I like to think he laughs to hide the pain. Also because it might make people underestimate him, since he doesn’t seem to be taking them seriously, even when he actually is.
Either way, I’m so happy it is Auraugu. He’s my favorite rebel. :D
As for a voice, I can’t help hearing Randy “Macho Man” Savage, particularly in his performance as the voice of “Rasslor” on that episode of Dexter’s Laboratory’s Dial M For Monkey. “Oh NO, little beast! You shall NOT make a fool of me THIS day!”
Punnery, puny Pugilist, puts pitiful peons practically pratfalling to pit their wits passionately. Whereas, wonderful Wordplay weighs in waging war with a wail and a wallop as the only warning… Oh, I’m bored already.
Maybe instead of Young Sexy Elvish, they are all Old Fat Vegas Elvish. Ladies and gentlemen, Araugu has left the building. ‘Cause he ain’t nothing but a hound dog. Thank you, thank y’ very much.
hah.called it. And Yeeeeah for Auraugu Champion of the Fuzzy people ^v^.
Hope he manage to steal the stick while bandit trys to stop him,cause that would hurt her pride for sure and i would love to see if she is even adorable when she is in a cranky mood…..:-D
That mean Auraugu, he decimated a platoon?
So, he lined them up, counted them, and killed every tenth one?
Coz, that’s what decimate means. Old roman empire “disciplining”.
I think Auraugu meant “obliterated”, that’s more in the line of crushed into non-existence.
Didja know that a “hat trick” in hockey is called that coz every time a player scored one, Sammy Taft would award him one of his fedoras? True Canadian fact!
I will not say ‘eh,’ I do not live in an igloo, nor do I drive a dogsled (Toronto’s hotter than Hell), ‘Eskimo’ is an offensive term, and ‘Aboot’ is worn on ‘afoot.’
But, yes; Mounties (RCMP) in full dress uniform are hot!
Yet, to continue the trivia, the term was invented in cricket. The reason being that, if ever a bowler dismissed three batsmen with successive deliveries, his baggy cap would be passed around the spectators, who would each deposit money in it. It could be quite a lucrative achievement because cricket was typically played by the aristocracy. There is a reason the world’s most famous cricket ground is called Lords.
Huh. Cool. I know pretty much nothing about cricket, but I keep getting nice little tidbits here and there.
I wonder if ol’ Sammy was trying to ‘class up’ the good ol’ hockey game..?
Possibly. Regrettably, it is somewhat difficult to question the dead.
As for cricket information, it never seems to have made the trip to America. Your team is woeful, probably because it just doesn’t compete as a popular sport. In past times, that’s not especially surprising because it was a fairly upper-class game, and people fled from England because they were doing badly, not well. Also, puritans tended to be rather down on fun. In modern times, the fact it takes a week to play a game, and you need five weeks to decide anything, limits the game’s appeal to audiences who are used to instant gratification.
I love how every time Auraugu shows up everyone (including me) digitally cries, “Yay!” and momentarily switches allegiance. T and Phil–are/were you surprised by his popularity and did you have him take on some actions originally intended for other henchmen as a result?
It’s a fun experiment, for sure. There’s always villains you love so much you’re happy to see them whenever (Joker, for example).
I’m not really surprised by his popularity. If it’s not arrogant of me to say, his popularity was part of the design intent. I mean, he’s a wrestler: Working the Crowd is a class feature. I know that if you want people to care about a villain, they have to be fun or charismatic or sympathetic, and as I see it, Auraugu hits all three marks.
At the very least, I knew that since we had so much fun coming up with and writing him that you guys would have a similar appreciation.
And yeah, we originally intended for the thief of the Bough to be a new gnoll character, but reconsidered the idea that it would be more compelling and a better use of time to use a character we’ve already invented instead of adding the millionth/billionth new character this chapter.
But slashity is what you settle for if your reach won’t give you stabbity.
Bandit, being vertically challenged, usually needs some kind of feat of acrobatics to get her in close enough for stabbity, but Auraugu is a wrestler, he’s learned how to counter her jumpity and hoppity, so she’ll have to come up with something newity.
