#wyrm arc criticism

[dark-night-star-light]

I think Bay's poll helped me understand why I think the first arc was peak Spirit Animals.

In short: it has lows. It has plot twists. The stakes feel real. And the character moments are truly outstanding.

In a traditional three-act story, at the end of the second act, the protagonists are supposed to be at their lowest point. And the Spirit Animals authors did something even cooler with this concept. They added in a fourth act.

Think about the end of Against the Tide and Rise and Fall. I adored those two endings so much. If we apply the three-act story to the first series, Against the Tide is clearly a low. So, that's the end of the second act then, right? It can't get any worse, can it?

You expect the protagonists to dust themselves off. To never lose hope and to keep making progress until they finally defeat the big bad for good. And that's how it seems to be going in Rise and Fall. Until the writers pull an absolutely brilliant twist on you and the protagonists hit a low that is somehow lower than the first low that once again ups the stakes. Because now all hope is entirely lost. The situation has never looked so completely bleak.

So this would actually be more of a four-act story. We have the first two books (the first act): relatively innocent, adventurous, kind of formulaic. Then Conor (and then Meilin) makes a decision at the end of Hunted that makes you go. Oh. This is real. They aren't just going to spend the rest of the series collecting silly little trinkets, one per book. Now it's more than just a silly little quest story.

Then comes the second act. The stakes rise through books three, four and five, as the protagonists go through some truly earth (erdas?) shattering things. They seem to be making progress, and that's when they hit the low at the end of Against the Tide.

You expect that to be the low. For the protagonists to pick themselves up and never fall back down from there. But, no, you see, the next act is only one book. Just Rise and Fall. And this is where the writers show you how truly abysmal the protagonists' situation can get. It was bad, but it can get worse. Now they have to fix it, once and for all.

And then of course, there's the final act, also one book, The Evertree. The rallying, the fight, the climax, and the defeat. All is well, and the evil is defeated, even though they hit not just one, but two major lows.

But the Wyrm arc has nothing like that. There's a plot twist, sure, but it doesn't have any impact on the plot. Shane is the leader of the Redcloaks, sure, but what does that mean? It doesn't up the stakes. It doesn't contribute to any lows or highs or anything at all. In terms of plot, it hardly changes anything. Same thing with Kirat being Tarik's nephew. Sure, it's a cool little Easter egg, but what impact does that have on the plot? Honestly? Nothing. Think about the plot twists in the first series. There are two major ones: Meilin having drunk the Bile and Shane being the real Devourer. What do you notice about these two? Well, they both directly impact the plot, and both of them also directly contribute to the two major lows I pointed out. The Wyrm arc has nothing like that absolute brilliance.

As a result, each book just feels like a repetition of the previous one. Quest, fight, quest, fight, quest, fight, quest, done. Yes, Abeke loses Uraza, a definite low. But that's Abeke's low, not all of their lows. There are four protagonists. Yes, Greenhaven falls, a definite low. But what personal impact does that have on our main characters? Not really anything. All the people affected are random side characters. Tragic, but we as the audience don't really feel it, the way we feel Abeke and Meilin getting captured or the talismans getting stolen. And it makes the Wyrm arc feel flat and boring.

Okay, so the plot twists are boring and don't do anything to increase the stakes. Fine. Plot isn't everything, ever. What does the Wyrm arc do for our characters? Well, one in particular is presented to be a completely different person than in the first series after appearing as a mysterious figure for the majority of the arc. Are we going to do anything with that? Oh, what's that? He's dead before any interesting dynamics can be formed between him and the main characters? Okay, that's unfortunate, but what about the others? Oh, the spoiled brat that's related to Tarik does a complete 180 in the span of a handful of pages because of an amulet? Uh, okay. Well. That, that doesn't mean this arc is irredeemable! What about the girl from the historically oppressed nation that tried to colonize the entire world summoning the symbol of hope and peace for said nation? What might we do with that? Give her a stereotypical girlboss arc instead of exploring the ins and outs of the immense pressure she canonically faces from the entire country's populace? Oh. Oh. Okay, but there's that kid that breaks traditional gender roles and is scorned for it, similar to one of our own protagonists? Surely that will be an interesting thing to wri- Oh, he's tossed aside the moment his spirit animal is taken from him and that's the end of that? Hm.

This is very different from our first arc. Rollan, Meilin, Conor, and Abeke are each given likable qualities and flaws that directly relate to their upbringings and dictate their decisions very well. Over the course of the story, they form an incredibly heartwarming bond that you genuinely want to see more of. As an extra layer of genius, they even mirror each other in terms of flaws and arcs. At the end, when they all act like kids and race each other and poke fun at each other, you feel like it's earned. Like you truly watched them become what they are. It's incredible character writing and I adore it. But it was not replicated well in the Wyrm arc.

Add in all the nuance and gray morality, outstanding worldbuilding, and a couple of other things, and the first arc stands out as some of the best story-telling I've ever seen. In a children's series. The Wyrm arc is a long way to fall from that standard, and it really, really shows.

[splinnters]

YOUVE READ SPIRIT ANIMALS??? BRO I FUCKING LOVE SPIRIT ANIMALS THATS MY SHIT AGHHH.

Conor's my favourite too I love him sm he is literally so sweet. Tell me everything you think about it and if you made a spirit animal for yourself

SOBBING SOMEBODY ELSE KNOWS ABOUT SPIRIT ANIMALS ITS A MIRACLE I own the two main series in hard cover they are all lined up on my little bookshelf they have such shiny spines and I treasure them beyond compare

overall I think the whole series is amazing and there’s genuinely not many like,,, corrections or whatever that I have for it. while I adore the first series I actually like fall of the beasts better ESPECIALLY BECAUSE OF HOW OVER POWERED CONOR GETS I LIVE FOR THAT SHIT SO BAD

Conor has always been my favorite of the four main characters mostly because his character arc in terms of personality is a copy of my life. he had so many important moments for himself and for the team and overall I think it’s so interesting how he becomes the leader-figure of the group, ie the others pack bonded so hard to him. in reality I see Meilin as the inner-group leader but people outside the four of them see Conor as the leader. puts a lot of pressure on him as well as the pressure from being the wielder of the Staff of Cycles and the fact that he’s basically an oracle/prophet by the time the second series ends AND how he was the only one infected by the Wyrm. he’s one of my special blorbos I love him so much

also he’s genuinely one of the most powerful warriors to ever walk that planet. no I don’t take constructive criticism on that

BONUS THOUGHT I don’t care if nobody else on the planet thinks this but the four heroes are in a polyamorous relationship no doubts about it. despite Rollan and Meilin being the only ones in an actual canon relationship, they all act the same to each other like. once the characters who are dating are acting the same way with the two other friends you just. Know. they all love each other so much

in terms of making my own spirit animal, I did play the spirit animals game while it was still alive (?) and I usually picked a very large black panther/leopard/whatever I think?? or a tiger sometimes but I don’t think I ever claimed an “official” spirit animal. I always just wanted to be Conor, so I guess a wolf would be my official spirit animal

to be fair though I was biased toward having no spirit animal because I was obsessed with the redcloaks more than the greencloaks. I adored Worthy to death and I created multiple redcloak OCs despite never making a greencloak one. they are just so cool omfg

this makes me wanna do stuff with spirit animals on this blog ahajdjfhdhdhdh. maybe I’ll draw them or something that would be nice. I did write some stuff for it but it was all on paper so I’d have to dig it up. also I don’t think any of the stories were very serious like most of my fanfics end up being lmao

[conjoinedpubes]

Adventures of Solis - Chapter 5: Midgame to Mountaintops

Adventures of Solis - Chapter Index Not much changes from last time - combo, stance break, do critical. This chapter discusses how various mid game bosses went. Done between RL 40+8 and 60+12.

The Rennala Wall

Here we run into the first major build issue - how do you handle magic resistant foes? The answer is 'use Status or Rock Sling', but neither are justifiable for the character theme.

For me, the fun of buildmaking is coming up with interesting solutions given the restraints. Thus, I decided to avoid Rennala and go after Radahn as our second Demigod - then return for Raya Lucaria when we come up with an interesting solution.

As with everything in Soulsbourne, you can just ignore the penalty and beat everything with sheer grit and fundamentals - but again, that kind of spoils the point.

Magma Wyrm(s)

Best practice target for various combos. Big body boss, generous timing to prepare spells, charged attacks, land crits etc.

Very easy stun > critical > repeat.

Draconic Tree Sentinel

One of those fights with plenty of prep time. Load up glintblades, wind up that charged heavy - then weave in Impaling Thrust to slide between his moves. Nothing unusual about this fight, but it did reveal another notable issue with Solis.

How do you exploit stuns on bosses that cannot be critical hit?

Here, I chose to flask up and/or prepare more spells. Definitely less explosive and flashy than running in for the massive riposte critical.

Starscourge Radahn

One the hardest enemies to stance break. Still, do combo as per normal, poke with swift shard to keep poise chipping when he starts riding around.

It can be hard to position for a crit, since default position for fighting Radhan puts you behind him - away from where his head will fall when stance broken.

Not much else to say, Radahn has weirdly low hp and is weak to frostbite - very trivial fight even if you dont land the crit.

Loretta, Royal Knight

Suprisingly easy boss. Illusion Loretta is vulnerable to magic damage (as it turns out - most illusions/spirits are). Good place to use Impaling Thrust to close distance - as she has a habit of jumping back.

Like dragon tree sentinel, theres no critical spot for her.

Godskin Apostle/Noble

Maybe the best illustration of what Solis does best - chaining stuns on big human-like foes.

His Blackflame spells are very exploitable; giving ample time to prepare more Glintblade/Phalanx, or simply just lunge under the fireball with Impaling Thrust.

Commander O'Neil

Same as above - stunning 'bigger than average dudes' seems to be a clear specialty of this build.

Only strategy worth noting is to fight outside the main arena, away from his army.

Flesh Dragon(s) - Agheel, Smarag etc.

Dragons are easy to stun - Glintblades to the head, Swiftshard to chip. Heavy attacks to the head when possible.

Smarag runs into the Rennala problem; we have no good answer to natural magic resist. These kinds of fights are just a slow brawl with the default Greatsword moveset, even if they may not be hard.

Morgott, Omen King

The most technical fight so far. He has all the weaknesses this build is good at exploiting - but the fast speed of the fight is the trouble. His tendency to jump around makes this a good fight to practice the 'Swiftshard chipping technique'.

Use his 2 phase changes to prepare Glintblades. The rest is just knowing your openings vs his moveset.

And there it is; the Liurnia - Capital boss arc.

Adventures of Solis

Chapter Index

Next | Previous | Beginning

[silver-lily-louise]

Vengeance - a Critical Role fanfic (Vox Machina campaign)

My first CR fanfic! I recently started watching the show and I love it. This is an alternative version of events from the end of episode 57 (Duskmeadow) and episode 58 (A Cycle of Vengeance). It occurred to me that if I was a rakshasa bent on vengeance against Vax, I wouldn’t target him first - so I thought I’d explore what might have happened had Hotis been a little less direct.

Warnings: violence, blood, alcohol, emetophobia tw

Pairing: None (I mean, there’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Perc’ahlia, I guess? Super duper minor detail.)

Length: ~4.7k

~oOo~

At first, Vex doesn’t know why she’s awake again – but then the quiet knock at her door comes a second time. ‘Yes?’, she calls out softly. The door opens slightly, and Vax’s head appears. ‘Hey. You still awake?’ he asks, also keeping his voice low. She groans, sitting up in bed and yawning. ‘Well, I am now. What time is it? Why are you awake?’ ‘I couldn’t sleep.’ Vax shuffles into her room. Trinket, dozing in the corner, looks over sleepily – then resettles as he sees who it is. As her brain wakes up properly, Vex starts to get a little worried. Vax definitely looks perturbed – not quite meeting her eyes, hands fidgeting with a bundle of fabric he’s carrying – and as he continues to speak, there’s an unsure note to his voice. ‘I just… um, would you mind walking with me for a bit? I know it’s late, but...’ Vex interrupts his distracted pause. ‘Alright,’ she says, clambering out of bed. Vax tosses whatever he’s holding at the foot of the bed. ‘Here, put that on. It’s cold.’ He gives her a half-hearted smile, and leaves the room to wait outside.

Curious, Vex shakes out the bundle to reveal a beaded robe. Blue silk, from the feel of it, intricately embroidered with black thread. She’s a little bemused by the gift, but it’s beautiful, and when she slips it over her pyjamas it’s soft and comfortable. She leaves Trinket to sleep and joins her brother, the bedroom door closing with a quiet click. Vax gestures down the hallway and they walk together in silence.

When they reach the tower at the top of the stairs, Vex is grateful for the extra layer. The night air this far north is cold, just as Vax said. He closes the door behind them and makes his way to the edge of the balcony, leaning lightly on the balustrade. ‘Beautiful night, isn’t it?’ Vex hums in agreement, glancing up as she walks over to stand beside him. The sky is brilliantly clear, without even a wisp of cloud to dim the stars; the moon is almost full, and its generous light spills across the silent castle grounds. She refocuses, remembering why they’re out here in the first place. ‘What was it you wanted to talk about?’ Vax lets out a deep sigh, looking down at the courtyard below. ‘Vengeance,’ he says, his voice barely above a whisper.

