it bothers you that I may not find it worth my time to peruse multiple derivatives of a particular style of comic strip, oh well, nothing I can do about that.
Maybe I'll check it out. Maybe not. As I said, to do it justice I'll have to go back and read over a decade worth of strips and that's a pretty significant investment of my time when I'm trying to finish my OWN derivative work to get it published.
One thing I've learned Tactics is that if I want to make a "humerous mention" based off someone's "side comment" I do my best to use a reference that has a very high likelihood of being recognized by the recipient. I had to look up "Captain SNES" on google before I even knew what you were referring to, and even having done so, your alleged humor still mostly escapes me, unless the entire "joke" is that there are other webcomics which suffer from a similar form of schizophrenia. Something I pretty much assumed before making my comment in the first place.
Move along, nothing to see here.
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"Thats comming out of your holiday bonus" - classy
You gotta wonder what holiday they celebrate where they give her a bonus.
Ok, so much for my theory that Nale would eventually be back from the dead. I've got to agree with Elan that Tarquin's being an even bigger dick than I'd expect about this. Given what we've seen in the past about his attachment to his sons, I'd have expected him to at least show a little regret at having to do this. But I guess it really is all about him, in his mind. Whatever he's done to be nice to Elan in the past is just part of the show, leading up to their eventual duel to the death. But that won't happen right away.
As for Sabine, I can totally see her going off the rails and attacking Tarquin as soon as she gets back, but she won't win. It has to be Elan that kills him in the end.
Zylphryx, I cleaned up after myself!
Hmmm....
My take on this won't be popular.
I can't think of any reason Rich is going this way except that he's wrapping up the story as thoroughly as he can, which means he's probably got an end in mind for the whole strip and that end is probably much closer than his fans realize.
I love the blood dripping out of the TV.
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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What if it wasn't really Nale, but instead the third brother - the neutral Alen! You see, Nale brainwashed Alen to take his place, and Nale is still in his secret ninja base, hatching evil plots.
No...wait...never mind - I see I had my speculation set to "Marvel".
** Sabine? **
On the other hand, the rest of the Linear Guild is, essentially, dead (we are not positive about Thog, but it's likely). She might attack Tarquin and get herself killed.
I agree with Adamantine Dragon, Rich is wrapping things up for a nice ending.
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Hmmm....
My take on this won't be popular.
I can't think of any reason Rich is going this way except that he's wrapping up the story as thoroughly as he can, which means he's probably got an end in mind for the whole strip and that end is probably much closer than his fans realize.
Mark, that's a nice catch, I don't read the GITP forums much, so I didn't realize that Rich had made such a direct statement of his intentions.
That makes sense to me. His Kickstarter success has meant that he no longer has to think of this strip providing him with a living in perpetuity. He's got that covered now and as such he can work on tying up as many loose ends as possible as he sets up the final climactic confrontations.
As a writer myself I can tell you that there is a natural tipping point in a story where the story arc stops expanding and starts contracting. The last few months feel to me like OOTS his hit that tipping point.
"Thats comming out of your holiday bonus" - classyYou gotta wonder what holiday they celebrate where they give her a bonus.
...
Nale's story may be done. Tarquin is a better fit for Elan, and while there is narrative potential in Nale's return, that would probably be a distraction from the story as a whole.
So why am I not 100% on this? Sabine. Her loyalty is to Nale, not the IFCC. She will do just about anything to get at Tarquin (and Laurin, but mostly Tarquin). She is in position to play spoiler in a very big way.
I'm struggling a bit with why Sabine would be mad about this development. Doesn't this mean that Nale's soul is now at her disposal pretty much 24x7? Seems this would be an ideal situation for Sabine.
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I'm struggling a bit with why Sabine would be mad about this development. Doesn't this mean that Nale's soul is now at her disposal pretty much 24x7? Seems this would be an ideal situation for Sabine.
I guess she was interested in more than his soul ;-)
Pretty hard to get all physical when you are an incorporeal entity after all.
