I reckon it’s both - clearly, in-universe it’s just Tarquin being his prickish self, but on a meta level there’s no way in hell Burlew wasn’t aware that this was going to stir up exactly those kinds of conspiracy theories among his more prognosticating fanbase.
He’s gone on the record as saying he disliked this hyper-analytic tendency among his fans because when they get it right he feels a need to change his plans ; and he’s certainly played with these sorts of expectations before (e.g. Tsukiko stumbling upon Miko’s corpse, thinking about raising her as some cool antipaladin undead then going “naaaah that’d be retarded”). This feels like more of the same, or at least coming from the same place.
Burlew knows that anything he could possibly put in the comic will stir up crazy conspiracy theories among the fanbase. It’s not like he has to take that into account in his planning, because it’s guaranteed to happen regardless.
I was just thinking that however this fight works out, somehow it’ll leave intact with Tarquin his mistaken notion that Elan is really the leader/brains of the OOTS. Damned if I know how that could happen at this point.
Hey, you remember what he told Nale back in 820, right? After revealing in 819 that he of course saw through the OOTS, who thought they’d just conned him?
NALE: “You knew I was watching the whole time, but said nothing? … I suppose you knew about my drow spy from the start, too … But you look like a fool for being ignorant!”
TARQUIN: “So what? Better to look the fool than be one.”
Assume that Elan can’t possibly be as foolish as he looks and it makes sense for Tarquin to figure he takes after dear old dad; the problem is, Elan actually is that foolish.
I’ve never been sure of this. I think Elan is only playing the fool, part of being a bard, and is secretly a lot smarter than he appears. He certainly has moments of intelligence.
I like to think that Elan is a really smart person who decided to not play a powerful/smart character for once as a challenge. And he’s also pretending to be earnest to his fellow gamers as part of a side-bet with Roy.
Obviously it’s a joke, I’m not sure how much more clearly could he make it that Girard is using illusion to pretend to be Thog, Pretending to be Tarquin, Pretending to be Thog.
But he’s fully prepared to expose his deepest secrets because he has nothing to hide from anyone and his heart is free of all doubt and fear. cite And he knows that he won’t get his happy ending if he isn’t honest. cite
It would be just like Burlew to set it up where all the normal conventions tell us Thog is still alive and later reveal that he really was killed. I can just see some character saying, “Of course he’s dead. We dug up his corpse and everything. Why on earth would you think he’s alive? Didn’t you see him get crushed under a mountain of rocks? How could he have lived through that?”
Sorry. You left yourself wide open with that one.