Does V have a Y chromosome?

[Silence]

Seriously, is V a guy or a girl? I've tried to figure it out since the early strips....

[Spiryt]

His chromosones are YY. Also - check (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6496).

[Ninja]

well, if i am not wrong, he was suposed to be a male when OOTS began, but than someone asked a similar question, and ever since noone ( apart from Rich and those he told, if there are any ) know the truth... you have some characters that call him a man, and some that call him a women... and he doesn't care at all, so it's even more confusing...... it's just your oppinion i gues... ill always think of V as a male though....

[Kish]

http://www.giantitp.com/FAQ.html#faq10 is the only official answer to this question.

[Silence]

His chromosones are YY. Also - check (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6496).

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/mole00/mole00149.htm

Apparently V is undead!

[Spiryt]

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/mole00/mole00149.htm

Apparently V is undead!

Well, maybe. Buahahah!

And seriously, I just wanted to point out that V's gender disscusions have been beaten to death 283times, see reoccuring threads.

[Silence]

My apologies for not looking up if anyone else has posted something on this topic.....

[Ron Miel]

Guy, definitely.

Proof -

Girls like to see Elan naked. examples:
- Haley wanted to see his 18 charisma "under the hood"
- Random Azurite girl on New Year's Eve
- Half Orc Ninja Girl wants him to go without pants

Guys don't like to see Elan naked.

First time Elan got naked, V covered his eyes.

Therefore, V is a guy, QED

[David Argall]

Seriously, is V a guy or a girl? I've tried to figure it out since the early strips....

Yes. Or rather, ... no.

[Jade_Tarem]

Yes.

Four of them.

[Lunaya]

Guy, definitely.

Proof -

Girls like to see Elan naked. examples:
- Haley wanted to see his 18 charisma "under the hood"
- Random Azurite girl on New Year's Eve
- Half Orc Ninja Girl wants him to go without pants

Guys don't like to see Elan naked.

First time Elan got naked, V covered his eyes.

Therefore, V is a guy, QED
Uhh...I happen to be a heterosexual female, and I can say with certainty that I wouldn't want to see Elan naked either...or any guy for that matter. I would have covered my eyes, too. Sorry to kill your argument, but...there it is.

[Siosilvar]

I would comment, but apparently I can't tell stick figures apart as when I read the comic, for the first couple pages I thought Elan was a girl...

[Zorn]

Guy, definitely.

Proof -

Girls like to see Elan naked. examples:
- Haley wanted to see his 18 charisma "under the hood"
- Random Azurite girl on New Year's Eve
- Half Orc Ninja Girl wants him to go without pants

Guys don't like to see Elan naked.

First time Elan got naked, V covered his eyes.

Except that:
- V is married
- V is an elf, and we know nothing about elven customs in OotS or how they might affect V's reaction
- None of the men closed their eyes at the time either. That isn't to say that they weren't shocked, but your observation that V acts like none of the women means little when s/he doesn't react like the men either

Personally, when I first started reading this comic I thought that V was female simply to help balance out the male to female ratio in the party. Since then, I've decided to make no assumptions either way.

To answer your question, I know nothing about how or even if chromosomes are distributed among elves so V might have 23 or none at all.

[Silence]

Wait!

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0225.html


That is, unless she's planning for Haley and V having a threesome with her.

[baf]

I'm not convinced that elves have chromosomes at all. They're probably made entirely out of nanites or something. Elves are freaky.

[Ron Miel]

Except that:
- V is married

Huh? How does that contradict the point?
1) V is married - to a girl.
2) just cause someone is married - and faithful - doesn't mean they stop looking at members of the opposite sex.


- V is an elf, and we know nothing about elven customs in OotS or how they might affect V's reaction
- None of the men closed their eyes at the time either.

Yes they did.
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0027.html

[BRC]

I have made my view on this matter clear already.

[Silence]

Huh? How does that contradict the point?
1) V is married - to a girl.
2) just cause someone is married - and faithful - doesn't mean they stop looking at members of the opposite sex.

V is married to a girl? I remember her saying that she's married, but I don't remember her saying it was to a girl.




Yes they did.
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0027.html

Kinda pointless. I mean, we're fine with showering together. I know that if one of my friends was running around naked I would just look away from his family jewels, and not be so immature.

