OOTS #1244 - The Discussion Thread

[Metastachydium]

"Quiet, unidentified creature!" (Haley rocks!)

It is a bit odd that she doesn't have a FoM effect, and I dunno what the rules for Escape Artist are, but this is entirely plausible even if they had the same Str score.

Given her smug overconfidence ("stand still, children while I absolutely annihilate you! I'msoawesome!"), I wouldn't be surprised if she'd believed that she'll never get mixed up in melee, and consequently, investing resources into that would be tantamount to wasting those resources.

that is a well drawn toilet.

It appears not to have a lid, though?

[danielxcutter]

Given her smug overconfidence ("stand still, children while I absolutely annihilate you! I'msoawesome!"), I wouldn't be surprised if she'd believed that she'll never get mixed up in melee, and consequently, investing resources into that would be tantamount to wasting those resources.

To be fair, it'd have worked if Sunny didn't do an oopsy whoopsie.

[Windscion]

Given her smug overconfidence ("stand still, children while I absolutely annihilate you! I'msoawesome!"), I wouldn't be surprised if she'd believed that she'll never get mixed up in melee, and consequently, investing resources into that would be tantamount to wasting those resources.

Rephrased: if I am in melee range, I have already lost. So optimise my loadout for ranged combat.

[The MunchKING]

Well you treat the charmer like your friend. If you wouldn't get off your friend's mom just because they asked, you're undr no obligation to do it for your charmer.

[Psyren]

It appears not to have a lid, though?

A lot of toilets have no lids. Those tend to be more in public places / office buildings, but one in a home isn't unheard of.

Well you treat the charmer like your friend. If you wouldn't get off your friend's mom just because they asked, you're undr no obligation to do it for your charmer.

Or, as in this case, when you have no way to be sure you're on your friend's mom in the first place

[Cygnia]

Slippery Mind in action!

[ref]

I am really amazed for this detail, that seems easy to be missed...

We see three sendings started, none finished... But how many words in total do we see? ;)

[Yxylu]

Anyone remember when V contacted Serini for the first time?

The only time it appeared on-camera, I think, was in bonus comic 743a, which showed what V and the animals were doing while Haley was getting drunk and Elan introspective at the Empire of Blood palace.

[Turin_19]

I think this is one of the best comics in the history of OOTS!

[danielxcutter]

Rephrased: if I am in melee range, I have already lost. So optimise my loadout for ranged combat.

To be fair, a venerable halfling rogue is not going to be good in melee, especially when the difference between the Order and Serini at this point is more about higher numbers than anything else.

[The MunchKING]

I am really amazed for this detail, that seems easy to be missed...

We see three sendings started, none finished... But how many words in total do we see? ;)

Wow, that IS impressive.

[Metastachydium]

A lot of toilets have no lids. Those tend to be more in public places / office buildings, but one in a home isn't unheard of.

A lot of toilets are seriously weird, then. (I knew Serini's a bad person who deserves my contempt!)

Or, as in this case, when you have no way to be sure you're on your friend's mom in the first place

None of my friends have moms who can turn invisible. I would have done the same!

[Duncun]

Or, as in this case, when you have no way to be sure you're on your friend's mom in the first place

Especially since the creature in hand does not feel like they are the same race as your friend...

[Ionathus]

Funny that as myself and many others have been arguing at great length about exactly what Serini knows about the Order, I don't think any of us remembered that the Order has been literally calling her and telling her about themselves for weeks *facepalm*.

It's been mentioned a few times, yeah. I know I referenced it at least once, though I couldn't tell you which thread.

Rephrased: if I am in melee range, I have already lost. So optimise my loadout for ranged combat.

Agreed: I don't fault her for optimizing for ranged. Even so, I'd think an optimized ranged combatant would want to have at least one trick for escaping surprise melee, like a short-range teleport a la 5e's Misty Step spell or a Ring of Freedom of Movement. Just as a lifeline though: like you said, she's not built for melee.

A lot of toilets have no lids. Those tend to be more in public places / office buildings, but one in a home isn't unheard of.

A toilet with no lid in my home? Why would you inflict such a nightmarish idea on me like this?

[danielxcutter]

I am really amazed for this detail, that seems easy to be missed...

We see three sendings started, none finished... But how many words in total do we see? ;)

26.

[enq]

I am really amazed for this detail, that seems easy to be missed...

We see three sendings started, none finished... But how many words in total do we see? ;)

I've counted four times and always come up with 26. What's the significance?

