OOTS #830 - The Discussion Thread

[Lord Ruby34]

Man, that was brutal. Awesome but brutal.

[Firemeier]

YES! You spoil us with activity these last days, Giant.

That's what I love about the villains of this strip: They're all awesome in their own ways.

And it's great to see that as much as Rich feigns disinterest in small, nitpicky details we still get stuff like the Control Undead ability being cast onscreen and still coming as a surprise in later strips.

[theNater]

Yeouch. Redcloak is hardcore.

[RMS Oceanic]

So Redcloak isn't as spineless as 662 would have suggested. Chilling!

I wonder: What will his anti-Xykon strategy turn out to be?

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Ah, the worst laid plans of mice and necromancers!

Important Safety Tip: When you have two bosses, don't assume the Junior Boss can't grind you into a fine dust...

[Raza]

Aww, all the best parts happen off-panel.

Tsukiko was fun. I'm sure she would've wanted this scene to be visible.

[Ajadea]

A triple strip? I don't think we've ever had that before. Absolutely perfect, though. That was brutal and a perfect end to Tsukiko. Dead at the hands of her own creations.

Silent Command Undead for the win! Which also answers the question of what spell Redcloak was casting in 828. Dimensionally locked study also explains why he teleported to just outside.

[Deth Muncher]

LOVE this. Well done, Rich. It's all great - and good to know Redcloak kept his character development.

[TheArsenal]

Yay, im so glad that Red-cloak put her out of her misery!

Just think if she DID become Xykons right hand. Think Herley Quin. Abusive relationship.

Also this is the medieval version of the cure for some form of Psychosis. Death.

[zimmerwald1915]

*places tongue in cheek*

Redcloak continues to be logically sound, brutally efficient, and hopelessly deluded. Come on, Giant, some of us want character development.

Then again, Tsukiko just developed plans to find housing in Hell, so there's that.

*removes tongue from cheek*

[Calenestel]

Wow. Not only was it a new comic very soon after the last one. It was really an AWESOME one at that. I've been waiting for Tsukiko to die for a long time and the manner is... not surprising and very, VERY... cathartic? therapeutic? Meh, satisfying anyway.

But the best part? The instructions to the wights afterwards. RC is really growing into one of my favourite characters. The best villain without a doubt.

[Kurald Galain]

I hope Xykon was secretly listening in on some of it... or something.

That's what I was expecting to happen, actually.

[INoKnowNames]

I don't think I ever felt the need to respond to a comic. I've kept all of my "Holy Craps" bottled up inside, just in awe at the amazing story that I've been reading, that I some how came across and anchored me to this site. I've always just enjoyed it, and never really felt the need to say anything that any other fan hasn't said.

Until now.

Holy crap. -Holy- -Crap-. Holy Crap Holy Crap Holy Crap Holy Crap -HOLY- -FREAKING- -CRAP-!

I was always under the assumption that Tsukiko might have been -more- evil than Red Cloak, since he had been content with passive actions and only slight manipulations. And now I see that I'm almost as, if not more so, naive than Tsukiko was.

Red Cloak isn't the Dragon. He's the Man Behind the Man! He's potentially as Genre Savy as Tarquin, and he's the real Big Bad here! He's actually using Xykon! He's a Cleric, Trolling an Epic Lich Sorceror, with no more than his subtle actions!

All of the stuff he's had to endure, all of the struggles and trials and tribulations, all of the insults.... and it's all been part of his plans.... He's a Chestmaster.... And possibly the biggest threat in the story....

Holy Crap....

[faustin]

I always knew that Tsukiko would find her end in the hands of her beloved undeads, still i agree with all of you that the scene was disturbing at least, if even well deserved (specially the face of Redcloak showing her nothing but cold contempt).

[The Guardian]

Ahahahahahahaha!

Now that I have that out of my system... was there a particular reason he wanted the wights to eat themselves "in the order in which (they) were created"?

Also

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without the Soul Bind does that mean Xykon could force Redcloak to cast True Ressurection which he probably has access to now?

[Sunken Valley]

A triple strip? I don't think we've ever had that before. Absolutely perfect, though. That was brutal and a perfect end to Tsukiko. Dead at the hands of her own creations.

Silent Command Undead for the win! Which also answers the question of what spell Redcloak was casting in 828. Dimensionally locked study also explains why he teleported to just outside.

