Elan's Secret Plan

[Winter]

Could it be that Elan tries to bring in his mother somehow against Tarquin?

He got his "I got it!" when Roy was talking about "finding good in family" and there's only one other good person in Elan's family.

We also know that Tarquin was not the one who left his mother in the first place. We know Tarquin is a family-man who loves Elan, hates that he has to hate Nale for Nale being such an ass, who never made more children beyond his initial family.
We also know that Elan needs Durkon. For what? What can the dwarf do?
It's not that much that a cleric really can do in regard to "advancing secret plans", but he can cast sendings at people.

I doubt Elan would call in Ian Starshine for something, as he really has not much to do with Tarquin, unless he means to use Starshine's Opposition to Tarquin in some way but it seems unlikely Elan would see him as Racing Horse to bet on.

No, I rather think Elan will call (and bring in) his mother for help in hopes she does have some leverage over Tarquin. Also note that Elan's plans do not have to make a lot of sense to begin with and are often more fueled by Hope than actual Good Ideas.

[Haldir]

Not plausible.

More likely Elan is thinking to use magic to instill a sense of good in Tarquin, hence the need for Durkon's help.

[jidasfire]

I had considered that Elan was planning on bringing his mother into this somehow, as she's the only member of that family we haven't yet met, but I question just how possible or useful bringing her would be. For one thing, though Durkon could certainly Send a message to her, she would have no obvious means of reaching the desert. Second, I can't imagine what she'd even do if she did show up. If she wasn't capable of reaching out to a sense of good in Tarquin when he was younger and they were in love, what could she possibly do or say now? If anything, Nale would probably use her against Elan.

I get that you don't think Elan's plan will work, but considering the plan was kept secret from the audience, and the idea of conservation of plot, I'm guessing Elan's plan will have to be somehow effectual or have some positive impact on the story, even if it's in a very Elan-like way.

[Forikroder]

We also know that Tarquin was not the one who left his mother in the first place. We know Tarquin is a family-man who loves Elan, hates that he has to hate Nale for Nale being such an ass, who never made more children beyond his initial family.

no we dont know that he hates hating nale, he has never shown any remorse of regret at all ever


It's not that much that a cleric really can do in regard to "advancing secret plans", but he can cast sendings at people.

so can alot of people, V would have been a better idea since V is neutral and alot less likely to blab

whatever his plan is, considering there is literally no information on it at all except its confusing enough to confuse Durkon (or far far far far far more likely he only gave durkon some of its details like i need you do X at Y) theres no way at all to have meaningful conversation on it its like trying to discuss Vs gender, or what the IFCC plans to do with Vs soul

more on topic, Elans mother has already shown that she has no ability at all to control Tarquins actions since Tarquin doesnt see anything wrong with what hes doing if she apeared he would offer her a room in the palace but he would think it odd if she was opposed to what he was doing in his mind its justified and what hes doing is actually a good deed

[Caerwyn]

I've always assumed his "needing Durkon's help" implied he needed a priest for something, not just a dwarf. Something that directly addresses Roy's comments just moments beforehand about biological ties and "... the hole that a family member can leave behind." Something that has very little to do with skills, levels, or spell slots.

My completely crazy and as-yet-unsubstantiated theory? Elan and Haley are now secretly married. Remember, priests in that strange and frightening place known as the 'real world' rarely have magic spells, at least until they get high enough level. Black leaf died for your sins! However, they still manage to carry out religious ceremonies without much risk of summoning the nameless eldritch horrors from beyond time and space by accident. I see no evidence to the contrary implying something similar can not be said of OOTS-istanian priests can't do the same.

Ok, as trees go, this one is not all that epileptic. :D

[Forikroder]

I've always assumed his "needing Durkon's help" implied he needed a priest for something, not just a dwarf. Something that directly addresses Roy's comments just moments beforehand about biological ties and "... the hole that a family member can leave behind." Something that has very little to do with skills, levels, or spell slots.

