#Jirix

[inbarfink]

[bobauthorman]

What Gate?

[optogeneticist-sketchbook]

Do you ship Redcloak with anyone?

i like these two

2023.01.14

[tiffany-smith]

You know, what's cool about Order of the Stick is that it dares to be a story where only half the major characters are in a romantic relationship. (Less, depending on who counts as 'major.' I'm counting just members of the Order here, not Team Evil or the various characters like the paladins, Hilgya, or Minrah they've picked up on the way.)

Haley and Elan are, like, the "token representation" characters. Roy gets tossed a girlfriend bc he's the hero ig? She's rarely around.

V had a spouse who was known about for a while offscreen, got three pages onscreen and promptly served divorce papers.

Durkon? Had an affair one (1) night which resulted in a kid 1000 strips and two irl decades later, the mom wants nothing to do with him. Otherwise probably completely celibate.

Belkar will sleep with anyone and romance nobody.

None of the paladins have relationships. Not even O-Chul and Lien, or Hinjo and Lien.

None of the long-lost parent figures are still in a relationship. Elan's parents are divorced and Tarquin had like nine wives (none onscreen, also he's Evil about it). Haley's mom and Durkon's pa are dead. Who KNOWS abt Belkars parents. Roy's are both dead and took 'till death do us part' with gusto.

None of the airship crew have any romances (except for the one throwaway gay couple who got one panel of screentime).

Team Evil does not do any of that. Not Xykon, not Redcloak, not the monster in the dark, not Jirix. Tsukiko was the only one with any relationship drive, and she got brutally murdered (unrelated reasons).

Straining to remember any other romantic relationships ever.

OH! Sabine and Nale! (But that also specifically parallels Haley and Elan, like they explicitly said 'evil opppsites.')

Therkla fell in love with Elan and it was not reciprocated (?) (he cared abt her but not like that. Not to cheat on Haley.)

The gods have their whole thing I suppose but that hardly counts.

Not even Julia, the high school hottie, is ever mentioned having a significant other.

There is one (1) actually married couple. Two soldiers who were nameless until they took offense to being called nameless soldiers and changed it. They got married and she's pregnant.

Order of the Scribble had one couple.

The cast is SO HUGE and there is SO LITTLE romance. Only half of the six-member main cast is in a relationship. Unheard-of. And of the huge cast of side characters, there are 3 only stable relationships. That's all! THATS ALL!

I love it.

Thats the real aspec rep: not just one character who doesn't care, but a whole world where that's Not The Focus.

Instead, OOTS focuses very strongly on familial relationships. Parent (singular) and child(ren). Siblings (twins). Aunts and uncles, even.

And in the midst of all that... the platonic bonds of deep friendship forged between the main cast.

[jiskblr]

Okay, actually I’m going to defend GG’s honor. It’s not actually unusually slow, for a plot-focused webcomic. (Though for full honesty, I should correct you: Agatha entered the castle on December 27th, 2007. Or February 2nd, 2008 depending on whether you count before or after the doors lock her in.)

The canonical example is probably Order of the Stick. Three days after Homestuck started, Rich put out It’s Where The Cool Kids Swim, strip #645, during V’s evil arc, shortly after the Familicide, when they recontact Haley and Belkar. 

Three days after Homestuck ended was Credits and Deductions, #884, in the desert pyramid, shortly after Durkon gets vampirized and just before the fantasy-world trap.

That’s starting in mid-to-late Don’t Split the Party (book 4 of OotS) and ending in mid-late Blood Runs in the Family (book 5). To borrow the plot summaries for those books:

Deal with the Devil (and the other two Fiends) Vaarsuvius teleports to Xykon's tower to kill Xykon. V grossly underestimates Xykon's shrewdness and is brutally defeated O-Chul breaks free Blackwing tries to drop the phylactery into the rift MitD teleports V and Mr. Stiffly O-Chul out of Xykon’s grasp

The Order is Reunited Mostly just some foreshowing of book 5, but we also learn about the planet inside the rifts.

Save Room for Desert Arrival on the continent, planning their search for Girard’s Gate

Face the Nation Recloak hands over Gobbotopia to Jirix. The Azurite Resistance attacks and has some success.

