I almost forgot about V.

[Totally Guy]

I just found myself thinking about where the order all were. V, Haley and Elan in one place. And Belkar and Roy in another.

But then I was thinking... weren't there 6 members of the order?

But then I remembered that I'd missed out V who is with Haley and Elan and has just not said a lot recently. Phew, I though I was going mad for a second there.
Oh... Durkon... :p

[Zanaril]

I just found myself thinking about where the order all were. V, Haley and Elan in one place. And Belkar and Roy in another.

But then I was thinking... weren't there 6 members of the order?

But then I remembered that I'd missed out V who is with Haley and Elan and has just not said a lot recently. Phew, I though I was going mad for a second there.
Oh... Durkon... :p

No, I think you've missed someone... :smallconfused:

I know! You forgot about Blackwing!

[Cizak]

...Durkon, maybye? :smalltongue:

EDIT: Damn you, white text.

[Ashram]

Poor Durkon. Clerics get no respect, I tells ya.

[Darcy]

Poor Durkon. Clerics get no respect, I tells ya.

co-signed!

[Manga Shoggoth]

co-signed!

Now, there's a response that could trigger going off at a tangent.

[Ted The Bug]

Now, there's a response that could trigger going off at a tangent.

Ouch. That's brilliant and painful at the same time.

[Lateral]

Ouch. That's brilliant and painful at the same time.

...:smallconfused:

[licoot]

...:smallconfused:

I second that, painful?

[Leecros]

who is this durkon that you speak of?

[Eloi]

who is this durkon that you speak of?

He has a beard, short, a hammer, reverence for Norse inspired gods, has an accent that often archaizes things or drops t's, is bald, has strong morals but reliable...

Oh wait sorry, I was reading from the Player's Handbook description of a dwarf. I dunno who that guy you mentioned was.

[Fargazer]

who is this durkon that you speak of?

Well... he's short, he has a beard, he wears heavy armor.

He has an accent, he liked beer, he worships Thor, and hates trees!

Just draw him... (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0602.html)

[Starscream]

No, you're not mad. You're going sane. Reprinted, for your convenience, is the truth:You see, there is no Vaarsuvius. A complex series of optical illusions encoded in the comics combined with hypnotic cues induced by your monitor's flicker rate and a simple javascript subroutine combine to create the impression of a sixth member of the party. In the print version the same effect is achieved through the use of mild hallucinogens in the ink.

The illusory nature of V is hinted at in the comic itself through the character of Blackwing. Although Vaarsuvius can see and interact with the raven, its existence is immediately forgotten when it is not present. When V embraces the existence of the character and interacts with it more frequently, he or she learns that now nobody else can recall the existence of the bird, instead dismissing it as an illusion.

This implies that not only is Blackwing imaginary, but that all the other characters' previous mentions of it have also been in V's head. It is The Giant's way of acknowledging the fact that some readers have become aware of V's non-existence, by having the character also go through such a change in perception.

The reason nobody can agree on the gender of the imaginary character is that, as a psychological construct, V's appearance exists only in your head. Certain patterns, however, emerge. It is commonly believed that the character wears a red robe, and has purple hair. The fact that readers can easily identify these traits (even agreeing on some tiny runes on the robe), but not the gender of the character, is frankly ludicrous. Unwilling to dismiss their delusions, these readers blame the gender ambiguity on the simplicity of the artwork, despite the fact that the sex of the other characters is immediately apparent even though they are rendered in this same style.

There have been failures of this process in the past. In particular a number of readers have a very firm idea of what the character's gender is. They view it as being immediately self evident, and do not understand why others disagree (questioning Belkar's alignment is an occasional side effect). The fact that the number of people certain that Vaarsuvius is male is about the same as the number certain V is female should send up a red flag, but rarely does. There are also a few readers who view V as a penguin juggling tomatoes on a unicycle, but they are a minority, and this odd outcome is attributed to them being dropped on their heads during childhood.

As the reader views more comics, the cracks in their perception tend to become more apparent, and eventually the delusion of the character's existence is dispelled. Others go mad from the subconscious realization that their reality is a lie, and begin posting in the Crack Pairings thread, which has become the Playground's equivalent to Arkham Asylum.

[Nilan8888]

...

that just blew my mind.

[Zanaril]

So that's why everyone thinks the juggling penguin is an elf!

I do love penguins; they're so majestic, but at times so adorable. Although you can probably tell that from looking at my signature and avatar. :smallbiggrin:

[Darklord Xavez]

No, you're not mad. You're going sane. Reprinted, for your convenience, is the truth:You see, there is no Vaarsuvius. A complex series of optical illusions encoded in the comics combined with hypnotic cues induced by your monitor's flicker rate and a simple javascript subroutine combine to create the impression of a sixth member of the party. In the print version the same effect is achieved through the use of mild hallucinogens in the ink.

The illusory nature of V is hinted at in the comic itself through the character of Blackwing. Although Vaarsuvius can see and interact with the raven, its existence is immediately forgotten when it is not present. When V embraces the existence of the character and interacts with it more frequently, he or she learns that now nobody else can recall the existence of the bird, instead dismissing it as an illusion.

