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2012-11-01, 02:40 PM (ISO 8601)
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Crowning moments of heartbreaking
In my opinion, the saddest scene in OOTS is where we come on the scene of V's massacre of the Draketooth line.(http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0841.html)
What really makes it hit home for me is the little girl with the pigtails. If you'll notice, she has exactly the same hair color as the lady next to her. Mother and daughter? And from the way they fell it looks either like V struck while they were hugging each other, or the mother felt it coming and was trying to shield her little girl. So sad! :(Prince Fraternal of Pudding, Snuzzlepal, Feezy Squeez Lover, MP, Member of The Most Noble And Ancient Order Of St. George, King of Gae Parabolae.
Lego Ergo Sum
"Everyone's cute if you just look at them the right way"~Rebekah Patton Durham, Princess of Pudding.
"If they have stats, we can kill them... I'd like to point out that we also have stats..." ~ PhoenixGuard09.
Warhammer 40K: Where the faction that is a cross between the Inquisition and Space Nazis are the good guys.
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2012-11-01, 03:54 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2009
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- The Venusberg
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The Saddest Moment
I think in terms of purely literary effect the death of the Family Draketooth loses in pathetic force by its very magnitude (though, conversely, it gains in horror). In the cliché but perceptive words of Tucholsky, "The death of one man: that is a a catastrophe. A hundred thousand dead: that is a statistic." That is why I personally am not nearly so saddened as shocked by massacres such as the wholesale slaughter of Azure City's paladins or the Draketooths as I am by (say) Therkla's or even the unlikable Miko's deaths. The former are perhaps more shocking, but the latter are more grievous.
“But he had not that supreme gift of the artist, the knowledge of when to stop.”
—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Norwood Builder” in The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
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2012-11-01, 04:29 PM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2012
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- Czech Republic
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Re: Crowning moments of heartbreaking
I have yet to find any truly heartbreaking moment. But the way Samantha's dad was killed was pretty disquieting for me. He was a relatively decent guy (for a bandit leader), who loved his daughter even though she was rotten to the bone. And when she proved to be too stupid to live, he naturally lost his temper and was offed without a second thought.
There must be some sense of order - personal, political or dramatic - and if no one else is going to bring it to this world, I will.
Silent member of Zz'dtri's #698 Scrying Sensor Explanation Club.
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2012-11-01, 04:40 PM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2009
Re: Crowning moments of heartbreaking
I think we'd all agree that individual events are far more tearjerking than mass deaths. (Otherwise, the fall of Azure City and wholesale slaughter of its defenders would surely qualify as the biggest single loss-of-sentient-life event. Not the paladins, there were only a few dozen of them, but the rank-and-file soldiers who died in the battle and its immediate aftermath.)
Note that ReaderAt2046 talks about a mass death event, but to make it 'heartbreaking' they pick on a single isolated detail - the mother/child pair.
I would nominate:
- Therkla's death. She was so young, and her life was so blighted by Kubota even before she died. She never had a chance. For anything.
- "I still need to fix everything"
- From Start of Darkness: "Goodbye... Redcloak." (I don't think it's a spoiler if I don't talk about the context.)
"None of us likes to be hated, none of us likes to be shunned. A natural result of these conditions is, that we consciously or unconsciously pay more attention to tuning our opinions to our neighbor’s pitch and preserving his approval than we do to examining the opinions searchingly and seeing to it that they are right and sound." - Mark Twain
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2012-11-01, 05:23 PM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2012
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2012-11-01, 05:49 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2012
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2012-11-01, 06:11 PM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2011
Re: Crowning moments of heartbreaking
The deaths of:
Miko
Haley's Mom
Therkla (her whole arc, really)
Roy
Right-eye
Notably not the death of Shojo, that was more shocking than saddening. (Well, Roy too if you pay attention to tropes, but it's hard to read O Buddy Roy without crying at least a little.)
V's marriage breaking up.
Hilgya/Durkon being sunk. Not so much that it was sunk, but in what way.
Basically everything Redcloak does that isn't Evil(tm).
"Mr. Stiffly? Mr. Stiffly! O-CHUL!"
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2012-11-01, 08:01 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2012
Re: Crowning moments of heartbreaking
This.
I honestly expected him to find a way out of it, right up until I reached the bottom of panel 1.
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2012-11-02, 12:37 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2006
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- Sweden
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Re: Crowning moments of heartbreaking
It might not be a strip were someone dies or anything, but this one always managed to twist my heartstrings a bit. Poor Haley...
