OOTS #981 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

[Murk]

Yay they are happy friends now!

[Garwain]

Although it's probably the right thing to do, it still feels cold to outright kill some..euh...thing you have an emotional history with. And why do I feel some sympathy for Crystal? I blame the storyteller....

[Mercenary Pen]

May I just say that I'd be very surprised if Haley hasn't earned a new level through this (I know the rules don't work like that, but sometimes the narrative does)

[Rick_DW]

Just had to drop in to say that I really enjoyed this strip. It's very Haley, who's my second-most-favourite OOTSer (after Durkon). She really knows who she is, and she makes no apologies.

[imany]

Had to be done based on Crystal's answer there. I guess she was too hard to kill by normal means and rez, though? Why would they need to go on a quest for it?

[JCAll]

So Terminator 2. I imagine she was giving her a rude hand gesture off screen as she sank.
Great movie.

[Mad Humanist]

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's constantly-in-pain murderous enemy's life across an open pit of fire for one's little behatted friends.

[MelTorefas]

"Starshine! We hates it! Hates it! Forever!"

Oh, no, she's a *golem*. Right. Anyways. A fitting end!

[Agnostik]

And that's how this loose thread ends: not with a bang, but with a brunch. There's never been a happier ending than brunch.

[alaalba_123]

Although it's probably the right thing to do, it still feels cold to outright kill some..euh...thing you have an emotional history with. And why do I feel some sympathy for Crystal? I blame the storyteller....

I'd say any sapient being (probably even any sentient being) still qualifies as someone. That being said, killing her was necessary, and surprise was the best tactic with the least chance of casualties.

[DDRNick]

Easiest way to solve the problem.

[Pendulous]

What a casual killing of a terrible creature.

[LadyEowyn]

Well, that's not what I was expecting, but it makes a lot more sense than keeping Crystal around, considering what she's like (i.e., dangerous psychopath). I'm good with it.

So I suppose that means this arc really was just about cleaning up some Greysky City loose ends and showcasing Haley's character development. Bozzok's dead, Crystal's dead, it's unlikely any other members of the Thieves' Guild are going to come after Haley.

[Jinglebelle]

The way they killed Crystal was perfect. What made this comic brutal for me was that they just went out to lunch afterwards. No "alas poor monster." I was expecting someone to have a reaction to Elab's in (panel 2, here). Haley's reaction was a little too much like Tarquin's after killing Nale, in the outgrown this antagonist sense. The lack of gravity actually made it more brutal.

The art fetishist in me wants to comment on how pretty the waste disposal plant is.

[Xiander]

Honestly Rich, these three pages represents some of the best work you have done throughout the history of the comic.
I loved everything from the fitting end to Crystal to the breakfast burrito.

[Quild]

So Terminator 2. I imagine she was giving her a rude hand gesture off screen as she sank.
Great movie.

Sounded more like Gollum falling into lava to me :D
About the hand gesture, I remember a nice one in Castle Crashers. Can't remember which boss.

I guess Crystal (still) deserved that and missed her chance, big time. It's surprising that while Haley had time to devise this plan with the gnome and Bandana, expecting that Crystal hadn't change since the gnomicide, she didn't heal herself, just in case.


Edit: Also, turns out I've been entirely wrong about the purpose of this little arc being to have the diamond dust used. Thinking at it, there would be no point for Durkon having diamond dust for two spells in a first place while only one was required (on the Draketooth) if you then have to dispatch the second one. It just was to end things with Bozzok and Crystal after all.

[Smoke_Rulz]

Holy god.

Comic of the year already.

[Rendel Nep]

Great strip but I feel like it's missing something. Oh, I know, a terrible pun from Elan. Now what would that be?

[Haluesen]

This is definitely my favorite strip so far. The dialogue was excellent, it was funny, tied things together nicely, overall it was just amazing. Haley has changed so much. Is it strange for me to feel proud of a fictional stick figure character? Ehh, it's probably okay.

[LightPhoenix]

I guess Crystal (still) deserved that and missed her chance, big time. It's surprising that while Haley had time to devise this plan with the gnome and Bandana, expecting that Crystal hadn't change since the gnomicide, she didn't heal herself, just in case.

What I liked most is that Haley gave her a chance to change, as opposed to just murdering her in cold blood. More of Elan's positive influence at work.

Also, the symbolism of Crystal's dagger shattering makes more sense now.

[JoseB]

Excellent wrapping up of loose ends, and I can't help but feeling that the conversation between Haley and Crystal Golem in the beginning was something like a "last chance" Haley was giving Crystal of proving that she could be left, uh... if not alive, at least "existing".

But after what Crystal said, it became clear for Haley that she had to be dealt with accordingly. I imagine that the "disposal" plan had been somehow agreed upon while Crystal was transforming Bozzok into a thin paste coating the walls of his hideout.

All in all, excellent comic.

The lack of "alas, poor monster" at the end makes it even better in my opinion :) I love when expectations are, occassionally, squashed without mercy.

[Starwulf]

That was flipping epic. I almost expected Haley to show a little bit of remorse there in the last few panels, but then, nope! "Give me another breakfast burrito". If my kids weren't asleep I'd have been laughing very, very loudly ^^

[Silferdrake]

Sneaky. I really thought for a while there that Haley was going to recruit her to the order.

Anyway, I guess this marks the end of the thieves guild as recurring villains. A nice arc all in all. I really like that they invited the gnome cop to brunch.

[Durkoala]

I'm not sure how I feel about this. Crystal was too dangerous and violent to leave alive, but there's something about killing her in the middle of a fairly friendly chat that is a bit unsettling. Immediately cutting to the celebrations after Haley just caused the deaths of two people also feels a bit wrong. Yes, the world is a slightly safer and better place without Bozzok and Crystal, but throwing a party immediately after murdering somebody doesn't feel very heroic.

Aside from that this was great. this really is a great moment for Haley, seeing what Crystal's plans for the future are and dealing of her when she just wants to kill everything by taking advantage of her nature to follow somebody who seems to know what they're doing. It's also a great way for her to shed the last of her old troubles by opening up to Crystal and being honest with her about their relationship, showing that although Crystal has been physically buffed up to Haley's level, she and Bozzok are emotionally a long way beneath her now. I've really enjoyed Haley's journey over the comic, and this is a good summary of it.

We probably aren't done with Tinkertown yet, which is good because the place has grown on me since my initial dislike. We still don't know what Hippo's looking for, which admittedly could wait until later to be revealed: the fact that he's looking for something might be an early hint for a later development.

[shadowpriest]

Wow. I surely didn't see that coming.

[Pendulous]

I don't know if this is a bug on my end, but the strip doesn't show as the latest on the main page. It still shows 980. 981 doesn't show until you enter the forum.

[With a box]

Are Haley useing bluff? and she looks like dosen't care at all.

[A_Moon]

Always nice to unwind with some waffles.

[Edhelras]

Poor Crystal. Noone misses her.

Me neither.