Why is Eugene...

[VetMichael]

So eager to kill Xykon? It's not like he's all that gung-ho about the oath anyway (he forgot about it for DECADES during his life) AND he doesn't seem to be the type who'd relish the opportunity to climb Mt. Celestia and become a more "enlightened" being. He practically jumped at the chance to avoid his whole family and Violet (his ex-girlfriend) has hooked back up with her husband. Given his penchant for riding Roy about the short-comings of Fighters and berating Roy for his "failure" to defeat Xykon once and for all, you think he'd relish the idea of giving Roy a hard time by gloating over the whole "you should have been a doctor Wizard" theme.

[Vectner]

Because he is a horrible person and he can't admit to it.

[factotum]

Of COURSE he wants to get into Celestia. You think he wants to hang around on that cloud for eternity? The whole point of Celestia is that it's Heaven--there's going to be something there that Eugene will enjoy, and he wants to get in to experience it!

[Crimson Avenger]

Let's not forget the Tavern of Endless One Night Stands.

Seriously though, Roy got in, and Eugene didn't. He's pissed.

[TigerHunter]

Plus "becoming an enlightened being" is the second step. Panel 1 of #500 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0500.html)--Eugene just wants the "free sex and booze."

[chibibar]

remember that Heaven has unlimited space. Your afterlife is cater to YOUR needs and want for the REST of your life :)

Whatever Eugene enjoy doing for the rest of his life is behind those gates. Right now all he has to "pass time" until the deed is done is to pester Roy.

Note that none of the other family member bother to come out and visit Eugene :)

[VetMichael]

But won't Eugene have to shack up with his relatives while the Celestial bureaucracy procures a house of his own? Won't that be awkward? Or at least a violation of his oath? Or will Eugene spend his entire existence in the afterlife in the tavern chasing celestial tail?


IMHO, I think Eugene wouldn't know what to do with himself on Mt. Celestia: He's only happy when he's miserable and kvetching about something, and with all of that removed, and no Roy to bully (per his promise), he'll want to be reincarnated within a week (Celestia time, of course). Otherwise, Heaven would become Hell (or at least Hades)

[David Argall]

Note that none of the other family member bother to come out and visit Eugene

Probably meaningless. It would appear that Violet had few visitors either. She doesn't want to explain Eugene to her hubby, which would not be needed if he came down at all often to visit. He would be bound to hit an inconvenient moment if he did. And we don't know that Sara didn't come down and visit Eugene at times. After all, she did recognize Roy immediately, and we don't know that she had seen him since he had hair. So a few visits to Eugene, and to look in on Roy seems quite reasonable.

In fact we have

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0015.html

Which is easily read as Eugene and Sara see each other reasonably often.

[Warler, Darûk]

eugene is a jack ass who must by trying to get in because of the one night stands. and the only reason he is picking on roy's foot on this xicon history, is because that is all he has to brag about when it comes to roy since he has done way better than him, that is killing him of envy, so he keep bugging roy on this.:smallcool:

[FujinAkari]

eugene is a jack ass who must by trying to get in because of the one night stands.

Except that he doesn't know what heaven entails... since you don't get the tour until you get in... *facepalm*

[Quorothorn]

Basically, Celestia's better than "cloud-limbo", as there's more people and sights, etc.

However, I must say that "Eugene's only happy when he's miserable" is a good point, but still. He's been on a cloud for years with nothing to do but pop in on Roy (like, four times), watch world events, and, um, associate with Violet--oh, and play canasta w/Archons. (Now, personally I would be keenly interested in the ability to view all that's going on [presuming I had scrying ability in life], but that's me.) So, despite all that about being a wrinkled old man in spirit and such, Eugene's simply bored of limbo, and his opportunities to insult Roy and others are rather uncommon. I'd say he wants to move on (plus, the fact that his entire family, Violet, and others are all getting into the LG afterlife and he's not is likely driving him batty :smallbiggrin: ).

[Lorn]

He's just jealous. He clearly sees himself as better than others, and thus does not see why he shouldn't get in.

[chibibar]

either way, the celestrial can cater to each person's desire so there will be stuff for Eugene to pick on and make them feel bad.

[Alfryd]

...oh, and play canasta w/Archons.
That, and somehow manage to hijack a summoning spell which had been explicitly directed to a plane that he isn't even supposed to be able to access.

[holywhippet]

So eager to kill Xykon? It's not like he's all that gung-ho about the oath anyway (he forgot about it for DECADES during his life) AND he doesn't seem to be the type who'd relish the opportunity to climb Mt. Celestia and become a more "enlightened" being. He practically jumped at the chance to avoid his whole family and Violet (his ex-girlfriend) has hooked back up with her husband. Given his penchant for riding Roy about the short-comings of Fighters and berating Roy for his "failure" to defeat Xykon once and for all, you think he'd relish the idea of giving Roy a hard time by gloating over the whole "you should have been a doctor Wizard" theme.

He forgot about it for a long time, but he also did his best to fulfill it for a long time. As Roy's mother said, Eugene tends to have a single track mind. Whatever he decides to do, he does 100%, but he tends to lose interest in things eventually. If he went after Xykon again, he would have been neglecting his family so it's the lesser of two evils.

He mainly gives Roy a hard time about not being a mage because he thinks it's a more reliable way of taking out Xykon. Eugene isn't a bad person per se, he's just very stubborn and unwilling to admit he's in the wrong.

