Things You Never Noticed VII: Wait, This Isnt the MitD Thread?

[arimareiji]

Seeing as V did indeed used Invisibility to flee (Page 2, Panel 7) the battle, that strengthens the idea. Maybe the words turned harsher because of V's poor mental state, but it is based on a memory.

That is a freakin' amazing point. Thank you for the reminder that memories stored in meat are much more "flexible" than memories stored on silicon. (^_~)

It's something I tend to forget about, but having previously gotten the chance to later hear recordings of conversations I was invested in, I can attest at least for myself: Given its finite storage capacity, it's much too easy for my brain to overwrite <what someone literally said>, with <what I thought they meant>. Sometimes it's not much of an error (i.e. prior context and/or expression / body language heavily shade the literal words toward the mis-memory), but sometimes it's just plain what my mom used to call "jumping to confusions".

_{Edit: Slight reword}

[Emberlily]

Comic 677, This Never Happens to Jiminy Cricket (I don't have enough posts to share links)

The magic shop in Sandsedge has a sign inside saying "NO SPELLCASTING!". I'd always figured V got kicked out bc they were attacking a patron with a spell, not just casting one at all.

[Fyraltari]

In Start of Darkness, Tiamat's line about the Dark One "I think we need some fresh blood around here, to shake things up" was a way for her to get Thor to notice TDO's unique quiddity without giving the game away.

[Metastachydium]

(I've just found two strips I haven't seen before.)

[danielxcutter]

Unless there was a ritual performed off-screen, the number of rituals here seems to be off.

[Fyraltari]

Unless there was a ritual performed off-screen, the number of rituals here seems to be off.

Maybe it's recursive?

[ti'esar]

Yeah, I think that's part of the joke. It's an infinite loop. No wonder Redcloak killed him.

[dancrilis]

Unless there was a ritual performed off-screen, the number of rituals here seems to be off.

Technically the hobgoblin didn't say that 'The ritual of doing the first four rituals over again only slower and while singing' was the ritual after 'the ritual of uncomfortable piercing in private places' - he merely mentioned that is was the one needed to become an honourary hobgoblin.

It is possible that there are dozens of rituals between those two.

[Ron Miel]

I always assumed that we are seeing Redcloak performing his second ritual.

[Ruck]

I was reading an old thread (I get the urge to once in a while to see how people reacted to a certain development), and someone in the #763 discussion mentioned something I never noticed:

Okay, everything about the awesomeness of Tarquin has already been said by this point, so I'll cut to something that, as far as I've noticed, HASN'T been brought up. It's a real small detail that speaks volume of the character. Ever notice that, when walking around or just chilling out, Tarquin seems to put his hand behind his back a lot? Normally this could be chalked up to posture or just trying to look cool. However, one must remember where he keeps his dagger. He's turned an idle habit and cool pose into a tactical advantage.

And exactly 150 strips later, notice where he casually places his hands toward the end of the strip.

[danielxcutter]

Ooooooooh.

[Kornaki]

Oh that is pretty cool.

[arimareiji]

Something I'd never noticed before: If you open-in-new-tab the first comic of the strip (as a shortcut to go searching back in early strips without losing your place), and you keep a LOT of tabs open, the title might give you the mis-impression that you were just messaged about something. XD

Tab thumb: "1 New "

(And if you're not expecting a message and your conscience is hyperactive atm, you might worry it's a mod warning... then be relieved when it's not. I momentarily felt like Ben Affleck in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, yelling "B******t, I wasn't even with a hooker today, ha-HA!" as everyone else winces. (^_~))

[Ruck]

I just had a little moment of sadness when I realized how resistant Roy has been through most of the comic to fill the big brother role for Elan that Elan so clearly wants him to, especially considering Roy has a, not to be crass, vacancy in the little brother department. (And not only that, but Eric would be nearly the same age as Elan, and Roy seems to think he probably would have been a bard, too.)

Hopefully that ultimately is part of Elan's happy ending.

[Fyraltari]

To me that is precisely why Roy is willing to put up with Elan so much. Even if he'll die (again) before admitting it.

[arimareiji]

I was reading an old thread (I get the urge to once in a while to see how people reacted to a certain development), and someone in the #763 discussion mentioned something I never noticed:

And exactly 150 strips later, notice where he casually places his hands toward the end of the strip.

I haven't looked anywhere near carefully enough to be sure... but in hindsight, it seems like it could also be a more general tell. I.e. any time he's considering stabbing someone in the back, even if it's completely metaphorical and a literal dagger would only get in the way, hands behind the back.

Nice detail indeed.

[Ruck]

To me that is precisely why Roy is willing to put up with Elan so much. Even if he'll die (again) before admitting it.

Aww. Well, now I hope Roy coming to realize and accept that about himself is part of the happy ending.

[Peelee]

Aww. Well, now I hope Roy coming to realize and accept that about himself is part of the happy ending.

Too metaphorical. Elan will marry Julia and Roy will literally be his big brother (-in-law). Obviously.

[Ruck]

Too metaphorical. Elan will marry Julia and Roy will literally be his big brother (-in-law). Obviously.

Elan would have to break up with Haley for that, though, and I do not think that would be very happy.

Or at least I wouldn't be happy. Like Michael Scott talking about being the victim of a hate crime: "That's not what a hate crime is." "Well, I hated it!"

[Peelee]

Elan would have to break up with Haley for that

Objection! Assuming facts not in evidence.