Again, http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0225.html

That proves it.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Well, have to hand it to you, at least you managed an interesting title...

[Red XIV]

Huh? How does that contradict the point?
1) V is married - to a girl.
The gender of V's spouse has never been specified. Just like his/her own gender.

I still hold by my prediction that V's spouse will make an appearance at some point, and be just as androgynous as V.


Yes they did.
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0027.html
But we don't see Durkon close his eyes, do we? Does that mean he's female?
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0026.html

[Lunaya]

And I reiterate, the fact that I am attracted to men does not automatically mean that I want to see them running around naked. V very well may be a female who shares my sentiment.

[David Argall]

Wait!

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0225.html


That is, unless she's planning for Haley and V having a threesome with her.
While this says that Miko deemed the elf sufficiently female to be allowed to sleep with the girls, herself in particular, it also suggests she has some doubts on the subject as she says women and the elf, not merely women.

In any case, this is merely the opinion of one viewer, of which we have several opinions, which are sharply divided.

[Silence]

While this says that Miko deemed the elf sufficiently female to be allowed to sleep with the girls, herself in particular, it also suggests she has some doubts on the subject as she says women and the elf, not merely women.

In any case, this is merely the opinion of one viewer, of which we have several opinions, which are sharply divided.

I think that if Miko had any confusion about her gender, she would ask....

[Red XIV]

Perhaps humans in the OOTS-verse are just naturally inclined to see V as being of their own gender.

[Silence]

That doesn't make much sense...

[blackspeeker]

Uhh...I happen to be a heterosexual female, and I can say with certainty that I wouldn't want to see Elan naked either...or any guy for that matter. I would have covered my eyes, too. Sorry to kill your argument, but...there it is.

A better way to kill it would be to say that V is in a monogomous relationship.

[Silence]

Jesus, you're being a little nit-picky.

I think that you could make an argument either way. It doesn't really matter.

[brilliantlight]

Wait!

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0225.html


That is, unless she's planning for Haley and V having a threesome with her.

It made me think she was a she as well. V is a very proper elf and I don't see how an elf can be thought of as proper if he/she sleeps in the same room with a person of the opposite gender while married.

[Callista]

I think V started out as a male elf, because the stereotypical wizard is male and V is pretty close to "typical wizard", but as soon as people started talking about "what gender is that elf?", Rich figured it'd be funny to keep V androgynous. He was right.

The upshot is that V has both genders or neither, take your pick. It's kind of like an XX/XY version of Schroedinger's Cat... suspended in quantum probability, both male and female, until observed to be one or the other.

Considering that V is pretty much the power-obsessed D&D equivalent of a physics geek, I think s/he'd like that.

[Helgraf]

Yep. 'e keeps it in a glass jar on the mantle.

[tenguro]

I say we wait till we see V naked. If the chest is pixelated or not then theres the answer.

[David Argall]

I think that if Miko had any confusion about her gender, she would ask....

Miko is absolutely certain about most everything. Except where a question is just about mandatory, she doesn't ask questions. She expects herself to know. Ask about a subject that ought to be obvious to the average viewer? That would imply she could be wrong about a host of other things, and that would never do...

[Kato]

I assume V has not.She's an elf,who says they even HAVE chromosomes??? They're magical beings after all. You might ask where an elemental's heart is as well.

[TheCheshireHat]

The upshot is that V has both genders or neither, take your pick. It's kind of like an XX/XY version of Schroedinger's Cat... suspended in quantum probability, both male and female, until observed to be one or the other.

:smallbiggrin: Best theory yet.


edit: fixed the quote. note to self: use "preview" before "submit"

[DigoDragon]

The upshot is that V has both genders or neither, take your pick. It's kind of like an XX/XY version of Schroedinger's Cat... suspended in quantum probability, both male and female, until observed to be one or the other.

You win to cookie!!
So like is there a Heisenberg Gender Uncertainty Principle too? :smallsmile:
Such that if V is occupying a small region of the comic it makes the gender of V uncertain; and conversely, that measuring the gender of V precisely makes the small region of the comic uncertain?

[EponymousKid]

Honestly, Vaarsuvius seems male more often than not. Sure, he doesn't exactly fit in with the other guys, but he's not the type who would want to, either. Also, his body doesn't exactly look much like those of other women we've seen in robes (like, for example, the blind seer from Azure City).