My completely crazy and as-yet-unsubstantiated theory? Elan and Haley are now secretly married. Remember, priests in that strange and frightening place known as the 'real world' rarely have magic spells, at least until they get high enough level. Black leaf died for your sins! However, they still manage to carry out religious ceremonies without much risk of summoning the nameless eldritch horrors from beyond time and space by accident. I see no evidence to the contrary implying something similar can not be said of OOTS-istanian priests can't do the same.

Ok, as trees go, this one is not all that epileptic. :D

haley was keeping watch outside there hiding place, if Elan got married it was either to durkon, banjo or without haley knowing shes now married

and i dont see how getting married solves his moral dilemna

[ti'esar]

How in the world does Elan and Haley secretly marrying do anything to solve the "Tarquin problem"?

[StiwiR]

Maybe Elans secret plan has something to to with his assumption of Tarquin remarrying Elans mother. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0739.html)

Well, its not exactly secret any more, but.... it's Elan! :smallbiggrin:

[allenw]

How in the world does Elan and Haley secretly marrying do anything to solve the "Tarquin problem"?

It changes the genre. Though I figure it's more likely that they're *about* to get married.
If Tarquin suddenly finds himself in a romantic comedy, he's likely to act accordingly. He might even re-propose to Elan's Mom, assuming that she manages to get there in time for the wedding.

[Alagaesian]

I always assumed the "I got it!" had more do to with the "hole a family member leaves behind". Specifically, the hole Nale left in Elan. In his liver.

I'm guessing Elan got Durkon's help to Send Nale a message: "Hey, there's a 90% chance you can kill our father if you do it while I'm watching and you're really surprising and dramatic about it." After all, Nale's a recurring villain. He's more likely to survive that kind of fight than Tarquin, a side-villain.

[t209]

There's one way to kill a matyr.
Rats in front of his face cage.
"Do it to Julia" by Winston Smith. Shock Ending before OOTS 825. Then again, that wasn't supposed to work since Winston is a lone insurgent in Totalitarian world (with Genre Savvy O'brien).

[Forikroder]

I always assumed the "I got it!" had more do to with the "hole a family member leaves behind". Specifically, the hole Nale left in Elan. In his liver.

I'm guessing Elan got Durkon's help to Send Nale a message: "Hey, there's a 90% chance you can kill our father if you do it while I'm watching and you're really surprising and dramatic about it." After all, Nale's a recurring villain. He's more likely to survive that kind of fight than Tarquin, a side-villain.

right cause when your confused and conflicting about the killing of family members the best way to solve it is by hiring your family member to kill your family members for you

besides no way Durkon would send that


It changes the genre. Though I figure it's more likely that they're *about* to get married.
If Tarquin suddenly finds himself in a romantic comedy, he's likely to act accordingly. He might even re-propose to Elan's Mom, assuming that she manages to get there in time for the wedding.

right so that after he remarries she can live in his empire while he actually doesnt change at all

[Kish]

There's one way to kill a matyr.
Rats in front of his face cage.
"Do it to Julia" by Winston Smith. Shock Ending before OOTS 825. Then again, that wasn't supposed to work since Winston is a lone insurgent in Totalitarian world (with Genre Savvy O'brien).
I--I abba--wibble--

...Nevermind. The Order may do anything that has popped up in any other media and can be kind of stretched to kind of apply to any character in the comic. I give up.

[Mutant Sheep]

I--I abba--wibble--

...Nevermind. The Order may do anything that has popped up in any other media and can be kind of stretched to kind of apply to any character in the comic. I give up.

Mutant Sheep *likes* this post. Do you also want to *like* this post?:smalltongue:

[LordVader]

Honestly, I hope Elan's plan fails, or that we never get the chance to see it.

Tarquin has been the most entertaining character in the comic in recent memory, and has really been a breath of fresh air. If he must go down, he deserves an awesome end. Like, say, dying to save Elan from Xykon, or something.

