Did we really need an entire strip that wasn't funny to tell us about a concept I'm sure we all already know? :/

I completely agree with every word you wrote. Thanks for saving me the trouble of having to type it all.

Happy Deathday, Richard!
Here is my yearly sacrifice. *insert lamb carcass here*


The Bloodrage are a very thoughtful people.

Seriously, the monotony of using Richard quotes as subtitles for every topic discussion is getting really annoying.. cmon guys, you can be more creative than this.

nothing new in the storyline though.. except the dark elves possibly no longer occupying the temple.

Well, tell the other characters to start being funny.

No, you're not. it's strange people dodn't even talk about the card 'til the third page. It confuses me.

Maybe Cale should have spent less time with Benny.

*snicker*

Well, let's hope it doesn't take us nine months for Cale and Benny's "roll" to be revealed.




I'm sure Benny loved her inflatable love "Chicken".

I think Richard's really angry at Cale for not killing Benny. Imagine how dissapointed he must have looked seeing her alive and well...

Happy DeathDay Richard!!

Pain

Hmm, this is obviously a time skip/transition page.
That is, it will only make sense once the next few pages have been posted and you can read it sequentially without several days in between.
It's a problem with webcomics compared to paper comics. You just have to learn to adapt and be patient as a reader.
That's why I go back and re-read a chapter once it's completed - so I get the correct pacing of the story.


The only thing I feel is lacking is a time indicator for how much time has passed since Cale got laid.
We don't know how long time has passed since Richard heard Cale and Benny and the group's arrival at the temple. Could be later the same day, could be several days later.
And since they had stopped for the night, it wasn't Benny screwing Cale that made them late. They'd be late anyway.


As for the sons, sisters and the battle against the legion - I think the fusion did take place (that's probably what caused the shaking and revealing of the real temple).
However, I don't think the commander was as incompetent as he might have seemed. It seemed pretty clearly implied in the last page that the elves wouldn't defeat the legion easily, regardless of what the fusion did to them.

The legion is one of the major reasons the empire of Legara exist as I understand it. It's not going to be a pushover in a battle. Even if one commander is incompetent, every officer won't be. Did you really think the elves would roll over a military force like that just because they've gotten an upgrade?

Now, I think some of the sons and sisters have survived, perhaps even a majority, but the battle was probably a hard one.
Cale will probably have to play catch-up again.
While it is possible that the destruction is an illusion this time as well, it seems less likely. Even if the sons and sisters won, the losses and damage incurred in the fighting makes the temple a less then ideal place to remain.
Especially since I think the battle was a draw, with both sides taking significant losses (some dead, more wounded) and then both withdrawing to regroup and rest. Admittedly, that last is pure speculation.

I think as a result of Cale and Benny getting it on there was a time dilation that made it so that Cale and Co got there much later than they should have. That or Cale just really sucks at saving people.
Oh and for everyone who worried that romance has sucked up the entire comic you couldn't be more wrong. There's the subtlest of hints that something went on between Cale and Benny (Benny protecting Cale) and if anything they glossed over the romance way too much. Back to the routine I guess, but hey who wants real character development anyway?
My guess is that either this is an illusion and the Sisters won and moved on or there was mutual destruction and everyone's dead. Or maybe something else entirely.

Happy Deathday, Richard!

Am I the only one who wasn't thrown for a loop by this page? Meaning, the "deathday" reference not only didn't surprise me, it didn't phase me, I didn't click back thinking I'd missed anything, and my initial thought was, "Sweet! Spend less time in the woods with Benny, and maybe you wouldn't be late for stuff, Cale."

You're probably the only one. Really I didn't think it was possible for SohLar to disappoint me with two missed moments. I swear there's never any closure in this comic.

it wasnt the deathday joke that made me think I missed a page, it was the fact that there was no transition. Generally, we would have had a page indicating that Cale and co were moving from the forest to the temple, but it went from camping in the forest to suddenly they are late for a huge battle.

Also, I don't know why everyone is saying Richard's Deathday is oct 8th... he said Cale missed his deathday, meaning it would have been before today

Shhh, they don't use logic like that, they're Richard lovers.

For some strange reason, that cracks me up.



Conversational <3.

Seriously, Richard rules. We all know that: but when I saw Cale fully dressed and not being eaten/tied up by trees, I assumed that this was at some alter moment in time.

I so expected this topic to be subtitled, "blink, blink, blink" lol.

Of course they did not defeat the legion, otherwise Aellon & Papa would've been there. My guess is that they defeated a small corps, so Cale can pick them up, lead them to Legara and a nasty surprise. That is, Dick's hordes strugling against an overwhelming Legion force. Pure oracle-talk of course, but would be great if it turned out true. For me, that is.

