Order of the Stick

[morgana006]

Ah, family. Some families have problems with different view points. Darth Vader learned that the hard way when his son just didn't want to be on the Dark Side with him.

Other families don't have that problem. Order of the Stick shows us how.

I'm going to be dealing with strips between 722 and the second most current one, so you can go there and read the arc if you want.



So it starts when the Order of the Stick (minus Roy, Belkar and Durkon who are getting into trouble on their own) get into a little bit of a disagrement with a giant dragon Empress of Blood and her court when they mistake Elan for his evil twin brother Nale.




So after that's all sorted out, Elan and co are guests of the palace! Elan is pleased as punch to have a father, but Haley's very suspicious.

Meanwhile, Tarquin visits a couple of new gladiators... (I said Roy and Belkar had been getting into trouble)


Roy and Belkar make some new friends in the arena, while Elan witnesses his father betray someone who asked him for help.













We've learned a valuable lesson today about accepting your Good-aligned son for who he is, and about the Power of DRAMA! Just because you're "evil" doesn't mean you have to be a terrible father, I guess (I'm talking to you, Norman Osborne).

You might also want to see the most recent strip for a hint at how this might not turn out as well.

Now, Order of the Stick deals with family a lot (we've pretty much met Roy's entire family), but this one is on the top of my mind.

Comments

[q99]

None of your images are working for me :(

[morgana006]

That's weird, they just stopped working for me too. Hold on, I'll try something else.

[morgana006]

Okay, they're up now, but I have a problem with two of them I'll see if I can fix.

*grumble grumble image hosting sites*

[morgana006]

It should all be fixed now, sorry.

[grazzt]

"We're going to tell the best story ever" may be the villain quote of the year.

[q99]

Yea, it's chilling :)

[outlawpoet]

I love Elan's dad so much for that. He's crazy, but he's got it all figured out. And he really does seem to like his son a lot.

[karthzon]

Although if Elan actually had some smarts, he'd point out that he's a bard. If they fight and he wins, he's going to be the one telling the story. It might not even have Tarquin in it at all.

[karthzon]

Also, that Tarquin is fundamentally wrong. The point of stories about lone heroes toppling tyrannies is that the tyrannies don't exist any more afterwards. By subscribing to the narrative, he's essentially numbering the days of Evil states, since every time a hero topples a tyranny, that's one more state that will stay Good or Neutral. On a finite Plane, eventually Evil win run out of footholds and Good will win.

[thanekos]

Considering that Xykon is a couple of levels into epic by most attempts to stat him out, it probably is a good idea to leave his trouncing to another party.

[badficwriter]

"No, no, don't be embarrassed, I get that all the time" made me laugh so hard I cried. XD

[morgana006]

That's pretty much the reason I included that page! Because it's too hilarious not to share.

(Although, out of all these pages, "Growing up without a father was totally worth it just for this reveal!" had me laughing the most.)

[aaron_bourque]

Adding to the drama/"best story ever"-ness is that Ian, aka "Red," is Haley's dad. Haley is Elan's girlfriend. DRAMAMA

[glimmung]

I feel like an idiot for not catching that. The whole named NPC thing should have set off alarm bells.

[espanolbot]

Hee, I liked the Zuko reference in the most recent strip.

[psychopathicus_rex]

I really like Elan. He is, in most respects, a complete idiot, but he has a genuine desire to do good, a fair talent in his chosen field, and a strong devotion to his friends - and he's still growing as a character. It's not often that someone can be the comic relief and the dashing hero at the same time and have it WORK.
His dad is pretty interesting, too, because he has some of the same characteristics, but turned towards a darker side of things. He's one of those 'ends justify the means' types, and is completely out-front about the basic selfishness of what he does and the fact that he's probably going to wind up being killed for it - but he's fine with that, because the laws of plot demand it, and he feels that it's worth it if he gets to live it up for a few years. One gets the feeling that he's actually quite a nice guy if you're on his side - and if you're not, that's fine, too, just so long as you don't get in his way.

[endis_ni]

Now, Order of the Stick deals with family a lot (we've pretty much met Roy's entire family),

I've heard it said that some people didn't tear up when Roy was reunited with his little brother. I'm not sure how this can be, but still...

[magus_69]

The only possible explanation is that the existence of a third Greenhilt sib came entirely out of left field. We've known the deal with Tarquin for a while now even if we've only recently met him. Likewise, we knew about Haley's dad and V's mate long before meeting them. We knew that Roy had a younger sib and we met Julia, so that end appeared to be tied up. Eric's very existence was a surprise revealed in the comic he was introduced in. I was affected by the reunion, and it seems like most people were, but I can see how some people might not be.