She’s taken aback, but only momentarily – her mind flashes back to the destruction of Emon, the roar of the great red wyrm. The ruins of Byroden. Her anger, never far from the surface these days, begins to simmer again. ‘Well, I can understand why that would be on your mind.’ ‘It’s all I’ve been able to think about for some time now,’ he continues, before turning towards her with a smile, the expression discordant against his words. His left hand comes up onto her shoulder, and he meets her eyes for the first time that night. ‘It’s all I can think about. But finally – finally – the time has come.’

Vex opens her mouth to ask what he means – they won’t be ready to face Thordak for some time, surely? – but all that comes out is a choked cry of pain. She glances down to just below her ribs, where there is now a dagger embedded, before meeting Vax’s eyes again. His grin widens, and he chuckles darkly. ‘Oh, and believe me – I intend to kill your brother, too, for what he did to me. But this-‘ he snarls and twists the dagger, and she can’t stop a whimper escaping – ‘this is the pain he truly deserves.’

His form flickers for a moment, and Vex catches a glimpse of russet fur. Underneath the agony, in the last clear part of her mind, the pieces click into place. This isn’t Vax. You’re unarmed. Run!

The spell of her shock is broken just as the creature draws back the blade, arcing overhead to come down for another strike. Vex raises her arm to knock it away, and runs like hell for the door. ‘Jenga!’ she shouts, hand flying to her earring. ‘Jenga! West tower! Jenga-‘ The door won’t open, and her shouts devolve into a wordless scream of pain as she feels the knife sink into her back. She turns around in time to see the creature raise its weapon again, still wearing her brother’s grinning face. Out of options, she plants her feet and fights back tooth and nail.

***

‘Jenga! Jenga! West tower! Jenga-’ Scanlan nearly jumps out of his skin as the desperate cries and the scream that follows disrupt his focus, the book falling to the floor as he leaps to his feet. There’s a moment of panic as he grabs his shawm, his hand cone, his sword; but his sharp mind latches on to the most important piece of information – west tower – and the Dimension Door spell is complete almost before he has time to think about it.

His new surroundings flash into place, and he whirls around to see Vex falling against the door, covered in blood – and a dark-haired assailant, raising a dagger for another strike. ‘Oi!’ Scanlan shouts, reaching out towards the figure. The hold person spell fizzles into nothingness, but the figure turns around, snarling. Scanlan steps back in shock as he recognises the face of Vax, twisted into feral anger – and then backs up further as Vax advances on him, swinging the blade. The first strike passes just over Scanlan’s head, and he yelps in surprise, hand flying out instinctively. ‘Stay back!’ The second strike glances off a purple energy barrier, as Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere seals up tight.

Scanlan stares at his friend, breathing heavily. ‘Vax, what the fuck is going on?’ The figure inside the sphere starts slashing at the barrier, and its appearance slips away from familiarity as Vax’s face is replaced with that of a tiger. Oh shit, Scanlan thinks. Not Vax. Well, that makes more sense.

Keeping half his attention on the sphere, Scanlan runs over to Vex, who’s now slumped against the door with her eyes closed. ‘No, come on, Vex,’ he chides, his voice a little shaky, but still resonating with power. ‘Come on, wake up.’ Magic blossoms into the air, and as it makes contact with Vex, her eyes flutter open again. He smiles down at her. ‘There you go. Hi.’ She blinks up at him, confused, and then suddenly afraid. ‘Scanlan – Vax – it’s not Vax – ‘ ‘I know, I know,’ he says, raising a hand in reassurance. ‘I mean, you guys fight, but that seemed a little extreme. But he’s dealt with for the time being. Don’t worry.’

There’s a quiet bump at the door, followed by an almost imperceptible scratching at the lock. Scanlan smiles, and gently drags Vex further out onto the balcony. ‘I’m guessing that’s your real brother right now.’

***

‘-ga! West tower! Jenga-‘ Vax startles awake to Vex’s voice, shouting for help before being cut off mid-scream. By the time his conscious mind has realised what’s happening, instinct has taken over and he’s already out of the door, boots jammed onto his feet and belt haphazardly fastened around his waist.

He sprints down the corridor, half-alert to what’s going on around him – the sounds of fighting echoing through the walls, Trinket roaring, gunshots as a stranger staggers out of a screaming Percy’s room and straight into Grog’s axe. Vax ignores it all for the time being, darting around the scuffles that spill out of the bedrooms and pressing down the corridor towards the stairs. West tower. Get to the tower.

He climbs the stairs two or three at a time, channelling every ounce of the haste spell into single-minded movement. He reaches the top, grabs the handle and pushes. The door quietly thunks against the frame.

Heart hammering, he kneels down at the lock, suddenly cursing the adrenaline that got him this far – but thanking whoever’s listening that he keeps the lockpicks on the belt with his daggers. He can hear Scanlan’s voice. Good. She’s not alone. Seemingly endless seconds later, the lock clicks softly and releases. Daggers in hand, Vax kicks the door open.

Outside, he first notices a familiar, tiger-like figure, fruitlessly hacking at the inside of a magical sphere. Then Scanlan, who’s got a look of intense concentration on his face, but still shoots a lazy smile in Vax’s direction. And lastly, his eyes find his sister, lying bloody on the ground.

‘Fuck! Vex’ahlia!’ he swears, rushing to her side and falling to his knees. ‘Holy shit.’ He lays both hands on her shoulders, willing whatever divine power he can muster to try and fix her broken form. Her eyes, glassy and unfocused, widen for a moment as they find his, but then she seems to relax as the healing magic enters her system. ‘Oh,’ she says, her voice small and weak. ‘It’s you. Hey.’ He swallows hard. ‘Hey.’ His voice cracks, but he clears his throat and regains his composure. ‘Fucking hell.’ ‘Yeah, fun night,’ she agrees, and starts pushing herself up to a sitting position. ‘Hey, hey, careful,’ he admonishes gently. He reaches out to help her, taking her weight as she leans against him. ‘I’m alright.’ She rolls her eyes, then sways a little and blinks rapidly. ‘Ooh, okay, that was a bad idea. But honestly, I’m alright.’ She places a hand just below her ribs, wincing slightly at the touch. It glows dimly as she attempts to further cure her wounds, and Vax watches as a couple of scrapes on the back of her hand heal over. As she’s casting the spell, Percival’s voice comes over the earring. ‘We’re clear down here. Heading up to the tower.’ Vax’s heart slows with further relief. He raises a hand to his ear to reply. ‘We’ve still got one guy up here, but Scanlan’s got him locked down. Come join the party.’ He turns his attention back to the furious rakshasa, quelling his own anger in favour of a bitter, mocking smile. ‘What’s the matter, fuckface?’ he calls out. ‘Things not going to plan?’

The rakshasa snarls, but gradually stops attacking the sphere, apparently realising that it’s pointless. Its expression shifts into a malicious grin as he turns towards them. ‘No matter. I can be patient. Mark my words, half-elf; I’ll take you, her, and all of your friends.’ Vex seems to flinch a little at the threat – whether it’s out of anger or fear, Vax isn’t sure, but he tightens his arms around her all the same. ‘Yeah, fuck that. You’re staying right there until we figure out how to kill you for good this time.’ Scanlan umms and ahhs a little at that. ‘Well… that sphere won’t hold him forever,’ he says quietly. ‘If you’re saying that our usual brand of violence isn’t going to cut it, I suggest we figure out an alternative pretty damn quick.’

It’s at that point that the rest of them start appearing on the balcony – Grog charges out, the rage in his eyes fading as he takes in the lack of hittable enemies. Percy follows, then Pike (and Vax quickly averts his eyes as he sees her state of undress). Keyleth’s the last out, circlet slightly crooked on her head. ‘Wait, is that Hotis?’ she says incredulously, and looks towards Vax in disbelief. He nods, then turns to Pike (very deliberately focusing on her face). ‘Pike, we don’t have a lot of time, and this fucker’s proved pretty hard to kill in the past. I don’t know if it’ll work, but I figure there’s nothing wrong with trying a little holy condemnation. Would you?’ Pike pulls her concerned gaze away from Vex’ahlia to look at Hotis with a calm sort of anger. ‘Okay. Gather round, everyone – we can take him together.’

The twins watch on as the other five members assemble around the sphere. Hotis’ attention flickers between all of them, looking slightly nervous, but still sneering. ‘Fine. Take your pointless violence – but this is not the end. I’ll come back for all of you.’ ‘Shut the fuck up,’ Grog growls, and Scanlan drops the sphere. There are a few seconds of uproar. Grog swings his axe with a furious bellow, Percy’s gun goes off, there’s a crack of thunder as Scanlan summons a lightning bolt, and a further flash of light as Pike and Keyleth rain fire and divinity down on the rakshasa. Above it all, there echoes a screaming howl – and when the smoke clears, Hotis is gone, a pile of blackened remains where he once stood.

***

Vex is the first to speak again. ‘Well, that happened. Thanks, guys.’

The silence broken, a flurry of conversation ensues. Pike comes over and casts her most powerful healing spell, while Grog runs down to fetch her a robe. Percy goes to alert the guards of the attack – not just the rakshasa, but the assassins that apparently got into a few other rooms – while Keyleth realises that they might not have been the only targets, so she and Scanlan run to check on their friends. Vex just sits there, exhausted and leaning heavily on her brother, who’s watching her like a hawk now the rakshasa’s been disposed of. ‘What happened?’ he asks, once most of the others have cleared off. ‘Why were you even out here?’

She sighs, suddenly annoyed that she fell for its ruse. ‘It came to my room disguised as you. Gave me this,’ she says, gesturing at the robe, ‘and asked if we could talk. The fucker’s good – he even fooled Trinket, so he must have made himself smell as bad as you do, too.’ Vax gives her a half-smile, which she returns briefly. ‘So, I followed him out here, and then he stabbed me. A lot. If it weren’t for Scanlan showing up when he did, things might have gone very badly.’ ‘Well, thank the gods for insomniac gnomes,’ Vax mutters, and she laughs weakly, nodding in agreement.

There’s a brief interruption as Grog returns with a robe for Pike – trailed by a very concerned bear, who was reportedly battering the bedroom door in a desperate attempt to get to Vex once things kicked off. She laughs as Trinket licks her face (‘Oh – oh, thanks, Trinket, thanks for that,’) while Vax reaches over to scruff behind the bear’s ears, and does absolutely nothing to help. Pike, now covered up with a far-too-baggy robe and frowning thoughtfully, gets the conversation back on track. ‘Vex, you said the rakshasa gave you that robe? Can I see it?’ ‘Yeah, sure,’ Vex says, sitting up a little straighter and attempting to remove it.

Her vision whites out in pain for a second. She comes round to Vax’s voice, which is just shy of frantic. ‘-ahlia! Vex!’ She opens her eyes and sees him and Pike looking down at her, their expressions fading from fear to relief as she wakes. ‘Ow,’ she complains. She doesn’t bother to sit up again, just stays slumped in her brother’s arms, even more exhausted than she felt before. ‘That hurt.’ ‘Maybe it’s the movement straining the wounds?’ Pike suggests. ‘I can help take it off-‘ ‘Wait!’ Vax interrupts, holding out a hand to fend off Pike’s advance. ‘Wait, wait. Let’s figure out if we’re dealing with something more serious here. No rash actions – last thing we need is for you to survive that dickhead, and then get finished off by a fucking cursed piece of outerwear.’ ‘Well, if it is something magical, Allura might know,’ Pike says. ‘Or Gilmore?’ ‘Or Zahra,’ Vax adds. ‘She’s in the castle, right? Let’s go find her.’

They begin to limp down the stairs – one of Vex’s arms around Vax’s shoulders, the other held in a vice-like grip by Grog – but don’t get as far as Zahra before running into Percy. ‘Is everything alright?’ he asks, scanning their expressions. ‘Besides the obvious, I mean.’ ‘Robe’s cursed,’ Grog supplies helpfully. Percy raises his eyebrows, looking to the others for confirmation. ‘Well, we don’t know that it’s cursed, per se,’ Vex says. ‘But I can’t take it off without it really fucking hurting. It’s like it’s attached to my skin.’ ‘We were going to ask Zahra to take a look at it,’ Vax says.

Vex can practically see the thoughts whirring behind Percy’s eyes as he thinks it over. ‘You could ask Zahra – she’s fine, by the way, didn’t even wake up until we went and checked on her - but I think there’s a faster way to deal with this particular problem. Follow me.’ ‘Where?’ Vax asks, a little warily. ‘The ziggurat,’ Percy replies, and starts leading the way.

They make their way down to the underbelly of the castle – painstakingly, with Percy asking her how she feels practically every five feet – until they get well within range of the orb’s anti-magic effect. Pike attempts a spell to double-check they’ve come far enough, and when it doesn’t work, Percy motions towards Vex with a go ahead sort of gesture. ‘Alright. Try to take it off now – slowly. If this doesn’t work, we’ll try something else.’

