OOTS #915 - The Discussion Thread

[Felhammer]

Tarquin is a master strategist!

[Bedinsis]

"Now that I know you come from such lowly stock, I need to make sure you're worthy of dating Elan."

...wow, I didn't know Tarquin could be such a classicist jerk.

Also, how can two high-ranking persons of the Empire of Blood's sworn enemies be walking around in the Empire of Blood's palace? I'd imagine that's what Tarquin would use that Death Squad from the parade for.

[Liliet]

...so now they are going to search for Ian instead of going for the next Gate as soon as possible. Ingenious!
Or they aren't. But will be forced to somehow.
Or Giant is going to break the pattern of books coming in pairs: "Gate"-"No Gate"

[Lordchoculla]

New comic is up.

A huge compliment to you, Giant, for keeping up the quick update schedule keeping the pace of this tense and pivotal moment in your story so intense. Cool, but please also do take care of your self.

Kind regards

[Cerlis]

I'm a little puzzled by what Tarquin is up to here, though. If he actually wants the Order to get on with fighting Xykon "for him", why is he trying to sidetrack them with what amounts to a time consuming sidequest?

He's certainly been petty before (see Enor and Gangi in the arena), but he's never indulged in pettiness to the detriment of his own larger plans.

Something may be afoot. Maybe the other shoe will drop next strip.

I dont know, Starshine seems good at laying low and no doubt he will be the first to hear about this.

This all being stuff Haley would know, and Tarquinn would know she knows.

This thing (i dont think) is about sending her on some sidequest, its about taking away a complete stranger's happy retirement for daring to think he is equal, with the added benefit of seeing if Haley has any skills. He talks about Elan Dating her, this strikes me as meaning this is part of his "over the next few years seeing if she is worthy." type of deal. Not a "deal with this now" deal.

Basically he's telling her, in his own way, that she and Elan will never have their happy ending so long as he is alive.

[SaintRidley]

Tarquin's super broke up about Nale, that's for sure. Just look at how much he looks and sounds like he doesn't care one bit. It can only mean that on the inside he is the saddest, most sorrowful and repentant man in the history of the world.

[SaintRidley]

"Now that I know you come from such lowly stock, I need to make sure you're worthy of dating Elan."

...wow, I didn't know Tarquin could be such a classicist jerk.

Also, how can two high-ranking persons of the Empire of Blood's sworn enemies be walking around in the Empire of Blood's palace? I'd imagine that's what Tarquin would use that Death Squad from the parade for.

Classist. A classicist would be something else entirely, though potentially also classist.

[coineineagh]

Lots of background info in this one. Nice.

[Felhammer]

"Now that I know you come from such lowly stock, I need to make sure you're worthy of dating Elan."

...wow, I didn't know Tarquin could be such a classicist jerk.

Also, how can two high-ranking persons of the Empire of Blood's sworn enemies be walking around in the Empire of Blood's palace? I'd imagine that's what Tarquin would use that Death Squad from the parade for.

He's an Ambassador, I think. They usually have good rights when it comes to speaking with Monarchs.

[nohamotyo]

Add classism to the long, long list of things that make Tarquin a jackass. But he's still a sweetheart because he has verve. Right, apologists?

We've seen five of six members of TT in the present now. What's the sixth doing?

[Anarion]

I think Tarquin may have miscalculated here. Haley cares about her Dad, sure, but he's a rogue. A good one at that. He's probably capable of hiding with no trouble. And Tarquin already pulled the "have the heroes lead us to the target" gambit with Girard's gate, so hopefully Haley won't fall for that twice.

[blueblade]

So they're invading reptilia next, but what about the "Leak's been plugged" comment, coming from one of the Empire of Tears advisers? Does that mean they've staged a coup/assassination there as well??

Seems odd for 2 kingdoms to topple at once, I didn't think that was how it worked.

Err, I think I was completely misreading the whole situation. Leak might just have been a reference to the spies the ambassador knew about.

[Weiser_Cain]

Weird how this feels more evil than killing Nale.

[Killer Angel]

Tarquin, you magnificent chess master!

[ti'esar]

So they're invading reptilia next, but what about the "Leak's been plugged" comment, coming from one of the Empire of Tears advisers? Does that mean they've staged a coup/assassination there as well??

Seems odd for 2 kingdoms to topple at once, I didn't think that was how it worked.