I participated!
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2012-11-02, 02:10 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2012
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- Dark Montreal
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2012-11-02, 03:19 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2012
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Re: Crowning moments of heartbreaking
After years of disintoxication I'm back in the D&D tunnel
"I don’t understand God. I don’t understand how He could see the way people treat one another, and not chalk up the whole human race as a bad idea. I guess He’s just bigger about it than I would be."
Jim Butcher-Dresden Files, book 3
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2012-11-02, 05:01 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2010
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Re: Crowning moments of heartbreaking
Spoiler: This signature is a historical relic from a long-ago time of regular forum activity.Aww man! Even all the witty self referencing sigs are gone now!
Excellent Avatar by CheesePirate, Awesome banners by Pink Haired August
Spoiler
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2012-11-02, 06:25 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2010
Re: Crowning moments of heartbreaking
That would have been heartbreaking if it weren't for the final panel of those strips. The speed by which those crossbow bolts fires is so ridiculously and unrealistically slow it completely ruins the mood. It completely takes you out of the scene. Those crossbow bolts seem like they're traveling like 1 mile per hour; those things would barely break the skin at that speed if you by some ridiculous circumstance didn't dodge them which you had more then enough time to do. The sad thing is it's an easy fix. Rich could have easily expanded the panel where Tarquin says "Kill them both." to be the last panel. As is, those slow crossbow bolts completely break the mood and ruin it for me.
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2012-11-02, 07:01 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2010
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Re: Crowning moments of heartbreaking
Spoiler: This signature is a historical relic from a long-ago time of regular forum activity.Aww man! Even all the witty self referencing sigs are gone now!
Excellent Avatar by CheesePirate, Awesome banners by Pink Haired August
Spoiler
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2012-11-02, 08:37 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2012
Re: Crowning moments of heartbreaking
And, taking this to one further level, I find that Sadness Music of InevitabilityTM rarely works for me. I also think that strip would have been more effective if it ended on Tarquin's panel, although not to the degree that Dr.Epic seems to.
As for the actual topic, I agree that the scene from SoD being referenced is much more depressing than anything in the online comic (not that that's a bad thing).
EDIT: Who is King Zeal, and why did I confuse him/her with Dr.Epic?Last edited by ti'esar; 2012-11-02 at 11:16 PM.
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2012-11-02, 10:38 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2010
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- Dallas, TX
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Re: Crowning moments of heartbreaking
Heartbreaking awesomeness was breaking out in panels 4-8 here, until it was swamped by naive and innocent loving awesomeness.
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2012-11-05, 07:20 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2009
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- Spain
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Re: Crowning moments of heartbreaking
Hand downs, these two words from Start of Darkness:
Spoiler"Goodbye... Redcloak."Last edited by Kaemon; 2012-11-05 at 07:31 PM.
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2012-11-05, 09:04 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2011
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- Dromund Kaas
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2012-11-07, 01:17 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2012
Re: Crowning moments of heartbreaking
The cool thing on Start of Darkness is that even the funny parts often have a bitter tone.
What further makes it better than the online strip is that it does not have to end with a punchline and even better, that not each page has to be "closed". If something takes two pages or four, it does. Makes for a much better continuum to tell a story.
I wish Rich made another book in that style (it does not have to be dark as SoD).Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, Queen Cersei, King Joffrey, The Tickler, The Hound, Ser Amory, Polliver, Raff the Sweetling, Weese, Dunsen, Nale, Ser Gregor Clegane and Chiswyck: Winter is coming!
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2012-11-07, 03:46 PM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2009
Re: Crowning moments of heartbreaking
The online comic quite frequently runs 2-3 or more strips in one shot.
I agree that SoD has a different tone and tempo from the online strip, but I wouldn't agree that that makes it "better". It's just a (slightly) different storytelling style.
The punchline-per-day format is - well, it's a type of writing discipline that's characteristic of many webcomics, and Rich's skill at it probably has a lot to do with his success. I like it. To me, it gives the online comic a particular feel and charm of its own, very different from printed comics (which I seldom read nowadays, partly for this very reason - hack writers will drag scenes on for page after page, before delivering a payoff that's simply not worth waiting for).