That said, I do imagine Elan's plan probably entails involving his mom in some capacity.

[Gift Jeraff]

I actually had this weird idea involving food and teaming up with Nale. In the foreword to WaXP, Elan believes that not having their moms cut bread crusts is what made Belkar and Nale evil, and Elan recently saw the type of extremely evil Nale ate his whole life. And what can Durkon do that no other OOTSer can? Create Food (and Water). Thus, he will give Nale a taste of what he was missing out on (Roy's "holes a family member can leave behind" made him realize that the hole wasn't exclusive to Elan's side) in order to nudge him into forging a temporary alliance, and since Nale knows Tarquin better than Elan, his needlessly complex planning would help in making Tarquin's ending as unsatisfactory as possible.

Doubt that's it, but eh. It's a thought.

[Caractacus]

Mutant Sheep *likes* this post. Do you also want to *like* this post?:smalltongue:

I very much do! Can I? Please say yes! :smallcool:

[zimmerwald1915]

I--I abba--wibble--

...Nevermind. The Order may do anything that has popped up in any other media and can be kind of stretched to kind of apply to any character in the comic. I give up.
I heartily recommend the "Ignore" function.

[Steward]

right cause when your confused and conflicting about the killing of family members the best way to solve it is by hiring your family member to kill your family members for you

I can't envision a scenario where Elan would hire Nale to murder their father. I mean, does that sound anything like the Elan we've seen over the past 850 or so comic strips?

[Forikroder]

I can't envision a scenario where Elan would hire Nale to murder their father. I mean, does that sound anything like the Elan we've seen over the past 850 or so comic strips?

right which is why i was sarcastic

[Sunken Valley]

Maybe he is contacting Amun Zora.

[Scowling Dragon]

I actualy doubt that Taquin is trying to get the gate. He should be savvy enough to know that when the villain already in power messes with powers beyond his comprehension to speed up his ascent he end up dying at the hands of the plot device.

[Zarzar]

Well, I see Elan's plan going two possible ways, but having a common theme among them:

Marriage. That's really the only reason that Elan would need Durkon.

First way I could see it going is like many have said, that Tarquin would possibly see that Elan is truly a son after his own heart (Drama/Savvy wise). Elan invites his mother to the wedding, and, like a good "father", Tarquin tries to reconcile, possibly giving a great bit of wealth and power to Elan, who then gives it to Haley for robin-hooding safekeeping. Then Nale stabs Tarquin in the back, with something whine-filled like "You never appreciated my love of Sabine and the fact that I'm evil! I kill you now!"

Second way I see it happening is possibly a "Fathers of the Betrothed" type scenario. Tarquin meets Ian, and hell sort-of breaks loose, but Tarquin decides to be on his best behavior. Not because he cares about Ian, Haley, or the rest, but because it makes for a good wedding story. Tarquin realizes how good of a genre-savvy thief Ian is, and Ian realizes Tarquin is not as bad due to Elan's heroism and stuff. Then Nale stabs Tarquin in the back, with something whine-filled like "You never appreciated my love of Sabine and I'm more evil than you! I kill you now!"

[Winter]

Yepp, the whole marriage-thing where Tarquin, his wife (Elan's mother) and Ian Starshine have to join (and play nice) is a very interesting thing.

I'm not seeing Nale in this though. But I also hope for his near demise, so the final climatic wrap-up could happen without him.

[Skyner]

Well, I see Elan's plan going two possible ways, but having a common theme among them:

Marriage. That's really the only reason that Elan would need Durkon.

First way I could see it going is like many have said, that Tarquin would possibly see that Elan is truly a son after his own heart (Drama/Savvy wise). Elan invites his mother to the wedding, and, like a good "father", Tarquin tries to reconcile, possibly giving a great bit of wealth and power to Elan, who then gives it to Haley for robin-hooding safekeeping. Then Nale stabs Tarquin in the back, with something whine-filled like "You never appreciated my love of Sabine and the fact that I'm evil! I kill you now!"

