OOTS #595 - The Discussion Thread

[arkwei]

V for the win!

[holywhippet]

Whoa. Was that a neutral or evil act? I know it's definitely not Lawful.

I'd say either neutral good or chaotic good. V knew what needed to be done and simply did it. It wasn't following the letter of the law as Azure City would have it, but it was an appropriate action.

Despite a lack of rest, this shows V is still a clear thinker. It was the best, most expedient method of dealing with a pest.

[Mythlor]

Rich, excellent work!

Remind me not to stand in V's line-of-sight... ever.

Is V starting to rival Redcloak or Xykon?

[Lunaya]

YES! Go V! <3

[BlueHelmet]

looks like V had a whole can of concentrated awesome this morning.

nice one!

[Douglas]

Too bad V blew away all that valuable AC boosting equipment along with the pile of dust. Is anyone going to try retrieving it?

Not that it matters any more, but I wonder if Kubota had accounted for the possibility of Speak With Dead with Therkla. No cost but a single day of waiting for Durkon to prepare it, and they'd get 6-7 questions of Therkla's body for which fooling lie detection isn't even an issue.

[TigerHunter]

I am editing the Crowning Moment of Awesome entry on TVTropes as we speak.

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

I did NOT See that coming. On the other hand, Kubuto deserved it like no other.

I agree. Just goes to show you that for every trick you have, someone has a counter for it.

[Renegade Paladin]

Well, there are definite advantages to being True Neutral/Unaligned.



Don't think so. They need to be said to the right person at the right time for the wrong reasons. I don't think, from a neutral standpoint, that this would be considered "wrong". Depends on Elan and Durkon's reactions.

Of course it's wrong. This is going to spark a civil war among the remnants of Azure City. That doesn't mean it wasn't awesome and well overdue, but this is going to cause no end of trouble.

Of course, there'd be no end of trouble with him alive, but this is going to be more immediate.

[Helios Sunshard]

did v just... *reads strip again* yup, he did...

[Lyinginbedmon]

There is no way V is getting away without a charge of murder for this one, killing a noble in (apparently) cold blood will certainly not be a crime he can dodge.

V is definitely getting way too obsessed with solving his communication puzzle.

[Imrahil]

{Clears throat}

Rock.

That is all.

[Ramien]

*cries at the thought of all the magical items V just blew overboard*

Good thing Haley's not around, or she'd be taking a swim after all that treasure.

[chiasaur11]

I agree. Just goes to show you that for every trick you have, someone has a counter for it.

And sometimes...
You find you were playing "Chutes and Ladders" while your foe was playing TF2.

Not pretty.

[Lira]

There is no way V is getting away without a charge of murder for this one, killing a noble in (apparently) cold blood will certainly not be a crime he can dodge.

But V got rid of all the evidence and Elan is the only other witness (I think), so who's going to know?

[Bayar]

Well, Belkar wasnt there for the obligatory random kill. So V stepped in and did one of the most badass things in the comic.

Now I will have to prepare Gust of Wind to blow the reamins of my disintegrated foes next time I play a wizard

[TheBST]

It really comes to something when Varsuvius of all people is tired of intellectual cat-and-mousery. Though I read V's last line as though (s)he was about to burst into tears, which made it hysterical.

Question now is is the strip done with Qarr? Will he dissappear except for a gag or two like the Hotel assassins or become a regular evil like Tsukiko?

Well something consequential to the overall plot has to come of all this nonsense!

[malakim2099]

Of course it's wrong. This is going to spark a civil war among the remnants of Azure City. That doesn't mean it wasn't awesome and well overdue, but this is going to cause no end of trouble.

Hehehe. Well, I was referring in terms of the prophecy than anything else.

Spoiler

Show

Though I think it's going to be interesting to see where it goes from here. But yeah, V could be in some trouble here... and actually, now that you mention that, it might be the right motivation to cause him to leave on his own. It isn't really like the others could stop him at the moment.