While this strip did amuse me, I can't help but feel it glossed over a lot of shit. I was hoping it would go back to Richard's reaction to Cale and Benny, but failing that at LEAST some cool battle stuff.

This is just disappointing.

I think I'm going to have to find a different comic to read and forget this one for a couple months. Let it build.

Sigh. Moar disappointment. I was hoping for a little awkwardness...you know. The next morning.


On another note: LOL PELLA'S FACE.

Yeah this page proves that either Sohmer doesn't read the forums to gauge his fanbase's opinions or he does and he's just really sadistic.

indeed.

Deathday cards are most definitely in order - happy deathday, Richard!

Only now do I remember the opening lines to "This is War", where Cale sings on this very subject matter.

"Please stay right where you are
I will come there and save you
No one this day will harm you
If I get to you in time."

Given his track record since that was presented, I wouldn't hold out too much hope.

You know, I honestly don't think that the slowdown on the screeching fast pace plot development that we've had the last couple of pages is a bad thing. Every reason I come up with is sort of good, or makes no sense. Such as...

• The forums ARE being read by SohLar and they're reassuring those in the fanbase who were all "oh snap romance, there goes the plot!" that it aint going to be a takeover of lust.
• It's a setup for something bigger later.
• A slow day on the comic plot may imply more progress on other things, like a certain movie.

And of course, if any of that aint it, there's always the other two reasons that fit for everything on here:

• Someone forgot to send more Red Bull.
• Because SohLar felt like it.

In conclusion, it's too bad we didn't get to see Ray'ds Wtf? face. Darn you Krunch, you panel hogger you.

Didn't phase me either, I really had no interest in seeing more Trorc snogging, so I'm quite glad they didn't cut back to that. I'm just still curious to learn what the fusion was.

It is highly evil of Sohmer to deny us a resolution in any sense of the word, he may as well just skip to the Trolls performing a scene from Rent next.

Hrm, I don't know if Richard could choreograph trolls as well as he can ewoks. Maybe if Pella helped him with it, but Richard doesn't really strike me as a Rent kind of guy, I'd picture him having them do a scene from Cinderella.

D'aw...not even a fight scene? Shoot! *waits patiently for Monday!*

This page didn't throw me or make me think I'd missed anything, but I agree the transition could have been made a bit smoother. Particularly, a time indicator of how many hours/days had passed.



Heh, I was a bit imprecise. No, the did of course not defeat all the Legara legions.
However, it seemed to be a significant force stationed at the temple. It would have to be to lay siege to the mountain.
Based on very scant info, primarily the visuals of the mountain the temple stood on and guesswork, I'd say between 1000 and 2000 soldiers, divided between heavy infantry, light infantry/scouts, engineers (siege weapons), plus two small contingencies (less than 100) of battle mages and dragon riders with their mounts. Add to that the non-combatants that handle the logistics and supplies (usually equal or slightly larger in number than the soldiers).

The sisters and sons seems to have numbered somewhere between 400-800, based on how large the temple was and the sons underground city under the dungeons.

That would also make sense, since a prudent commander wants a comfortable superiority in numbers (and they only knew about the sisters), with at least a 30% more troops than your opponent and preferably 50% more.

Also, battles that leads to the complete annihilation of the other side is actually not that common (outside of fiction, which is way to prone to use it *grumblegrumble*), hence my belief that the fighting between the legion forces and the elves were hard, but that both withdrew without completely destroying the other side.



Nah, Benny screwing Cale might have delayed the group an hour or two, tops. It did not affect their arrival being too late in my opinion.
And she didn't really protect Cale, just object to Richard ribbing him about being too late.
However, that in itself is a subtle touch on character development for her. She has shown that she respects, even like Cale before, but this is the first time I can recall that she takes an active stance against another member of the group on his part.

Oh, and while there's only a very subtle hint of romance in today's page, I think it will switch back and forth between more obvious/direct shows/words of affection between Benny and Cale and more subtle touches like today, where their relationship is only hinted at by how they speak to the other members of the group.
Consider how long and sometimes subtle the development of their relationship have been up to the point where Benny decided to take it to the next level. Over 150 strips (or was it over 200?) of slow (and realistic) buildup. I think that is the pace we should expect things to be paced at now as well - something along the lines of every 10th or 20th page or so.
I'm curious to see how it will be handled actually.

Se my text above your quote for my take on how the battle went.


Speaking of pacing and the creators reading the forum.
Since Sohmer prides himself on always updating his comics on time it makes sense that the plot it written and planned out way in advance and that there is a buffer of pages already made in case there's any trouble.
Ergo, I really doubt this last few pages have been affected by any fan reactions - they've much more likely been planned for a few months or weeks and finished a week or a few days or so before they're even posted.

