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The Order of the Stick

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This is the thread for discussion of The Order of the Stick plot, characters, etc. We have a separate thread for discussing game rules and mechanics. Excessive rules discussions here may be thumped as off-topic.

OP edited to make this header - Fighteer

edited 18th Sep '17 1:08:08 PM by Fighteer

HeraldAlberich from Ohio (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
#52851: Mar 17th 2020 at 9:45:54 PM

Loki probably did not anticipate that Thor would tell the dwarves about the bet, and instead expected that Hel would still get the majority of dwarven souls and Dedications instead of just the few who failed to score an honorable death. Enough to keep her from starving between world iterations, but still proving his point that Worship is important.

Arha Since: Jan, 2010
#52852: Mar 18th 2020 at 12:04:53 AM

Loki knows Thor well enough to make sure Thor is so drunk he doesn't even understand the bet before proposing it. Thor telling the dwarves was a given. And if it wasn't for the Dark One, it wouldn't even be a real problem and who could have predicted that?

alekos23 Since: Mar, 2013
#52853: Mar 18th 2020 at 4:17:50 AM

Wasn't it that the current world lasted way longer than anyone thought?

HeraldAlberich from Ohio (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
#52854: Mar 18th 2020 at 7:42:52 AM

[up] No, world longevity has been steadily increasing and this world is on pace, according to Thor. It’s lasted a bit longer than expected because some enterprising mortals came up with the Gates, patching the holes for about 50 years, but that’s statistically insignificant on the gods’ timescales.

I suppose Loki really did just not think through the implications. 🤷

Galadriel Since: Feb, 2015
#52855: Mar 18th 2020 at 8:28:47 AM

I think that Loki’s goal was that the bet would screw Hel over in this world, making her more aware of the importance of Worship in the next. It was inly going to be a temporary harm, since none of the world last very long from the gods’ point of view.

He was impressed with her for finding a way to use it to her advantage, but that’s not something he was originally counting on.

Now he’s angry because it turns out this world has a chance of permanently containing the Snarl - which he wants - but he knows that doing so will be at the cost of his daughter.

alekos23 Since: Mar, 2013
#52856: Mar 18th 2020 at 8:35:31 AM

can't they just revise the promise anyway? stupid eternally-ish binding bets. [lol]

Discar Since: Jun, 2009
#52857: Mar 18th 2020 at 8:40:31 AM

Maybe, but it's also possible that it's built into the very foundation of the world. Hopefully once the world is saved they can find a way to do something, but we'll see.

Writing a post-post apocalypse LitRPG on RR. Also fanfic stuff.
TheHeroHartmut Nerds nearly need needy nerdy nerds from a cave, according to my father (Ancient one) Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
Nerds nearly need needy nerdy nerds
#52858: Mar 18th 2020 at 8:40:38 AM

Maybe if Hel were open to the prospect, but I doubt it. She's now pretty much all in on the bet, if her last appearance was anything to go by.

[down] Sorry, this was in response to alekos.

Edited by TheHeroHartmut on Mar 18th 2020 at 3:51:44 PM

Switch FC code: SW-4420-1809-1805
Discar Since: Jun, 2009
#52859: Mar 18th 2020 at 8:43:55 AM

That's why I said after the world is saved. Then they'll have an actual bargaining chip instead of "please give up on your seemingly imminent victory because reasons."

Writing a post-post apocalypse LitRPG on RR. Also fanfic stuff.
Arha Since: Jan, 2010
#52860: Mar 18th 2020 at 8:58:54 AM

The world should have ended before or now-ish, meaning that if things had gone like Loki predicted then Hel would have been ragged but basically okay, not getting increasingly unhealthy and unstable. Not helping matters is that he publicly voted against her personal best interests and safety. It's gone from "Play a joke on Thor and teach my daughter something" to one of those jokes that, woops, actually end up getting someone killed because people didn't realize what they were doing.

I suspect there'll be a way to call off the bet somehow both because Hel's situation is kind of pitiful and because the dwarves are getting a pretty raw deal.

Incidentally, from the dwarves perspective, no one would choose to be her priest. I wonder what would happen if one tried anyway? I suppose they'd fail, which is why they don't have any Hilgya's deciding she's awesome or whatever.

alekos23 Since: Mar, 2013
#52861: Mar 18th 2020 at 9:01:45 AM

Really, Thor and Loki stealing/rescuing souls from her didn't help much.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#52862: Mar 18th 2020 at 9:12:32 AM

One option could be that, if the bet depended on being settled 'after this world was finished', and is determined that's no longer going to happen, the bet could be rendered null and void since there's no longer a way to conclude it.

alekos23 Since: Mar, 2013
#52863: Mar 18th 2020 at 9:25:43 AM

you could always conspire to break the seals since they do require upkeep every thousand years or so, no? plus there's a chance of the next Dark One cleric refusing.