Until I read the mouse-over text, I thought that Bandit had poisoned her dagger. Possibly with a substance that incapacitates by tickling the victim. Perhaps something for Syr’Nj to get to work on?
Two fights come to my mind:
0) The Guilded Age fight where most of the protagonists died.
1) Less so, the one from the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie where the two combatants just aren’t getting hurt. Granted, that’s about the only part of the movie I saw, and I didn’t understand the context…but remind me of it it does, nonetheless.
2) More so, the one in (the webcomic) Hymns of the Apostate between Ethan and the super-healing Brother Cade. Some spoilers (but a nice battle sequence) by reading this chapter: http://fortunasaga.com/h195.html
Obviously, I prefer that people first read the entire Fortuna Saga, and then the entire Hymns of the Apostate…but that would take, like, at least half a day.
He might not be insane. He may just enjoy life to the fullest so that it’s easier to deal with the most depressing things in the world. Also, he may be an extreme optimist… but even if he is insane, it’s all good. B)
I have found that using the rubber dishwashing gloves works really well. Especially when you rinse off the hair and use the damp gloves to finish the rest. (Perfect for touching up the suit before the job interview!)
I have a question for the Creator Gentlemen of this Bountiful Comic; have any of you read Tad Williams’ “Otherland” saga? It also deals with superior-quality VR roleplaying games, but is far creepier in where it goes in how it affects society. If you haven’t read it, I recommend you wait until you finish writing “Guilded Age.”
…Not so much that I think it’ll influence the direction of the writing, but that it is extremely absorbing and will take forever to read. We like the current pace of the updates! ;)
For anyone not currently in creation-mode; if you have not read “Otherland,” do so. Each volume is bigger than the last… and you still want more when it’s all done. Even though you’re exhausted. Um. Kinda like good sex. But they’re books.
Shutting up.
You don’t have to shut up. You can say whatever the Hell your little heart desires in our comments section anytime you want, as long as you adhere to one rule:
Be excellent to each other.
As far as Otherland, no I haven’t read it. I’ll add it to my list for post-GA, as you recommend.
I feel a proud envy of anyone intending to embark on an epic series I have enjoyed; I had to wait for each book to be published, but you get to read it in one fell swoop. Invest in a good armchair with proper lumbar support. I expect that you will be spending a lot of time in it!
To tantalise others into the recommendation:
It is engrossing.
It is dirty.
It is sparkling wondrous.
It is heartbreaking.
It is hopeful.
It is grim.
It is terrifying.
It is full of love.
It is realistic.
It is fantastic.
It is despicable.
It is redeeming.
It is violent.
It is gentling.
It ends when it should.
It continues in your head.
It is the most complete universe I have ever read.
I cannot believe this man wrote it in the span of time that he did. He must’ve been fed intravenously and slept in three-hour intervals every eight hours. I also imagine he dictated the whole thing into a very advanced computer program. Probably custom. While he worked out on his own private weights machine (the man is fit). He possibly may be a bit mad. Staggeringly brilliant.
Okay. I have a hyes question.
In panel 1 I interpreted it as a greeting, like “Hi”, and therefore pronounced it like “hies” (rhymes with “thighs”). In panel 5 I see it as a way of saying “yes” with an H in front, therefore pronounced H- yes. So which is it, in meaning and pronunciation? Or is it both?
I wonder how one becomes champion of the fuzzy peoples. Is there an annual fuzziness olympiad?
Champion of the Fuzzy Peoples is just what the Gnoll Wrestling Federation calls the current holder of the championship belt.
He actually won by default, his opponents fell asleep while he was bragging…
The kayfabe is strong with this one.
Is he always just ^^ happy or is the ^^ part of the overall design of his hat?
Hats, you could say they’re always on the ^ and up.
I like to think he laughs to hide the pain. Also because it might make people underestimate him, since he doesn’t seem to be taking them seriously, even when he actually is.
Either way, I’m so happy it is Auraugu. He’s my favorite rebel. :D
I like to imagine him as a goodnatured kind of insane. Hence the ^_^ at all times.
I thought maybe he was some kind of hyena- or jackal-gnoll.
Well, that and gleefully into his job.
At the very least, he’s a gnoll who simply loves the Hell out of his job.