*Waves the 'sadistic' flag*

I wonder if Richard will elaborate as to what exactly one does on a deathday. Presents? Cake? Card seems to be acceptable.

I would think virgin sacrifices, Cale get on th-oh wait...

Killing more sheep to make another kidney hat?



Hehe. Saved! Cale, you lucky woof.

Happy death day to you....
You live in a group...
You've killed 160,948,327,849,324,244,013,389,342,851,834,298,325.5 children...
Yes you've killed quite a few...

Happy death day Richard.

how do you kill .5 children?

I think that has something to do with how you count conjoined twins.

Or maybe you count a fat kid as 1 1/2

I have this weird hope that they'll ask how he died, and we actually get a real answer.

I doubt they will, but it would be nice.

Since we have both legion and blue elf bodies lying about, neither side won an overwhelming victory. If they had, they would have seen to the burial of their dead. Hence, the blues that marched out of the temple are still marching, with what is left of the Legion forces probably pursuing and calling for reinforcements from other detachments.

As for why no battle, that's also obvious. By not showing the battle, whatever ability was gained from the fusion besides an atrocious fashion sense can be revealed another day. With the Legion scattered in a effort to engage all of Legara's remaining enemies and occupy the North, there can't be a grand battle. Saving the depiction of that ability for the grand battle yet to come, likely on the shores of Kethenicia, is a quite sensible plot choice. Even though it upsets those of you eagerly wanting a glorious battle scene now instead of later.

Well, this comic did seem rather bizarre at first. Really not use to it skipping like that. I am slightly disappointed that we didn't get to see any of the fighting, but I assume we'll get to see the sisters and brothers fight eventually. As for the suppose "morning after" scene with Cale and Benny, I can do without. It would really only serve as a cheap joke for Richard, or possibly someone else, to make. This, on the other hand, furthers the plot which is also good. Finally, as for not showing more about Cale and Benny, perhaps they are waiting to reveal more later, letting us stew without really knowing the details of their relationship for awhile rather than have everything happen all at once.

Also, I like how Richard was done in the 3rd panel. Something about it just really makes him look really evil. That was also kind of a dick move on his part. I almost feel sorry for Cale.

if he hadnt stopped for a quicky he would of never have missed hte battle XD

Somehow I doubt he would have gotten there in time either way.

Good point Salisria, that actually makes quite a bit of sense.
I hadn't thought much about the reason why they didn't show the abilities of the elves now.
Except maybe to spare Lar drawing a battle scene with that many people.


Oh yes, because Benny gave him a lot of choice on that score.
Does everyone forget who it was that instigated the lovesharing? Mind you, Cale didn't seem to object all that much...
And I still hold that it made no difference for them being late.

Suntiger don't you know the rules of fiction? Anything that happens as a result of sex between two people is always the man's fault regardless of who initiated the encounter.
(I just think its funny how we've done a complete 180 from the Victorian era and all we've accomplished is the reversal of the double standard)

Bah, the rules of fiction can go hang. I only subscribe to them when I feel like it.

Hmm, actually, since there are undead in the LFG world, the concept of a deathday isn't very farfetched. I wonder if there are any undead that celebrate it in a non-gag sense.

That little girl in Richards village. I wonder if she's still a little girl mentally, or if the mind continues to mature, so she acts and thinks like, say a woman of 30, just in the body of a child.
If it's the former though, I can see how she would still like to get presents (though not cake or any other consumables, that would be a bit redundant). Undead or not, a little girl is still a little girl.

She did carry around a Richard doll.

HAPPY DEATH-DAY RICHARD!!

It seems strange that none of them are curious about how Richard died.

Probably the same reason...


Oh you noticed that too? Yeah, how cute... We remember when Benny would have laughed at Richards comment, but now she's all uppity like "Whatcha think you're doin messin with mah man?!?!"


Interesting, I'm willing to go with the theory that it's an illusion created by the sisters. Sounds reasonable enough. We see two Legion soldiers down, and one of the Sons. I seriously doubt the sisters were about to be taken down so easily since they've united with the Sons. Either it's no illusion and it's simply the remnants of the battle which the Legion lost, or it's an illusion to make the Legion think they won in case any more troops came that way to take a look around.


I'm not going to ask how you came up with that number, but Bravo Amara. Bravo.

**********

Mmkay... is it just me or is the plot starting to move a bit too quickly now? Things aren't explained as well as they were before. On one hand it's good, it leaves us to more speculation and suspense. On the other, it's getting a little dizzying going back and forth between the Sisters, Cale's group, Cale and Benny, the Legion, Richard feeling left out more and more, and wondering about slight references that have been made in the past and just what exactly they're supposed to mean, all the while more questions are being raised while none are being answered. All in due time I suppose...

ROFL!