Trying to ignore the building anxiety, as well as Grog and Vax hovering either side in case she passes out again, Vex undoes the robe. Thank goodness I’m wearing something under this, she thinks; and then she gently tries again to remove it. It slips off her shoulders no problem, and they all breathe a sigh of relief. ‘Alright, good,’ Vax says, kicking it away from her gingerly as it falls to the floor. ‘Good call, Percival.’ Percy smiles, but doesn’t look totally convinced. ‘Well, we’re not out of the woods yet. We don’t know if destroying it will have any negative effect, for one thing - but for now, let’s get out of here. I think we’ve spent more than enough time around that damn orb.’

The group starts the ascent back up to the castle, Vex supported between Vax and Percy this time (‘Thank you, Grog, but I think I’ve got enough bruises,’ she says). Both Vex and the robe cross the anti-magic boundary without an issue, and there’s another collective sigh of relief. There’s a brief moment of confusion as Keyleth appears with Gilmore (‘No no no – Gilmore, this one’s the real Vax!’), before they all reach the main dining hall. Cassandra, Zahra, Kash, Kima and Allura are already there, waiting for them in various states of disarray. (Kash, in particular, is covered in blood.)

In the last few hours before dawn, Vex listens as plans are made to deal with the aftermath of the attack, people coming and going to run various errands. She doesn’t take much in, too tired to pay proper attention - she gleans that everyone is safe, and that they have a short grace period before Hotis shows up again. That’s enough for her right now.

Eventually, Vax nudges her, and she looks up at him groggily from where she’s practically collapsed on the table. ‘Come on, Stubby,’ he says, getting her to her feet. ‘Time for bed.’ She doesn’t protest, and lets him half-carry her back up to her room, Trinket in tow. When he puts her to bed, she doesn’t let go immediately. ‘Wait, wait,’ she says, putting her other arm around his neck and pulling him close. ‘Love you,’ she says, her words slightly muffled in the crook of his neck. Vax exhales heavily. ‘Yeah, love you too.’ His voice is a little shaky and thick, but when he pulls back there’s a smile on his face. ‘Get some sleep. You’ve been enough trouble for one night.’ She laughs, and he leaves, the door shutting behind him and the sound of Trinket’s snoring already filling the room again.

***

Hotis laughs with her brother’s voice as the world goes dark around her. It turns into sobbing, the real Vax begging her to wake up. She knows she can’t. She turns over, feeling the bedsheets brush against her living skin, trying to dispel the vision.

The rakshasa turns away from her, advancing on Scanlan, who doesn’t duck out of the way in time, his head cleaved from his shoulders. ‘No,’ she whispers, squeezing her eyes shut. ‘Stop it, he’s fine.’

Trinket bellows and rushes her attacker, then howls in pain as he’s stabbed in the heart. ‘Everything’s fine now.’

The magical sphere is dropped and Hotis cackles, striking out at Keyleth, who falls down dead. Pike screams and falls. Grog falls. Percy. Vax- Vex sits bolt upright, groaning quietly and rubbing her eyes. The curtains block out a fair amount of light, but she knows that it’s been hours, and sleep still won’t come despite how tired she feels. She doesn’t even feel like she’s rested – it’s like she’s been running for her life for the last eight hours or so, not lying in bed. And I thought this night couldn’t get any worse, she thinks bitterly.

She’s proved wrong again not even ten minutes later, when a familiar swirling sensation starts up in her stomach. ‘Oh, fuck,’ she gasps, leaping out of bed and grabbing the empty chamber pot just in time. She throws up into it, hard, retching loudly. Trinket wakes up and stretches, looking at her curiously. There’s also a knock at the door. ‘Vex?’ She’s still gagging too much to reply, but the door cracks open and Vax sticks his head in, concerned frown on his face. ‘You alright?’ ‘Did you sleep in my doorway again?’ she asks suspiciously, but has to turn back to the pot before she gets a response. She feels a hand on her back as Vax crouches beside her, not answering her question, waiting for her to resurface. Trinket pads over and sits beside her too, grunting in quiet distress.

She eventually finishes retching and looks up. ‘Ugh. This is the worst. I hate being sick.’ Vax pulls her up and then pushes her to sit on the edge of the bed, before handing her a waterskin. ‘Here, drink this. Slowly.’ She does as he says while he looks her over, hand under her chin, tilting her face side to side. ‘You look awful,’ he says matter-of-factly. ‘Did you sleep?’ ‘No,’ she says, suspecting that shaking her head would be a bad idea. ‘At all?’ ‘No. I tried, okay?’ she says irritably. He ignores her tone. ‘How do you feel?’ ‘Sick. And dizzy. And cold, and sweaty... fucking terrible, basically.’ She laughs mirthlessly and sips at the water, willing her stomach to calm down. ‘Hmm.’ Vax cups her face in his hands, lifting her gaze to meet his again. ‘Let me just…’ His eyes flash with a dull grey light, and Vex feels a small surge of warmth pass through her. ‘Any better?’ he asks. She considers it for a moment, shakes her head, and immediately has to take some more water. I was right. That was a bad idea.

Vax turns back towards the door. ‘Excuse me!’ he calls. ‘Need some help in here!’ A guard quickly appears in the doorway – one of the ones patrolling the hallway after the attack, Vex is guessing. ‘Yessir. What do you need?’ ‘Would you send for Lady Allura? Tell her that my sister’s unwell after last night’s attack, and that it’s an emergency.’ ‘Yessir. I’ll have her brought here.’ The guard disappears again. ‘We don’t know that it’s an emergency,’ Vex points out. ‘We don’t even know it’s because of last night. I could just be getting sick.’ ‘Yeah, well, we’re not taking any chances, so just shut up and drink your water,’ Vax says tersely – but he sits down beside her, hand returning to her back.

It doesn’t take long for Allura to arrive, along with Kima; apparently they stayed in the castle after the attack, their previous lodgings something of a mess due to Kima ‘beating the shit out of’ the assassin that came after them. Allura leans down towards Vex, worry written in her eyes. ‘How are you feeling?’ ‘Awful,’ Vex says, more miserably than she means to. ‘I couldn’t sleep – I kept reliving what happened, and what might have happened, and then I just…’ She gestures, embarrassed, to the still-full chamber pot. (Kima wrinkles her nose in distaste.) Allura gives a sympathetic smile, before her expression turns serious again. ‘It might be a lingering enchantment from the robe. Let me try something…’ She casts a spell that Vex doesn’t recognise, muttering under her breath, and Vex feels the impact of it washing over her – but there’s no change in how she feels.

Allura seems to read from her expression that nothing’s changed, and her frown deepens. ‘Perhaps this is a problem that can be better solved by divine means, rather than the arcane. Kima, would you take a look?’ Kima steps forward, reaching up to take Vex’s face in her hands. ‘Sure, I can do that.’ She hesitates for a moment - ‘Don’t you throw up on me,’ she warns – before she grasps both sides of Vex’s head, turning it this way and that, looking intently into her eyes and at the back of her throat. It isn’t long before she sighs in apparent frustration. ‘I don’t know. Honestly, you just look tired to me. I mean, I can try something, but I don’t have much more than what I’m sure he’s already done,’ she says, gesturing towards Vax. ‘What about your cleric? Have you asked her?’ Vax raises a hand to his earring. ‘Hey, Pike, you awake yet? Could you come to my sister’s room? We might have something of a problem.’

Pike walks in the door a few moments later – followed by Keyleth, Percy, and Grog, who all heard the message over the earring and came to see what was going on. Pike pushes her way through the sudden crowd and looks up at Vex, studying her intently (if a little more gently than Kima) for a good minute before she speaks. ‘Well, I don’t think you’re just getting sick,’ she says finally. ‘There isn’t anything physically wrong with you, other than the exhaustion. So if you’re throwing up and feeling this rubbish, there certainly might be a more sinister cause.’ ‘I could take a look at the vomit, for any evidence of poison and the like,’ Percy offers. Before Vex can get a word in to stop him, Grog and Vax enthusiastically agree, then silently bump fists as Percy heads to the corner of the room to inspect the chamber pot. Vex hides her face in her hands with a quiet groan. Wonderful. I’m going to survive all of this bullshit just to die of embarrassment instead.

Keyleth pipes up at that point. ‘Hey, Kima – did you try a restoration?’ Kima shakes her head. ‘Not exactly my specialty. Could be worth a go, though.’ ‘I can help with that,’ Pike says, and Keyleth nods. They each take one of Vex’s hands in both of theirs, and close their eyes. The rest of the room looks on intently as a breeze seems to come from nowhere, the magic thrumming through the air around them – and Vex gasps as she feels a dark tension lift from her chest, like something’s unhooked from inside her. The spell finishes, the energy fading. Keyleth and Pike open their eyes, smile, and turn to each other for a high-five. ‘Did it work?’ Vax asks. ‘How do you feel?’ Vex nods. ‘Yes, I think that did the trick. Thank you, Keyleth. Pike.’ Keyleth grins. ‘No problem. Take that, curse!’

Vex sighs, and gets up from the bed. ‘Alright. Thank you all- oh, Percy, darling, you can stop looking through that now. I’m alright.’ She ignores Grog’s chuckle as Percy looks up, his task focus broken, slowly realising that the problem is already solved. ‘Now, please – everyone out.’ Pike nods. ‘Yeah, we should go. You should probably get some sleep.’ Vex snorts. ‘Oh, never mind that. It’s what, three in the afternoon? No. I’m going to get dressed, and then I think we should all go get a drink.’

If anyone disagrees with her plan, they don’t do it anywhere near loudly enough to compete with the cheer from the rest of them.

~oOo~

[thelonelywhale]

I really, really hope The Mighty Nein encounter a bronze dragon somewhere during this sea voyage/pirate arc. I am SO desperate for more metallic dragon friends in Critical Role it’s not even funny. J’mon Sa Ord was incredible and one of my favorite NPCs, but they felt like a perpetual tease.

Give me sailor, paladin-like bronzes hiding in plain sight in human form! Give me cheeky coppers going on adventures just for the fun of it! Give me friendly companion silvers! Give me noble, extravagant golds researching arcane histories!

I KNOW you’re out there you sneaky wyrms..!

[skyplayer37]

Worm Liveblog: End.

   So thats how Worm ends.... where do I begin?

   I haven't done a serious liveblog for the second half because I just wanted to take it all in, but I guess I'm at the point now where the taking it in is over and I need to vomit out some words. The fact that I'm writing this one in a word processor instead of the Tumblr text editor means I'm already subconsciously knowing that this is going to be pretty long, so buckle up.

   In short? It was awesome. Everything in the story came together perfectly. At the beginning I just couldn't concieve an ending that would involve Cauldron, Scion, Endbringers, Passengers, and all the various capes in a way that was satisfying. But it was pulled off pretty damn well.

   Let's take a look at some of my predictions and use those as launch points for some discussion:

   - Arc 1: "Taylor remains adamant about being good even after enjoying the company of the villains. Her descent to evil will be a slow corruption, but the story will justify it by making the superheroes look bad."

   She did indeed descend into madness as Khepri, with a large focus on self-justification. Taylor always thinks she's doing the right thing, which is a staple of any good villain. Except she wasn't truly a villain and did save the day in the end. Except she accept her villainy and wanted to die in the end. Except the heroes decided to keep her alive. So the morals are all over the place. In the end, Taylor gets a happy ending. With  (kinda) both her parents, and a self that isn't defined by her powers.  Skitter and Weaver were personas shaped by her Passenger, and for all intents and purposes were actually killed in the end. But Taylor, the little girl from the beginning of the story, gets the happy ending.

   - Arc 3: "the Birdcage sounds like an interesting location. And no story ever says “No one has ever escaped that prison!” without the protag later escaping that prison (or the big bad to show how big and bad they are)."

   Nope. The  Birdcage was made rather pointless by Doormaker, despite the set-up that teleportation tricks wouldn't work. Even Kehpri, without much practice with Doorman's power, was able to break in and out easily. There wasn't the all out war in the Birdcage that I expected, but I expect a similar prison to be used in Ward, perhaps the same Birdcage but upgraded. At the very least it made Panacea much more tolerable and brought in Marquis, one of the coolest parahumans. But it also introduced Teacher, one of the more boring ones. Assuming Ward is a true direct sequel, I expect Teacher to go down in the first few arcs as the intro-villain before being surpassed by someone a thousand times more evil.

   - Arc 5: " It’s too obvious that Grue’s little sister will get powers".. " Regent’s gonna die real soon. He’s expendable."... "Taylor is going to get a good boost to her power soon"

   Correct on all accounts. Imp is one of the best characters left alive by the end. Regent had to go because Taylor just ends up with a better version of his power. It's left pretty vague when she had her second trigger event thought. I'd guess sometime during Leviathan? It was after that, when she took over her  territory, that her multi-tasking powers really ramped up.

- Arc 10: "Everything happening went right over my head until they arrived at the Wards after being “caught”, which is to say I didn’t realize we were being introduced to Regent’s actual power of body possession. A power eerily similar to what I guessed Taylor’s endgame powers would be, just a bit more limited and requiring conscious movement on Regent’s part for every motion and not how Taylor just taps into natural instincts."

