OOTS #1184 - The Discussion Thread

[Dion]

maybe it's a (social) class marker or something else entirely.

Maybe both Durkon and Sigdi are time traveling Sabine, and Sabine likes accents.

[Thrawn4]

"If'n it comes back now... am I still holding it?"
So brilliant...

Also, I really like the title!

[littlebum2002]

Sigdi lived for fifty years without that arm, Tenrin died at the moment it was severed. Sigdi spent fifty years thinking of herself as the woman who's arm is still holding to Tenrin's corpse. Last Tenrin saw of Sigdi she had her arm. If anybody (like Durkon's grnadfather for example) told him that Sigdi refuses to Regenerate her arm out of some weird concept of loyaly to him, he'd probably react the same way Durkon just did.

Fair enough

Other than Sabine completely impersonates the blacksmith, you mean. Or Dave.

She didn't completely impersonate the blacksmith though. She looked nothing like him. And that is a really, really big piece of evidence that she can't change her skin color. After all, if you have the ability to perfectly duplicate the person you are impersonating, why wouldn't you use it?

[Nightcanon]

Terry Pratchett has, a couple of times, described the higher-dimensional view of a living creature: sort of a four-dimensional carrot, tiny at one end, growing rapidly, then growing slowly to its other end. That doesn't take into account the fuzziness caused by the exfoliated bits... nor the excreta.

See also the concept of Ungue, as practiced by the goblins in Snuff

[Larre Gannd]

I can't argue with that.

Neither can I. Sandwiches are key to OOTS universe.

[ratfox]

I'd have thought Durkon would already know the answer...

[The Aboleth]

She didn't completely impersonate the blacksmith though. She looked nothing like him. And that is a really, really big piece of evidence that she can't change her skin color. After all, if you have the ability to perfectly duplicate the person you are impersonating, why wouldn't you use it?

Perhaps shapeshifting requires a great deal of concentration (not necessarily in game terms, but maybe that, too) so she prefers to only shapeshift what is necessary? Perhaps the dwarf blacksmith wasn't particularly well-known, or the business not that successful, to where she felt she could get away with not changing the skin tone?

In any event, I again would like to state that analysis of characters based solely on the color of their skin makes me deeply uncomfortable, and I'd be willing to bet The Giant feels similarly.

[Hekko]

Durkon's mom is awesome!

Minrah's mom need to lay off on the passive-agressive!

Thanks for the comic, Giant! We love your stick figures!

"Eventually . . . after some unrelated battle". Not necessarily right now.

"Go if you must, Minrah, but remember I expect grand-children from you before you go to Valhalla!"

I really like Sigdi, she'd make a good paladin -but - that's just sad. Dwarfish society seems to be so focused to please a higher being, to be responsible for others, that any personal wishes are seen as unhealthy. Now Hilgya's behaviour looks more reasonable in comparision - it is not moraly excusable, but it is more understandable. Especially if there is no middle ground for Dwarves between Loki and Thor.

I feel like everyone's missing the point with this talk about how Sigdi is stuck in her ways and how soul crushing dwarven culture must be.

It's not that she doesn't want the arm back. It's that she wants to make sure Durkon is obligated to return alive.

I think it's less dwarven culture as a whole and more Sigdi still grieving. She lost her husband; she never moved on (she says she never let go, but this is what it really means: she's not done being Tenrin's wife). I don't think she believes she can feel happy without him. She certainly doesn't feel whole, so why should she care her body isn't whole?

I was kinda expecting a cutaway panel in the end to Valhalla with Tenrin actually still holding the hand...

How do you know? Roy's grandfather had the family sword in his afterlife just because he thought he should have it there. I don't see why Sigdi's arm couldn't be in Valhalla for the same reason.

Because it would be creepy as Hel?

[BaronOfHell]

Sigdi lived for fifty years without that arm, Tenrin died at the moment it was severed. Sigdi spent fifty years thinking of herself as the woman who's arm is still holding to Tenrin's corpse. Last Tenrin saw of Sigdi she had her arm. If anybody (like Durkon's grnadfather for example) told him that Sigdi refuses to Regenerate her arm out of some weird concept of loyaly to him, he'd probably react the same way Durkon just did.

Wasn't this originally about how Sigdi's arm could still be linked to Tenrin in the afterlife and not if it actually is?

Anyway until the Giant show us, we don't really know, but it certainly is possible, and in my opinion also likely. Since my understanding of your latest post is more along the lines of why it would be unlikely for Tenrin to see himself still holding Sigdi's arm, then I'd like to point out that in my opinion how important something is, is not related to how much time we spend on it, but how much importance we put to it. Something that only lasts a short while, but is great or otherwise give rise to strong emotions can easily fill much more than something we do every day, but feels trivial.

Since Tenrin was conscious while Sigdi was still holding on to him, I believe he was fully aware of what happened, and since they were an item at that point in time and she even had a child with him, I think it is very possible Tenrin is still waiting for Sigdi. Add to that the importance of your last moment in Dwarven society, the impact could be all the more relevant. I don't know how important it is that Tenrin doesn't know about Durkon though.

