After gobbling up the archives in two weeks from a standing start ("Sluggy what now?") and an intial burst of muck raking I was wondering what else to do, the story moving glacially and all. With it back in action I'll lob a frag into this forum with my Sluggy theory; speculation is futile, as Pete has built a story with so many plot devices and deus ex machina (what's the plural of that?) that literally anything could happen. Dimensional travel, magic, time travel, tech indistinguishable from magic, aliens, talking terrestrial animaux, gods, demons, wheels within wheels within wheels, etc. All entertaining, but very very "busy" and whatever Pete's plan to wrap it up may be, it seems a long way off. The Sluggyverse can continue indefitely, but the current arc has a LOT of moving parts and it needs to be rationalized.

Getting back to my topic, I issue a challenge: without it turning into another "spec" thread, where do people think the story should go from here? The objective is to make the story and character roster more coherent; of course there is some spec inherent in this, but I'm looking for broad strokes, story arc stuff. My other post started with killing Zoe off for the good of the story, so don't be afraid to "kill" people to take it where you think it needs to go.

I'll either get some interesting discussion going or be excommunicated from the Nifty, but no risk: no reward.

It would be interesting if Zoe and Oasis got closer together... Like Oasis taking Zoe's body close together. Duno how that would work -- but it would be interesting.

As for the rest -- well I can't really say. It's Pete's story, he must have some idea of the ultimate end point. Hard to say what it is. Is Torg something more than human, the avatar of a universal sentience amusing itself by experiencing life from a human point of view? It would explain why everything odd gravitates to him, and why he appears to have no mother or father... or any family for that matter.

dei ex machina

Roger, thanks; I'm young enough to not have had Latin and Greek foisted on me in school.

foisted?

You mean you're young enough to have missed out on the opportunity to learn something about the source and meaning of a lot of Modern English vocabulary.

I never took Latin either, just remembered reading it somewhere and verified with Google. Stupid me, I grew up bilingual knowing Spanish but took French in high school instead of getting the easy grade. About all I remember how to say is "Qui a coupé le fromage?".

Two words re: (classical) Greek and Latin in a language I DID learn: langues mortes.

As for Orzbrain's "avatar" idea, that would explain a lot and it makes me think of Phil Foglio's earliest strips with the Heterodyne Boys; they can't be defeated because they are avatars of good (and dumb luck I'd say). Bun Bun is evidently some elemental force also, so there may be a theme working in the background. Or not. Good stories can pull all if these threads together and it certainly seems that is what Pete is going to do, but from where I stand that will take a lot of culling. Said culling can be part of the story line, and doesn't require (necessarily) that characters are killed off.

If the current storyline parallels 4U city to some extent, there will need to be a convergence and some interdimensional Gotterdammerung to make it all work. Sluggy Prime is obviously not the same as DoR, so Riff will need to get back, with or without Zoe. I hold that Zoe is expendable in the story, having served her purpose. Oasis and Kusari needs some resolution, (again my opinion) as there is nothing more boring than those Marvel comics style endless battles between unkillable things. I'm sure there's more if anyone's inclined to consider possible trajectories.

Torg being some sort of divine being/avatar/elemental force/what have you? That would kinda explain things, but he seems to have had a family and lead a childhood life that was relatively normal (man eating blue smurfs disincluded). As for the Zoe part I see two sides of the coin. On the one side we have the fact that she's admitted her love for Torg, and thus can die with a resolution (and serve to send Torg down a path of grief and destruction from which he will not return). OTOH She could be so scared from her experiences in 4U that she literally shuts down for a while as a person while she recovers, regardless of whether or not Gwynn/Bun Bun finds a way to heal her (yes, Bun Bun). This could remove her from the storyline until its convenient again.

OTOH, Zoe is the storm breaker. It could be argued that she's already fulfilled that prophecy, but the Cult of Chillus still seems worried about her. Zoe could come back, hook up with Torg, and then her role as storm breaker could become relevant again. This provides a new avenue for Zoe's character, one that definitely justifies her role in the story. I could even see the storyline focusing on her (for the first time since Fire and Rain), as she battles with the Cult of Chillus to keep K'Z'K from coming back, or to reseal him should they bring him back. If the Cult teams up with No Fun (with or without No Funs knowledge), this could give Zoe a central storyline role to be played in the R&D wars that seem to be coming soon to earth (probably after Riff comes back). The demons of the cult might, seeing the awesome destructive power of No Funs army, and the potential to twist it to their own devices.

Er... We saw him going to school with Riff, but... we saw no signs of parents, family, siblings, nor has there EVER been the least mention of such. That has always bothered me. No part of what Torg is seems to have anything to do with or ever have made any reference to any kind of parents, guardians, or anything similar.

Also: he has no last name, or, at least, every time he has to say it he is interrupted by something exploding or some such. But then, the same is true of Riff's eyes.

man if Pete wanted to, he could make Nukes go off without warning and then Robots start attacking and apparently Torg is like John Conner and he's supposed to bring Victory to the Humans, and then at the end where everything seems to become normal again Riff comes out of nowhere with a Time Machine and tells Torg that he must come back with him and Torg asks where and Riff says THE FUTURE! and they ride off into the sky, blasting to future and then the end.

Heck he could also just say that he's done and just have Sluggy end on a Stick Figures in Space strip if he wanted.
Sure fans would be all but it's Pete's strip, he has us in his control!

There is of course the issue of doing things in the story that don't make a lot of sense in real life but move things in a certain direction. It is obvious that Pete intended mutants, because the minions weren't ruthless enough in wiping out his operation to prevent the current situation, despite the threat the mutagen posed. As of today Dr. No Fun is dead, which is the sort of character rationalization that needs to happen for things to keep from bogging down. Crushestro has potential as an ally for Torg, provided more than their immediate interests align.

Torg and Crushestro neutralize mutants, or just escape? Crush could find a sense of purpose in heading off the coming mutant/corporate/demon apocalypse, especially with some of Dr Steve's tech as payoff (another dangling plot thread with the digbots). Rescuing the rump Sluggy crew from Bestseid's takeover of MM HQ has to happen, although losing Sam in the process wouldn't hurt; he's a doofus but not evil, so a chance to die well saving Sacha and Kiki would be good in the narrative.

I think Pete has a big finish in mind for Sluggy, so I've no fear of a "sticky" end to it. As for "in his control", I'll follow as long as it makes sense to, just like anything else in my life and I'll bet a lot of other people would too. The strip has excellent potential, and Pete has a track record of telling some compelling stories. That's where I suspect I differ from the hard core of Sluggy fans; I don't see an unlimited future for it, and I want Pete to get the best, not the most, out if what he has now and then move on to something else.

Multiple Gods from one machine? Naaah.
Dei ex machinae
There y'go.

This one sort of petered out, so I thought I'd wrap it up with an observation: Pete obviously felt also that things needed to get back on track, so I'm happy that the last week or so has been moving at a good clip. I may be lousy at the spec (don't try very hard either) but I read enough to know when things aren't working for a narrative (or so it appears).