Second way I see it happening is possibly a "Fathers of the Betrothed" type scenario. Tarquin meets Ian, and hell sort-of breaks loose, but Tarquin decides to be on his best behavior. Not because he cares about Ian, Haley, or the rest, but because it makes for a good wedding story. Tarquin realizes how good of a genre-savvy thief Ian is, and Ian realizes Tarquin is not as bad due to Elan's heroism and stuff. Then Nale stabs Tarquin in the back, with something whine-filled like "You never appreciated my love of Sabine and I'm more evil than you! I kill you now!"

So basically Nale kills Tarquin? Okay, it seemed like Tarquin was trying to set it up so that Elan would have to prove that Bards are worth something and have Elan defeat him in combat, only before defeating Nale. That sounds pretty awesome too.

As far as Elan's plan, I really don't know what he's got plan, hes shown that he can really think plus he is genre savy so lets see how... or what he can come up with.

[Zarzar]

Honestly, I was leaving it ambiguous about if Tarquin would die. I just suppose that Nale would be so shortsighted that he'd see other people that he doesn't like being happy, and he'd get all Belkar-stabby.

I mean, Nale is kind of one-dimensional, right?

[Forikroder]

Well, I see Elan's plan going two possible ways, but having a common theme among them:

Marriage. That's really the only reason that Elan would need Durkon.

First way I could see it going is like many have said, that Tarquin would possibly see that Elan is truly a son after his own heart (Drama/Savvy wise). Elan invites his mother to the wedding, and, like a good "father", Tarquin tries to reconcile, possibly giving a great bit of wealth and power to Elan, who then gives it to Haley for robin-hooding safekeeping. Then Nale stabs Tarquin in the back, with something whine-filled like "You never appreciated my love of Sabine and the fact that I'm evil! I kill you now!"

Second way I see it happening is possibly a "Fathers of the Betrothed" type scenario. Tarquin meets Ian, and hell sort-of breaks loose, but Tarquin decides to be on his best behavior. Not because he cares about Ian, Haley, or the rest, but because it makes for a good wedding story. Tarquin realizes how good of a genre-savvy thief Ian is, and Ian realizes Tarquin is not as bad due to Elan's heroism and stuff. Then Nale stabs Tarquin in the back, with something whine-filled like "You never appreciated my love of Sabine and I'm more evil than you! I kill you now!"

right not like Durkon has access to supernatural powers straight from his diety

[FlyingCandles]

Here's my theory.

Elan is concentrating on the "family in good people" bit, not the "good in family." He's going to call in Julio Scoundrel.

[Steward]

Here's my theory.

Elan is concentrating on the "family in good people" bit, not the "good in family." He's going to call in Julio Scoundrel.

Hmm...


So, you want me, a tertiary/minor character to go head to head with the main villain of the story arc on your behalf? Let me guess, once he kills me -- and he will -- you'll cradle my dying body and swear revenge (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0392.html)? Gee, not that I wouldn't love to be cannon fodder for your character development, but I think I'm needed elsewhere...

:smallwink:

[ti'esar]

If ever there was an arc for Scoundrél to return, this would have been it... but I don't think he's going to voluntarily head to his genre-ordained doom. Actually, by now I think any chance of his showing up might be gone - we're in the home stretch of this arc, and a minor character from years back suddenly returning seems improbable at this point.

[Forikroder]

If ever there was an arc for Scoundrél to return, this would have been it... but I don't think he's going to voluntarily head to his genre-ordained doom. Actually, by now I think any chance of his showing up might be gone - we're in the home stretch of this arc, and a minor character from years back suddenly returning seems improbable at this point.

hes as genre savvy as Elan and smart enough to actually use his genre savviness in his advantage and doesnt actually care about Elan, if he ever sees Elan he either kill him to save himself or get away as fast as he can