OOTS 496: Responsible

[Jason Kain]

I'm curious. We know that Roy has/had at least two siblings, Julia and the one now in heaven playing with blocks. But I see no way to tell which one is the baby hiding behind Mommy's chair. Everyone who's sure it's one or the other, could you tell us why?

I'm pretty sure it's in the age difference. Taken from a poster on the Giant's forums:

figured from the facts that Roy is 28 (NCftPB notes), Julia is 16, and she was born two years after this kid's death

Having this event happen '18 years, apparently' means that Roy would have been around nine or ten, and Julia wouldn't have been born yet.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Just read the strip again, and it's still great.
Does anybody still remember the few weeks of pause we had no OotS? (Yeah, I nearly forgot it, too.) But it was totally worth it. (Not that I doubted it...)

Oh, and I guess I have to say it too:
Awwww

 

[Particle_Man]

I'm curious. We know that Roy has/had at least two siblings, Julia and the one now in heaven playing with blocks. But I see no way to tell which one is the baby hiding behind Mommy's chair. Everyone who's sure it's one or the other, could you tell us why?

Aside from the adding up the years argument, there is also the "colour" argument. Generally, characters in OOTS have the same colouration. Roy's brother has an orange shirt in the latest strip. Kid behind chair in 113 has an orange shirt.

 

[Someone]

I immediately wondered if the young brother's accidental death was the reason of Roy's desire to protect the innocent.

 

[Creamsteak]

There is a joke. The "do you want to play blocks with me" line is the punchline. It's like when someone gives this lengthy serious expositon, then someone else says something unfitting at the end to break the mood.

Poop.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

There is a joke. The "do you want to play blocks with me" line is the punchline. It's like when someone gives this lengthy serious exposition, then someone else says something unfitting at the end to break the mood.

Poop.

Weird as it may sound though, that is exactly what Roy wanted/needed to hear.

The Auld Grump

 

[LoneWolf23]

I immediately wondered if the young brother's accidental death was the reason of Roy's desire to protect the innocent.

Sounds to me like it'd be the reason for a lot of Roy's character traits...

 

[LoneWolf23]

Weird as it may sound though, that is exactly what Roy wanted/needed to hear.

The Auld Grump

Indeed. This is effectively one massive weight taken off his shoulders. Even if he doesn't consciously remember it when resurrected, I wager it'll have a positive effect on his subconscious.

 

[robertliguori]

One of the few actual good points to come out of BoED is the piece of fluff where Zaphkiel, greatest of the Tome Archons and LG counterpart to Asmodeus, takes personal responsibility for the souls of the stillborn and slain infants. It evokes images of the LG alignment being the one that, in the beginning of creation when the planes were still in flux and the cosmic forces were still establishing their boundaries, was thinking of the children.

 

[MavrickWeirdo]

Just the opposite, actually. The only drawback stick figures have is in getting people to read the strip in the first place. Once you accept them, which isn't that hard, it's easier to emotionally identify with a less artisticly detailed character.

I thought you had sworn off OotS.