OOTS #382 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up. Double-sized introspective fun.

[Rumda]

So now we find out what they all are. Except for the red and the green

[rawling]

This isn't going to turn out well, is it?

[rxmd]

This isn't going to turn out well, is it?

rxmd reluctantly forced to agree

But we still don't know about Red and Green, so there's ample stuff for discussion left.

EDIT: No inner elf, ha!

[Yuki Akuma]

Is it wrong that my favourite character in the strip is currently Haley's Self Loathing?

[Fenix]

"No one asked you, Haley´s Latent Bisexuality. "

[Rumda]

well she is one of the most dominant aspects, which is also shown by how scruffy vanity is

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

A little early, thanks Rich!

[Alfryd]

New comic is up. Double-sized introspective fun.

I am beginning to relate to Haley to a unnerving degree. In other news, good comic.

A little early, thanks Rich!

I concur.

[Max_Sinister]

This was deep... and yet funny...

[Heads_or_Tails]

Wow, is it just me or is Haley's self loathing more intelligent than her intellect? (Is that even possible, within the realms of a slowly fracturing mind anyway?)

[Alfryd]

Also, this *really* explains how she relates to V so well.

[Noneoyabizzness]

sometimes yu really want to believe in good fortune

[Mr._Wilson]

Poor Haley. Ironic she chooses this one time to drop her walls. This can't end well.

[Freelance Henchman]

I'm for making "Haley´s Latent Bisexuality" an official member of the OOTS.

[Luckymonkey]

How is that Ironic?

[Adlan]

Rich, I both hate and love whats about to happen, The Tension just got worse. Please, please make sure you have enough insurance to cover all the heart attacks your marvellous plot will cause.

[Wordmaker]

My first post on these forums, been reading OOTS since the very beginning.

I'm not a big fan of how things are currently going in OOTS. Hayley's lost voice has become annoying, she's been relegated to a secondary character. I think the subplot should have been resolved months ago. A lot of the storylines feel a bit dragged out this year.

I had a bad feeling about things as soon as Nale switched places with Elan. I knew exactly where the storyline was heading, and now I'm right. What I see happening is Haley falling for Nale's ploy, then when the truth is revealed, we'll have another year of angst because she won't feel comfortable being with Elan afterwards.

This element of the Evil-Twin style plot is so overdone I'd hoped we wouldn't see it, not to mention it introduces a very, very dark story element. We're basically being led to expect that Haley may end up sleeping with someone whom she would otherwise hate and despise, because she won't realise what she's doing. I like my comedy, and storytelling, a little bit lighter than that.

I've been a huge fan of OOTS for years, but the quality of the storytelling is really suffering at the moment. It's a shame.

[DarkLightDragon]

Maybe the Intellect looks like an elf because V is smart, and Haley is friends with V. I noticed that the Mistrust, as well as wearing full armour, seems to behave similarly to Miko. I reckon the Red and Green represent anger and peace/happines (because Red looks pretty ticked off).

Spoiler

Show

I reckon what will happen is that although Haley knows that "Elan" (Nale-Elan) might not really be Elan (we already know he's not, but that's not the point here), she won't find out the whole truth 'til it's nearly too late, then find some way to save herself at the last second. Or the rest of the OOTS will arrive. Or someone will use Detect Evil. Or Sabine appearing an an inopportune monent

Great comic by the way! Loved the conversation between the different Haleys!

[Mr._Wilson]

How is that Ironic?

In this case it's dramatic irony. That is to say, quoted from the dictionary: "The dramatic effect achieved by leading an audience to understand an incongruity between a situation and the accompanying speeches, while the characters in the play remain unaware of the incongruity."

The irony is that should she have chosen to be suspicious of Nale's gift and speech, she would not be endangered.

[SiD]

Woo, early comic and king-sized fun! Nice one, Giant!

Love all the introspective conversations going on inside poor Haley's head. Well, now she's made her conscious decision to do what the Oracle told her, I guess her speech will be back to normal in short order. I'm conveniently overlooking the fact that the Oracle didn't say when her speech would be restored, just that 'what [Haley] could do to restore [her] speech' was to not look the gift horse in the mouth... Didn't say it would be a pleasant process either...