Obviously this is all very subjective, and Rich will write what he wants in the style he wants. I think, at this point, I trust him to tell a story that's worth my time to follow, whatever format he adopts."None of us likes to be hated, none of us likes to be shunned. A natural result of these conditions is, that we consciously or unconsciously pay more attention to tuning our opinions to our neighbor’s pitch and preserving his approval than we do to examining the opinions searchingly and seeing to it that they are right and sound." - Mark Twain
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2012-11-07, 03:52 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2012
Re: Crowning moments of heartbreaking
Maybe not the crowning moment, but one that really stuck it to me that doesn't really get mentioned is Miko's bonus New Year's strip in War and XPs. She's trying! =(
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2012-11-07, 04:41 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2012
Re: Crowning moments of heartbreaking
That is not the point. One "piece" takes all the time it needs and does not get broken into "one page, a joke at the end" pieces.
I agree that SoD has a different tone and tempo from the online strip, but I wouldn't agree that that makes it "better".Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, Queen Cersei, King Joffrey, The Tickler, The Hound, Ser Amory, Polliver, Raff the Sweetling, Weese, Dunsen, Nale, Ser Gregor Clegane and Chiswyck: Winter is coming!
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2012-11-12, 10:58 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2012
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Re: Crowning moments of heartbreaking
Also Sabine's last words to Nale in this strip:(http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0860.html)
"I love you, forever..."
What makes it really sad is that Nale can't even hear Sabine, and has no idea what she just said to him.
Also doubles as an Establishing Character Moment, as it conclusively proves to me that Sabine is not anything like a real devil, as no true devil could understand love, or even loyalty.Prince Fraternal of Pudding, Snuzzlepal, Feezy Squeez Lover, MP, Member of The Most Noble And Ancient Order Of St. George, King of Gae Parabolae.
Lego Ergo Sum
"Everyone's cute if you just look at them the right way"~Rebekah Patton Durham, Princess of Pudding.
"If they have stats, we can kill them... I'd like to point out that we also have stats..." ~ PhoenixGuard09.
Warhammer 40K: Where the faction that is a cross between the Inquisition and Space Nazis are the good guys.
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2012-11-13, 02:33 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2007
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- Manchester, UK
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Re: Crowning moments of heartbreaking
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2012-11-13, 02:39 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2011
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- Dromund Kaas
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2012-11-13, 03:28 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2012
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2012-11-13, 04:25 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2010
Re: Crowning moments of heartbreaking
I honestly find one of the most heartbreaking, and terrifying, moments to be Tsukiko's death I love you all! I love you! Why don't... you love... me? mind you, she's not even a character I like (I also have not read start of darkness yet)
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2012-11-13, 05:35 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2012
Re: Crowning moments of heartbreaking
Tsukiko has her fair share. That strip is especially sad when viewed in concert with her explanation of why she loves her undead. The latter is sad because of her delusion, at first, but it gets worse when you realize she loves them because they're the only "people" that haven't betrayed her or hurt her. This makes the saddest part Redcloak reminding her that the only creatures to really show her any decency were under her magical control. It's a sad moment for her, but a sadder reminder that, even with the best intentions, people with free will can't really help but hurt, betray, and disappoint one another. Of course, you have to take Tsukiko's opinion with a grain of salt (creating mindless magical "children" is obviously not a sane way to deal with human imperfection), it's still kind of a sad reminder of our limitations.
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2012-11-13, 07:34 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2012
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Re: Crowning moments of heartbreaking
I use the terms "demon" and "devil" interchangeably when referring to the kind that exist IRL. And I'm not saying Sabine isn't a D&D demon, I'm saying that she isn't a real one.
You know, I'm not entirely sure the wights were mindless. I rather suspect that if neither Tsukiko nor Redcloack had been controlling them, they'd have left Tsukiko alone.Last edited by ReaderAt2046; 2012-11-13 at 07:36 AM.
Prince Fraternal of Pudding, Snuzzlepal, Feezy Squeez Lover, MP, Member of The Most Noble And Ancient Order Of St. George, King of Gae Parabolae.
Lego Ergo Sum
"Everyone's cute if you just look at them the right way"~Rebekah Patton Durham, Princess of Pudding.
"If they have stats, we can kill them... I'd like to point out that we also have stats..." ~ PhoenixGuard09.
Warhammer 40K: Where the faction that is a cross between the Inquisition and Space Nazis are the good guys.
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2012-11-13, 07:56 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2006
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- Somewhere in Europe
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Re: Crowning moments of heartbreaking
Therkla followed closely by Start of Darkness.
Once you go scaly, you'll be back daily.