And, honestly? He was probably meant to be a male from the beginning.

Oh, and does anyone else think this is, seriously, like, the lamest running gag ever?

[Lira]

Hey Silence, if you're curious about Vaarsuvius' gender I suggest you read these:
V's Gender Debate (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6719)
V's Gender Debate II (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5585)
V's Gender Debate IV [Official] (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4918)
V's Gender? (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6937)
Is V female duh how obvious (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7011)
V's gender decided! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6499)
Yes, this is another thread about V's gender (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61022)
Those are just a few of many. If you don't feel like reading them, I can give you a summary since I've read every single topic about V's gender on these boards (I have a lot of spare time... don't judge me). Ultimately, while there's a lot to discuss, there's absolutely nothing that proves beyond a reasonable doubt that V is male or female.

I think V's gender will be revealed eventually though, despite what the Giant says in the FAQ. So I'm just going to stay patient and enjoy the comic and wait for that day. :smallwink:

[Kurald Galain]

Except that:
- V is an elf, and we know nothing about elven customs in OotS or how they might affect V's reaction


We do know that they're stupid and oppressive (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0254.html), and ought to die painfully...

:smalltongue:

[teratorn]

I think that if Miko had any confusion about her gender, she would ask....
This has been brought many times before.

Even if it were a room with a single-bed, the Elf would not share the bed with them, V doesn't sleep as humans do.


I say we wait till we see V naked. If the chest is pixelated or not then theres the answer.

Are you sure?


Here we have a couple of the oots gang visiting a :smalleek: topless beach.

Warning: this may contain nudity. We're still not sure.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v44/macdonnell/VBeach.png

[Fragon]

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0239.html

Well the scene at the end give me the impression that V is a girl...

[EponymousKid]

Oh, come off it, who else were they going to use, Durkon?

I'm still kind of stuck on how Vaarsuvius isn't shaped like other female characters wearing similar clothes. In fact, he's kind of shaped exactly like Pompey (except I think a little taller), whose gender I think we can all agree is clearly defined.

[Silence]

Good point on that one, too. I think I've made up my mind on this...

[Lunaya]

Oh, come off it, who else were they going to use, Durkon?

I'm still kind of stuck on how Vaarsuvius isn't shaped like other female characters wearing similar clothes. In fact, he's kind of shaped exactly like Pompey (except I think a little taller), whose gender I think we can all agree is clearly defined.
Ah, but isn't V supposed to be Pompey's opposite in every possible way?

[EponymousKid]

Okay, but Zz'drti was a man, too, and he also looked (and was shaped) exactly like Vaarsuvius...

So, what, he's a woman who looks exactly like a man and nothing like a woman? How is that better?

[Chronos]

The upshot is that V has both genders or neither, take your pick. It's kind of like an XX/XY version of Schroedinger's Cat... suspended in quantum probability, both male and female, until observed to be one or the other.This is my preferred theory. To make it even better, there are two orthogonal quantum superpositions, so we can say that V is one, and es mate is the other.

That is to say, Vaarsuvius is ei*phi (1/sqrt(2) |male> + 1/sqrt(2) |female>) , and V's mate is ei*phi (1/sqrt(2) |male> - 1/sqrt(2) |female>) .

[Silence]

That is to say, Vaarsuvius is ei*phi (1/sqrt(2) |male> + 1/sqrt(2) |female>) , and V's mate is ei*phi (1/sqrt(2) |male> - 1/sqrt(2) |female>) .

Jesus Christ........

[Ninja]

Okay, but Zz'drti was a man, too, and he also looked (and was shaped) exactly like Vaarsuvius...

how do you people know that Zz'ditri wasn't a female? Maybe the caracters only refered to Z as a he because it was their perception? just like at V? :smallamused:

[EponymousKid]

Because (and this is the third time I've mentioned this, Zz'drti (and thus Vaarsuvius, too) is shaped like a male character wearing robes, and not at all like a female character wearing robes.

Not to mention how the shape is shared by Pompey, who is definitely male.

[aliron]

Because (and this is the third time I've mentioned this, Zz'drti (and thus Vaarsuvius, too) is shaped like a male character wearing robes, and not at all like a female character wearing robes.