Farther, Sun, and Slaughter The Order try to find leads, and fail. Bounty hunters catch ‘Nale’ and associates, and the other half of the Order is arrested for lacking entry papers. We meet Tarquin and Malack. Blood Will Out More of Tarquin, Malack, and the Empire of Blood. Elan realizes Tarquin is evil.

All the Wrong Places A hobgoblin finds Xykon's phylactery The Resistance intervenes -  but they’re crushed Redcloak kills Tsukiko for threatening to reveal that the ritual isn’t what he’s told Xykon it is. Team Evil leaves to look for Girard’s Gate The Order find the Draketooth compound and V realizes why they’re all dead.

That’s more things than happened in the GG Castle arc. But not much more.

Webcomics just aren’t a fast-moving format.

Girl Genius updates 3 times a week.

Sometime in mid-to-late 2008, Agatha entered castle Heterodyne to fix it. I’m not sure the exact date because I can’t be assed, but here’s a page from November 2008 in which she’s already in.

On April 13th, 2009, a minimum of 6 months after Agatha entered the castle, Homestuck, one of the most notoriously slow-paced comics in existence, started. In Homestuck, John spent hundreds of pages fucking around with cakes until his house was nearly destroyed by a meteor. He escaped to another planet using a magical video game, along with three of his friends.

John and his friends played this game, while being harassed by trolls from another universe, leading to many confusing shenanigans involving time travel. Some of these confusing time travel shenanigans resulted in John cloning several characters, and sending them back in time to grow up into themselves. Things were going well, except a convoluted series of events caused a maniac to gain the powers of the final boss and start killing everyone early, going so far as to destroy an entire moon.

One of the survivors of the madman’s rampage went on to go to post-apocalyptic earth and have many adventures.

We then cut away for several months to meet all the trolls, learn their backstories, and follow them as they created the universe in which humanity exists, while forming abusive relationships and doing drugs. They are attacked by a godlike being before being able to claim their ultimate reward, and that is why they are hiding in a lab trolling people through time.

The godlike being, of course (for this series) ends up being created by our heroes accidentally, with a little prodding from a particularly crazy troll who wants to Mary Sue herself into every situation possible. The godlike being kills a lot of characters, and the kids realize that they can no longer win. They resolve to reset time altogether, creating a new timeline in which they are hopefully less incompetent. As this will result in the original versions getting erased, they get very depressed about it.

Also depressed are the trolls, who end up killing each other for a bit in a long arc. Five minor characters and one major character end up not surviving.

After several months of no updates because Hussie wanted to do a big Flash video, the kids execute their plan, but have been manipulated by a bad guy who wants to use Time Travel to ensure his own invincibility. Both the human and troll universes are destroyed, but the kids manage to escape and head to the new timeline they created, in which hopefully the heroes playing the game will be less incompetent

The heroes of the new universe turn out to be even more incompetent, creating a dead game world where nothing even starts, and spending a looooooooooot of time whining about their relationship issues. The already infamously bad pacing of Homestuck takes a nosedive, and it starts bleeding readers.

The original cast will take three years to get to the new timeline, and are split into two groups unable to communicate with each other. However, both groups meet an entirely new gaggle of mostly-pointless trolls, as Hussie flopsweats and tries to get his readership back on board.

Meanwhile, the kids in the new timeline befriend and alien with split personalities. One is nice and sweet, the other grows up to become the ultimate bad guy of the series.

Eventually, (and I mean eventually, as Homestuck’s update schedule stopped being ludicrously fast) John meets up with one of the trolls who died in the murdering everyone storyline, who is gathering up the souls of the dead in the afterlife, and destroying them as part of a plan to make herself the hero who beats the ultimate bad guy. John points out that that plan’s kind of fucking weird, so the crazy Mary Sue troll delivers a rousing speech about the importance of being true to yourself, that would be very nice if not being used to justify pointless genocide, and jumps into a pit of fire to obtain an ultimate power.

On March 27th, 2013, after all that happened (plus the months after her entering but before HS starting), Agatha came out of the castle.