[arimareiji]

Objection! Assuming facts not in evidence.

Thank you, the lol was needed. (^_^)b

But technically I think Elan's refusal to date Therkla makes a pretty good case that he'd think he has to, even if Haley is more open-minded about it.

(Unless it was really a much-more-justified-than-usual "It's not you, it's me" attempt to avoid hurting her feelings with outright rejection. Which is possible; I'm not averse to saying we shouldn't always take people's stated motives as being their real ones.)

_{Edit: Feeling much more devilish than usual, and it occurred to me... you know, Julia did say Nale would be "cute if you shaved off that stupid [goatee]". (^_~)
Editing out edit due to being ninjaed in a good way. (^_^)}

[Ruck]

Objection! Assuming facts not in evidence.

Thank you, the lol was needed. (^_^)b

Yeah, that was good. Even if I can't picture a way that would play out that would make any sense for the characters. (And you just know Roy would be weird about Elan marrying Julia.)

[arimareiji]

Yeah, that was good. Even if I can't picture a way that would play out that would make any sense for the characters. (And you just know Roy would be weird about Elan marrying Julia.)

You know, Julia did say Nale would be "cute if you shaved off that stupid [goatee]". And it's not like Julia is averse to doing things that would tweak Roy, just for the fun of it. (^_~)

(Your mileage may vary on whether that's because she actually respects Roy and is rebelling against him as her father figure, because she takes after Eugene, or some weird mixture of both.)

[Peelee]

Yeah, that was good. Even if I can't picture a way that would play out that would make any sense for the characters. (And you just know Roy would be weird about Elan marrying Julia.)

Well, the prophecy did specify "for you, at least".

But yeah, the Therkla episode does rain on my parade.

[arimareiji]

Never noticed before: If I'm reading this right, Sabine thinks V is both male and "old" (panel 6).

[Ruck]

Never noticed before: If I'm reading this right, Sabine thinks V is both male and "old" (panel 6).

Hah, in the same strip where Sabine calls Vaarsuvius "elf dude," Nale calls V "elf chick."

[Yxylu]

But technically I think Elan's refusal to date Therkla makes a pretty good case that he'd think he has to, even if Haley is more open-minded about it.

In the Edition Wars story from Snips, Snails, and Dragon Tales, 4E-Haley seems pretty open-minded about, um, dating both 3.5E-Elan and 4E-Elan at the same time. She seems resistant to including 3.5E-Haley, though. Not conclusive, but a data point about how one version of Haley thinks.

[Squire Doodad]

In the Edition Wars story from Snips, Snails, and Dragon Tales, 4E-Haley seems pretty open-minded about, um, dating both 3.5E-Elan and 4E-Elan at the same time. She seems resistant to including 3.5E-Haley, though. Not conclusive, but a data point about how one version of Haley thinks.

Either the idea of dating yourself is weird for most people, or Haley doesn't want to have to share Elan. Haley has her latent bisexuality "self", not to mention she's alluded to having dated girls at least once, but I think this is more Haley wanting Elan to herself.

[arimareiji]

Hah, in the same strip where Sabine calls Vaarsuvius "elf dude," Nale calls V "elf chick."

Ha. (^_^)b

Thank you, not only did I miss that... I also missed flagging this strip for a few other things I meant to bring here but forgot about.

• Is the end of this strip also foreshadowing for Linear's combined 417 counts of murder (363:1)?
• Also: It's weird that Nale finds the thought of Thog on a murderous rampage inside a city scary enough to agree with Sabine that they need to hit the road, but they stay and it apparently becomes part of his plan to frame Elan.
• The last panel of 142 makes it easy to think of Thog as some hideously-exaggerated "Pet him and pat him and call him George" who accidentally kills his pets. Doing it as many as 416 times in a short time says otherwise.
• 363:2 reminded me Belkon Belkar has changed a lot. Now even Roy praises his wits in figuring out what the party needs, but back in the day jokes premised on his being dumb were fairly common... and here, he casually corrects "Elan" calling him Belkon. (Seems kinda like a waving red flag to me. Though to be fair, in the next strip V only seems annoyed that Nale keeps saying "I'm Elan!" over and over.)

_{Edit: Ugh. Correcting URLs et al that I barfungled by getting strip numbers wrong.}

[danielxcutter]

Ha. (^_^)b

Thank you, not only did I miss that... I also missed flagging this strip for a few other things I meant to bring here but forgot about.

• Is the end of this strip also foreshadowing for Linear's combined 417 counts of murder (364:1)?
• Also: It's weird that Nale finds the thought of Thog on a murderous rampage inside a city scary enough to agree with Sabine that they need to hit the road, but they stay and it apparently becomes part of his plan to frame Elan.
• The last panel of 142 makes it easy to think of Thog as some hideously-exaggerated "Pet him and pat him and call him George" who accidentally kills his pets. Doing it as many as 416 times in a short time says otherwise.
• 364:2 reminded me Belkon Belkar has changed a lot. Now even Roy praises his wits in figuring out what the party needs, but back in the day jokes premised on his being dumb were fairly common... and here, he casually corrects "Elan" calling him Belkon. (Seems kinda like a waving red flag to me. Though to be fair, in the next strip V only seems annoyed that Nale keeps saying "I'm Elan!" over and over.)

I suspect Nale's fear of rampaging Thog is partly founded in himself and Sabine being caught in it or something. Might be why he decided to ditch Thog as part of framing Elan, actually.