Not to mention how the shape is shared by Pompey, who is definitely male.

That's only one example. Might have a case if there were other female robe-wearing wizards that looked significantly different from V in the comic. The true seeing lady could've been wearing a dress instead of a robe, or a tight fitting robe, or some other outfit altogether. Heck look at Xykon's robes, they fit him like all the male characters you mentioned but he's a skeleton, he shouldn't be shaped like a male with flesh and blood either. I think that's just how baggy robes look on people in OOTS.

[Kato]

That is to say, Vaarsuvius is ei*phi (1/sqrt(2) |male> + 1/sqrt(2) |female>) , and V's mate is ei*phi (1/sqrt(2) |male> - 1/sqrt(2) |female>) .

Wow... I'd so like to give a useful statement concerning this, but I just started my B. sc. physics ^^'
Anyway... is ei*phi just a constant and if it is, isn't it 1 and can therefore be left out? o.o

[teratorn]

This is my preferred theory. To make it even better, there are two orthogonal quantum superpositions, so we can say that V is one, and es mate is the other.

That is to say, Vaarsuvius is ei*phi (1/sqrt(2) |male> + 1/sqrt(2) |female>) , and V's mate is ei*phi (1/sqrt(2) |male> - 1/sqrt(2) |female>) .

It's not that simple. You're assuming V is not gay...


Wow... I'd so like to give a useful statement concerning this, but I just started my B. sc. physics ^^'
Anyway... is ei*phi just a constant and if it is, isn't it 1 and can therefore be left out? o.o
You need to keep it because you may "want" to mate V with someone else than his mate, Belkar for example.

[Silence]

Also, I forgot to bring up something. Remember back when V contemplated Belkar having a crush on her? Defiantly implies femininity.

[An Enemy Spy]

Also, I forgot to bring up something. Remember back when V contemplated Belkar having a crush on her? Defiantly implies femininity.

No it doesn't. It implies Belkar lusts after him/her because his little pre-brain had no where else to put him/her.

[Chronos]

Anyway... is ei*phi just a constant and if it is, isn't it 1 and can therefore be left out? o.oIt's a phase factor. It could be 1, -1, i, or any other complex number with amplitude 1. You'll learn more about such when you start on quantum, but the gist is that any given phase factor is irrelevant (and thus could be arbitrarily set to 1 to make the calculations easier), but the differences between phase factors are relevant.

[TheoCryst]

Wanna know the evil-est thing the Giant could do? Introduce us to V's mate, only to find them as androgynous as V.

My opinion? V's a guy, but only technically. Something tells me that in this world, elven gender roles are pretty loose in the first place.

Side note: why haven't we seen any elves other than V and Zz'dtri? They obviously aren't rare in this world... and no, I don't count Pompey. He's just lame.

[Lira]

Side note: why haven't we seen any elves other than V and Zz'dtri? They obviously aren't rare in this world... and no, I don't count Pompey. He's just lame.We see a bunch of elves in SoD. Most of them look fairly androgynous. :smallwink:

[aliron]

Wanna know the evil-est thing the Giant could do? Introduce us to V's mate, only to find them as androgynous as V.

My opinion? V's a guy, but only technically. Something tells me that in this world, elven gender roles are pretty loose in the first place.

Side note: why haven't we seen any elves other than V and Zz'dtri? They obviously aren't rare in this world... and no, I don't count Pompey. He's just lame.

No, the evilest thing would be to end the comic with a cliffhanger.

V's gender is more or less moot right now, it's a running gag. Why would it matter whether she is male or female?

[Selene]

how do you people know that Zz'ditri wasn't a female? Maybe the caracters only refered to Z as a he because it was their perception? just like at V? :smallamused:

V calls Zz'dtri "Mr. Zz'dtri." (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0049.html) I suspect V can tell male and female elves apart.


Side note: why haven't we seen any elves other than V and Zz'dtri? They obviously aren't rare in this world... and no, I don't count Pompey. He's just lame.

How about Lirian? (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0276.html)

edit: Also, this is Rich's depiction of a female wizard in a robe: http://www.giantitp.com/avatars/BlueWizardGirl.gif Not shaped like V.