Looks like that clears up a lot of the multiple personality traits, too. Should've seen "Haley's Latent Bisexuality" coming from her date with Elan... :lol:

[Wordmaker]

Dramatic irony is very different from irony.

Haley going for dinner with Nale, thinking he's Elan, is dramatic irony.

Haley deciding NOT to go to dinner with Nale, being suspicious, then Elan turning up, getting Nale out of the way, and taking his place at dinner, waiting on his own for Haley, THAT would be ironic.

[SDF]

Where is admiral Ackbar when you need him?

[hewhosaysfish]

Other people can say what they like, I enjoy the "angsty" getting-inside-a-character's-psyche angle, especially in a comedy.

And wordmaker: I don't think it is going to get that dark. I don't know how or why, but it's just not in the style off OOTSv and the Giant to lead us into that sort of territory.

Also...

well she is one of the most dominant aspects, which is also shown by how scruffy vanity is

I don't think Vanity is scruffy because she's a necglected element of Haley's mind but because whenever Haley looks in a mirror (regardless of how she looks) Vanity says "Eek, my hair looks like a hay-stack!" Because Vanity and Insecuruty are twin sisters , you know.

[Silverblaze]

On the ironic part, I find the fact that she is able to think of a doubleganger, but not Nale, very much so - Sheesh... And I must say - the thought of an existential discussion between mental constructs is pretty funny *G* Good one, Mr. G :-D

[Sir_Norbert]

Weird....... I could swear the second half wasn't up the first time I looked!

Wonderful stuff though! Answers so many questions, and I'm glad to know I was *right* about one of the things I've been most vehement about! :)

[Selvan]

@ Wordmaker: Relax! What you're experiencing here is called 'tension' - something that's rarely found in web-comics. You should really try to appreciate it.

You have made it this far and Rich has never let you down. I trust in him to sort things out in a funny and surprising way once again. Do you really expect to see a comic with Haley and Nale in bed? I don't think so.

Can't wait until Wednesday...

[armatil]

Poor Haley. Ironic she chooses this one time to drop her walls. This can't end well.

aye. in real life choosing to drop your walls is done at the exact wrong moment 50% of the time.

i comedy, it's 100%.

great comic. loved all the personalities. (hehe, peroxide ) and the overall tone of self-loathing. i laughed thoroughly.

[Wordmaker]

Other people can say what they like, I enjoy the "angsty" getting-inside-a-character's-psyche angle, especially in a comedy.

And wordmaker: I don't think it is going to get that dark. I don't know how or why, but it's just not in the style off OOTSv and the Giant to lead us into that sort of territory.

I don't mind getting into a character's psyche. I just think certain subplots have gone on past the point where they do anything for the enjoyment of the story. It's the difference between saying "I can't wait to see how Haley gets her voice back," and "I can't wait until Haley finally gets her voice back," you know?

I really hope I'm wrong in how this plot is going to go. Tension is fine, but if this is just a long trudge through an over-used plot hook which only leads to pain for the characters, I'll be very disappointed.

[Dagoth]

Disappointing. The quality of the strip has dropped significantly. Honestly, I wouldn't mind the comic being updated once a month, if only the humor was good. The members of the Oots have transformed from a "somewhat non-typical band of adventurers" into "typical modern society lowlifes": Haley is a whore (she confesses to that in the strip in which she dines with Elan, I can't remember what number it was), V is the epitome of ignorance (He sees "Elan" making out with a male cop and doesn't react). The jokes have become disturbing (what about the kids that play this game???); Dates? Bisexuality? Seriously, Giant, couldn't you come up with something better than that?

I noticed that the story now focuses more on the characters themselves instead of the Oots as a whole, which seems to be a really bad thing, especially with Nale joining. He would have been okay if he'd just stay put, but he seems to bring out the worst in everyone. Lately, Belkar doesn't seem any more evil than most of the other Ootsers (V, Haley, Roy).

The strip has been great up to a point - and that's right where the Starmetal sidequest came to an end. Since then, it has been as it's been. I don't think there's any need to repeat myself.