   So let's talk about Khepri. Taylor finally thinks she has the power-limitation thing figured out, so she goes to Panacea who just... kinda gets it instantly? A bit odd that the ability for Taylor to go crazy like that was so easily reached and out of nowhere. But I guess Panacea had gotten to the point where she barely needed to second-guess messing with someone's head. So Taylor comes up with a crazy idea and 5 minutes later has powers worthy of instantly jumping to Class-S, taking control of every parahuman in existence with some quick synergy, combining Doormaker and his clairvoyent bf and ballooning in power like a good Binding of Isaac build. Thematically though, it works beautifully. She's become the Queen of her swarm, with all of humankind nothing but insects in comparison to a mighty godlike entity. Scion treated humans like we would ants, toying with them as one would burn ants with a magnifying glass. But as Taylor proved with her insects against humans, enough humans working together through a hivemind can overcome an entity thousands of times their scale. She killed the impenetrable Alexandria by commanding bugs, and now the immortal Scion by commanding humans. Wow you can really look back at the first few arcs where the teenage girl is learning about the heroes and say "yeah she fucking kills all of them eventually, weird huh?"

- Epilogue

   Where does the story go now? Assuming again, that Ward is a standard sequel. Which it heavily implied by Bitch's epilogue, with trigger events now going haywire without Scion and being a very cool way to get his POV on the last few moments of his life. Teacher is doing his thing but again, I assume that wouldn't last for long into a sequel besides getting a new hero protag set-up with someone easy to fight. Dragon and Defiant had a very touching epilogue, and I'm excited that at least they might be around for a whole other 2 million word story. Unsarcastically: these characters are good enough to warrant ~44 YA novels worth of story.  I'd hope that Taylor doesn't make much more than a cameo though, her story is over. But if this story grew to be so epic in scale, its hard to imagine a sequel that wouldn't involve Earth Aleph getting fucked up. Imp is set-up to get a pretty good protag role, I'd wager one of the Heartbreaker kids as the most likely to get the main POV. Someone with the birthright of a villain proving themselves to be a Hero, in contrast to Taylor being a hero trapped as a villain and succoming to the role. Although I've figured out myself that Dragon already fills the role as her foil, being coded and trapped into being a Hero against her will, with the pun of being a "Wyrm". Which might have made for a cool sequel name, albiet a very confusing one when talked about out-loud.

   Is a sequel to a nearly 2 million word story needed? I'd say.... yeah. There's still plenty left unanswered. The Endbringers for instance. It's implied that Eidolon made them, outside the knowledge of anyone else, but only really implied. They go silent after Scion goes down for some reason. How much did The Simurgh know of the future? She was responsible for setting up Panacea's stay in the Birdcage (fitting name here) and of the Yang-Ban Emperor being one that was critical for Taylor to have control over after Panacea fucked up her head. So did she know about Khepri? She was, after all, responsible for setting up Echidna, the only other Human-Turned-Endbringer. And what of Scion's partner? How did Cauldron kill something like that? Granted it was the more passive of the cherubic-twins. (Aranea's talk about Cherubs was before the Interlude about the Entity right? Let's check... Aranea's was in March 2013, 26.X Interlude was in August 2013.... pretty crazy to both have the idea of invincible serpents flying through the multiverse, reproducing by tearing their scales off, with one more aggressive and one more focused on passively studying humans, granted I’m taking some liberties but you get the idea) (Chuckles the Clown raised Scion calling it now).  But I guess the same odds as Vriska/Marceline being introduced the same summer with the defining traits of "grey skin, gay, and loves wearing red-colored boots".

   This would be the part where I talk about how emotionally wrecked I am from this journey being over. Of investing in these characters and seeing them grow up. From clueless children to powerful pseudo-gods with the power to kill unfathomable monstrosities. Of the good times and the bad, of the nostalgia of the simple bank heist scenes, of taking a moment to remember those that didn't make it. Regent, Emma, Clockblocker, Grue, Taylor's virginity. Damn, Clockblocker dieing actually hurt me the most. Maybe I should say a few words about how Worm has changed me as a person and become one of those major pillars supporting my future that I'll someday look back on with "that specifically effected the way I Create" as Homestuck once did.

   But no, I don't get to say that quite yet. Because even after 6 months. Of reading almost nightly since I started on the plane-ride home from spending a weekend across the country with my boyfriend, knowing it would be this long and still not see him again and deciding to start on this  journey to take my mind off being in such an emotional ride home. Thousand of feet in the air and reading about some girl trapped in a bathroom stall having juice poured on her head... Half a year dedicated to Worm, around 5 times longer than it took me to read Homestuck. Nearly 2 million words, an estimated 22 regular novels in length, longer than the entire Percy Jackson series I was obsessed with as a teenager (probably not anymore, theres way too many of those) and now, having read that much, what can I say now?

   There's still more I haven't read.

   Guess this liveblog is gonna keep going into Ward

[tyfye49-blog]

Some Nowing/Wyrm characters, as well as some other ideas. [WIP]

(based off of this)

Cobalt (the main Nowing protagonist of my story) is an energetic, enthusiastic, Upper-World-obsessed Wyrm with dark-bluish tinted scales. Despite her technical brilliance, she is considered quite troublesome by her elders and peers, and is also considered a poisonous influence to her younger brother, Jasper, as a direct result of her obsession with seeing the Upper World someday (which would be a highly forbidden thing to do). She had to drop out of school because of her disruptiveness, and she now spends her time inventing various gadgets relating to the Upper World, such as air-filters and light-obscuring-goggles. Jasper is Cobalt's younger brother, who would prefer to live a peaceful life of calm complacency. He tends not to be very social because of his horrible self-esteem and anxiety (and his relation to Cobalt). He also tends to be in complete opposition to Cobalt's interests, and consecutively chastises her for making a fool of herself and getting the two of them into trouble. Regardless, as of late, he has caught himself putting a lot of consideration into the theories and ideas he's heard Cobalt ramble. The only dreya who regularly spends time with him aside from his sister is Bromine. Argon is a lazy twit who doesn't care about the impending "war" between the Wyrms and the Flyers. (He is also a member of the House of Nobles, though he is arguably the least popular amongst them) He is much more intelligent (and cunning) than most dreyan believe. He is highly fond of Radium (and by extension, Astatine) and her research. {He will eventually mastermind the attempted genocide of the Flyers of the Upper World.} Alu is Argon's wife, who specializes in developing electrical conduits. She is much more assertive than her husband, but she is also just as cunning as he is. She personally oversees Radium and Astatine's experiments. Chlora is an old, dark-green, forbidden Nowing/Seawing hybrid that lives isolated near the surface. Not much is known about her. Iodine is a member of the royal family (nephew of Queen Hydros), thus, he wears purple robes and purple armor. He has a very, very subtle interest in the study of the Upper World, an interest he has done his best to keep to himself. As such, he has a tendency to make frequent "visits" to the Caves of Commons (or more accurately, he has a habit of sneaking out of the Cave of Nobles). It was through his interests that he comes to [unprofessionally] meet Cobalt. Phosphorus (or Phos, for short) is a young Nowing obsessed with fireworks and chemicals that create light. He is constantly in search of new and better ways to bring light to the dim caverns of Subterrania. Cobalt and Phosphorus are pals, and Phos thinks it would be incredible to see the sun someday. Even though it would probably blind him, he says it would be worth it. (Cobalt repeatedly threatens to glue her special goggles to his face whenever they talk about going to the Surface) Radium is Phos' sister, who has a similar interest in light. However, she uses her light[ning] for....darker purposes. Astatine is a crazed researcher/inventor with a critical mental imbalance that somehow doesn't inhibit her work. She is VERY familiar with Radium. [Astatine likely has some form of autism] She has an extreme fixation on electricity and it's properties. Bismuth is a blind, albino Wyrm. Even though she doesn’t associate with her, many dreyan believe she is related to Astatine. Bromine has a horrible social life because of her extremely strong odor (which she can never seem to get rid of). [Is friends with Jasper and Cobalt. Well, mostly Jasper. Or at least she tries very hard to be.] Other undeveloped characters:

Valence (Vale) (f) - A member of the House of Nobles. - Probably works with Argon. Sohcahtoa / Sokatoa (Soka) (f) - A brilliant mathematician who inadvertently assisted Argon and his followers. She developed the first successful, electricity-resistant rubber.

Synergy (f) - Soka's daughter Tandem (m) - Soka's son Other Ideas: --- "Bubble-Boot" armor? Is that viable? Armor made specifically for excavators who are expanding the caverns, to protect their soles and keep them from getting stuck. --- Argon could have really special variations of the "Bubble-Boots" manufactured to specifically conduct electrical currents into the wearer's claws, so they can literally have the power of lightning at their clawtips without being in danger [technically]. --- Try to picture this; in the center of an enormous, secret chamber, a huge, diamond-shaped, metallic object is being held in place by large clamps. Then, a pair of Nowings donning rubber suits unclamp the object, and it becomes magnetically suspended in the room. The object suddenly begins to rotate, gradually gaining momentum because of magnets set up in the sides of the walls. As the object rotates faster and faster, arcs of electricity begin to arc off of it onto each of the individual magnets. Eventually, the entire chamber is aglow with lightning, the smell of ozone permeating heavily in the air. It shows no sign of stopping.   The ore produces huge amounts of electricity simply as a result of friction. The air resistance produced when it rotates is enough to cause the material to create arcs of lightning. On top of that, the lightning charges the magnets embedded in the walls, strengthening the magnetic force, causing the object to rotate faster, causing more and more friction, causing more electricity, and thus becoming a self-sustaining generator. Valence discovered this ore, and thus, it is named "Valencium". ---

[comicteaparty]

September 27th, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on September 27th, 2018, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on Heart of Keol by keiiii.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing Heart of Keol by keiiii~! (http://www.heartofkeol.com/)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

Respheal

Any scene where Lu has reason to go "Ethan no"

Kabocha

....That's really accurate...

Respheal

Ain't it though xD(edited)

Kabocha

I'm still laughing at "What A douchebag"

SevereWxEddie

Lu sure says "Ethan, no!" a lot

Kabocha

http://www.heartofkeol.com/eng/002-06/ Yes, Ittan Nohm~ :3

Kabocha

@keii4ii -- how does that phrase break down? Is it just... ......................... an entire phrase? Or is one part of it clearly douchebag and the other the "what a"

Respheal

I think there was a bit on the train in particular where it was like "this is just going to be their relationship now huh" xD Ethan being a doofus and straight-faced Lu just "no. why. stop"

Draco Plato

I really liked how the action scenes have been handled, the effects are gorgeous

keii4ii

Ittan is a derogative uhhh.. what do you call it, determiner?

Nohm is a derogative pronoun

Megaparsec

Yeah every scene with a wyrm is just so awesome

Respheal

The wyrms are super pretty

SevereWxEddie

Oh, speaking of the train, have to say...I was very impressed with how you drew the rail infrastructure! The rails and tracks themselves looked very good.

Darkhalo4321

I loved that scene

Kabocha

Yesssss

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

Hi I dropped in, realizing I wasn't in this discord before

keii4ii

Thanks! The railroad provides lots of opportunities to do some fun perspective stuff

Mharz

My favorite scene is the geoduck scene that was really hilarious. I like Ethan and Lushaka's chemistry.

Tenor | Shinavar

Fav scene: Glowing toilet Also really gotta admire Ethan can apparently use the bathroom and hold a conversation with someone - I have kids and I can't do that

RebelVampire

i like any scene with hoodie kid. because i love the background illustrations and color work. theyre always so off putting. like when hoodie kid has all the red magic stuff surrounding and is just like "woo ethan come on lets burn things"

Kabocha

YES GEODUCKS

keii4ii

Though I'm glad most of that arc happened on a bridge, because at the end of it, I learned how much pain it is to draw the pebble variety railroad

SevereWxEddie

Ballast is...tedious

Kabocha

I always have a hard time writing that word because I wanna type "gooeyduck"

Darkhalo4321

Pyromaniac warning I guessss

Mharz

I like how Lushaka nonchalantly draws it.

And Ethan was like oooooohhhh

Draco Plato

all of the glowy effects are super cool, any use of power was just gorgeous

Tenor | Shinavar

Lushaka believes children need to be taught right, clearly /shot

keii4ii

The stick figure art was a collaborative masterpiece with Ethan adding the belly buttons

Respheal

Ahahaha makes sense that Lushaka wouldn't think to add belly buttons....

Mharz

Yeah

Megaparsec

Oh also the scene with the young Rencho and Ethan being like "OOH can you be a kitten?"

keii4ii

Not shown in the comic, but canon: the stick figures were vandalized by Danbi who returned to that spot while the others were away slaying the big jaguar

Darkhalo4321

Makes sense though- size and all?