Girl Genius is literally so slow is makes Homestuck seem blisteringly fast by comparison

[razmerry]

I re-read Start of Darkness and cried my damn eyes out again, so here’s one of the parts I did for my “Contact” MAP. 

You guys... The Order of the Stick is SUCHHH a good comic. Redcloak is horribly tragic and I’m just - uGGgfrebj I’m gonna start crying again

(please read order of the stick!! do it for me. do it for redclooooooak 

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots.html)

[independent-fictional-mbti]

The Order of the Stick MBTI: Team Evil

Xykon ESTP (The Troubleshooter)

ESTPs are outgoing, straight-shooting types. Enthusiastic and excitable, ESTPs are "doers" who live in the world of action. Blunt, straight-forward risk-takers, they are willing to plunge right into things and get their hands dirty. They live in the here-and-now, and place little importance on introspection or theory. The look at the facts of a situation, quickly decide what should be done, execute the action, and move on to the next thing.

ESTPs have an uncanny ability to perceive people's attitudes and motivations. They pick up on little cues which go completely unnoticed by most other types, such as facial expressions and stance. They're typically a couple of steps ahead of the person they're interacting with. ESTPs use this ability to get what they want out of a situation. Rules and laws are seen as guidelines for behavior, rather than mandates. If the ESTP has decided that something needs to be done, then their "do it and get on with it" attitude takes precendence over the rules. (Personality Page)

Redcloak INTJ (The Investigator)

INTJs are analytical problem-solvers, eager to improve systems and processes with their innovative ideas. They have a talent for seeing possibilities for improvement, whether at work, at home, or in themselves.Often intellectual, INTJs enjoy logical reasoning and complex problem-solving. They approach life by analyzing the theory behind what they see, and are typically focused inward, on their own thoughtful study of the world around them. INTJs are drawn to logical systems and are much less comfortable with the unpredictable nature of other people and their emotions. (Truity)

The Monster in the Darkness ESFP (The Energiser) 

ESFP is definitely a spontaneous, optimistic individual. They love to have fun. If the ESFP has not developed their Thinking side by giving consideration to rational thought processing, they tend to become over-indulgent, and place more importance on immediate sensation and gratification than on their duties and obligations. They may also avoid looking at long-term consequences of their actions.

For the ESFP, the entire world is a stage. They love to be the center of attention and perform for people. They're constantly putting on a show for others to entertain them and make them happy. They enjoy stimulating other people's senses, and are extremely good at it. They would love nothing more than for life to be a continual party, in which they play the role of the fun-loving host. (Personality Page)

Jirix ISTJ (The Inspector) 

The ISTJ is extremely dependable on following through with things which he or she has promised. For this reason, they sometimes get more and more work piled on them. Because the ISTJ has such a strong sense of duty, they may have a difficult time saying "no" when they are given more work than they can reasonably handle. For this reason, the ISTJ often works long hours, and may be unwittingly taken advantage of.The ISTJ will work for long periods of time and put tremendous amounts of energy into doing any task which they see as important to fulfilling a goal. However, they will resist putting energy into things which don't make sense to them, or for which they can't see a practical application. 

Tsukiko INFJ (The Guide)

But the INFJ is as genuinely warm as they are complex. INFJs hold a special place in the heart of people who they are close to, who are able to see their special gifts and depth of caring. INFJs are concerned for people's feelings, and try to be gentle to avoid hurting anyone. They are very sensitive to conflict, and cannot tolerate it very well. Situations which are charged with conflict may drive the normally peaceful INFJ into a state of agitation or charged anger. They may tend to internalize conflict into their bodies, and experience health problems when under a lot of stress.