We've had at least 2 triple strips before. 500 was one the other was the one where Miko fell. We've also had a quadruple length strip (the introduction of Miko).

[Dorjan]

**** yes. I just read a few other replies here and thought "huh? That's not the one I just read" clicked next "another ONE!?" xD

hah

I was expecting some sorta explosion but he pwned her with two spells (granted one was meta'ed)...

RC <3

[Crod]

Oh man, I couldn't have been more wrong. I was thinking more on the lines of them coming to some agreement to balance things out.

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=106

The last comics have been extra amazing. Good to see RC staying true to his alignment.

[Kish]

Ahahahahahahaha!

Now that I have that out of my system... was there a particular reason he wanted the wights to eat themselves "in the order in which (they) were created"?

It might be so that the oldest, and therefore most powerful, wights get eaten first, or it might be just a Lawful man's solution to the "if I just tell them to eat each other I might wind up with multiple wights who don't have enough of their bodies uneaten to keep eating each other" problem.

[gellerche]

Wow. I was expecting a massive, spell-against-spell battle between Redcloak and Tsukiko, with the victor barely hanging on, until finally delivering a coup-de-grace to win.

But I keep forgetting that Redcloak is a tactician. Why give your opponent a small chance of surviving with a spell-on-spell battle, when you can give them a zero chance of surviving with a battle based on guile on your home turf?

Awesome strip.

[dogmac]

The "fireplace" comment is a beautiful touch.

When Redcloak tidies up, he does it thoroughly.

[fergo]

Wow.

Wooooow.


I never cared about Tsukiko at all (being firmly on Redcloak's side, at least where Team Evil is concerned), but her death was just... upsetting .

Fantastic comic. It's great to see Redcloak back on top again--I was worrying that after his badassery crushing the Resistence he was going to be outwitted by Tsukiko. And knowing that he's still not bowed by Xykon, even after the whole Darth V episode, is rewarding.

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Or at least he likes pretending to himself that he's not bowed by Xykon... time will tell.

[toughluck]

Brilliant comic. Made my day, really. It's amazing how Tsukiko managed to keep to her beliefs right to the end.

Also: Redcloak just standing there and looking at the scene.

Also: Fantastic pace of updates. I didn't even manage to finish reading the previous comic's discussion thread.

[Spacewolf]

That was pretty dark, RC seemed abit james bond villainy with the whole fireplace comment. Also seems strange to me that RC didnt take any enjoyment out of beating someone who had humiliated him it was just something to be done, i guess it shows that the whole thing is not about self gratification for him which is good i guess.

[Yendor]

So Tsukiko is shown she was horribly wrong, in the most horribly wrong way possible.

[zimmerwald1915]

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Or at least he likes pretending to himself that he's not bowed by Xykon... time will tell.

He gave Jirix his spiel about being able to manipulate Xykon before the whole Darth V business. He called Xykon an ally, implying that they are on equal terms. He spelled out that keeping Xykon's knowledge limited in order to control him was his, Redcloak's, MO. He might even belive it. Xykon, of course, has other ideas. We shall see who is deluded.

[willpell]

The expression on Tsukiko's face after she hears about the spell ("Twelve gods, I never thought...") makes me wonder if she was just about to decide to take pity on with Redcloak (not that it would have lasted given how emotionally unstable she is...well, was). Which of course only makes it more chilling that he has her killed before she can express any such repentance against her suddenly-understood enemy.

[Aotrs Commander]

Fantastic.

I was expecting Tsukiko to die form the moment she showed up in Redcloak's room, but I was expecting more of a Implosion or Destruction, myself (what Mystic Theurge Fort saves being pretty dreadful).

That however, was stylishly executed, and gave him chance to put the metaphorical boot in as well. I applaud you Redcloak, as one Evil-doer to another!



I honestly didn't think Tsukiko was actually THAT stupid, until the last couple of strips, but with this one, she really did officially hit "too stupid to live." I mean, really? She honestly thought Redcloak would just let her tell Xykon something that would get him killed? I can't even fathom why anyone would be so daft... Ah well, I think she's paid for that blunder more than enough, not only with her life.

[Wizzardman2]

Still, Silent Command Undead right as he entered the room.

Beautiful, but incredibly depressing.

[Arakune]

More like she really understood what was at stake on this. It isn't some weekend evil here, but multiplanar catastrophe.