Mharz

That scene where Ethan was pointing out he has no belly button is so fun

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

Agreed, I love the scenes where magic was being cast. And the one where it was with that Lady and the Master was quite intense. I thought the Master was going to be done for. Reason: the angle of how the fight was commencing(edited)

keii4ii

Danbi didn't want Hana to see them

Mharz

Lol danbi

keii4ii

TBH Master wouldn't have survived if Adela didn't go easy on her, out of her disdain for human suyori

RebelVampire

yes the master and adela's fight was beautiful @Joichi [Lavender Tea] like everything about the effects

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

I agreed! I need to catch up on more HnK

Mharz

I think that was the first time I saw Danbi really angry. The part when Ethan pointed out Lu has no bellybutton

Kabocha

...Oh, yeah, that... part...

Respheal

Can't really blame him though....?

Kabocha

XD He was gonna be all sympathetic for Lu and then

nawp

Respheal

I don't think Danbi's in the right, but he was (afaik) lied to there sooo

Darkhalo4321

I kind of laughed? Because he doesn't know anything about the world really and his first reaction was the belly button -

Respheal

The anger is understandable

keii4ii

Yeah, I'm partial to situations where both sides are right and wrong at the same time

Mharz

That makes me question tho, are Renchos suppose to not have that?(edited)

Megaparsec

One of Ethan's most endearing traits is his... not innocence but excitement about everything everyone else takes for granted

keii4ii

No belly buttons for Renchos!

Mharz

I-I'm curious

I mean the other thing

keii4ii

...barbs?

Mharz

rolls

Tenor | Shinavar

Mharz: He's not supposed to - he's wearing the mark of castration when he's not, if I followed the story right

Respheal

Well the tentacle's got barbs for days

Kabocha

Geoducks

Tenor | Shinavar

hence the being 'lied' to

keii4ii

Oh yeah, the dingly-doo

Tenor | Shinavar

Er, Danbi being lied to

Mharz

I should've googled that word's meaning

keii4ii

Cat Station

Mharz

Lol

SevereWxEddie

LOL!

Draco Plato

they took away his cats

Tenor | Shinavar

TBF castration is only removal of the nuts.

So even if he didn't have it I don't imagien Ethan would be any wiser

RebelVampire

they took away his cats to work on the railroad

hence the term cat station

Draco Plato

they are now the train masters

Tenor | Shinavar

wheeze

Respheal

Kinda makes me wonder how Renchos are born.....since that'd be the umbilical cord

Mharz

Oh okay

Respheal

Eggs

Mharz

My english is dumb

keii4ii

XD The eyeballs in the emoji kinda look like eggs

Tenor | Shinavar

Octopii style :D

Darkhalo4321

That's my question

Tenor | Shinavar

Lots of little litters in sacks in the water

/shot

Mharz

Pft

keii4ii

I will say Renchos are indeed born in litters

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

now I am curious about Renchos xD

Respheal

Ethan's pure curiosity is good though hahahaha

Darkhalo4321

It is

Mharz

Yeah

keii4ii

And their home world is mostly ocean dotted with small islands (well, the parts they inhabit anyway. I'm not sure if there's a huge land mass away from where they live)

Darkhalo4321

He's very curious about the world, the people there, it's good.

Mharz

What a douchebag is a pure souI I love him.

Kabocha

Oooh

Tenor | Shinavar

Oh gonna share this bc I can: 100% kept forgetting Danbi was a boy every time Ethan was shirtless bc I'd be mad he was so disrespectful

OTL

keii4ii

Poor Danbi

RebelVampire

i love how giant ethan is compared to pretty much everyone. like you get tricked sometimes cause of the closeups, but then theres those nice long shots where youre like "wow ethan you sure tower over everyone"

Sophie

Ethan's like an infant, excited about everything! It's adorable

Mharz

You know, keiiii my reaction is the same with Ethan's when I found out Danbi's a guy

keii4ii

Bwahahaha

Darkhalo4321

The Bull in a china shop comes to mind

Kabocha

How tall is Ethan, anyway?

Darkhalo4321

but a polite bull

keii4ii

6' 5" and not done growing

Respheal

Oh man I loved Ethan's reaction

SevereWxEddie

Ooof

Kabocha

NOT DONE?!

Respheal

HE BIG

Mharz

I was like dang danbi's so pretty. :y(edited)

Darkhalo4321

He'll be 10 feet when he's DONE

Kabocha

Danbi's charming, I think.

keii4ii

At full size, he'll be 6' 7" and also beefier

Mharz

I still like him tho

Ooh more beef for Ethan yes

keii4ii

There was actually a doodle of maxed out Ethan (like 6-8 years older?) that I did a while ago

Draco Plato

he has to be a big cat for lushaka

keii4ii

Slightly older Ethan

Mharz

Lu will be really pleased

Draco Plato

must be really hard to get shirts

Respheal

XXXXXL

Tenor | Shinavar

YAY NO WASHBOARD ABS.

keii4ii

He's got a little squishy over the abs

Darkhalo4321

He has REAL STRENGTH

Mharz

Yas

Tenor | Shinavar

REAL STRENGTH YES HHHHHHHHHHH <3

Darkhalo4321

he's not no gym floozy(edited)

keii4ii

Lu has enough washboard for the both of them

Respheal

True

Mharz

Perfect strong body

Draco Plato

Lu has beautiful abs

Tenor | Shinavar

Lmao

RebelVampire

ethan will be charged double for tailored clothes because of the sheer amount of fabric required

Tenor | Shinavar

After learning how you get washboard abs no ty, gimmie da meat /shot

Rebel: LOL

keii4ii

Yeah, you either gotta win the genetics lotto, or ... do some insane diet control for a six pack

Tenor | Shinavar

Better take real good care of those clothes

Diet control to serious unhealthy levels. You're supposed to have fat over the abs to protect them - so it may look nice but 9/10 you're actually super weak in real life applications of them so yeaaah

I HOPE KITTY BOI IS OKAY D:

keii4ii

He's okay. If he starts putting on fat, he'll start putting them on his already massive thighs first

(they have different fat distribution patterns, lol)

Tenor | Shinavar

wheeze

Fair!

SevereWxEddie

So those abs would not in fact be rock hard and a punch to them would be really bad, then?

Tenor | Shinavar

So- can he crush a melon with dem thighs

asking for a friend >> <<

Mharz

He has tentacles tenor he's fine

Tenor | Shinavar

/Almost made a hentai joke

/Gunna go get a drink lol

Megaparsec

On a totally unrelated note the Lu-catfish was hilarious

keii4ii

X'D derpfish

Mharz

Lol

keii4ii

Not as derp as puffer, but hey

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

@RebelVampire haha I was wondering when the tailors have to charge Ethan for the clothes he has to be handmade for him

keii4ii

It wouldn't be as bad as it would be for Lushaka, if he lived in our world

Mharz

Pft

keii4ii

I'm pretty sure his thigh circumference > his waist circumference

Respheal

Oh geez yeah

Mharz

Heck yeah

His thigh is really big

Never skip leg day folks

Draco Plato

yis

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

i always like that aspect of Heart of Keol, that you designed Ethan that he is drastically different from the rest of the people. Other than Lushaku, i think hes sort of muscular too

keii4ii

Yep, Ethan is beefy

Beef filled cinnamon roll

(sounds like a Middle Eastern food...)

Mharz

Mmmmm

Draco Plato

yeah the different body shapes are really cool to see

Sophie

Very diverse cast, yup!

Mharz

I really like how Keiiii pulled that off :3

keii4ii

I'm glad to hear! I have a lot of fun drawing the different bodies

Tenor | Shinavar

I love it too~

keii4ii

like they're ALL various types of "conventionally attractive" bodies, but still different

Mharz

Yasss

Draco Plato

yeah that is really neat~!

Sophie

Everybody is so easily to read and keep apart from another. It's really great!

keii4ii

I had readers point out Adela's boobs helped them remember who she was, when she reappeared in chapter 16

Mharz

Pft

Draco Plato

omg XD well they do help

her hair and ears is how i recognized her at that point

Mharz

She does have really huge boobs

Draco Plato

and her shoes

Mharz

Same draco

RebelVampire

QUESTION 2. Within the comic, Ethan has a plethora of mysteries surrounding him. What do you think happened to Ethan’s dad? Does Ethan’s Dad’s disappearance have some connection to Keol, or is it unrelated? Who is the child-like figure who initially sends to Ethan to Keol? Why send Ethan to Keol in the first place? What is the figure’s interest in Ethan? Is Ethan somehow special, especially in regards to his apparent powers he unlocks? What do you think the child figure’s connection to the Queen might be (if any)? Does it have something to do with the Queen’s missing mate? Lastly, do you think Ethan will get home? If he does, do you think he’ll regret it?

keii4ii

Yeah, I have to draw her body without boobs first, and then add the boobs in order to avoid anatomy disasters

Mharz

By the looks of it, the hooded dude is his Dokkabi?

Respheal

That's the gist I got

The fact that his dad was scared of outlets--what was up with that O.o

Darkhalo4321

Makes me wonder-

Respheal

I mean...PTSD, but....outlets?

Tenor | Shinavar

2: Ethan's dad was a Prisoner of War - and suffering from serious PTSD is my bets - assuming the whole sory isn't some metaphysical message in Ethan's head ofc <_< I feel Hooded kid is the Dokkabi, too, since there's a symbollic pattern. BUT the curiousity is the Queen because she has the symbol, too, but that's explain away her immoretality - so my theory is the kid is the queen calling Ethan to her side.

SevereWxEddie

Electircal based "aggressive interrogation" techniques?

Darkhalo4321

I was thinking Light too? He was in the corner if I recall-

Tenor | Shinavar

Resp: TOrture technique

SevereWxEddie

Electrical

Tenor | Shinavar

The buzzing of lights can be used in torture

Mharz

Also yeah I'm curious what happened to Ethan's dad. He was scared of the electric socket which makes me wondered if he was electrecuted or struck by lightning

Tenor | Shinavar

and outlets can carry that sound

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

wow that is alot of questions to answer, like 8 Qs XD

Respheal

Well, I did guess that, since he seemed to also be scared of lightning

Aaaah true

SevereWxEddie

Is it ever explicitly stated which war Dad went off to?

Respheal

The minute buzzing

keii4ii

@Joichi [Lavender Tea] Combo attack

Respheal

For real xD

keii4ii

@SevereWxEddie Nope!

Draco Plato

wondered if his dad was in the world ethan is in now

SevereWxEddie

.....

Draco Plato

went through the red gate

SevereWxEddie

Oooo. THERE'S a theory

Tenor | Shinavar

I do think Ethan will make it home however I hope i's not too soon because as it is right now I don't think Ethan could handle leaving his new friends behind lol

Megaparsec

How long was he gone? Does it match up with the opening frequency?

Draco Plato

it actually didn't sound like people were really able to get back since they were there awhile

the people who'd gone through the gate

Tenor | Shinavar

But tbf, how would they know they did get back?

And not just went missing?

SevereWxEddie

@keii4ii does it matter which war it was, as in plot-relevant, or is it more of a "this happened in the story past?"

Tenor | Shinavar

Unless they reversed fireballed into the sky /shot.

Mharz

Must have something to do with the Heart?

keii4ii

@SevereWxEddie The latter

Megaparsec

Oh never mind the Red gate opens every year

Tenor | Shinavar

I liiike the idea his dad went into the world though because that would mean there is a way to get back

Kabocha

So, I was thinking hoodie kid was actually like................. ...................related to the empress

Draco Plato

the heart is the titular character

Tenor | Shinavar

somehow

Draco Plato

so i mean

Sophie

I'm wondering what people back are thinking Ethan is doing? I mean he's been gone for a bit by now...

Draco Plato

i wonder if time passes differently

RebelVampire

maybe nobody cares ethan is gone.

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

that's an interesting discussion on whether the travelling MC will go home, probably that's the end solution. But I'm definitely intrigued where the father went, the idea of war and torture sounds likely.. gosh that is so sad. I was debating whether his father had been struck with a deep mental illness, maybe even dementia

SevereWxEddie

It could be like Narnia all over again

keii4ii

@RebelVampire

RebelVampire

are just like "i guess thats one less mouth to feed"

Draco Plato

oh no not narnia XD

Tenor | Shinavar

Rebel: I hope not

Mharz

:c

Tenor | Shinavar

Getting tired of reading that lmao

Draco Plato

well when he was going through reasons to go back it didn't really sound like he needed to go back

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

aw that is so sad Rebel, its like turning Ethan's story to the angst teen comic D:

Mharz

Lol

Draco Plato

like maybe my grandad will remember me once isn't a great reason to go back probably if he builds a life with friends and family in the new world

Tenor | Shinavar

Kabo: /Delayed: How would you reckon, if kid is related to the empyrss, how hey avoided being seen so far only by Ethan?

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

hmm my theory is, if I know about alt world travelling, probably time is different? OR or what if Ethan's family has 'missing poster' signs when he gets a glimpse of his world?

Mharz

I think it's a Dokkabi thing, tenor

Becos he saw the one with the lady

Tenor | Shinavar

Yeah but that wyrm wasn't as developed as the kid

Though hey carried the same symbol, the lady didn't have that symbol the wyrm did

Sophie

I could imagine red riding hood is some sort of gate keeper for the red gate?