Because the INFJ has such strong intuitive capabilities, they trust their own instincts above all else. This may result in an INFJ stubborness and tendency to ignore other people's opinions. They believe that they're right. On the other hand, INFJ is a perfectionist who doubts that they are living up to their full potential. INFJs are rarely at complete peace with themselves - there's always something else they should be doing to improve themselves and the world around them. (Personality Page)

Right Eye ESFP (The Energiser)

ESFPs are likely to be very practical, although they hate structure and routine. They like to "go with the flow", trusting in their ability to improvise in any situation presented to them. They learn best with "hands-on" experience, rather than by studying a book. They're uncomfortable with theory. If an ESFP hasn't developed their intuitive side, they may tend to avoid situations which involve a lot of theoretical thinking, or which are complex and ambiguous. For this reason, an ESFP may have difficulty in school. On the other hand, the ESFP does extremely well in situations where they're allowed to learn by interacting with others, or in which they "learn by doing". (Personality Page)

[csp-resources]

[ FREE CLIP STUDIO BRUSHES ]

https://maunderillustrations.gumroad.com/l/JiRiX

[maklodes]

jupiter--system The thing I like about OOTS is that the comedy is character based now. The humor comes from Elan doing Elan things rather than just "haha level joks" jupiter--system I don't know if it's fair to characterize OOTS as having a bog standard "save the world" plot tho. Redcloak is an objectively correct antagonist and that makes it infinitely more interesting than any Marvel movie. The goblins HAVE been screwed over and The Dark One and Redcloak aren't wrong for having come to the conclusion they did. There's a nuance to it that I'm not sure this post gives it credit for. Or maybe I'm just weird idk..

Yeah. I probably understated my enthusiasm for OotS in my original post. In my opinion, the characterization of Redcloak doesn't necessarily changes the fundamental nature of the story -- Redcloak is still a endgame D&D boss evil goblin cleric, a brutal torturer whose plans endanger the existence of the world, who responds to nonviolent attempts to resolve matters with lethal violence, dismissing (true!) information that might throw his plans into question based on guesswork even though he would have considerable divination abilities.

SPOILER PARAGRAPH: Although it looks like ultimately they'll have to leave him alive to really fix things anyway, unless Jirix could play the designated part after leveling up enough or something, which is an unusual situation for a D&D villain.

That said, to me, it is an example of OotS getting things right with respect to character development even if it doesn't fundamentally stop being a save-the-world D&D campaign. I'd take a somewhat conventional story that's well executed over a shoddy attempt at subversion any day. Or at least most days.

At its core, Order of the Stick is a fairly standard save-the-world D&D campaign with rather crude art, but it manages to get a bunch of intangible little things right enough that it’s still good. Neither its core premise nor its visuals are particularly captivating, but its sense of pacing, its balance between serious drama and humor, and the development we see in the characters are all enough to keep it engaging after all this time. It got more serious compared to the one-off rule joke strips of the very beginning, but never went full Cerberus and lost its sense of humor or anything like that.

[weecherylita]

Continuing my analysis of Redcloak; this piece is focused on in-character signs that he could actually get some positive character growth (maybe even a redemptive arc? Who knows).

THIS POST INCLUDES MAJOR SPOILERS FOR START OF DARKNESS…

In my previous post, I pointed out that the heart of Redcloak’s character is a battle between his two primary motivations; the first (and the one he likes to tell himself is his main motivation) is trying to improve the lives of the goblin people. The second (and his actual main motivation) is his desire to hide from his own guilt for leading them on a dangerous path which has brought them a great deal of death and suffering. He has sacrificed so much for the sake of the Dark One’s Plan, he thinks the only option is to keep going – otherwise all of those deaths will have been for nothing, and the toll on his conscience will be extreme. Xykon, being a vital component of said Plan, is someone who Redcloak has used as a shield to hide behind – his servitude towards Xykon offers him “an excuse for [his] inexcusable behaviour” as Xykon puts it, and allows him to kid himself that he has no real choice.

So, what are the signs that he might be able to break out of this and change for the better? (Note I’m not arguing he definitely will change, just that it wouldn’t actually be totally out of the blue if he did.)

The hobgoblins and Gobbotopia

In his dealings with hobgoblins in particular, we have seen the part of him that genuinely cares for his people really start to come more strongly to the fore. Firstly in his major about-turn during the Battle of Azure City, where he came to realise the error of his previous racist attitude towards hobgoblins, and this produced a significant change in his behaviour. So here at least we have precedent for Redcloak examining past actions, owning up to his mistakes, and growing for the better (albeit, on a much smaller scale than what would be required to rethink his devotion to the Plan).

