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2009-10-28, 01:10 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2006
elan and his position in the story
Examining the plot lately, it seems more and more of the comic has revolved around elan and haley. Elan on his end was the central figure of the fleet, and Haley was the central figure back in the occupied azure city. Before this, a large amount of the story revolved around the linear guild's plot to wreck revenge upon elan, with an inordinate amount of time focused on elan's progression.
Now, this alone is not that big. There are all sorts of small arcs. however, examining the artwork of the newest book, one can glean certain important things from it.
The central characters in this image are haley and Elan. The action depicted in this illustration depicts as the conflict the two attempting to hold on to one another as an outside force attempts to seperate the two.
Though the ostensible leader of the group, roy is present, he is very clearly off to the side, almost an afterthought seemingly in the illustration.
Now, from a psychological standpoint, one viewing this picture who lacked any and all prior knowlege of the strip would immidiately leap to the conclusion that Elan was the main or central character of the strip due to his central location and importance to the picture.
My point is this: though elan may have started out as simply the comic relief character, throughout the story his progression as a character, shifting story arcs by the giant, and increasing relevance to on screen action have transformed him into the central/main character, not unlike how in the lord of the rings series samwise would go one to become (as per tolkien's own words) the main character.Monk sucks, but you know, it's not actually worth negative LA.
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2009-10-28, 02:07 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2009
- Location
- Colorado Springs
- Gender
Re: elan and his position in the story
He was the main character for most of that book. But right now it seems like Vaarsuvius is next in line to be the main character.
SpoilerIt is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and furry, signifying nothing. But enough about your story of your first child's death, you could all use an update on my problems.
To who ever starts another thread about Belkar's death, To the last I grapple with thee... from Hell's heart I stab at thee... For hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee.
Dread Cthulu wills that "Belkar-style lip-based assault" shall enter popular parlance! Remember kids, when in doubt, set something on fire.
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2009-10-28, 02:19 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2007
- Location
- Manchester, UK
- Gender
Re: elan and his position in the story
I haven't seen that Elan and Haley are the main characters, to be honest. When the party was split it's obvious that the two with the most pressing reasons to want to rejoin (e.g. the two lovers) would come to the fore, but I don't see them holding that position now the party is back together.
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2009-10-28, 03:45 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2007
- Location
- The Netherlands
- Gender
Re: elan and his position in the story
Elan was the main character of the Kubota arc, yes. Roy is still the main character of the story. Him being an 'afterthought' on the cover only signifies that, in this book, he plays a smaller role than usual when he's, you know, dead.
Last edited by Ceaon; 2009-10-28 at 03:48 AM.
"One need not hope in order to undertake, nor succeed in order to persevere."
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2009-10-28, 08:02 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2009
- Location
- the UT
- Gender
Re: elan and his position in the story
If you look at the book, you can see how everyone had his own little story
Elan- Kubota arc
Vaarsuvius - Faustian arc
Haley - resistance arc, and part of the thieves arc
Belkar - Raising sneaky hell arc
Roy - corpse arc
Durkon - There's a chin just waiting to break free arc
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2009-10-28, 08:20 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Sep 2008
- Location
- Hudson Valley, NY
- Gender
Re: elan and his position in the story
Forgive me if this was covered in the "Elan's Happy Ending" thread:
When the last book is complete, I believe you will find that Elan's happy ending is that he gets to tell their story; remembering his friends, keeping alive the legend of all the members and becomes a bard of great renown...at least within the ice cream parlor he opens with Haley & Thog...
"We are the people our parents warned us about!" - J.Buffett
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2009-10-28, 11:40 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2009
- Location
- Everywhere
- Gender
Re: elan and his position in the story
It would seem to me that Elan and Hayley's stints as the two major characters has more-or-less come to an end. Now, I'm not saying that they're going to just disappear into the background and not do anything for the rest of the comic. What I am saying is that, for the most part, their mutual development as characters is pretty much over; except for a few loose ends that need tidying up, eg Nale and the Linear Guild.
Already, the limelight seems to be starting to move away from them, and Belkar and Vaarsuvius seem to be coming into their own, and may become, if you will, temporary focus characters, like Elan and Haley were ever since the fall of Azure City (of course they had been developing long before then, but in similar ways so have V&B since before Roy's resurrection and the party reunion).I am a...
SpoilerTrue Neutral Human Wizard (2nd Level)
Strength- 12
Dexterity- 10
Constitution- 12
Intelligence- 18
Wisdom- 18
Charisma- 14
Many thanks to Darwin for the avatar.
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2009-10-28, 01:18 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2007
- Location
- France
- Gender
Re: elan and his position in the story
I think they were in the middle of the cover only because they're a couple and therefore having them tryig to reach each other's hand is a good visual.
This story has 6 main characters. Durkon has always been more discreet and Roy was dead. Belkar was sick part of the time, too. In the end, Elan, Haley and V had a bigger role in this book than the other 3, I feel.
Because Elan and Haley are a couple, they might look twice as important now, since everything focusing on one of the two has chances to focus on the other as well. But I don't feel they're main characters more than the others, no.
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2009-10-28, 01:50 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jun 2009
- Gender
Re: elan and his position in the story
Elan was always the one who got the most character development, simply because he had so far to go to become a useful member of the party.
I don't think we're going to see less of them in this next book, though, because they have to go through some arc with Haley's dad. Roy's big arc is done for a while, and Durkon's on the wrong continent, so we're probably going to be seeing a lot of Haley, Elan, and V, and Belkar in the events surrounding his impending death.
Roy will have a chance to pick up the plot again and do something important once they get to the boss battle. Poor Durkon will probably remain sidelined, as seems to be his fate.Last edited by Larkspur; 2009-10-28 at 01:51 PM.
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2009-10-28, 02:26 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2009
- Location
- Somewhere
- Gender
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2009-10-28, 02:39 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2004
Re: elan and his position in the story
That doesn't make any sense. We know Belkar is going to not only die but be gone from the world forever within seven weeks, and that has people starting multiple "No! No! No!" threads. We know Durkon is going to die at some nebulous point before his final return to his beloved dwarven homelands; he may or may not then be resurrected. His fate is much less certain than Belkar's.
Orth Plays: Currently Baldur's Gate II
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2009-10-28, 02:55 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jun 2009
Re: elan and his position in the story
It would seem to me that Elan and Hayley's stints as the two major characters has more-or-less come to an end.
I think Haley, Elan, and Belkar hog the camera just because they are the most interesting characters. And will probably continue to do so. V is getting little spurts of prominence for character development, but I think thats about coming to a finish, he's learned what he needs to learn, but he's still not going to be much of a limelight hog. Roy will continue to be the strait man to the Haley/Elan/Belkar gags and push the story forward, so he'll get a good bit of focus, but not as much as the 3 zanies. Durkon is just a walking stereotype, his role in the party is more dictated by D&D party build requirements then for his character and personality, so he never has and probably never will get an excessive amount of attention.Last edited by Thanatosia; 2009-10-28 at 02:56 PM.
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2009-10-28, 05:23 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2008
- Location
- Within my own Insanity
- Gender
Re: elan and his position in the story
Somebody said something about Durkon being in the background... Yes. Many parties have people who work "behind the scenes". Their low charisma and good role-playing, or inibility to be social in a fantasy world lead them to be more quiet, more out of the way than other players. This statement is off topic. So...
Elan and Haley problem stepped up as quasi-leaders of their respective parties, and I can tell you why. Charisma. In general, I was told by my old DM, the person with the highest charisma has a tendancy to lead the party. Elan, as we all know, has (at least) an 18. Haley also must have a very good score, not to mention she was 2nd in command way back in the start of the comic. As such, it's only natural that, in the absense of the 'real' leader, she take the role as leader of a party, and the leader of the party tends to make decisions for the party, which makes them more central seeming to plot.
And that... is my 2 cp.But... but... You can't Wake Up Dead
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