Tenor | Shinavar

versus the wueen

omfg I can't type I'm so sorry lol

Kabocha

“Kabo: /Delayed: How would you reckon, if kid is related to the empyrss, how hey avoided being seen so far only by Ethan?” @Tenor | Shinavar -- magic.

Tenor | Shinavar

I mean- fair -

Kabocha

or a spiritual connection, but you know, teh dokkabi theory is solid

RebelVampire

maybe ethan did eat a wyrm but it was on earth so he didnt know. and the kid is the mental manifestation of said wyrm(edited)

Mharz

I do like his rainbow eyes tbh

Draco Plato

that'd be interesting rebel

Tenor | Shinavar

He though it was a octopus

Draco Plato

maybe it's the kid he didn't know he had

Mharz

Pft

Kabocha

Are we going to imply that this is all a bad food poisoning trip

Respheal

YES

Kabocha

and Lushaka is just his guilt for eating bad octopus

Respheal

no

Mharz

Lol

RebelVampire

that is my second crazy theory. ethan is the destined queen's mate and hoodie kid is their future child who astrally projected themselves there for mystery reasons

Draco Plato

hurt a cat once and ate an octopus

Respheal

kabo no

Tenor | Shinavar

Lushaka is the local stray

Draco Plato

omg rebel mine too

Kabocha

@RebelVampire SEE THAT WAS MY THEORY

Draco Plato

legit thought that

Kabocha

BUT NOT A CRAZY THEORY

Respheal

Y'KNOW

Yeah soon as I heard "destined mate"(edited)

I was like

Tenor | Shinavar

Personally I'm hoping 'destined mate'is like 100% a misunderstanding

Draco Plato

yup, was like oh hey must be ethan, that you ethan

Kabocha

Or Danbi.

Tenor | Shinavar

and the wyrm-queen can only be freed by being tied to someone so she can gtfo

Draco Plato

yeah could be danbi

Respheal

I imagine if that IS the case I imagine it'll get subverted

Megaparsec

Supposed to be a Visitor I think

Respheal

Yeah

Sophie

Eyes overloading....

RebelVampire

the plot twist is the queen has been dead for years. everyone just assumes shes alive because theyve been receiving orders from someone behind a curtain.

ethan must expose the wizard of oz essentially

SevereWxEddie

Ooo

Draco Plato

i wondered that one too rebel

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

lmao the wizard of Oz reveal

Draco Plato

if she was really dead

Kabocha

See, I had also initially assumed the Queen was the kid

Respheal

saaaaame

Darkhalo4321

SAME KABO

Tenor | Shinavar

Saaaam

e

Darkhalo4321

But someone stole the JOB

Kabocha

......................Yes?

Draco Plato

yeah, cause of the tattoo on their face

Megaparsec

Still could be, with shapeshifting or whatever

Darkhalo4321

TRUE-

Mharz

Yeah

Megaparsec

or astral projection

Respheal

The tattoo is different though

Slightly

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

I thought the red hooded kid was a mysterious figure and immortal xD I might be simple minded.

Respheal

But they're almost certainly related

Does that make the queen a dokkabi...spirit....thing?

Kabocha

GASP!

How long do dokkabi live for

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

yeah I'm thinking about that once..

Mharz

It's a wyrm god

Draco Plato

they could be world hoppers too, ones that can control it

Tenor | Shinavar

Oh god

Respheal

It's never explained what world the queen comes from, and there's just the three gates

Tenor | Shinavar

-Might have caught on to Kabo's gasp-

You thinkin she needs new bodies to stay immortal/controls hrough them?

mathtans

mk, I'm here... couldn't seem to get off the first page of the comic though, nothing would load. (j/k)

I did only manage to get to the end of 8 though. Busy week. ^^

Kabocha

Is Ethan... the new Queen

keii4ii

And how does the Elyeo eugenics thing figure into all this

@mathtans XDDDD

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

PFFFTT Ethan the queen?(edited)

Mharz

Gasp

Tenor | Shinavar

Well considering everything we've been told has been unraveling, we don't acually know what's fact with the Elyeo

so I don't trust shit lol

Respheal

all hail the new Father King Mother Queen

Darkhalo4321

same tenor

mathtans

The Queen is actually a dude. Calling it now.

Kabocha

well, I mean, like If the queen is a Dokkabi and Dokkabi need a body... ....And hoodie kid is somehow related to the queen...

Draco Plato

maybe their hair is the secret to the red gate

keii4ii

That's a good attitude probably at this point in time not trusting shit

Kabocha

and ethan has a dokkabi...

RebelVampire

well if were going through the life sucking or body sucking then it seems likely the elyeo magic is needed to sustain that. dont elyeo live super long?

Megaparsec

At first I wondered if the Elyeo died in childbirth

But that's been mostly disproven

Respheal

Okay but also Ethan using the magic stuff was pretty awesome

Darkhalo4321

yes ^

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

I'm intrigued with the Elyeo lore too, as well as the Renchos

Tenor | Shinavar

Yeeee

Respheal

BUUUUUUURRRRRRN(edited)

keii4ii

ACTUALLY ------- ... ... (minor spoiler but I should still refrain)

Darkhalo4321

REFRAIN

Respheal

BE STRONG KEIIII

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

poor Keii, can't reveal anything yet

Mharz

Rencho lives longer iirc

Than elyeos

Tenor | Shinavar

Also I'm mad at everyone in that party when they had Hana and didn't think of finding a way to hide her ears while travelling. innocent babies asking for trouble ((I'm sure KittyBoi let i stay out for the trouble. He's a cat.))

keii4ii

Yeah, Lushaka is older than any Elyeo could ever be

mathtans

As to fave scene (again, only through the first 8), I kind of liked the dawning revelation of gender on Ethan's part. Just cleverly foreshadowed by the townsperson, then interesting graphics as the lightbulb went on.

The fight scenes were amazing too though.

Kabocha

Re: burning https://youtu.be/LH-QwK4v0ZI?t=88

Respheal

Kabo no

RebelVampire

@mathtans great scene choice math

Mharz

I like the gif on that

keii4ii

@Tenor | Shinavar Her ears were actually hidden when they ran into those bandits! The dude was just feeling for her ears just in case, out of the assumption that a white girl = potentially Elyeo

Darkhalo4321

oooo

Draco Plato

yeah her hair was covering her ears

keii4ii

Schrodinger's Elyeo

RebelVampire

ah thats right. but rencho probably dont make good body double things. cause if i was a body stealing "immortal" queen, id picked the bodies that could do the magic plant shit

Kabocha

^ YES 100%

I'm onboard with this.

Mharz

I mean yahhh

Draco Plato

plus plants are symbolic of new life and renewal

keii4ii

Yeah if you're immortal and you can steal bodies easily, longevity of the target body probably isn't a big factor

Tenor | Shinavar

I couldn't tell sorry :(

keii4ii

Though if it's difficult, that changes things

Megaparsec

Especially if you have a whole bunch of them right there

Tenor | Shinavar

But tyty on the heads up~

Kabocha

So... You know, maybe... Danbi's mom is now the Queen.

Temporarily.

mathtans

I found that whole 'listening to plants but being unable to talk back' aspect of the world building really neat.

Tenor | Shinavar

Makes me wanna punch them more lmao

Mharz

Kabo

Darkhalo4321

OH That's a good plot twist Kabo-

Draco Plato

forgive me danbi i must leave you to rule the world

Mharz

Rip

Superjustinbros

HAI

mathtans

"Am I not part of the world? Rule me."

Mharz

His mom seem to be a special kind of Elyeo

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

ohh I was wondering where her ears were, i didn't even see them in the comic

Tenor | Shinavar

Nah it's Danbi's mom but not her mind. Danbi gonna run up and hug mom and mom's gunna have a twisted smile on her face like 'Lol oh dear this is a problem"

RebelVampire

now tbf, maybe she didnt leave to rule the world. she went to help the queen and the queen keeled over. and danbi's mom is nothing if but an opportunist

keii4ii

@Joichi [Lavender Tea] They actually braid her hair around her ears

Mharz

Pft

Kabocha

Danbi's certainly an oddity though, being a male Elyeo...(edited)

Superjustinbros

Sorry I'm late, got caught up in this one thing I was doing

Mharz

He's half human tho

Draco Plato

looool

Tenor | Shinavar

Hana's braids pop up and twirl with her ears. Lil helicopter blades

Draco Plato

i would love that if the mom was just an opportunist

Mharz

Lol

Megaparsec

Well normally half human elyeo are just elyeo

As far as we know

Tenor | Shinavar

Annnd now stuck with Hana's braids spinning like the leek song, I'm off to feed my children brb

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

I'd love to see a twist with Danbi's mom, whichever it'll be!

Respheal

“ Does Ethan’s Dad’s disappearance have some connection to Keol, or is it unrelated?”

I don't remember seeing this answered yet--I'm gonna say no. Ethan's flashbacks and dreams have sorta had Keol elements to them, but I'm attributing that just to him being in Keol and probably some of the Dokkabi influence. I don't think his dad is connected to Keol

Mharz

The thing is Elyeo's are all women

mathtans

Oh, and that braids thing! With the one braid meaning available but more meaning not ready for a relationship, that was fascinating to me. We need a system like that on Earth, maybe.

Kabocha

Ethan's dad is just baggage

Mharz

Which makes Danbi real strange

Draco Plato

is danbi trans

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

oh YES, I really like that culture too about the braids @mathtans I'd wish we had that system too(edited)

Draco Plato

if they're all women

keii4ii

He's cis

There was actually a bathhouse scene that got canceled

that would've answered that question

Draco Plato

so then he's a one of a kind

Megaparsec

As far as we know...

Draco Plato

yis

Respheal

If elyeo have a son with a human, the child is a human though right?

Darkhalo4321

Bathhouse sceeeene

Draco Plato

no they're supposed to be elyeo still i thought

keii4ii

@Respheal We may find out soon-ish!

Mharz

No I think they'll be elyeo

keii4ii

"soon-ish" in webcomic time terms

Kabocha

NOOOOOOOOOOO

Superjustinbros

Can I just jump in and say I like the art style/setting of this comic? It definitely hits the asian/oriental theme perfectly.

Kabocha

Soon TM

Draco Plato

five years from now we will know

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

I thought Danbi simply dressed in women's clothes because of the job as a Sayori (?)

Megaparsec

It's been said in story that they would be elyeo, might be inaccurate though

Mharz

Tbf Danbi is wearing pants(edited)

RebelVampire

the specific wording was that daughters are guranteed to be elyeos

it said nothing about sons

keii4ii

It's been said their daughters will be Elyeo! But nothing's been said about sons

Mharz

Gasp

Megaparsec

Ah! Did not notice that!

keii4ii

Actually

The Korean version had Master say something about the sons, haha

Mharz

Me neither

Gasp

Kabocha

Since it was stated in the Korean version, can you... spoil us? :3

Mharz

Must. Learn. Korean

mathtans

SJB: Yeah, blows my mind about there being a Korean version that's translated. I wonder what gets lost in transition.

SevereWxEddie

Ditto

Superjustinbros

inb4 no spoiling

oh snap Korean owo

keii4ii

Elyeo sons all take after the father species (which makes sense if you think about how they reproduce in their home world: they reproduce with plants, not only continuing their own species, but also continuing the plants' as well)

mathtans

Cool plan about the speech balloons too. Lots of little touches like that. Makes me wonder what it looked like before apparently some edits were done on earlier pages.

Superjustinbros

That's cool seeing comics getting translated into asian languages(edited)

Draco Plato

oooooo

Megaparsec

HMMMM

But not entirely, because he has the funny hair color

mathtans

"That guy is a wall flower." has a whole different meaning on other worlds.

Latisha

That's interesting

Mharz

Come to think of it, we dont know who Danbi's dad is either

keii4ii

@Megaparsec Yep, the hair could still be an anomaly even with this new info!

@mathtans

So I don't know if I mentioned this in the authors' notes anywhere, but Elyeos are never heterosexual because they come from a world with no humanoid males.

Respheal

I got the gist that Danbi might have the genetics of an Elyeo, but the phenotype (since he's male) is....mostly human xD

Superjustinbros

Ooooooooh

So we're talking, 100% lesbian?

keii4ii

Some lesbian, some pan

Danbi's mom was pan

Mharz

:y

Superjustinbros

At least you're not forcing les or pan pride down the reader's throats like what I see in a lot of things nowadays

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

awesome, I wanted to ask if there were queer characters in HnK that's a nice explanation too

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. Danbi, who inevitably starts Ethan on his quest to the Heart of Keol, has plenty of his own mysteries. Do you think Danbi’s Elyeo heritage will get the group into trouble somehow? What do you think happened to Danbi’s mother? Is she at the Heart of Keol, or is something else going on? Do you think she’s even still alive? Do you think she was taken away, or did she perhaps leave by her own choice? Do you think Danbi will manage to locate her? And if so, what do you think will happen? What do you think Danbi will do if he reaches the Heart of Keol and finds out she isn’t there? Speaking of which, what in general do you think the Queen’s interest in Elyeo is?

keii4ii

@Joichi [Lavender Tea] The Dokkabi lady is also ace/aro! There's at least one other queer character who's been introduced, but I... may keep that one secret since it's a secret for her

(queer other than Elyeos, that is)

Mharz

He did dye his hair, right?