As this plot line develops we continue to see further evidence of Redcloak growing in his sense of responsibility and genuine concern for the lives of other goblins, and this includes two prominent examples where he does prioritise their well-being above the Dark One’s Plan.

Firstly, we have the personal battle between Redcloak and the High Priest of the Twelve Gods – a duel he could have avoided, but specifically enters into because “dueling will save the lives of any hobgoblins your spells would have killed.” And this is a risk not just to his own life, but potentially to the Plan as well, since there was a chance of the Crimson Mantle being destroyed/confiscated by Azurites in the event of Redcloak losing that duel (the best case scenario would’ve been for the cloak to get picked up by another, almost certainly less powerful goblin cleric).

Secondly, he clearly puts off continuing the Dark One’s mission in order to concentrate on the development of the emerging goblin city state, Gobbotopia. This shows a genuine desire to pursue an alternative and less risky method of securing the well-being of his people, to the point that it distracts him from the Plan. It doesn’t last, of course. A combination of Xykon’s rage and a semi-direct message from the Dark One himself serve to refocus his attention on the Plan once more. This brings about a regression of sorts, in that we once again see him prepared to tactically sacrifice the lives of other goblins for the sake of its success. For now, it appears that he believes that by delegating to Jirix, he can pursue both the Plan and the development of Gobbotopia concurrently. He is surely aware that pursuing the Plan could threaten Gobbotopia itself, but perhaps unwilling to dwell too much on the ramifications of that. Nevertheless, Gobbotopia still exists as a tangible achievement in Redcloak’s eyes, and may well come into play again in forcing a confrontation between his two primary motivations – Gobbotopia or the Plan; the well-being of living goblins, or his desire to hide from his own guilt. 

Right-Eye and Xykon

Redcloak’s efforts to hide from his guilt are becoming more strained. We get the most explicit glimpse of this when we see him talking to - himself? - in the mirror, saying: “It’ll all be worth it. You’ll see.” Except of course, he’s not just talking to himself, but also Right-Eye (Redcloak having lost his own right eye, it would seem as though he was staring at a right-eyed goblin when facing himself in the mirror).

In fact, this brings me back to that interesting statement from Xykon at the end of Start of Darkness: “as long as you’re loyal to me, I’ll let you pretend that this [Redcloak murdering Right-Eye] never happened.” Thing is though, Xykon’s gone back on his word. By forbidding Redcloak to regenerate his lost eye, and encouraging Tsukiko to call him “Wrong-Eye”, Redcloak has been getting regular reminders about his brother – and what he did to him. It’s no wonder that Redcloak has started to seem a little unsettled. And the memory of Right-Eye doesn’t just represent Redcloak’s guilt either – it’s also about choice. As Xykon pointed out, Right-Eye is proof that actually, Redcloak does have a choice – a choice about whether to rebel against Xykon, or the Dark One, or to just admit that he’s done wrong by his people and there are alternatives to following this crazily dangerous plan. Xykon characterises Redcloak as “too chicken-shit” to ever make that choice, but I do wonder. For a start, Xykon’s verbal beat-down to Redcloak at the end of Start of Darkness (when Redcloak was at his very lowest) was so utterly vicious I almost felt like it’s inevitable that one day, Redcloak will pick himself back up and prove him wrong. (Law of drama I guess? Elan would approve.)

Which leads onto another point – another way we’ve seen Redcloak develop over the course of the comic is to see him becoming more confident and more dissatisfied with Xykon. If we compare the first time Redcloak submitted to calling Xykon “Lord Xykon”, way back at the end of Start of Darkness, with the last time we heard him say it, recently in the western desert, we can see that his attitude has significantly changed. The first time is almost heart-breaking; his will is completely broken at that point. That final time, where he is practically dripping with disdain and barely contained rage, honestly gives me chills.