I'm struggling a bit with why Sabine would be mad about this development. Doesn't this mean that Nale's soul is now at her disposal pretty much 24x7? Seems this would be an ideal situation for Sabine.I guess she was interested in more than his soul ;-)
Pretty hard to get all physical when you are an incorporeal entity after all.
I actually don't think that's true in the D&D universe. Certainly Roy's parents were incorporeally "getting it on" with a passion. (Pun intended)
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I'm struggling a bit with why Sabine would be mad about this development. Doesn't this mean that Nale's soul is now at her disposal pretty much 24x7? Seems this would be an ideal situation for Sabine.
I doubt that she would have access to him at all. She is Chaotic Evil succubus. Nale never struck me as Chaotic Evil, more of Neutral Evil or Genere-blind Lawful Evil Wannabe.
Also, I think that she is too low in the fiendish ranks to have chance to have him for herself.
Also, I think that she actually loves him and would want to have him alive for herself instead of tormented for eternity by other fiends.
Has it been definitively established that Sabine is a succubus?
And if that is true, is she even capable of loving Nale?
Has it been definitively established that Sabine is a succubus?
And if that is true, is she even capable of loving Nale?
Not sure how being evil precludes you from feeling love.
Not sure how being evil precludes you from feeling love.Has it been definitively established that Sabine is a succubus?
And if that is true, is she even capable of loving Nale?
Yeah, me either magnus. What I'm wondering is whether being an ACTUAL DEMONIC FIEND (Specifically a succubus) precludes you from feeling love.
Which isn't quite the same thing as being merely evil.
Yeah, me either magnus. What I'm wondering is whether being an ACTUAL DEMONIC FIEND (Specifically a succubus) precludes you from feeling love.
Which isn't quite the same thing as being merely evil.
Maybe it is mostly about her...jealousy and anger that something she wanted was taken?
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Maybe it is mostly about her...jealousy and anger that something she wanted was taken?Yeah, me either magnus. What I'm wondering is whether being an ACTUAL DEMONIC FIEND (Specifically a succubus) precludes you from feeling love.
Which isn't quite the same thing as being merely evil.
It could be, but Rich has been pretty clear in rants of his that he doesn't consider evil creatures - even tremendous villains who want to destroy the world - above emotions, friendship, and even love.
While this is different from a fiend, the nature of evil and free will is an interesting debate, and one I've had before.
Sabine was evil, sure (and she's been confirmed as a succubus, or near enough to it to leave no reason to call her anything but), but she is, in the end, still a rational sentient free-willed being (so much as any sentient free willed being can be rational).
I've done this before at length, but the short version is that being evil doesn't necessarily preclude sensations and emotions like love. She might not necessarily be willing to, say, trade her very existence for his, but she might just care enough to hate the fact that someone hurt what's "hers".
Also, infatuation-type love (eros) is different from self-sacrificial love... and infatuation-type (the romantic kind) is generally a very powerful feeling and may even last.
Also, also, since celestials can fall (there's no reason to presume they can't in Rich's world, as he's not said either way, and it's presumed in core D&D things), it makes sense that fiends can ascend. (Though ascension is demonstrably more rare in said worlds.)
All that to say that Rich has pointed out that monstrously evil people can be truly in love with others, and hasn't excluded innately evil creatures like fiends, so it can be presumed that they can as well.
(For the curious, Rich's Totally Awesome Rants - I'm sure he calls them that* - are found in that link.)
* This is demonstrably not true.
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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(and she's been confirmed as a succubus, or near enough to it to leave no reason to call her anything but)
I'd really like to see the support for this statement - don't suppose you have a link or two. I vaguely feel like you're correct, but it'd be nice to see the evidence.
Exactly the comic I was thinking of TOZ! :D
Also:
Sabine's suspicious denial when being accused of that very thing. And her willingness to make sure he's not hurt is impressive.
Cold iron hurt her and she has level drain (you know cold iron did it because she's a demon, as was previously mentioned).
And level drain by kiss is typical, confirmed url=http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0794.html]here[/url].