Superjustinbros

Ooooooo~

keii4ii

(Elyeos AND Renchos)

mathtans

Danbi's mother is new Queen. Calling it now. ^^

Latisha

I think it will bring trouble sometime later

Mharz

Renchos are all men, correct?

Superjustinbros

tfw I just remembered Queer and Queen rhyme

Respheal

I wonder if that's the transgender character you mentioned early on

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

@keii4ii aw thank you, no problem, glad to have that confirmed ^^

keii4ii

@Mharz THERE WAS THAT GIRL!

Mharz

Oh yeah dang

Wooops

keii4ii

Though I guess it could've been a boy wearing a skirt

Superjustinbros

SPOILED

keii4ii

Naw, the Rencho girl is cis

Mharz

Sorry that slipped my mind lol

mathtans

Gotta have a girl somewhere. Only guys are disposable.

keii4ii

It's fine! She hasn't had a lot of screentime

Superjustinbros

lmao

Mharz

I'm curious if Danbi dyeing his hair works

Superjustinbros

Would Danbi get powers of he deyed his hair(edited)

Respheal

Elyeo hair doesn't seem like it....glows or anything

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

I want to believe Danbi's Mama is alive now everyone's theories make me have a feeling she may make a return. I mean at first the implications seem like she was taken away.

Mharz

At least he doesn't have ears

Respheal

So I can't imagine it'd show through the dye

Mharz

That made sense tho why he's braiding it

mathtans

Maybe Ethan will have to make a choice between getting back to see his Dad and saving Danbi's Mom.

Superjustinbros

Just maybe(edited)

Mharz

Becos there's their tradition about hair

Tenor | Shinavar

3> Yes, Danbi's already causing problems just due to how careful they have to be. I believe mom originally went to the heart but if she's still there is up to debate. I do like the concept she left of her own choice - mostly because I'm exhausted of constantly reading about bad parents and it's been getting hella isolating so the idea she'd have gone willingly, to protect her children, is really want I hope for.

SevereWxEddie

@mathtans ooo, that's mean

keii4ii

We writers are a mean breed

Darkhalo4321

WE ARE

RebelVampire

im torn on what i believe about the mom. i expect a subversion of them finding her at the heart though. so not being there, was there but died of something unrelated, going somewhere entirely.

Superjustinbros

>giving your characters in your stories hell The truth, keii

RebelVampire

maybe ethan is wrong, a gate opened on his world, and danbi's mom was on earth the whole time.

Mharz

Gasp

mathtans

Nadeko agrees.

Maybe Danbi's mom is the mystery woman who sent Ethan?

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

@Tenor | Shinavar I agree with the bad parents, and the neglectful parent trope

Megaparsec

Ooh do we have evidence people get pulled out of this world too?

I don't think anyone's said anything but I guess they wouldn't know

Tenor | Shinavar

Joi: I'm okay with it once in a while but honestly it feels like it's been nothing but everything I've read lately to the point I think I'm getting sensitive to the topic lmao

Mharz

Not yet at least

mathtans

There's no evidence to the contrary. ^.^

Mharz

Tho I think it's a possibility.

keii4ii

There's something I wanna point out, and it's been shown in the comic, but merely pointing it out might count as a spoiler

Tenor | Shinavar

lulll

Megaparsec

I wonder if the linked worlds get portals between them too

Mharz

That ppl can go from keol to earth.

Tenor | Shinavar

^It would support the "Dad went to Keol" theory

Superjustinbros

oh boi spoilers

Tenor | Shinavar

and backs the chance Ethan can get home

bc tbh, I think he needs to go home. He doesn't have closure

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

*half reading the rest of the comic, half responding.

Tenor | Shinavar

and the idea that he'll just up and abandon his dad feels off

Mharz

Yas

No he does intend to go back

Tenor | Shinavar

I understand he doesn't have the best life but considering how absorbed and protective he is of his faher, I can' imagine him leaving that just because he made some friends

keii4ii

Yeah

Darkhalo4321

What if he could go home, but go back?

I'd be okay with that-

Mharz

Remember the first time he heard of he heart is that there's a way he can go back to Earth there

Superjustinbros

The power of friends.

Mharz

Why he agrees to come with Danbi

Tenor | Shinavar

True

SevereWxEddie

Very true

Respheal

I don't think they know there's a way back at the Heart

Mharz

He clings to the hope his dad will remember him

Respheal

Just that, if there IS a way, someone there would probably know

mathtans

waits for keii4ii to point out the thing...

keii4ii

Not sure if a good idea

Mharz

Lol

Tenor | Shinavar

See I'm more curious: Is it dad doesn't remember him, or is dad locked into a level of traumatized dellusion to the point he doesn't see Ethan is there

Superjustinbros

@mathtans

mathtans

Thing about Ethan going home is I feel like that would be at the end of the comic? Since him coming started it all off.

Tenor | Shinavar

Because in war PTSD you can relive that moment over and over and over-

(Assuming it's that ofc)

Mharz

He thinks Ethan is his dad tho(edited)

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

right now its just fan speculation, I don't mind if the author prefers to show it in the work

Tenor | Shinavar

Mharz: That can be a triggering thing happening still

SevereWxEddie

@Tenor | Shinavar

Mharz

Yahh

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

yeah I agree with Mathtans, I typically expect it to be at the end, or near the end

Superjustinbros

PTSD sounds scary though

Mharz

It does

Tenor | Shinavar

A friend's father who had severe PTSD thought he was someone in the army he faced down

Respheal

Since it's mostly guessed at that electricity might have been a torture method resulting in Ethan's dad's current state, it's also possible the electricity literally fried his brain a bit (edited)

Superjustinbros

Christ

Tenor | Shinavar

He's been beaten up by his dad in those moments because he's mentally not there

I's horrifying and TBH If it IS that, I feel SO MUCH for Ethan and his mother especially

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

yikes that is really hard to live with..

Mharz

Sorry I have to step off early. It's gym day today. I'll answer the rest of the questions later. :'3

Tenor | Shinavar

Bai Mharz~

Superjustinbros

Alright, cya

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

see you Mharz

Superjustinbros

What a hard life these guys have lived

Tenor | Shinavar

Resp: Could also be Ethan looks like his dad, too, since Ethan got raits from his dad

so it just who he assumes it is?

Respheal

Oh true

keii4ii

Someone in the comment section noticed in the tentacle market scene, that Ethan acts like someone who had a lot of experience caring for a person with serious triggers (since he was kinda assuming the sight of tentacle food = triggers for Lushaka). I was so happy that they noticed it (•̩̩̩ ᴗ •̩̩̩)

Draco Plato

the electricity could relate to something on keol since their glowy powers could be seen as that

Superjustinbros

lol

Kabocha

I had... assumed that would be the case too XD

he was like "NO LU, THEY'RE NOT TRYING TO EAT YOU"

RebelVampire

tbh though what happens if ethan goes back on that vain hope his dad will recognize him and nothing of the sort happens? i feel that would be horribly traumatizing for ethan, and the situation probably is already traumatizing

Respheal

@keii4ii that was so cute

keii4ii

@Draco Plato And if they can "burn," who says that can't include frying things with electricity?

Draco Plato

yus, exactly

Tenor | Shinavar

Rebel: If he's matured enough to accept what's happened, he could theoretically find peace

theoretically

Superjustinbros

That's actually pretty clever

Tenor | Shinavar

Big emphasis

mathtans

So, about Danbi, will there be a scene where he has to go undercover as a woman? (seeks a more lighthearted thread)

Tenor | Shinavar

Because that'll depend a lot on how he matures, if he matures

SevereWxEddie

Maybe, but that would sound like it could be a very downer "ending"

keii4ii

@mathtans Technically he is unintentionally doing that 24/7

SevereWxEddie

@RebelVampire

RebelVampire

i do not look to ethan as my beacon of potential maturity yet XD

mathtans

@keii4ii This is true... intentionally then?

Draco Plato

I wondered if ethan was something other than human too and that he has a deeper connection to keol

Tenor | Shinavar

Plot Twist: Ethan is the one who has to go undercover as a woman

keii4ii

Actually there was a canceled arc

Draco Plato

that'd be a very Thor mythos moment, lol

Kabocha

All hail Queen Ethan?

Darkhalo4321

OOooh- That's an interesting twist @Draco Plato

keii4ii

where Danbi had to pose as a female suyori

But he didn't want to

SevereWxEddie

If Ethan comes back and nothing has changed that would be a very downer ending. If he comes back and his adventures help him find peace in his situation, I suppose that would be bittersweet?

keii4ii

So Ethan proposed that he (Ethan) and Lushaka also dress as women, for morale

Superjustinbros

Did Draco just pull a twist?

keii4ii

So the three of them show up at the destination wearing feminine clothes

Tenor | Shinavar

Lushaka was the prettiest, I bet /shot

RebelVampire

this sounds like a good arc.

keii4ii

and the local head suyori (the person they were attempting to deceive) instantly picks out Lushaka, not Ethan, as a man in disguise

Draco Plato

wouldn't his hair give him away

cause of how it grows in

Tenor | Shinavar

...would it? Cause we only know how boys grow, not girls

Draco Plato

we saw the little girl's hair tho

Tenor | Shinavar

If it's not the same then yeah

Draco Plato

and it grew all around

keii4ii

because she assumed someone who looks like Ethan would have to be really dumb to try to pass as a woman, so Ethan must be an ultra-masculine woman

Tenor | Shinavar

True - I just assumed she was longer furred and was using that lmao

Superjustinbros

How common are ultra-masculine women in this world anyways?

mathtans

So Ethan has to dress up like a woman and is mistaken for Danbi's mother. Hijinks ensue.

Superjustinbros

Kinda curious now

keii4ii

Naw, the little girl's hair was also short on the sides. But her ear fluff covers her head too much

Draco Plato

oooh okay

keii4ii

Also remember she asks Lushaka if he's "secretly her age" based on his hair

So the hair thing is more related to physical maturity

Tenor | Shinavar

Ahh ok

keii4ii

Like a lion mane

Draco Plato

which made me wonder if girls get hair all around sooner

and that his height difference should have been a tip off to her that he was older

keii4ii

Hence "secretly"

"are you actually a kid who happens to be super tall and uh... not very kid-looking"

Draco Plato

do girls get hair all around sooner than boys do?

Superjustinbros

"Maybe."

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

aw I would have love to see that arc where Ethan and Lushaka dress as women. Since I see Danbi as Danbi being cute, because he fits in any clothes

keii4ii

@Draco Plato Yeah. Girls grow faster

Draco Plato

so then you could identify lukasha as a boy by that at his height and apparent age

Tenor | Shinavar

LOL

Omg Luk on stilts

wheeze

keii4ii

Not really, he's not supposed to have that kinda hair when the rest of his body is clearly adult

RebelVampire

i want the arc mostly for ethan trying to pass as a woman. cause literally danbi, why would you think thatd work at all

Superjustinbros

"Drag time, you say?"

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

yes, I really like that twist!

mathtans

Would Ethan wear one braid? O.o

Tenor | Shinavar

C-Can he wear a braid?

Or would it be an amazing wig?

Superjustinbros

This would be a fun twist~

keii4ii

Maybe they can make a baby braid out of Ethan's floof

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

it would probably be a wig XD

Draco Plato

technically ethan could pass as a woman in the sense they have different species passing through the red gate regularly and he could just be a new species

should just tell them that

Tenor | Shinavar

True

mathtans

"I'm actually a mineral."

Respheal

A very, very big species

Superjustinbros

Interesting

RebelVampire

touche, he is the new giant species

Tenor | Shinavar

Ethan just pulls out all the cultural knowledge he knows from America to try to make up a new species from the Red Gate

keii4ii

He's not a human, he's a Murican

Draco Plato

I am cowboy

Tenor | Shinavar

MURICAN AKSJDHKALSD

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

I'd love to see him put fruit in his robes, and try to pretend having big melons

Respheal

OH NO

Superjustinbros

"MERICAN! #*&@ YEAH"(edited)

Tenor | Shinavar

Bombs, for best reference

plz bombs

Kabocha

He puts on his robe and wizard hat...

Superjustinbros

YES BOMBS

*explosions everywhare

Tenor | Shinavar

Kabo: sTOP MAKING ME FEEL OLD

Respheal

Kabo no

NO

Superjustinbros

KABO WHAT ARE YOU DOIN

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

I don't know what's happening anymore

mathtans

"Your fruits are unbalanced."

keii4ii

I'm sure he would've loved to put on his robe and wizard hat when he first met Adela

Superjustinbros

"fix your fruits please."

Kabocha

He sure was going there with Danbi

mathtans

"Wait, that's not a wizard HAT...."

SevereWxEddie

Why am I now reminded of that scene from "Robin Hood: Men in Tights?"