Resileafs I actually wanted to be Resileaf Since: Jan, 2019
I actually wanted to be Resileaf
#52864: Mar 18th 2020 at 10:42:38 AM

Hel is a spiteful monster of a goddess who enjoys torturing people just because they got sick and desires nothing more than to torture dwarves in her domain for eternity (or until they disappear).

I think everyone would be better off if she perished.

HeraldAlberich from Ohio (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
#52865: Mar 18th 2020 at 11:52:50 AM

[up][up] I think Thor’s idea is that once Redcloak proves that the purple quiddity can close the rifts, he can convince the Dark One himself to help keep them closed, without needing to involve any future clerics. He’ll be able to use the opportunity of their clerics joining forces to open a dialogue, and say, “Look, see? We need you, and by the way you need us too, since if you don’t go along with this we’ll destroy the world instead and you’ll starve to death.”

[up] Well, sure, but she’s also the Northern goddess of death, and they need one of those (I presume). There are many Evil gods and they all have their functions in creating the world and keeping it going.

Also, she’s “much more messed up this time around” because of her lack of Worship and if they can get the bet called off she should get less crazy over time.

FuzzyBoots from Outlying borough of Pittsburgh (there's a lot of Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
#52866: Mar 18th 2020 at 12:10:03 PM

Add to that that we've got proof that gods in this setting are shaped by beliefs. It would not surprise me if this longstanding battle over souls has led the Dwarven society to further see Hel as obsessed and crazy, making her more so.

tricksterson Never Trust from Behind you with an icepick Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Never Trust
#52867: Mar 18th 2020 at 5:34:55 PM

[up]x7 Should note that Loki has absolutely no problem with jokes that get people killed

Trump delenda est
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#52868: Mar 18th 2020 at 7:38:00 PM

Whether it was the original myths or any adaptation, the one consistent trait about Loki's jokes is that Loki is the only one who finds them funny. Because everyone else is the punchline of his jokes.

In this case, the only difference is that the person who might die because of his prank is someone he actually cares about.

Loki's kind of an asshole.

Okay, so there's one somewhat recent adaptation of Loki that's not so bad...yet.

Edited by M84 on Mar 18th 2020 at 10:41:57 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
Arha Since: Jan, 2010
#52869: Mar 18th 2020 at 11:52:17 PM

^^ He does when it's his daughter. This was not what he wanted to happen.

tricksterson Never Trust from Behind you with an icepick Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Never Trust
#52870: Mar 19th 2020 at 2:19:51 AM

He also has a history of his ideas backfiring on him. Which is how he wound up pregnant with an eight legged horse.

Trump delenda est
HeraldAlberich from Ohio (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
#52871: Mar 19th 2020 at 6:26:40 AM

Also the reason he did once volunteer as the butt of his own joke, by tying a rope between his genitals and a goat’s beard and letting it drag him all over the gods’ feasting hall. (He had to cheer a sad giantess up, you see. It was his fault Thor killed her father.)

blkwhtrbbt The Dragon of the Eastern Sea from Doesn't take orders from Vladimir Putin Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
The Dragon of the Eastern Sea
#52872: Mar 19th 2020 at 8:18:19 AM

Starting to think the ancient Norse pantheon had a very cruel concept of humor

Say to the others who did not follow through You're still our brothers, and we will fight for you
DatLonerGirl Gimme your desire... from a top secret place Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Gimme your desire...
#52873: Mar 19th 2020 at 8:26:35 AM

Starting?

Writer, or something. Push the button, if you dare. 🖲️
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#52874: Mar 23rd 2020 at 11:48:09 AM

#1196: Not Yet Seasoned

I'm trying to count the tropes in this page alone and running out of fingers. [lol]

Edited by Fighteer on Mar 23rd 2020 at 2:48:17 PM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
TheLovecraftian Since: Jul, 2017
#52875: Mar 23rd 2020 at 12:12:10 PM

Well, hey, he's trying.

I wonder what the importance of Roy not being able to tell Julia about their father's deal is. I mean, it got brought up for a reason, one presumes.


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