TWWR Round up 5/21/2023– Astronauts on Quarantine as the Sun Refuses to Care About Dead Relationships

This week is a slow one in terms of plot payoff for the comics I’m currently following. Ah well.

 

Africa | Page(s): 320 | Patreon

Africa is clearly worried about Safari, but doesn’t push back against him not eating. Instead, she tells Mondo to play with the other cubs while she visits Faida. Now older, Mondo guards the meat from the hyena pups as they hungrily approach. As Africa finds Faida, the hyena matriarch beckons the leopard to join her in the shade.

Safari is most definitely on the leopard’s mind. At this point, I can only guess she’s going to ask about how the old cheetah can be helped now that he refuses to eat. Given Safari’s condition, there’s not much that can be done for him, and the hyena may relay this. Either way, I’m guessing Africa won’t like her answer.

The Order of the Black Dog | Page(s): Issue 26, page 29 | Patreon

The scene changes from Jackson and Okpara to a shot of a quarantined area inside the ERSO Testing Site. The fox and tanuki astronauts from the start of Issue 26 are inside holding cells. They sit around bored in their underwear, as an off-screen narrator declares that their genetic samples and psych profiles haven’t changed. They’ll be released shortly from quarantine.

To be honest, I’d nearly forgotten about these two astronauts from the beginning of the issue. As this is the first time we’re seeing them since those pages. I had assumed they were more Kae-Kariin replicants, or maybe they were working with Okpara. I had to read the text transcript in the author’s description to learn who these two men were. The only thoughts I have are that these two may have more insight to what’s happening on the moon with the Black Idol, or they could still be influenced by the Kae-Kariin in some manner. Only time will tell. Fortunately, The Order of the Black Dog is a comic that resolves plot points and ties up mysteries in a satisfying manner.

Repeat | Page(s): 146, 147, 148 | Patreon (N/A)

Sol and The Dawn have merged, and the pair have an internal conversation. The Dawn is not convinced Babble is actually dead, and points out the Dusk could be playing another trick on the sun god. Sol is certain Babble is dead, that the death is their fault, and worst of all, being connected directly to the Dawn is way too much of an emotional overload. The Dawn splits from Sol, realizing their master is whole even without them. The fox leaves both the sun and Tilter sleeping as they seek out Bor. The forest god is surprised at how little Sol and The Dawn’s thoughts align, though they are separate halves of the same being. More importantly, The Dawn refuses to let Sol return to the cycle of fighting Lun. Bor agrees to help Sol find their motivation and tells the fox servant to go the rocky forest. The boar refuses to admit what’s there because Sol will find out, but whatever it is will give them motivation to break the cycle.

The Dawn is an interesting character. They’re a servant with their own will, and oddly enough they like spending time apart from Sol. In previous incarnations of the sun god, the two were usually merged. So, that leaves me to wonder if The Dawn’s newfound freedom is coming from Sol finding love in the form of Babble. Speaking of, I still don’t completely buy Babble is dead as I stated last week. They might be in the rocky forest, or perhaps Babble left behind descendants. I get the feeling we won’t find out what the Dawn will discover for quite some time.

To Catch a Star | Page(s): 294, 295, 296 | Patreon

After Hearth’s discussion with Blaze, Backlash asks him what’s wrong. He takes a moment to rant about how everyone in this mixed pack thinks he’s the bad guy just because he’s a part of the Supernova. He admits he finds Scorch to be scary, but before he can finish his thoughts, his lack of having a hair tie for his ponytail frustrates him. As he screams out for a vine, a kind Dusky provides one. Backlash then asks how he can tie his hair back, and the young Supernova replies he’ll need to grow said hair out. Small talk aside, the young Dusky admits he doesn’t think Hearth is a bad guy. The red wolf can barely utter a thanks before changing the subject to leaving, as Backlash’s friends will miss him. As the banter continues, Hearth is on the cusp of revealing something about the Supernova until a loud howl interrupts their conversation.

There’s not much to say about these set of To Catch a Star pages. The relationship building between Backlash and Hearth continues. Even though Backlash knows he can’t fully trust the Supernova, he still sees goodness in him. To his credit, Hearth is finding his traveling companion to be surprisingly modest. Maybe even annoyingly so. The thought from many fans has been these two may get together as a couple, and the author made a comment about it on DeviantArt. Personally, I’m having a hard time seeing these two as anything but eventual friends. At this point Hearth is more of a parallel to Backlash.