[Morgan Wick]

I keep getting hung up by the hair (or stuck on it, if you will)... you can never really tell what V's true body type is because the robe seems rather loose-fitting to me. It'd be interesting to conduct an experiment to determine how different people initially determine the gender of another person.


Perhaps humans in the OOTS-verse are just naturally inclined to see V as being of their own gender.

Well, it would make more sense to me if Rich used real-life humans on the boards. I'm male and see V as female, so that theory doesn't apply to us. And I'm not sure it applies to the strip either.


It made me think she was a she as well. V is a very proper elf and I don't see how an elf can be thought of as proper if he/she sleeps in the same room with a person of the opposite gender while married.

Except that V is known to, essentially, dismiss gender entirely. Remember how s/he seemed not to even know Roy turned into a woman.

[Gez]

V has two Y chromosomes. But he also has five X chromosomes. Elven genetic code is messed up.

Now, normally elven males have three Y chromosomes while females have just one; and they all have varying amounts of Z chromosomes to arrive to ten sexual chromosomes total. However, V doesn't have Z chromosomes -- he has T chromosomes instead.

:smallbiggrin:

[Studoku]

I assume V has not.She's an elf,who says they even HAVE chromosomes??? They're magical beings after all. You might ask where an elemental's heart is as well.

We know they can breed with humans so they probably have something similar.

[Trazoi]

V has two Y chromosomes. But he also has five X chromosomes. Elven genetic code is messed up.

Now, normally elven males have three Y chromosomes while females have just one; and they all have varying amounts of Z chromosomes to arrive to ten sexual chromosomes total. However, V doesn't have Z chromosomes -- he has T chromosomes instead.

There actually are such things as Z chromosomes in species that use the ZW sex-determination system (Wikipedia linky) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZW_sex-determination_system). It's used in species where the ovum determines the gender - males are ZZ, females are ZW.

[Laurentio II]

http://www.bittermancircle.com/my%20images/BeatDeadHorse.gif

[Ninja]

V calls Zz'dtri "Mr. Zz'dtri." (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0049.html) I suspect V can tell male and female elves apart.

but perhaps zz'dtri is so ambigiosy ( yeah, i can't spell it ) gendered that even V cant see he is a female!!! :smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin:

[Laurentio II]

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0239.html

Well the scene at the end give me the impression that V is a girl...
Proves the opposite. While Haley and she-Roy are quite annoyed at being addressed as "whores", Vaarsuvius is neutral. That could imply that he is male, and so don't mind female related insults, or that it's Vaarsuvius is female but still doesn't care. Or that is an elf. Or that not even the author cares.

And, honestly? He was probably meant to be a male from the beginning.

Oh, and does anyone else think this is, seriously, like, the lamest running gag ever?
Quite (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4284868&highlight=Vaarsuvius#post4284868). It's past the dead horse stage. It's dead glue. My opinion is that Mr. Burlew doesn't show Vaarsuvius' gender because it's a lose-lose scenario. The most part of readers will be pissed no matter the result, with a thrilling number of reader that would dislike both option.
Too much expectations on a two-option mistery.

[Lauren]

The upshot is that V has both genders or neither, take your pick. It's kind of like an XX/XY version of Schroedinger's Cat... suspended in quantum probability, both male and female, until observed to be one or the other.

Sigged, as the BEST response to this question EVER.

[Ninja]

Sigged, as the BEST response to this question EVER.

that is the best response... wait ill find the one with the ninja-elven theory... THAT is the best....
ah here it is:
There are obviously 2 Varssuvius's, one male and one female, both of which are identical and switch out between panels using elven ninja skills.

now that i think of it... i gotta sig it....

[EponymousKid]

edit: Also, this is Rich's depiction of a female wizard in a robe: http://www.giantitp.com/avatars/BlueWizardGirl.gif Not shaped like V.

Exactly. If Vaarsuvius was meant to be female, he would've been visibly female. If he was meant to be androgynous the entire time, he would've been obviously androgynous. As it stands, he was an apparent male who just had long hair and didn't particularly fit in with the other men in the party.

Oh, and I think Vaarsuvius' assessment of Belkar's mind is biased (because of their intense mutual hatred), and thus shouldn't be taken as fact, or anything. And, possibly, some racism towards halflings in general.