[chibibar]

He forgot about it for a long time, but he also did his best to fulfill it for a long time. As Roy's mother said, Eugene tends to have a single track mind. Whatever he decides to do, he does 100%, but he tends to lose interest in things eventually. If he went after Xykon again, he would have been neglecting his family so it's the lesser of two evils.

He mainly gives Roy a hard time about not being a mage because he thinks it's a more reliable way of taking out Xykon. Eugene isn't a bad person per se, he's just very stubborn and unwilling to admit he's in the wrong.

hehe.. kinda like most parents ;) my parents will never admit they are wrong :)

[VetMichael]

Nobody likes to admit they're wrong, but Eugene takes it to the extreme; often he becomes apoplectic if confronted with his short-comings (much to the delight of Roy [and me]). I think the most persuasive argument thus far is the idea that he wants to get into Celestia because he THINKS he's entitled to it (well, that and Roy got in with no problem) and that grates on his nerves.

I do have to disagree with the assertion that his focus on the family while forgetting about Xykon was the lesser of two evils. Xykon is out to become the undying overlord of the entire world - having a dysfunctional family life (vis-a-vis an absentee dad) doesn't quite measure up to the whole "world domination" thing on the cosmic balancing scales.

Besides, we already know that Eugene has missed out on several important episodes of Roy's childhood (HERE (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0291.html))

I wonder if the Universe or whatever will compel him to make good on that front since he kinda-sorta took up the whole "have a family and kids" quest instead of fulfilling his original blood oath.

[FoE]

Eugene wants to get into Celestia for two reasons:

1) It's better than hanging around on a cloud scrying mortals forever.
2) He thinks he's entitled. It would grate on someone like him to see thousands of other souls get into Paradise while he has to hang around outside the doors.

And for the record, it was commendable for Eugene to abandon his quest to kill Xykon so he could devote himself to his family and protect them from harm, but it's not like he played the role of the loving father. And then when he was nearing the end of his life, he couldn't have been bothered for one last shot at killing Xykon, even though he had information on his last stomping grounds. He even lied to Roy in SoD about not knowing where Xykon was hiding so he could get Roy to do his dirty work for him.

[chibibar]

Nobody likes to admit they're wrong, but Eugene takes it to the extreme; often he becomes apoplectic if confronted with his short-comings (much to the delight of Roy [and me]). I think the most persuasive argument thus far is the idea that he wants to get into Celestia because he THINKS he's entitled to it (well, that and Roy got in with no problem) and that grates on his nerves.

I do have to disagree with the assertion that his focus on the family while forgetting about Xykon was the lesser of two evils. Xykon is out to become the undying overlord of the entire world - having a dysfunctional family life (vis-a-vis an absentee dad) doesn't quite measure up to the whole "world domination" thing on the cosmic balancing scales.

Besides, we already know that Eugene has missed out on several important episodes of Roy's childhood (HERE (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0291.html))

I wonder if the Universe or whatever will compel him to make good on that front since he kinda-sorta took up the whole "have a family and kids" quest instead of fulfilling his original blood oath.

while you are right, Eugene is a very focus kind of a person. I personally haven't met anyone that is THAT focus..... focus yes, but never abandon everything for a specific goal in life.

When he had a family, Sara was his major focus, ALSO don't forget that I think Julia is Eugene's favorite (since she pursue magical schools) vs Roy who wanted to follow the grandfather's footstep (hence not as involved)

So probably (this is a guess) that Eugene spends more time with Julia and teaching her magic and spend time with his wife Sara at the time (and totally focus) while put everything like Xykon, Roy and the world behind him.

It is not like Eugene does it intentionally, if he did the Celestial probably won't even consider him for admission (oath or not) but since it is part of his personality (hard wire it seems) Eugene gets a leeway and COULD get in if Eugene didn't have that oath in the way. :)

[factotum]

He even lied to Roy in SoD about not knowing where Xykon was hiding so he could get Roy to do his dirty work for him.

SOD spoilers:

He didn't lie at all. Firstly, Right-Eye never got as far as telling him where Xykon was, and even if he HAD, Xykon was certainly no longer there at the time when he was telling Roy the tale.

[FoE]

You're way off base, factotum. I distinctly remember that Right-Eye told Eugene that Xykon was holed up at Lair Island. In fact, he even showed Eugene the lich's bills and credit card statements, which surely would have included an address.

And so it was a lie when Eugene told Roy at college that he never got ANY reliable information over the years about Xykon's location. In fact, he even said that if had gotten any leads, he would have left Sarah and the kids at home so fast their heads would spin.

And yeah, Xykon might not have been at Lair Island anymore, but Eugene could have still gone to check it out. Maybe there would have been some clue as to where Xykon went. He's got Teleport — it's not as though travelling long distances is a big hassle.

[Drackthor]

If getting hung up on killing Xykon will piss off Roy, Eugene will get hung up on killing Xykon.

[factotum]

You're way off base, factotum. I distinctly remember that Right-Eye told Eugene that Xykon was holed up at Lair Island. In fact, he even showed Eugene the lich's bills and credit card statements, which surely would have included an address.


OK, point taken. However, when Eugene told Roy he never got any leads on Xykon's location, that was in OTOOPCs, not Start of Darkness...with a couple of years between the two books it's possible Rich's concept changed somewhat between them, just as it did with Master Fyron's death.