And then he researches the Snarl on his own, and figures out how the gates work, and how to control them... oh, dear.

[Flickerdart]

Anticlimactic solution, thy name is Rich Burlew.

[SPoD]

There is no way V is getting away without a charge of murder for this one, killing a noble in (apparently) cold blood will certainly not be a crime he can dodge.

I think we are going to see V assuming that Elan will lie to cover his/her tracks. Right now, Elan is the only witness that Kubota is even dead.

I further think that V is WRONG to assume that Elan will cover his/her tracks when asked by Hinjo, or at least he will be highly conflicted about it.

[chiasaur11]

But V got rid of all the evidence and Elan is the only other witness (I think), so who's going to know?

Elan.

And he is honest.

Probably wouldn't come up, but...

[Wreckingrocc]

THANK you.

[chibibar]

A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!!!!

I love V. that Kutoba totally deserve that. Sadly, what he said is true. The trial would totally break the Azure citizen's loyalty and more than likely cause a civil war.

[Seonor]

Fascinating. I cannot help but notice that the desintegrated remains of a noble are indistinguishable from those of a human, or a halfling, or a dragon.

[xelliea]

go job V, die kubota

[Pronounceable]

Alas, poor Kubota...

He was right, you know. He would've walked free from all this.

[Edea]

Praise Jesus. Go, V, go.

[Robert_Frazer]

Ugh, what a dismal cop-out.

I dreaded this sort of outcome over the last few strips, and now that it's arrived, it's as drearily anticlimatic as expected.

This sort of ending doesn't only destroy a promising future plotline, it also actively taints and spoils everything leading up to it - Burlew is in effect openly conceding this entire sub-plot's ultimate irrelevance with such a perfunctory ending that directly admits the plot's incidental nature. This corrupts the memory of several dozen comics with a deflating sense of purposelessness.

A very bad call, and a very disappointing strip. :(

[Paragraph]

Mwahahahahahaha.

That's how problems are solved, all right, don't let those pesky "laws" get in your way. So much going on there. The Stick is broken in more and more parts - V now certainly has alienated Elan, already has Durkon, if not for the amnesia, Belkar would already be thrown out (and Roy knows why!), the only two really bonded together by love are separated by miles upon miles...

Now, V's character is coming through more and more - I was bit confused over all those small appearances, what was the larger picture? Now it's clear: V is just the ultimate pragmatic. Solves the problem? No? So forget about it. Distraction? Get RID of it. And no second thoughts.

Probably no second thoughts about that armor, too - V didn't know that it was +5, after all. And I think his "gust of wind" was not just to kick a fallen (crumbled to ashes, more) foe further - this served a purpose, or V wouldn't have done it. Most likely, there's a plan already formed up a sleeve here how no further distractions stemming out of lawful stupidity (in V's eyes) can arise...

Or V is just too arrogant to realize that they WILL try to find someone guilty for this death, even if it was a deserved one...I'm hooked.

Simon

[pendell]

I think V just voiced an underlying current of opinion in the community.

QFT. It certainly was mine, and I haven't been shy about it.

Story-mode: THANK YOU, Giant! The arc is OVAH! Kubota got his (though not the way I'd have preferred -- I don't like cold-blooded murder). But yes, V definitely speaks for me.

Although I have no doubt in my mind that this was planned all along and not a result of fan pressure. Ever since the last big AC trial which took panels and panels -- I think the Giant meant to tease us with the possibility, then do the abrupt end.

And now let the alignment arguments begin!

IMO, V's action -- cold-blooded murder of a prisoner -- was unquestionably an evil act.

I think it's clear that V is some variant of neutral. He has shown a great deal of compassion to others in the past (see: when Elan wanted to be a wizard and V helped him back up after hurting his feelings) -- but he has always done exactly what he believed was necessary without regard to the damage it would inflict on others (see: commanding a black dragon to eat any member of the party who disobeyed him). That to me bespeaks neutral. Probably lawful neutral, I would guess.

Respectfully,

Brian P.