After all, Belkar didn't exactly lust after Shinjo, did he? Or Mister Scruffy, for that matter. And, considering the recent revelation that he's actually rather dependant on attention from the rest of the group...

[Lira]

Exactly. If Vaarsuvius was meant to be female, he would've been visibly female. If he was meant to be androgynous the entire time, he would've been obviously androgynous. As it stands, he was an apparent male who just had long hair and didn't particularly fit in with the other men in the party.Um. The depicted picture was of a human, not an elf, so it's by no means conclusive proof. Also, it's not canon until it appears directly in the strip so I don't think forum avatars can be used as something to solve this question. Also, you say V looks male, but there are many forumers who thought V was female and other forumers (like me) who never had an opinion on V's gender, so I wouldn't think V's appearance will determine his or her gender either...


Oh, and I think Vaarsuvius' assessment of Belkar's mind is biased (because of their intense mutual hatred), and thus shouldn't be taken as fact, or anything. And, possibly, some racism towards halflings in general.Yeah, it's definitely biased. I always just saw it as a way V overcomplicates the situation to explain The Event, I've never believed it was true.

[EponymousKid]

I'm literally just talking about Vaarsuvius' distinct lack of feminine secondary sex characteristics. You know, like the kin Haley has that immediately indicate to the reader that she's female. If Vaarsuvius was originally meant to be female, he would've had them, just so you, the reader, would be able to tell.

But he had long hair, and his gender wasn't explicitly referred to, which is enough for some people.

And, come on, we've seen female elves before. Vaarsuvius himself doesn't look that different from a human, it's not as if there's a huge difference.

[drengnikrafe]

I'm literally just talking about Vaarsuvius' distinct lack of feminine secondary sex characteristics. You know, like the kin Haley has that immediately indicate to the reader that she's female. If Vaarsuvius was originally meant to be female, he would've had them, just so you, the reader, would be able to tell.

But he had long hair, and his gender wasn't explicitly referred to, which is enough for some people.

And, come on, we've seen female elves before. Vaarsuvius himself doesn't look that different from a human, it's not as if there's a huge difference.

(Emphasis mine)

Are you suggesting that every single female elf in the entire world has exactly the same bodily structure, and that there is no way there is even a single female elf that looks different? I find that awfully superficially blind of you. I, personally, refer to Vaarsuvius as a "she", but that's simply my opinion. I don't go around telling people "Vaarsuvius is female. I don't have proof, it's just the way I feel, and you should feel exactly the same." No, I respect the fact that people think she's male, since it's all part of her gender ambiguity (sp?). Don't speak your opinion as through it were law. It's offensive.

[EponymousKid]

Every single female human we've seen so far does, so I don't think it's that far out there at all.

Oh, and you're completely right, by the way. I'm just dumb, I'm sorry... I really didn't mean to offend anyone, but I can totally see how I did...

[Lira]

I'm literally just talking about Vaarsuvius' distinct lack of feminine secondary sex characteristics. You know, like the kin Haley has that immediately indicate to the reader that she's female. If Vaarsuvius was originally meant to be female, he would've had them, just so you, the reader, would be able to tell.Yeah, Rich stated in the first book that V started with a definite gender but then he made V androgynous later. I think V was intended to be male, probably, which explains why V may not really look feminine to you. But the thing is, if Rich hasn't stated/shown it in the strip, he's free to change his mind whenever he wants. If he really wanted to, he could make V female despite starting out with a different idea. Who knows? But Rich does change things, i.e. originally all members of the order except Belkar were going to be Good aligned, but Rich changed his mind about that later.
But he had long hair, and his gender wasn't explicitly referred to, which is enough for some people.Sure, we don't have any evidence of V being female, but we don't really have any evidence of V being male either, so I don't think we can conclusively make a decision yet until we receive more information.
And, come on, we've seen female elves before. Vaarsuvius himself doesn't look that different from a human, it's not as if there's a huge difference.Have you read SoD? If you haven't, you should totally get it, it's a great book. And we get to see elves! Lots of elves. The first thing that hit me when I saw the elves was, "Hey! Most of them look pretty androgynous!". SoD shows that most elves in the OOTSverse are fairly androgynous which supports my standpoint that we can't determine what V is without more information.

[Jayngfet]

Obviously 'e has a V chromosome.