There is no evidence as of yet of this progression leading to any positive growth; thus far, his newfound confidence has led Redcloak to boast that he secretly has Xykon dancing to his tune, which is a dubious assertion that still hinges on his desire to fool Xykon into carrying out the Plan. Nevertheless, I think it’s interesting the way Xykon originally characterised servitude to him as a way for Redcloak to avoid his own sense of personal responsibility for his actions (”You’ll obey me forever now, because I give you an excuse for your inexcusable behaviour”). In Redcloak’s mind, preserving the relationship with Xykon is still a necessary evil for the sake of the Plan, and the Plan is beyond question (and thus he avoids the need to face up to his own wrong-doing in pursuing that goal). The more strained his relationship with Xykon becomes, the higher the chance of the whole thing unraveling. A few small cracks are starting to appear, but whether they will lead to any positive development or not remains to be seen...

Violence and non-goblins

And the final point relates to Redcloak’s attitude and violent behaviour towards non-goblin species. The Redcloak of the most recent strips is just as prepared to kill for the sake of the Plan as ever, and he does so brutally and with grim efficiency. Nevertheless, I think it’s interesting that he used to enjoy killing creatures he hated - humans and paladins in particular - yet he no longer appears to do so (or not as much, at least). He tells Jirix that murdering a paladin was “less satisfying than I remember”. He also doesn’t appear to take much pleasure in Tsukiko’s death (in contrast to his apparent glee when he set the chlorine elemental on her when they first met). And, most recently of all, he appears notably dissatisfied about killing the monsters of Kraagor’s tomb, asking “What did their deaths mean?”. Which seems an unusual question for a goblin who is long used to justifying every horrible deed he commits as being a necessary sacrifice for the greater well-being of his people. Now it could well be that Redcloak’s evolution into hardened killer who destroys out of grim necessity rather than enjoyment isn’t going to lead to any positive changes. Still, that most recent example in particular indicates a degree of weariness with needless bloodshed that might be relevant later. And we also have the very interesting example of Redcloak choosing to spare the prisoners of Azure City - people who he promised to destroy, yet eventually chose not to. I don’t believe this was out of a sense of compassion, but rather from the fact that when it came down to it, he just didn’t have the stomach for senseless destruction. And with the fate of the whole world at stake, that may yet prove significant. 

Of course, none of this is proof that Redcloak will eventually reject the Plan, let alone switch to placing his trust in the Order/the gods in general. Nevertheless, the above points make me believe it is possible that Redcloak could start to go through that path of personal growth – particularly if something dramatic happens that forces him to acknowledge that the Plan isn’t viable. As firmly deluded as he seems right now, a few small cracks have started to appear.

[sannehnagi]

Lexember 2nd

Today is an old verb that needed to be remade. -ga- to turn, swivel (intransitive) -gag- to turn, to twist, to cause to turn (transitive) -gaga- to dance, spin -ŋa- to spin thread

all the verbs should be able to fit the presented paradigm, and the nasal mutations are what I would like to spend most of lexember doing.

Jirix gaína- I turn to look at your face. Haqë’iqë gagóna- I twist the bird’s head off Kogagasá- I cannot dance Apëpë inŋáiš- My grandmother always knits.

[inbarfink]

[tolivealie]

I recorded this, did artwork, and vocals on this beast. Big ups to Eli, Matt, Dylan, Jirix-Mie, and @precariancuts #tiredofeverythinghc https://www.instagram.com/p/CCT7hTXHBq7/?igshid=vcrcrbvll13c

[scenepointblank]

Scene Point Blank is excited to share the debut release from Tired of Everything, the Silenced demo, out soon on To Live a Lie Records. Formed earlier this year, the Raleigh, NC quartet features current and former members of NoComply, Oxidant, Salmonella, Zipper, and Mad Dog. The band plays furious hardcore with that balanced anthemic singalongs with circle pits and live-in-tone production. Silenced features six songs and is the first band in which To Live a Lie label head Will takes the microphone. Available on cassette and 8” picture disc, the record’s six songs were recorded on August 22 with Kris Hilbert and the mastered by Jirix-Mie Pax. via Scene Point Blank music news feed

[squattofitt]

Potatoes or Kolokasi??

hmm such a hard question.

*after three hours of thinking time*

i have to say that i prefer…………

kolokasi cuz its healthier!

p.s. you can buy kolokasi at a lower price from Sotira.com with the coupon code “mavros”

[a-whole-lotta-heck]