# Order of the Stick - Book 5 Discussion Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 31, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323 "2009-08-31T04:09:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/381 "2010-01-03T01:27:19Z")
Makes me wonder if Burlew ever played Mafia. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/382 "2010-01-08T05:02:32Z")
Has it ever been established whether or not Elan knows Vaarsuvius’ gender? It’s clear that Roy, Belkar, Durkon, and most other characters don’t and that Haley almost certainly does. But I could see Elan being either way - plausibly knowing or not knowing. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/383 "2010-01-08T12:45:07Z")
I think V’s sexuality is essentially quantum in nature, making it impossible to actually “know” what his/her gender is. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/384 "2010-01-08T13:07:49Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I think V’s sexuality is essentially quantum in nature S/He’s only attracted to boxed half-zombie cats? I had no idea the V-person was so kinky… ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/385 "2010-01-08T13:27:08Z")
> [@JoseB](#): > > The guy has proven to be blinded by paranoia, suspicion and hatred of Soon. Whether that hatred was justified or not, his actions have jeopardized OH SO MANY THINGS… Also, giving the real coordinates to Serini…? If he was convinced that keeping the coordinates hidden from anyone was key in hiding the real position of the gate. Oh Lordy. I’m confused. Didn’t the Order of the Crayon discover all the rifts by adventuring together? Then why would Soon need the coordinates – he’d already been there. Granted, he may not have been the navigator in the party and all the desert does look the same. And how’d they find all the rifts in the first place? There must be some method of scrying for them. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/386 "2010-01-08T18:19:03Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > I’m confused. Didn’t the Order of the Crayon discover all the rifts by adventuring together? Then why would Soon need the coordinates – he’d already been there. Granted, he may not have been the navigator in the party and all the desert does look the same. Girard Draketooth, the guy who left the exploding magical trap was the guy who made the maps, and even mocks “Soon” over it in [#694 in the last panel](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0694.html). ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/387 "2010-01-08T18:56:46Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Granted … all the desert does look the same. Exactly. It all looks the same, and the dunes shift about over time. He wouldn’t be able to find the exac t spot again without the exact co-ordinates. Best he could get is to remember that it was X days travel in a particular direction, which might get the location to within 30 miles or so. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/388 "2010-01-08T21:44:01Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Has it ever been established whether or not Elan knows Vaarsuvius’ gender? It’s clear that Roy, Belkar, Durkon, and most other characters don’t and that **Haley almost certainly does.** But I could see Elan being either way - plausibly knowing or not knowing. I musta [del]missed[/del] forgotten that part. Where and how does she indicate that she may know?? ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/389 "2010-01-08T21:50:57Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > I musta [del]missed[/del] forgotten that part. Where and how does she indicate that she may know?? I don’t think she does, really, though it’s possible **Little Nemo** is inferring it from the fact that Haley and Vaarsuvius are usually paired together in sleeping quarters? Me, I’m not so sure. V is cagey enough that s/he’d probably sleep fully clothed. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/390 "2010-01-08T21:54:18Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > I musta [del]missed[/del] forgotten that part. Where and how does she indicate that she may know?? She’s never explicitly said so, but given that they’ve shared rooms together, it seems like a reasonable assumption. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/391 "2010-01-09T00:21:26Z")
> [@choie](#): > > I don’t think she does, really, though it’s possible **Little Nemo** is inferring it from the fact that Haley and Vaarsuvius are usually paired together in sleeping quarters? > > Me, I’m not so sure. V is cagey enough that s/he’d probably sleep fully clothed. Hmmm. Now that she and Elan have gotten frisky I’d imagine V will be rooming with someone else . . . if s/he wants to get any sleep, that is. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/392 "2010-01-09T00:40:24Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Hmmm. Now that she and Elan have gotten frisky I’d imagine V will be rooming with someone else . . . if s/he wants to get any sleep, that is. It’s just a nitpick, but V doesn’t sleep. Elves trance. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/393 "2010-01-09T18:22:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Where and how does she indicate that she may know?? Haley is closer to Vaarsuvius than anyone else is. She knew the other big secret about Vaarsuvius; that he/she was married and acted like it was no secret. And Haley had never made any mention of being confused over Vaarsuvius’ gender that I recall. Pretty much every other major character has, with the exception of Elan - which prompted my question. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/394 "2010-01-10T22:51:58Z")
Yay, new strip [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0698.html](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0698.html) ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/395 "2010-01-10T23:04:41Z")
Nice! The team is working so well together, and even Belkar’s crass perspective adds something of substance to the planning. I love the names of the various countries on the map. (‘Empire of Blood,’ ‘Empire of Sweat,’ ‘Empire of Tears.’) So is that Girard a-scryin’ at the end, and will he see/believe the message they wrote in the sand for him? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/396 "2010-01-10T23:19:02Z")
“I would have noticed it earlier, but I do not normally pay attention to pronouns.” Beautiful. I \<3 Rich Burlew. Wonder if Girard recognizes Soon’s cat? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/397 "2010-01-10T23:25:04Z")
It wasn’t Soon’s, it was Shojo’s, who was never a Paladin. And Soon was probably dead long before Mr Scruffy was born. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/398 "2010-01-10T23:51:09Z")
Elanasaurus Rex. Heh. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/399 "2010-01-10T23:54:07Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > It wasn’t Soon’s, it was Shojo’s, who was never a Paladin. And Soon was probably dead long before Mr Scruffy was born. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/400 "2010-01-11T02:27:30Z")
> [@shantih](#): > > Nice! The team is working so well together, and even Belkar’s crass perspective adds something of substance to the planning. I love the names of the various countries on the map. (‘Empire of Blood,’ ‘Empire of Sweat,’ ‘Empire of Tears.’) So is that Girard a-scryin’ at the end, and will he see/believe the message they wrote in the sand for him? Best part of the map? The Elven lands are separated from the human lands by the ‘Go Away Mountains’. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=21)