[Gez]

(Emphasis mine)

Are you suggesting that every single female elf in the entire world has exactly the same bodily structure, and that there is no way there is even a single female elf that looks different?


In a stick figure world? Where all characters are, in their aspect, heavily simplified and abstracted? Yes.

[Ninja]

But Rich does change things, i.e. originally all members of the order except Belkar were going to be Good aligned, but Rich changed his mind about that later.

realy? how do you tell? i thought they were all good?

oh and let me quote BRC and shed some light on this dispute :


There are obviously 2 Varssuvius's, one male and one female, both of which are identical and switch out between panels using elven ninja skills.
:smallbiggrin:

[Lira]

realy? how do you tell? i thought they were all good?... Are you joking about that?
Anyways... my source on that was [this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6043)] topic. Rich states in the tenth post that he's pretty much changed his mind about making the main characters all good aligned except Belkar.
Slightly offtopic: That topic I linked to leads me to believe V is definitely Neutral, since we know Belkar is Evil and the other members are Good, so the only one Rich must have changed his mind about was V. I know it's not concrete evidence or anything, but it's good enough for me. :smalltongue:


In a stick figure world? Where all characters are, in their aspect, heavily simplified and abstracted? Yes.I'm afraid you'd be wrong then, since we already have proof of elves having different body types. Buy SoD and look through pages 51 to 55.

[Chronos]

Every single female human we've seen so far does [have the same body type], so I don't think it's that far out there at all.Does it really look to you like Tsukiko (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0513.html) and Lien (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0473.html) have the same body type?

[DrivinAllNight]

With regards to the Elves in SOD being ambiguous, was SOD written before or after the controversy with the V gender issue? If written after, it may explain the ambiguity of the gender.

[Silence]

Exactly how many times have you casted raise dead on this horse and subsequently killed it?

[Jahkaivah]

It blows my mind that people are taking this thread seriously. :smalleek:

Basically, it can and always will go either way, your theories will always be a load of bull...

Nothing we read can deterimine Vs gender, because Rich can always proove us wrong.

Now can we please leave the poor horse alone? :smallfrown:

I also liked Callista's Schrodingers Cat analogy :smallbiggrin:

[FujinAkari]

With regards to the Elves in SOD being ambiguous, was SOD written before or after the controversy with the V gender issue? If written after, it may explain the ambiguity of the gender.

Well, considering that the ambiguity started with OOTS #6, it was very much after :P

That said, this is a metacomic argument, not a logical one. You can't simply ignore entire swaths of comics because they don't support some theory or another... each comic is canon.

[Evil DM Mark3]

V is an elf. If he has chromosomes (remember dudes and dudets, fantasy world) then they would have been first catalogued and named by elves. Thus I wish to state and affirm that in my opinion V has a White Water Rose and Evening's Blessed Light chromosomes, as well as over 50 other fruitily named clumps of DNA.

[Kato]

It's a phase factor. It could be 1, -1, i, or any other complex number with amplitude 1. You'll learn more about such when you start on quantum, but the gist is that any given phase factor is irrelevant (and thus could be arbitrarily set to 1 to make the calculations easier), but the differences between phase factors are relevant.

Damn, okay, I misread phi for pi, my bad ^^' Then of course it DOES matter...

[Demon Slayer]

Seriously, is V a guy or a girl? I've tried to figure it out since the early strips....

V is totally a girl. Here are my reasons:

- V always share a room with Haley.
- When V was talking about her marrige she clearly stated her "mate" propsed to her (I don't about you but I don't see a lot of woman proposing to their love one's unless unless their lesbians.)
- When Elan was naked she probably closed her eyes so she could resist the urge to go after him because of his 18 charisma
-V is a girl because Rich knew he needed to balance the whole entire male and female thing and made her gender undeterimeble to throw in a laugh or two.:vaarsuvius:

[drengnikrafe]

V is totally a girl. Here are my reasons:

- V always share a room with Haley.
- When V was talking about her marrige she clearly stated her "mate" propsed to her (I don't about you but I don't see a lot of woman proposing to their love one's unless unless their lesbians.)
- When Elan was naked she probably closed her eyes so she could resist the urge to go after him because of his 18 charisma
-V is a girl because Rich knew he needed to balance the whole entire male and female thing and made her gender undeterimeble to throw in a laugh or two.:vaarsuvius:

Wow, those are some really good recycled reasons. And watch as I diffuse them to some degree.