He's referring to the ambassador's attempt to expose Tarquin's scheme (or what he knew about it, anyway).

Also, I don't think Tarquin's actually a classist (though it wouldn't really surprise me). I think "lowly stock" here just means "someone opposed to my rule".

[Bedinsis]

Classist. A classicist would be something else entirely, though potentially also classist.

Darn it, I thought that was the word, yet my web browser told me otherwise.

He's an Ambassador, I think. They usually have good rights when it comes to speaking with Monarchs.

I wasn't talking about the Reptilian ambassador, I was talking about Miron and Catperson.

[Demolator]

Oh Tarquin you and your silly shenanigans. Nice to see the rest of the team. Hopefully no more deaths will come about soon, Haley looks pretty mad.

[Baelzar]

Oh, he is completely terrible. But he does it with such style.

I believe "Magnificent Bastard" fits quite nicely!

[Agnostik]

If Ian is as good at "laying low" as he is at "playing it cool", he might be in trouble already.

[Liliet]

So, Tarquin is not just incredibly petty, he's also distastefully petty. I mean, he punished those two for making a stupid badly-timed joke, but he punished Ian for fulfilling his narrative role as a rebel. Seriously.

On the other hand, he's actually just given OotS a major headache. As in: what should they do first, rush for the next Gate hoping Ian can take care of himself (basically abandoning him to his fate) or go find Ian hoping it's quick and the Gate's defences can delay Xykon for long enough (basically gambling on the fate of the world). Both are... not Good.

If Tarquin were truly dedicated to the side of Evil, I'd understand that this was a sneak and beautiful move. But he's only dedicated to himself, and this looks like it was both unnecessarily Evil and shooting-himself-in-the-foot stupid.

Minus two more points for Tarquin: NOT stylish, NOT a nigh-omniscient planner. And to think he was doing so good before killing Nale...

[kxm]

I'm a little puzzled by what Tarquin is up to here, though. If he actually wants the Order to get on with fighting Xykon "for him", why is he trying to sidetrack them with what amounts to a time consuming sidequest?

He's certainly been petty before (see Enor and Gangi in the arena), but he's never indulged in pettiness to the detriment of his own larger plans.

Something may be afoot. Maybe the other shoe will drop next strip.

Yeah, I'm wondering about this too. Everything Tarquin's done has always seemed to have some kind of purpose in his grand plan, whether we knew what it was yet or not. So far this seems pretty random and standalone. But I guess we'll see, there's probably something we don't know yet.

[Diadem]

Wow.

Tarquin got even more epic. I didn't think it was possible, but he did it. He might well be the best villain ever.

I saw a quote somewhere on these forums, I don't remember the exact words, but that writing an evil character is like creating a delicate and difficult piece of art, but that isn't truly complete until you've destroyed it.

The same is true for Tarquin of course. He has to go down before the end of the story. At the moment, he seems utterly untouchable, so taking him out is going to take some very skillful writing. I'm sure Rich can pull that off, and I'm very looking forward to seeing it.

[Alleran]

Well played, Tarquin. Well played.

Well, maybe. I'm not sure why he did it, exactly, unless he'd like to see the Order pick up Ian and then take him with them to the Northern Lands on their way to the last Gate.

[Bartle]

Nothing says "surprise" like a monocle flying off of your face!

[oball]

Nice detail: the bounty for bringing him in is exactly the same for "dead" as it is for "alive". If you're a bounty hunter, which is easier?

[Cavenskull]

I think Tarquin may have miscalculated here. Haley cares about her Dad, sure, but he's a rogue. A good one at that. He's probably capable of hiding with no trouble. And Tarquin already pulled the "have the heroes lead us to the target" gambit with Girard's gate, so hopefully Haley won't fall for that twice.

By Ian's own admission, every single escape attempt he's made has ended in failure.

[Morgan Wick]

So, could someone remind me when we saw lizard guy wanting to deliver a message before?

[FearlessFelix]

Had to register for this strip, goddamm is Tarquin sexy! As soon as we determine what his group's name is I request one day a year where the comic's title is replaced by it!

On a complete side note ... could Elan's best plan of action involve having himself aged to 50 or so, replacing his father, and making an inspirational speech?

[Gift Jeraff]

So, could someone remind me when we saw lizard guy wanting to deliver a message before?

Here and here.

[Yendor]

So, could someone remind me when we saw lizard guy wanting to deliver a message before?

Right here.