He does and that’s why we love him. :3
Incidentally, he loosely reminds me of Coyote from Gunnerkrigg Court, which is a good thing.
Oh. *That* guy.
As for a voice, I can’t help hearing Randy “Macho Man” Savage, particularly in his performance as the voice of “Rasslor” on that episode of Dexter’s Laboratory’s Dial M For Monkey. “Oh NO, little beast! You shall NOT make a fool of me THIS day!”
That’s a good thing, too.
Bearing the bountiful bough’s blessing brings a bye-bye to boo-boos! Will Bandit’s best bravado beat this besieging brigand beast?
Stop it.
Blushed brain-quack, belay your bellyaching. Begone!
Aureate aurora.
Grandiloquent glow or glib goddess?
Hooray! Hail to the hairily hursuit hero hAuraugu! Ha-ha!
Punnery, puny Pugilist, puts pitiful peons practically pratfalling to pit their wits passionately. Whereas, wonderful Wordplay weighs in waging war with a wail and a wallop as the only warning… Oh, I’m bored already.
I just like alliteration.
See, this is why I love it here.
Ah! An alliterative article aims to ascertain the action our abbreviated associate aims to accomplish against her adversary.
(I advise the audience to add to this activity.)
The uncouth cur catches our condensed criminal with a crotch clasp! Crivens! I copiously covet the contact this character casually cops.
OmiCog! Your off color comment causes consternation; consequently, our creamy conquering combatant shall commence to customarily wear a cup.
quite correct! The conniving quasi-quadruped’s clutching claws have corrupted our cohorts cognition and champion’s curves combined!
Perhaps presently our pint-sized protagonist perceives “poor planning is a perfect path to panic”!
(please pardon the peculiar preponderance of P’s in preceding passage)
Forgiveness from fantistically fuzzy friends freshly froths forth for frequent featuring of the fifteenth-and-first phoneme from favoured ‘phabets.
Be this brainlessly brazen bedeviling, ye bandersnatches? Banter-barkers beguile-me-not! Bring brain bleach, Bros, and be not boorish ’bout it! :(
Dreadful designs on deadly dancing don’t daunt diminutive devils despite dangerous didactic dialogue describing distant doyens’ dispositions.
Oh, my, goodness. You guys rock.
I LOVE EVERYBODY HERE.
Ahem. Er. Yes. Yes, I do.
An absolutely apt appraisal. Applause for alliteration, all-around!
Parsimonious praise ‘ppears pure and precious. Power to punnery-people! Past practising of perfect prose pays of!
Does Luchador-Gnoll-Man have the best lines ever?
hyes he does.
It just occurred to me that they sent a dog man to fetch the stick.
Our lone lilliputian lady may have a hard time teaching him to play dead.
She just needs to find the appropriate rolled-up newspaper.
Where is squad when you need it most ? If just one was enough to “dispatch” an entire platoon, I question the Elvish Armed Forces level … :-/
It’s ok, they just went to the Imperial Stormtrooper Ballistics Academy.
Maybe instead of Young Sexy Elvish, they are all Old Fat Vegas Elvish. Ladies and gentlemen, Araugu has left the building. ‘Cause he ain’t nothing but a hound dog. Thank you, thank y’ very much.
That would explain why he keeps crying (out) all the time.
So… Byron needs to learn the Jailhouse Rock, yeah?
Hmm… dunno if he can do it anymore. ‘Zerkless and all dontcha know…
hah.called it. And Yeeeeah for Auraugu Champion of the Fuzzy people ^v^.
Hope he manage to steal the stick while bandit trys to stop him,cause that would hurt her pride for sure and i would love to see if she is even adorable when she is in a cranky mood…..:-D
Everyone called it. And it is still awesome.
That mean Auraugu, he decimated a platoon?
So, he lined them up, counted them, and killed every tenth one?
Coz, that’s what decimate means. Old roman empire “disciplining”.
I think Auraugu meant “obliterated”, that’s more in the line of crushed into non-existence.
It took Auraugu all day! Auraugu is not very good at counting and kept having to start again! The platoon has 9 soldiers now!