V is the only one Haley trusts will not do "anything". Furthermore, Haley likes what V talks about, but not what anyone else talks about. Please note, this is speculation. There are a lot of reasons Haley could share a room with V, I'm just stating one possibility.
Elves' system of proposals can be different then humans. We don't know one way or the other.
She also could've closed her/his eyes because (s)he was disgusted, not just because (s)he "couldn't resist it".
When was the last time your party had gender balance? Almost every campaign I've been in has had 1 or 0 female characters. Mind you, it was only 2 that had 1, the others had none. Is this the case in all cases? By no means. Can this be the case? Yes. Parties don't NEED gender balance.

Vaarsuvius cannot be proven either gender.

[Demon Slayer]

Wow, those are some really good recycled reasons. And watch as I diffuse them to some degree.

V is the only one Haley trusts will not do "anything". Furthermore, Haley likes what V talks about, but not what anyone else talks about. Please note, this is speculation. There are a lot of reasons Haley could share a room with V, I'm just stating one possibility.
Elves' system of proposals can be different then humans. We don't know one way or the other.
She also could've closed her/his eyes because (s)he was disgusted, not just because (s)he "couldn't resist it".
When was the last time your party had gender balance? Almost every campaign I've been in has had 1 or 0 female characters. Mind you, it was only 2 that had 1, the others had none. Is this the case in all cases? By no means. Can this be the case? Yes. Parties don't NEED gender balance.

Vaarsuvius cannot be proven either gender.

I agree on most of the things you just said. But I still beleive in the gender balance thing and what I met by balance is that Rich may have done this from an auther's perspective. I think I read plenty of novels and see that gender balancing happening or on some degree.

Also you're probably right about :vaarsuvius: gender is undetermible

[drengnikrafe]

I agree on most of the things you just said. But I still beleive in the gender balance thing and what I met by balance is that Rich may have done this from an auther's perspective. I think I read plenty of novels and see that gender balancing happening or on some degree.

Also you're probably right about :vaarsuvius: gender is undetermible

Hmm... you have some point there, but you have to acknowledge it doesn't happen all the time. But you're right, it is a nice thing to have.

You're welcome to feel that Vaaruvius is female. I personally do, but don't try to convince other people of it. That's just silly. Most people who have made up their minds won't change it, and most people who haven't should make it up for themselves.

[Demon Slayer]

Hmm... you have some point there, but you have to acknowledge it doesn't happen all the time. But you're right, it is a nice thing to have.

You're welcome to feel that Vaaruvius is female. I personally do, but don't try to convince other people of it. That's just silly. Most people who have made up their minds won't change it, and most people who haven't should make it up for themselves.

Well it was nice talking to you and thanks for the advice I'll try to remember that in the future.:vaarsuvius:

[drengnikrafe]

Well it was nice talking to you and thanks for the advice I'll try to remember that in the future.:vaarsuvius:

Ah, same goes to you. Sorry for being a bit mean with my first post. I keep forgetting that the people marked "Pixie in the playground" don't know the fifty billion assumed ground rules of posting stuff. Good luck in the future.

[David Argall]

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0239.html

Well the scene at the end give me the impression that V is a girl...

As with many other scenes, this is merely the opinion of the character speaking, and since the character is an optimistic male, this one is particularly weak to rely on.

[Gez]

Did the whole "gender ambiguity" thing start as early as this strip (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0009.html) where the elf is referred to as "V-man"?

[Eric]

Did the whole "gender ambiguity" thing start as early as this strip (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0009.html) where the elf is referred to as "V-man"?

Nope. "Man" is gender neutral.

Wir man was corrupted to woman but was the female man.

Mer man was corrupted to man by general usage but was the male man. (dang it, left of the rest)

But "man" is generic.

[Eric]

Basically, it can and always will go either way, your theories will always be a load of bull...


Woah! So V's not androgynous, just a swinger! :smalltongue:

[EponymousKid]

I think most of the male members of the OOTS think Vaarsuvius is male. I'm sure Belkar does, for one. Elan probably thinks so, too; He's so simple, and all.