This implies that not only is Blackwing imaginary, but that all the other characters' previous mentions of it have also been in V's head. It is The Giant's way of acknowledging the fact that some readers have become aware of V's non-existence, by having the character also go through such a change in perception.

The reason nobody can agree on the gender of the imaginary character is that, as a psychological construct, V's appearance exists only in your head. Certain patterns, however, emerge. It is commonly believed that the character wears a red robe, and has purple hair. The fact that readers can easily identify these traits (even agreeing on some tiny runes on the robe), but not the gender of the character, is frankly ludicrous. Unwilling to dismiss their delusions, these readers blame the gender ambiguity on the simplicity of the artwork, despite the fact that the sex of the other characters is immediately apparent even though they are rendered in this same style.

There have been failures of this process in the past. In particular a number of readers have a very firm idea of what the character's gender is. They view it as being immediately self evident, and do not understand why others disagree (questioning Belkar's alignment is an occasional side effect). The fact that the number of people certain that Vaarsuvius is male is about the same as the number certain V is female should send up a red flag, but rarely does. There are also a few readers who view V as a penguin juggling tomatoes on a unicycle, but they are a minority, and this odd outcome is attributed to them being dropped on their heads during childhood.

As the reader views more comics, the cracks in their perception tend to become more apparent, and eventually the delusion of the character's existence is dispelled. Others go mad from the subconscious realization that their reality is a lie, and begin posting in the Crack Pairings thread, which has become the Playground's equivalent to Arkham Asylum.

Actually, the raven's disappearance is a joke about how most players forget that they have a familiar/companion unless they need it. So that point is moot. And besides, why are we arguing over something that isn't real. These are imaginary characters, so there is also no Roy, Elan, Haley, Durkon, or Belkar (by which I mean the imaginary characters in the Order of the Stick webcomic, hosted here (www.giantitp.com)).
-Xavez

[Zanaril]

I can't even tell whether you're being sarcastic.

Probably.

[Darklord Xavez]

I can't even tell whether you're being sarcastic.

Probably.

I'm not. That's what's scary.:smallcool:
-Xavez

[Zanaril]

I'm not. That's what's scary.:smallcool:
-Xavez

I can see now that you most certainly were not being sarcastic.

You were being ironic.

[Darklord Xavez]

I can see now that you most certainly were not being sarcastic.

You were being ironic.

No. I am dead serious about this. The characters in OOTS are intellectual property, and thus DO NOT EXIST. The following are NOT real:
:belkar::xykon::vaarsuvius::thog::sabine::roy::roa ch::redcloak::nale::mitd::miko::haley::elan::durko n: and all of the other characters from OOTS.
-Xavez

[Zanaril]

No. I am dead serious about this. The characters in OOTS are intellectual property, and thus DO NOT EXIST. The following are NOT real:
:belkar::xykon::vaarsuvius::thog::sabine::roy::roa ch::durkon::elan::haley::miko::mitd::nale::redcloa k: and all of the other characters from OOTS.
-Xavez

Well, if we're going to get meta about it...

[Luzahn]

I can see now that you most certainly were not being sarcastic.

You were being ironic.

Ow. Sarcastic irony...

[Darklord Xavez]

Well, if wer'e going to get meta about it...

We're not. It has been settled, there is not Order of the Stick outside of the webcomic and all related commercial products.
-Xavez

[Zanaril]

Ow. Sarcastic irony...

Wouldn't sarcastic irony be where you mean exactly what you say, you just say it sarcastically?


We're not. It has been settled, there is not Order of the Stick outside of the webcomic and all related commercial products.
-Xavez

Then how do you explain this?:
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0649.html

[Darklord Xavez]

Wouldn't sarcastic irony be where you mean exactly what you say, you just say it sarcastically?

Like that's correct.
-Xavez

[Zanaril]

Like that's correct.
-Xavez

If that's sarcasm, I'm correct.

Or something.

[Darklord Xavez]

Wouldn't sarcastic irony be where you mean exactly what you say, you just say it sarcastically?



Then how do you explain this?:
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0649.html

It was a joke. Your question has been answered.:smallfurious:
-Xavez

[Zanaril]

This is almost as bad as Opposite Day.

[Darklord Xavez]

This is almost as bad as Opposite Day.

No it's not. Opposite Day is invented by small children. NOTHING can be as bad as that. NOTHING. Not even me (or Lix Lorn for that matter :smallwink:).
-Xavez

[Ceryan]

If that's sarcasm, I'm correct.

Or something.

I can't tell if Xavez is completely unaware of what he's doing, or doing it on purpose...

I don't even know which is more likely. IT'S A TOTAL TOSS-UP.

[Lateral]

YYYYYEEEEAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHBBBLLLBBBBLLLRRRBBBLLLLL !!!!!

Stop screwing with people, Xavez, it's confuzzling!
:smalltongue: