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Yeah that wasn't even on my radar
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Nov 13, 2013 21:16
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Lots to unpack, but check out Durkon in panel 4 eyeballing that airship-shadow.
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Nov 13, 2013 21:17
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Great, now I have to go look for a bunch of hints other than the one where Elan walks off to formulate that secret plan.
rocketrobot fucked around with this message at 16:54 on Nov 14, 2013 |
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Nov 13, 2013 21:19
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Oh poo poo! So are we going to end up with a double-father death and OoTS picking up the airship to the next gate?
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Nov 13, 2013 21:20
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"Dramatically significant death scene to swear vengeance over"? Hmm, and where did we hear someone expecting exactly such a thing before? e: Amazing page, anyway. Wonder if this will placate the "omg I'm sick of this dull desert arc" crowd.
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Nov 13, 2013 21:21
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I always wondered why the airship was called Mechane.FMguru posted:Lots to unpack, but check out Durkon in panel 4 eyeballing that airship-shadow. Also notice how it's moving: in panel 4, Roy and Elan are at the edge of it, while by the end of it they're at its center. So Durkon's probably covered by the end of this strip.
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Nov 13, 2013 21:23
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Haha the DEM brigade are going to go mental over that. Points to the dude who observed that Julio's airship is literally called the 'Machine'?
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Nov 13, 2013 21:23
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RentACop posted:Yeah that wasn't even on my radar Hahaha yuuup.
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Nov 13, 2013 21:24
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So now we know what Elan needed Durkon for way back ago when they were formulating the secret plan -- he needed him to cast Sending. 
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Nov 13, 2013 21:28
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Carrasco posted:I always wondered why the airship was called Mechane. Julio Scoundrel was always my favorite character and this seals it, I don't care if it is or isn't contrived because it's glorious. ^^^^^ I didn't even think of this, so it isn't even contrived, depending on what Elan had to say.
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Nov 13, 2013 21:32
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Oh man, check out V in that first panel. Thats certainly a..... creative use of psionics. 
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Nov 13, 2013 21:33
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I knew it! I mean I didn't know he would show up right now but I think I even commented back then that we just wouldn't be able to resist coming back to save his pupil even if it means his death.
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Nov 13, 2013 21:35
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I did actually suspect that this was where Elan's plan would pan out and was mulling over what the whole 'family' and 'good' interplay was going to be, and I'd spent this whole arc thinking that Tarquin was like the evil version of Elan's Dashing Swordsman mentor (that mini-adventure is my favourite segment). I didn't think we'd actually see him again. Rich still constantly surprises me with how well thought out in advance his plot is, even when (as he says), it's all hinted at.
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Nov 13, 2013 21:35
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"My mom is your biggest fan!" "You remind me of myself when I was younger." All the way back in strip #389. drat.
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Nov 13, 2013 21:35
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Imagine the line "General Tarquin! We meet again!" spoken in a suave Spanish accent like in a movie  .edit: Hey Tarquin get your hands the gently caress off of Roy's sword. D1Sergo fucked around with this message at 21:40 on Nov 13, 2013 |
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Nov 13, 2013 21:38
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MechanicalTomPetty posted:Oh man, check out V in that first panel. I can't actually tell what's happening. Is that his headband of intellect?
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Nov 13, 2013 21:40
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terminal mehmet posted:I can't actually tell what's happening. Is that his headband of intellect? It's Tarquin's whip. Laurin grabbed it with her MIND POWERS and is using it to strangulate V.
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Nov 13, 2013 21:40
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He's toast, of course, but it'll buy the Order time to escape and regroup.
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Nov 13, 2013 21:42
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Well, deus ex machina. Lllllaaaaaaaaaaaame.
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Nov 13, 2013 21:44
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Yeah, last time they met Tarquin was just an apprentice, now he is a master (of evil). I suspect Julio is going to become more powerful than the general can possibly imagine soon.
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Nov 13, 2013 21:44
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Well, that certainly answers how you go from a desert to a frozen dwarven wasteland in enough time to be competitive with the Lich who knows teleport. e: Given his self-awareness about dying when he next sees Elan, I wonder how many contingencies he has set up? I can't see him jumping into this like a naive 3rd-level warrior, even if he does have history with Tarquin. Alliterate Addict fucked around with this message at 21:49 on Nov 13, 2013 |
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Nov 13, 2013 21:45
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:I didn't see that coming. Poor Julio Scoundrel. Narrative convention would say that he would die here. Didn't see that coming at all.