[danielxcutter]

I've counted four times and always come up with 26. What's the significance?

They think it's 25 words(the limit for a single Sending), but they seem to have miscounted.

[Petrocorus]

Serini calling V a 'dunce-waffle'? Priceless.

Actually, can someone explain this one to me.
I have no idea what is this supposed to mean, just that's an insult of some sort.

I am really amazed for this detail, that seems easy to be missed...

We see three sendings started, none finished... But how many words in total do we see? ;)

I count 26 too.

[Dion]

How does Serini know that detectives wear deerstalker caps?

[ref]

26... Now I'm sad.

[Fyraltari]

Actually, con someone explain this one to me.
I have no idea what is this supposed to mean, just that's an insult of some sort.

Dunce: a person of limited intelligence.
Waffle: A belgian dessert resembling a grid-sahped pancake.
She's calling them an idiot with waffle serving as emphasis.

How does Serini know that detectives wear deerstalker caps?

The same way everybody else gets to make 4th-wall breakign comments. Why wouldn't she?

[Petrocorus]

Dunce: a person of limited intelligence.
Waffle: A belgian dessert resembling a grid-sahped pancake.
She's calling them an idiot with waffle serving as emphasis.

So this just means "idiote de gauffre" or something like this?

I don't get how waffles could be stupid. They are an excellent dessert.

[Fyraltari]

So this just means "idiote de gauffre" or something like this?

Yup. Well, I guess "benête" would be a better fit, register-wise.

I don't get how waffles could be stupid. They are an excellent dessert.

Why do you think she felt the need to specify?

[Dion]

The same way everybody else gets to make 4th-wall breakign comments. Why wouldn't she?

You’re a Doylist!

[Wintermoot]

So this just means "idiote de gauffre" or something like this?

I don't get how waffles could be stupid. They are an excellent dessert.

I see you are from France. In America there is a long standing tradition of absurdist insults where you combine a normal insulting term like "dunce" with something absurdist and unrelated like "waffle".

I don't know why or how it originated. But it lends an air of absurdity to the insult that emphasizes it and makes it stand out from a normal insult.

So if the line had just been "I know who you are, you dunce, you've been cold calling me for weeks" it wouldn't have had the absurdist element that "I know who you are you dunce-waffle, you've been cold calling me for weeks"

Also, as an aside, in America waffles are a breakfast dish more than a dessert, but they can be eaten for either meal. Not sure if its the same in France.

[eras10]

Obvious thing I'll say: Looks like the fighting part of this encounter is winding down. Can't guess how the talking will go. This was probably always the most likely direction for Serini and the order will go, but Rich did a great job making the battle feel vivid and unexpectedly dire.

Only slightly less obvious: the Good Guys are hurt, partially incapped, and distracted from watching the perimeter. They're presumably going to be vulnerable for quite some time. In a lot of darker dramas, the Good Guy infighting here would be capitalized on by a bad surprise from a lurking villain during the dialogue phase. Even if you know it's coming, it still hurts. There's more out there than Xykon waiting to do some damage, too. We'll see if the Order makes it to a dialogue outcome and an R&R outro panel.

[littlebum2002]

The devil take this predictable colon!!

[Reboot]

I was thinking "waffle" as the verb meaning to go on at needless length... (so "dunce-waffle" == "a stupid person who talks too much")

[Duncun]

I see you are from France. In America there is a long standing tradition of absurdist insults where you combine a normal insulting term like "dunce" with something absurdist and unrelated like "waffle".

I don't know why or how it originated. But it lends an air of absurdity to the insult that emphasizes it and makes it stand out from a normal insult.

So if the line had just been "I know who you are, you dunce, you've been cold calling me for weeks" it wouldn't have had the absurdist element that "I know who you are you dunce-waffle, you've been cold calling me for weeks"

Also, as an aside, in America waffles are a breakfast dish more than a dessert, but they can be eaten for either meal. Not sure if its the same in France.

Also to add to that. If you are called a dunce, you are just a stupid elf. An insult to be sure, but since a waffle has no intelligence, to be a dunce among waffles is even more of an insult. Not only are you un-intelligent(waffle), but a dunce among them.

[The MunchKING]

I was thinking "waffle" as the verb meaning to go on at needless length... (so "dunce-waffle" == "a stupid person who talks too much")

The version I heard of it as verb meant to go back and forth on issues, changing your mind over and over. "The politician waffled on his support of the bill" or something.

The dictionary recognizes neither of those interpretations, so I guess we are equally accurate. :D