Auraugu has Quint-Damage Badass – a combination of Bare-Fisted Monk, Big Badass Wolf, Crouching Moron Hidden Badass, and Fedora of Asskicking. There may also be some Badass Beard thrown in there. Added up, he’s been elevated to One-Man Army.
I particularly enjoyed the “Top 10 Dumbest Indiana Moments.”
(Btw, I own a kickass fedora– A Sammy Taft “Hat Trick”)
Okay… I can’t resist; Trivia Time!!
Didja know that a “hat trick” in hockey is called that coz every time a player scored one, Sammy Taft would award him one of his fedoras? True Canadian fact!
I will not say ‘eh,’ I do not live in an igloo, nor do I drive a dogsled (Toronto’s hotter than Hell), ‘Eskimo’ is an offensive term, and ‘Aboot’ is worn on ‘afoot.’
But, yes; Mounties (RCMP) in full dress uniform are hot!
Yet, to continue the trivia, the term was invented in cricket. The reason being that, if ever a bowler dismissed three batsmen with successive deliveries, his baggy cap would be passed around the spectators, who would each deposit money in it. It could be quite a lucrative achievement because cricket was typically played by the aristocracy. There is a reason the world’s most famous cricket ground is called Lords.
Huh. Cool. I know pretty much nothing about cricket, but I keep getting nice little tidbits here and there.
I wonder if ol’ Sammy was trying to ‘class up’ the good ol’ hockey game..?
Possibly. Regrettably, it is somewhat difficult to question the dead.
As for cricket information, it never seems to have made the trip to America. Your team is woeful, probably because it just doesn’t compete as a popular sport. In past times, that’s not especially surprising because it was a fairly upper-class game, and people fled from England because they were doing badly, not well. Also, puritans tended to be rather down on fun. In modern times, the fact it takes a week to play a game, and you need five weeks to decide anything, limits the game’s appeal to audiences who are used to instant gratification.
I think it’s not as popular in Canada because the French half said to the English half “C’est quoi??? Ils sont fous, ces Anglais!”
It is impossible for me to not read Auraugu’s lines in this voice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG8rcJIgBiI&t=2m34s
Yep, that works for me.
I love how every time Auraugu shows up everyone (including me) digitally cries, “Yay!” and momentarily switches allegiance. T and Phil–are/were you surprised by his popularity and did you have him take on some actions originally intended for other henchmen as a result?
It’s a fun experiment, for sure. There’s always villains you love so much you’re happy to see them whenever (Joker, for example).
I’m not really surprised by his popularity. If it’s not arrogant of me to say, his popularity was part of the design intent. I mean, he’s a wrestler: Working the Crowd is a class feature. I know that if you want people to care about a villain, they have to be fun or charismatic or sympathetic, and as I see it, Auraugu hits all three marks.
At the very least, I knew that since we had so much fun coming up with and writing him that you guys would have a similar appreciation.
And yeah, we originally intended for the thief of the Bough to be a new gnoll character, but reconsidered the idea that it would be more compelling and a better use of time to use a character we’ve already invented instead of adding the millionth/billionth new character this chapter.
Bandit, that was made for stabbity, not slashity. Meagre cuts shall not slow down a champion. Feed him his kidney.
Slashity works if things like hamstrings are involved. Or large and important blood vessels.
Those are typicaly sufficiently deep that you’re still looking for stabbity.
But slashity is what you settle for if your reach won’t give you stabbity.
Bandit, being vertically challenged, usually needs some kind of feat of acrobatics to get her in close enough for stabbity, but Auraugu is a wrestler, he’s learned how to counter her jumpity and hoppity, so she’ll have to come up with something newity.
This is why you use longer swords.
Hmm… I wonder if he’ll heal that quickly once Scipio lops his head off?
Ooops… I almost forgot, he’s a bit busy right now.
Hyes.
Auraugu seems like the kind of villain Adam West should face.
Adam West as Batman, or Adam West as Mayor West?
Adam West as Bruce Wayne
As long as he has a utility belt containing, among other things, super duper anti-gnoll spray I don’t care.
No, it contains a stick covered in food smells so powerful no canine can resist it. Gnolls are close enough.
Do you smell what the Gnoll is cooking?!
Frankly, I can’t smell it past the gnoll itself.