Tofauti Sawa | Page(s): 368, 369 | Patreon

Sahara doesn’t give Silver a straight answer to his question about being in a rush to leave, and simply states she wants them to find a better territory. He asks what exactly she’s looking for, and the hyena dodges his question again. Giving up, Silver follows. They travel for a few hours, until the lion stops, ready to sleep. Sahara is surprised by this.

The build up to the next scene change is slow, but it’s pretty clear that Sahara has no intention of telling Silver what she’s really after. It’s also clear that she has no idea where Kwame and his pride have gone. Silver’s given up asking questions, and he does not understand his hyena companion’s urgency. To be fair, he literally can’t understand her rush since she’s been lying to him from the start. I’m guessing that this is as far as Sahara goes for the time being, as big cats need their beauty rest, and Silver is quite handsome. So that must mean lots of rest for him.

What Lurks Beneath | Page(s): 644, 645, 646 | Patreon

Tansy was successful in getting Krill’s body to the beach. He’s a grisly sight as Sturgeon and Wahoo come upon his partially decomposed body. Wahoo can only utter a swear before he breaks down at seeing his dead partner. Sturgeon attempts to comfort him, as she begins to lie about finding Krill’s body. She’s immediately cut off as Wahoo knows his partner was the one who attacked Trout. With her paw forced Sturgeon comes clean. In an amazing show of understanding, Wahoo admits he knew Krill voiced wanting to kill Trout, and blames his partner for the pain he put the queen and Skua through.

I’m glad that Sturgeon didn’t try to lie about Krill once Wahoo figured it out. I’m also glad Wahoo firmly placed the blame on Krill instead of a Daisy, Trout, or Skua. This proves the cat may have chosen an asshole to be his mate, but he has a good head on his shoulders. The problem now is that in saving Wahoo from serving the Tide, Sturgeon has admitted the attack on Trout by a Daisy was a lie. Will Wahoo be forced to keep up not only the lie about whom the attempted assassin was, but the fact that he knows the truth? If Trout discovers he knows, will Wahoo be forced to serve the Tide anyway? Sturgeon’s lies have caused many issues. I don’t see how they’re easily resolved– as someone will figure out the truth.

A Doe’s Salvation | Page(s): 173 | Patreon

As Absaroka grazes alone, a voice calls out to her. It turns out to be Teton. He remarks how long it has been since he’s last seen the doe. The buck is flanked by Sawtooth, and another doe whom he introduces as Moccasin. Curiously, this deer also has blue eyes like Gallatin and Judith.

To be honest, I’m kind of surprised to see Teton again. I was sure his role in this story was over with after Gallatin was murdered. After all, Absaroka mourned her brother’s death with Teton, as the bucks had recently become partners. Outside of siring a now dead fawn together, Absaroka and Teton don’t have a relationship. As for the new doe, I have no idea who she may be– I doubt she’s related to Gallatin or Judith. Though she’s with Teton, and whatever their relationship is will be revealed next page. Of course, she could also have a relationship to Sawtooth. We’ll see.

Home | Page(s): 798 | Patreon

After Kargo and Ferah’s reunion and departure, night has fallen. Roamer is setting up camp and fidgets with setting the bedroll down. Kargo remarks that it’s long been flat, and asks what’s on the younger dog’s mind. Roamer admits that he’s worried about Ronja’s decision. Will she merge the Meteor Tribe with Whispervale? If that happens Kargo admits that he’ll have to leave, as he wanted to live apart from Ferah, so she’ll have her own life. Roamer worries that Kargo may have been lying about staying with him and Rogio. Kargo responds that he didn’t want his old friend to worry.

It is pretty clear that Roamer still has feelings for Kargo. Again, their chemistry is more interesting, despite Roeamer being with Rogio for ages now. If Ronja is to make the decision to merge with Whispervale, it is likely he may find a way to either stop Kargo from leaving or to try to talk Ronja out of the merge. More importantly, merging Whispervale with the Meteors would at least put more characters in the same place. Once Keirr discovered Ronja’s location, it would have been logical for him to leave WV in order to join his cousin, yet he remains. Keirr aside, there’s not much left of the MT and Kique has been pushing Ronja and Fraujar as love interests. Nothing like a tribe merge to seal the deal. Then again, this author is notorious for dropping plot lines, so I probably shouldn’t get my hopes up too high. On a final nitpick, I hate when characters rest on the tops of their hind toes. It looks incredibly uncomfortable.

On Hiatus :

The Realm of Kaerwyn | Page(s): Issue 20, pages | Patreon

Golden Shrike | Page(s): | Patreon