Also it would in my opinion make for a better story than Sigdi always seeing herself as holding on to Tenrin only for him to have let her go...

[understatement]

I LOVE Sigdi's expression at the end, and in general the both of them, and Minrah, and this webcomic. In that order, of course.

[Jasdoif]

The girl doesn't want a new arm. why does nobody seem to understand that?

poor Sigdi, nobody listens to her when she says No.

Durkon didn't cast the spell on her without her consent, so I'm pretty sure he's listening to her.

[Jay R]

After seeing a lot of what a dysfunction paladin is in Miko, we saw the quintessence of good paladin in O-Chul.


After seeing a lot of dysfunctional parents, in several families, we now see the quintessence of a good parent in Sigdi.

[Reboot]

Durkon didn't cast the spell on her without her consent, so I'm pretty sure he's listening to her.

It allows a fortitude save, and she's a fighter, no? Fair chance that she could stop it regenerating and Durkon knows it.

[Cazero]

The girl doesn't want a new arm. why does nobody seem to understand that?

poor Sigdi, nobody listens to her when she says No.

Because she doesn't says no, she says mebbe later.

[Jasdoif]

Durkon didn't cast the spell on her without her consent, so I'm pretty sure he's listening to her.

It allows a fortitude save, and she's a fighter, no? Fair chance that she could stop it regenerating and Durkon knows it.

I'm curious why you think Durkon would even consider that she'd resist, unless he was listening to her.

[Emperor Time]

It makes sense she would hesitate since it been so many years already. And getting a new arm wouldn't be the same as the one she lost. Plus it an Dwarven's way of thinking to never get the arm replace, even if it made possible for free of charge.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Neither can I. Sandwiches are key to OOTS universe.

I thought that was doilies?

[AchtungNight]

Durkon should ask his Mom if she can comfortably hold and feed or play with Kudzu with just one arm. Granted, she’s had the disability a long time and is probably used to it, probably can, people with disabilities shock those without constantly with their adaptations. But it might help her see his point. Until this woman I have never seen a disabled person who’d rather have their issue than not (no offense meant of course).

[Jasdoif]

Neither can I. Sandwiches are key to OOTS universe.

I thought that was doilies?

Doilies are the gateway, but you need the sandwich key to open the Gate gate.

[Schroeswald]

Durkon should ask his Mom if she can comfortably hold and feed or play with Kudzu with just one arm.

She managed to get through raising him all right, the second page of 1153 is sort of about that.

[Tiltowait]

The strip raised a question for me, however, not about the story, but about the game. When a chopped-of member is regenerated, wha happens to the part that was cut? Does it dissolves magically? Does it remains and decomposes the usual way? Is it possible for someone with Regenerate to leave a trail of hands or arms that all belong to the same person? What kind of silly and horrible trail would that be?

Goblin Dan's Hydra BBQ works on just that principle ;)

[Mandor]

Does Minrah's mom not want her to go to Valhalla?

It's just a guess, but I'm betting Minrah's mom really wants her to hurry up and choose some kid-based options.
There are often grandkid expectations and wants, whether or not those wants align with that of their immediate child.

[JumboWheat01]

It's just a guess, but I'm betting Minrah's mom really wants her to hurry up and choose some kid-based options.
There are often grandkid expectations and wants, whether or not those wants align with that of their immediate child.

Dwarven life is almost always about the clan, and if the clan doesn't have youngin's to let it continue on...

At least she still made her some sandwiches.

[LadyEowyn]

It’s kind of nice to see that Sigdi does have her own flaws and blind spots. It adds texture to her as a character.

[The_Weirdo]

I know that agreeing again with you is not considered a good sign, here.

Don't worry. A time will come when everyone will admit I was right. At least about some other stuff.

I'd not go so far as to call her attachment to the loss of the arm a mental illness, though, but I would much rather see Durkon getting this bit of closure. That said, the masochism-for-its-own-sake-as-a-value bit does seem to play a role.

[Lombard]

Kind of like a Chekhov's arm or something. Except it's already gone off

[brian 333]

Sigdi is not disabled. At the worst she got a -2 Dex penalty, but she's probably overcome that by now.

[Schroeswald]

Sigdi is not disabled. At the worst she got a -2 Dex penalty, but she's probably overcome that by now.

I'd call only having one arm a disability, and running it down to a dex penalty sort of undermines the fact that you can't do things with two different arms at the same time, which just rules plenty of things out of being done like holding both a shield and sword in battle, and you can't make up for that the same way you learn how to balance a lot of bowls at one time or whatever.

[Ron Miel]

Also, IIRC, she was impersonating a dwarf blacksmith, where the regular one appeared to be human. This is important as dwarves are better smiths than humans, so that was what convinced Roy that his sword was starmetal

You're right the blacksmith is a dark-haired human.

He seems to be rather small compared to Miko though... I always thought he was a dwarf

Also, the real blacksmith looks plenty dwarfy to me.

Roy says he's a dwarf.


And I'm sure the Azurite lady would disagree about dwarfs being better smiths.

[Knight13]

Dammit, Durkon! Just hit her with the Regenerate! If she doesn't like having her arm back, she can just chop it off or pretend it's not there or something.