GIANT HAM?
for BRIAN BLESSED!
Until I read the mouse-over text, I thought that Bandit had poisoned her dagger. Possibly with a substance that incapacitates by tickling the victim. Perhaps something for Syr’Nj to get to work on?
I laugh in the face of consequence. Ha. Ha Ha. HA.
Two fights come to my mind:
0) The Guilded Age fight where most of the protagonists died.
1) Less so, the one from the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie where the two combatants just aren’t getting hurt. Granted, that’s about the only part of the movie I saw, and I didn’t understand the context…but remind me of it it does, nonetheless.
2) More so, the one in (the webcomic) Hymns of the Apostate between Ethan and the super-healing Brother Cade. Some spoilers (but a nice battle sequence) by reading this chapter: http://fortunasaga.com/h195.html
Obviously, I prefer that people first read the entire Fortuna Saga, and then the entire Hymns of the Apostate…but that would take, like, at least half a day.
Gleeful, cheery villains are the best villains. Because you know that underneath it they’re BATSHIT INSANE.
He might not be insane. He may just enjoy life to the fullest so that it’s easier to deal with the most depressing things in the world. Also, he may be an extreme optimist… but even if he is insane, it’s all good. B)
so, remind me why we don’t want the world rebellion – and by extention the fuzzy people and their champion – to win again?
You try inviting the fuzzy people over for dinner, and see how the upholstery on your couch looks when the night is through.
I have found that using the rubber dishwashing gloves works really well. Especially when you rinse off the hair and use the damp gloves to finish the rest. (Perfect for touching up the suit before the job interview!)
Damnit Auraugu, stop humping my couch!!!
I have a question for the Creator Gentlemen of this Bountiful Comic; have any of you read Tad Williams’ “Otherland” saga? It also deals with superior-quality VR roleplaying games, but is far creepier in where it goes in how it affects society. If you haven’t read it, I recommend you wait until you finish writing “Guilded Age.”
…Not so much that I think it’ll influence the direction of the writing, but that it is extremely absorbing and will take forever to read. We like the current pace of the updates! ;)
For anyone not currently in creation-mode; if you have not read “Otherland,” do so. Each volume is bigger than the last… and you still want more when it’s all done. Even though you’re exhausted. Um. Kinda like good sex. But they’re books.
Shutting up.
So Otherland is the sequel to Karma Sutra?
You don’t have to shut up. You can say whatever the Hell your little heart desires in our comments section anytime you want, as long as you adhere to one rule:
Be excellent to each other.
As far as Otherland, no I haven’t read it. I’ll add it to my list for post-GA, as you recommend.
Heh. Thank you.
I feel a proud envy of anyone intending to embark on an epic series I have enjoyed; I had to wait for each book to be published, but you get to read it in one fell swoop. Invest in a good armchair with proper lumbar support. I expect that you will be spending a lot of time in it!
To tantalise others into the recommendation:
It is engrossing.
It is dirty.
It is sparkling wondrous.
It is heartbreaking.
It is hopeful.
It is grim.
It is terrifying.
It is full of love.
It is realistic.
It is fantastic.
It is despicable.
It is redeeming.
It is violent.
It is gentling.
It ends when it should.
It continues in your head.
It is the most complete universe I have ever read.
I cannot believe this man wrote it in the span of time that he did. He must’ve been fed intravenously and slept in three-hour intervals every eight hours. I also imagine he dictated the whole thing into a very advanced computer program. Probably custom. While he worked out on his own private weights machine (the man is fit). He possibly may be a bit mad. Staggeringly brilliant.
Yeah, I’m convinced.
Also, MATRIX!! :)
Okay. I have a hyes question.
In panel 1 I interpreted it as a greeting, like “Hi”, and therefore pronounced it like “hies” (rhymes with “thighs”). In panel 5 I see it as a way of saying “yes” with an H in front, therefore pronounced H- yes. So which is it, in meaning and pronunciation? Or is it both?
I think he just says ‘yes’ after he speaks. His accent makes it sound like ‘hyes.’
Not unlike saying ‘You would agree, yes?’
Only in his case, it would be a declarative statement: “You would agree! Hyes.” because he’s cool like that.
Yup.
i hear marv albert…