Don't eyrines also have the kiss level drain ability? If seems clear that she's either a succubus or an eyrines, but I don't think any of those comics gives enough info (e.g., she is hit by both silver and cold iron, which is a running joke).
Erinyes do not have that, and aren't shape-shifters besides. (Outside of ability scores, the statblock is nearly identical to the old D&D ones.)
Further, it's been stated (back in one of the scenes when she was with the fiends) that she's chaotic, not lawful, though I don't have that scene.
And only in Pathfinder was there ever a "pretty"-looking neutral evil "female" creature of some sort, but that had mouths and teeth all over its body. Not like Sabine.
EDIT: because I can't the other way, as it's too late:
Exactly the comic I was thinking of TOZ! :D
Also:
Sabine's suspicious denial when being accused of that very thing. And her willingness to make sure he's not hurt is impressive.Cold iron hurt her and she has level drain (you know cold iron did it because she's a demon, as was previously mentioned).
And level drain by kiss is typical, confirmed here.
Link fixed in my own post.
EDIT 2: Wait, did or didn't I just ninja TOZ's post out of existence? Did I hallucinate that? Probably. I never ninja people, so I'm going to bed. :)
Still feeling that this reaffirms that Rich wants to remind us that Tarquin has a mean, evil streak even if he is genre savy and fan-appealing. The fact that he murders his son; treats it as plot contrivance; and casually treats acs like a problem he resolved just adds to that - it doesn't make him more appealling and really sets it up for him and Elan to have a stronger confrontation in the future.
EDIT 2: Wait, did or didn't I just ninja TOZ's post out of existence? Did I hallucinate that? Probably. I never ninja people, so I'm going to bed. :)
Run Vaan!
Also don't forget that Erinyes have Feathered Wings as they are Fallen Female Angels.
Not sure how being evil precludes you from feeling love.Has it been definitively established that Sabine is a succubus?
And if that is true, is she even capable of loving Nale?
Yeah, me either magnus. What I'm wondering is whether being an ACTUAL DEMONIC FIEND (Specifically a succubus) precludes you from feeling love.
Which isn't quite the same thing as being merely evil.
You mean aside from the examples from D&D lore we had in the past, which clearly show that even fiends can fall in love?
Has it been definitively established that Sabine is a succubus?
And if that is true, is she even capable of loving Nale?
She said she loved him, at least - third panel
She said she loved him, at least - third panelHas it been definitively established that Sabine is a succubus?
And if that is true, is she even capable of loving Nale?
Huh. That's extremely notable because Nale couldn't hear her, and she seemed aware of that by the time she was saying those words (though I can't be sure).
Also, it seems exactly like the kind of thing that Nale wouldn't like to hear. Too sentimental.
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EDIT 2: Wait, did or didn't I just ninja TOZ's post out of existence? Did I hallucinate that? Probably. I never ninja people, so I'm going to bed. :)
... er... sorry about all the noise.
EDIT: You, uh. You okay under there? Need any water or anything?
Geez, this is awkward. Um. Oh, and, uh, don't mind the mess. I think all the hastily-shoved-under laundry is clean. I think.
Still feeling that this reaffirms that Rich wants to remind us that Tarquin has a mean, evil streak even if he is genre savy and fan-appealing. The fact that he murders his son; treats it as plot contrivance; and casually treats acs like a problem he resolved just adds to that - it doesn't make him more appealling and really sets it up for him and Elan to have a stronger confrontation in the future.
Actually, it shows that his "genre savvy" prevents him from having any real feelings. As counter example, Elan is also very aware of genre tropes but still is a real, if loopy, person.
Tarquin treats everything as a plot device. This makes him, as I believe was Mr. Burlew's intention, less appealing.
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The same could be said for the order of the stick. I don't think any of them have changed except for when they died.
Have you been reading the same comic that I have?..
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Nale did win. He got out of Tarquin's shadow, which was a core conflict of the character. It killed him, but there is no denying that he proved his competence, surprised his dad, and showed he was his own man. Dying to prove that, which he really had to have known it would come to, only reinforces this.
"I'm just dying to beat daddy."