Superjustinbros

>Men in Tights

RebelVampire

the idea of ethan trying to fight adela in a wizard robe and hat is too funny

Tenor | Shinavar

Though speaking of Adela, I'm curious on her role. I know she serves to bring in others of her kind but it makes me think how bad it is ifor them there if she's willing to do it

Like, is she getting something out of it? Does she feel the outside world is worse?

RebelVampire

well the outside world is filled with hunters

Respheal

MMMMMMMMM just because you're part of a group doesn't mean you won't do nasty things to that group

mathtans

Less of a minority?

Kabocha

It's safer for sure

Maybe she wants to be next in line for empress

RebelVampire

but also what res said

Tenor | Shinavar

Resp: Tis true, I'm just curious if she is or is she doing it as a sense of righteousness

An evil for the greater good or however the statement goes

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. Plenty of other events in the comic still have their own needed answers. Do you think Lushaka has an ulterior motive for traveling with Ethan and Danbi? Do you think Lushaka will be able to get his legs healed, or will he be suck with the poison? What about Adela? Do you think she’ll manage to overcome her head injury to hear the plants again, or is something else going on? What does Adela have to do with the “song” Danbi remembers hearing in the past surrounding his mother? World wise, what do you think is going on with the people of Xi? Will their outrage affect Ethan’s group in some way? Lastly, due to the similar Korean language, do you think there’s a hidden connection between Keol and Earth?

Respheal

Certainly she thinks it's probably the best choice, but maybe based on incomplete information

Superjustinbros

Get them healed

I doubt medical services are that primitive(edited)

Kabocha

Give Adela 2 or 3 years, she'll be fine. I think. I mean.

Respheal

My guess re: language was that one of the first Earth people to get sucked into the red gate was probably Korean?

Kabocha

....Eventually she'll be okay.

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

I really like Lushaka and how we're not sure about his motives. Probably just want to get his legs healed(edited)

Tenor | Shinavar

4> I think the song Danbi heard is the plants' natural song around a mature of their species. I hope Adela + Luk both don't get fixed so they can fuck with each other like old war vets for that stint lmao.

Long old!married couple levels of bickering

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

I'm not always good at thinking up head canons(edited)

Superjustinbros

Me neither, tbh

mathtans

There's a lot that happens after part 10. ^.^;;

Kabocha

@Joichi [Lavender Tea] the secret to head canons is to extrapolate to the most logical but bizarre outcome

eg: The Queen is a Dokkabi. Maybe.

Superjustinbros

Thanks for the strategy @Kabocha

Kabocha

The trick is it needs to be somewhat plausible.

Respheal

But that's completely plausible

mathtans

Maybe the plants are just talking at a different pitch around Adela. Doesn't hear certain frequencies. Could hear... dandelions? (They're significant and all...)

Tenor | Shinavar

On the people of Xi: Sounds like some seriously oppressed shit - like, for comparison, the levels of xenophobic hatred similar to America and Muslims right now.

(Just with more severe repercussions)

(Or actions, anyway, considering the deahs mentioned)

keii4ii

Yeah, it's really bad to say the least

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

thank you Kabo and Keii!

SevereWxEddie

I wonder about the connection to Earth! Especially the existence of the railroad. It seems like technology levels vary wildly across Keol: where Ethan landed, there were simple farms all around, and he and the party boarded a sailing boat. Now their destination has a railroad (with what looks like a diesel locomotive) and all of the tech that requires. I wonder if the railroad is around because of its proximity to the city with all the Red Gaters? Those who come through the Gate bringing their knowledge with them?

Superjustinbros

oooooh

RebelVampire

adela and danbi's mom are sisters

Tenor | Shinavar

Oh god

RebelVampire

my plausible but crazy theory

Respheal

So the gates do space AND time shenanigans? Are the time flows of Earth and Keol linked?

keii4ii

The tech disparity was largely inspired by the situation in Korea in recent history! Countryside vs cities had huuuuge differences, like different worlds

Respheal

Or will the gate sometimes grab a person from like....the distant past or future

mathtans

Oh, I like when the real world is mirrored in ways one doesn't necessarily realize.

RebelVampire

that is a good question res

SevereWxEddie

@keii4ii ahhhhhhhhhhh

mathtans

Res: Maybe Ethan returns only to become his own dad?

Superjustinbros

Now I want to see that happen

Oh snap

Tenor | Shinavar

Math: GGGGGGGGG

I debaed that once but I couldn't work it out

Superjustinbros

Paradox, much?

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

@Respheal that is a good question, makes me think about portal travelling in a new way

keii4ii

That actually has huge implications with THIS story

Not canon but if it were

Ethan being his own dad, I mean

Draco Plato

that'd be awesome

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

LOL why does it reminds me of.. a film somewhere. can't remember it. Maybe I'm thinking of Back to the Future

Superjustinbros

"My future self is my daddy"

keii4ii

"When I grow up, I wanna be just like my daddy!"

Superjustinbros

XD

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

then oh shit... wished too hard

Superjustinbros

Pretty mcuh that

Draco Plato

you are your daddy

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

NOOOO *epic screams

Draco Plato

then you're like damn i sucked as my own dad

and now i have nobody to blame but myself

Superjustinbros

This talk

Draco Plato

that sounds like something i'd write, lol

Superjustinbros

@mathtans you are so good at this

RebelVampire

haha im gonna be honest, i entertained the idea of ethan being his own grandfather for a bit

as a theory

Draco Plato

i did too for a moment in the beginning, lol

Tenor | Shinavar

Futurama proved it can be set up ?shot

RebelVampire

but i was like "no no its probalby just ptsd. probably"

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

omg.. I love how this convo became a paradox XD

Draco Plato

and then i thought naaaaaaah they won't go there

Respheal

the cats in the cradle with the silver spoon, l-little boy blue...and the--the--

Kabocha

Ethan's real name is Fry.

Superjustinbros

inb4 let's paradox this world even further

SevereWxEddie

YAAAAAASSSSS

keii4ii

My brain is exploding

Superjustinbros

Boil, Grill, or fry?

RebelVampire

i did wonder if keol was just korea of the long forgotten past though. as a theory to explain the connection

Draco Plato

ah that could be

Superjustinbros

Maybe, i'd believe it if that was the case

SevereWxEddie

Wibbly wobbly timey wimey shenanigans ensued? I thought that at first too.

keii4ii

I haven't shown the map yet, but the geography is very different

Superjustinbros

oooh!?

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

Hmm that is plausible, if Keol is an ancient Korea.. although I have to look it up

mathtans

Originally as I started reading I did wonder if it was still like Earth. But enough stuff happened pretty soon to dispell that notion.

Superjustinbros

I googled Keol and I jsut got things related to music

keii4ii

Keol is way bigger than Korea ever was, for one thing

mathtans

That language connection thing is really interesting though. I wonder if humans get sucked in who don't speak Korean and are kind of screwed.

keii4ii

Yeah, Ethan would've had an even harder time if he didn't speak any Korean

Megaparsec

I suspect most of the people here did cross over from Earth at one point, because of the language and physical similarity. Possibly some kind of super-Gate pulling in a whole group of people?

Joichi [Lavender Tea]

YESS, i thought about that too, going; dang I envy you Ethan. I wouldn't be able to speak to ANYONE at all if I were in Keol

Megaparsec

In the far past of both worlds

Kabocha

Did the Rencho also speak Korean?

SevereWxEddie

@mathtans yes, didn't the lady with the M&Ms say she had that problem? (Her actual name escapes me)

keii4ii

Renchos speak their own languages in their home world, and have to pick up Korean when they come to Keol

Superjustinbros

lol

keii4ii

Same with Elyeos

Though Inductors are required to learn at least some basic phrases in the most common Elyeo language

Tenor | Shinavar

Yeah like 'You're under arrest' /shot

Superjustinbros

Do there exist translators in Keol?

RebelVampire

darn you geography. maybe keol is another dimension of earth where history took a different course entirely

keii4ii

I'm sure there are some?

mathtans

SevereW: I think that's later than I got to. ^_^;

keii4ii

like Lushaka still speaks the Rencho home world tongue, and could interpret if needed

SevereWxEddie

Ah, that'd do it.

keii4ii

The blue speech balloons were the Rencho language

when he was talking to Mr. Jaguar

Superjustinbros

oooh~

do I hear exparimenting with speech ballons with different visuals?

RebelVampire

on a side note i was sad for ethan that he found a fellow earthling...only they didnt really speak english

Superjustinbros

I always like when comics do that.

RebelVampire

that would be such a huge letdown for anyone(edited)

keii4ii

Note he had to switch to Korean for "arrows" and "archers" because Renchos don't have those words in their native languages

Darkhalo4321

ooooo

Kabocha

Yeah, I notice Ethan's text color changes if he needs to use an English word too

SevereWxEddie

That's a really neat method, by the way

Kabocha

and then Danbi's got a wispier textbubble to indicate his voice being very.... I dunno, soft? Scratchy? In my head it sounds somewhat raspy.

SevereWxEddie

Of telling readers what language is being used

Draco Plato

danbi's smoker voice XD

Superjustinbros

lol

keii4ii

Danbi is special

mathtans

Agreed. In the Korean version, is just the English words used, I wonder?

Superjustinbros

What would a speech bubble of someone sleepy look like(edited)

keii4ii

@SevereWxEddie Thanks! It's not a perfect solution but it works, and I'm happy enough with that

SevereWxEddie

You're welcome!

keii4ii

@mathtans I used a different font for English words in the Korean version. Wasn't doing the color thing at that time

Superjustinbros

oooh

mathtans

Before we close, I just want to say the colouring and shading and stuff is freaking amazing. High frequency of posts but also such quality.

Superjustinbros

Seconding this.

SevereWxEddie

Thirding

keii4ii

Thank you!

SevereWxEddie

The art is freaking gorgeous!

Superjustinbros

I'd like to say in personal thoughts- good luck with the story, @keii4ii. You got some really awesome plotlines and setpieces backed up with some great characterization and character designs and I hope it only gets bigger form there.

keii4ii

wait

Are CTPs allowed to end without a ship discussion

Superjustinbros

Especially something with lots of themes based on Korea.

Kabocha

OMG!

Darkhalo4321

I HAVE A SHIP

Kabocha

Lu/Ethan

Superjustinbros

I HEAR DSHIPS

Darkhalo4321

YES

Superjustinbros

FOUR MINUTE SHIP DISCUSSION

Tenor | Shinavar

I can't ship Ethan

keii4ii

The naval forces have been summoned

Tenor | Shinavar

It hurts too much

Darkhalo4321

Yeah, Ethan is a bit.... Not shippable RIGHT YET

Kabocha

Well, the naval was what he was focusing on

:'3

Darkhalo4321

But he's growing and I'm excited for the man he'll be later on!

Tenor | Shinavar

EXACTLY

HE'S TOO INNOCENT

SevereWxEddie

Well, the lack of navel forces was apparent in that one comic

Darkhalo4321

for now

keii4ii

Ethan's not quite emotionally ready for a long term, committed relationship yet

Kabocha

ANYWAY, ETHAN/LU IS THE SHIP I AM ON BOARD WITH

yet

Darkhalo4321

yet

Tenor | Shinavar

TBH I enjoy the idea of Danbi/Lu

Respheal

yet

Tenor | Shinavar

Super passive with a fucking troll

Superjustinbros

Shall we set sail? ;3c

Kabocha

Rebel it is super important that you italicise those yets

Tenor | Shinavar

+ Lu would protect Danbi who may be doomed to a life in prison

Tenor | Shinavar

he's already a dick who doesn't listen to orders

mathtans

I wondered if Ethan and Danbi would go somewhere. Maybe ship Ethan and the Queen? Calling it now.

Tenor | Shinavar

Just pocket the boy and go bouncing speedily away once healed /shot

RebelVampire

i sit on the Lu/Ethan ship myself. dont care about ethan's innocence the googly eyes are there

Kabocha

Math, you missed the Ethan is the Queen theory

Respheal

The "Ethan no" moments

Kabocha

or will be the Queen

Tenor | Shinavar

...Lu leaning on Danbi with this knowing ass smile at Ad, too like "Yeah. I know what he is. Does it bother you we're dating?"

Draco Plato

i was more for danbi/ethan but super don't think that's going to happen now XD

Respheal

But also catching Ethan when he was passing out after accidentally dokkabi'ing himself?

mathtans

Kabocha: Oops. Ethan shipped with himself then.

Tenor | Shinavar

-Talking myself more into this ship, fuck-

Darkhalo4321

YES ( to res's comment)(edited)

Tenor | Shinavar

-I can't draw this, the pain is real-

Kabocha

lmao

Superjustinbros

Heehee~

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END!

Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to keiiii, as well, for making Heart of Keol. If you liked the comic, make sure to support keiiii’s efforts however you’re able to~!

Read and Comment: http://www.heartofkeol.com/

keiiii’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/keii4ii

keiiii’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/keiiii4

Comic Tea Party- Thursday Book Club

Next week’s Thursday Book Club will be about Finding Home by Hari. For participants, you have the next week to read as much of the comic as you would like~! We hope to see you on Thursday, October 4th, from 5PM to 7PM PDT for the chat in #thursday_bookclub!

Comic’s Main Site: https://tapas.io/series/FindingHome