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Nov 13, 2013 21:47
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Wow. I did not see this coming at all, but it's definitely an interesting twist.
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Nov 13, 2013 21:47
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greatn posted:Well, deus ex machina. Lllllaaaaaaaaaaaame. Or deus ex mechane, as the case may be.
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Nov 13, 2013 21:53
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To me, this just plays into Tarquin's breakdown. He's trying to force the narrative, and the narrative is literally firing back. "No, you don't control this story, and if you still think so should you endure this, I will gladly have a random sandworm eat you." It's metatextually amusing: it reads like the story is actually getting pissed off about Tarquin's now-overt presumptions about it.
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Nov 13, 2013 21:56
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greatn posted:Lllllaaaaaaaaaaaame. This was set up 600 strips ago. Not his fault if you didn't predict it. And a forgotten yet dashing elderly Spanish mentor surfing down on his flying carpet from his airship to duel the evil overlord is so far from lame the light from lame will take millions of years to reach it. sebmojo fucked around with this message at 22:01 on Nov 13, 2013 |
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Nov 13, 2013 21:57
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Julie is even implying they have a history. That must be why Tarquin knows how to pun-duel.
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Nov 13, 2013 21:58
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Zetetica posted:Julie is even implying they have a history. That must be why Tarquin knows how to pun-duel. Oh hell, "It's been a long time since I was last called on to pun-duel". The hints have been everywhere.
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Nov 13, 2013 22:01
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With all the hints pointed out, I guess it makes sense, but this still feels weak to me.
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Nov 13, 2013 22:04
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Julio fought Tarquin when they were both younger and Tarquin's sons look like their father so of course Julio would recognize that Elan is the good son of his old evil rival. He probably knew; the minute he made Elan his apprentice, that the narrative would require him to die as the old mentor figure of a young hero. It's probably a pretty acceptable way out of the game for an old scoundrel like him, too.
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Nov 13, 2013 22:05
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There's too much genre savvy in one 10ft square. It's a metanarrative singularity. Will their fight be a metaphor for their varying perspectives on stories, or a tremendous ironic anticlimax? Or something else matching character personalities?
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Nov 13, 2013 22:09
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sebmojo posted:Taking a break is a sensible thing to do if it's annoying you. In fairness I'm obliged to quote my own utterly wrong prediction for crow-eating purposes. I stand by my point re non-lameness though. And I've always thought if you're gonna break the rules (no Deus Ex Machina resolutions) then you should at least break'em good and hard (have your resolution descend from the heavens, out of a device called 'the Machine').
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Nov 13, 2013 22:10
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Toplowtech posted:Julio fought Tarquin when they were both younger and Tarquin's sons look like their father so of course Julio would recognize that Elan is the good son of his old evil rival. He probably knew; the minute he made Elan his apprentice, that the narrative would require him to die as the old mentor figure of a young hero. It's probably a pretty acceptable way out of the game for an old scoundrel like him, too. He also lives in a world with raise dead. My guess is he'll take a bullet that he knows is coming, but isn't interested in staying dead.
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Nov 13, 2013 22:13
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Haha, this is pretty awesome. Can't wait for the next page!
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Nov 13, 2013 22:17
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ikanreed posted:He also lives in a world with raise dead. My guess is he'll take a bullet that he knows is coming, but isn't interested in staying dead. I bet chaotic good heaven is boss.
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Nov 13, 2013 22:23
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Noah posted:I bet chaotic good heaven is boss. Yeah, but so was Roy's heaven. Julio is 100% the "I'm not done yet" pulp action hero. He's not the aging martyr that shojo was.
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Nov 13, 2013 22:28
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ikanreed posted:He also lives in a world with raise dead. My guess is he'll take a bullet that he knows is coming, but isn't interested in staying dead. And Durkon still has enough diamond dust for a raise. It's all coming together now.
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Nov 13, 2013 22:31
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Man, this is better than the 4 White Mages callback in 8 Bit Theatre.
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Nov 13, 2013 22:32
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Noah posted:I bet chaotic good heaven is boss. You get single-malt scotch and cigars rolled from poorly-worded legal documents.
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Nov 13, 2013 22:33
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Potooweet posted:You get single-malt scotch and cigars rolled from poorly-worded legal documents. That's one of my favourite Rich gags. 'Poorly' is what you call the indispensable comic element in that sentence.
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Nov 13, 2013 22:45
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