TWWR Round up 05/27/2024– Life Lessons in the Unexpected

I hope all of you in the United States celebrating Memorial Day have a fantastic day! For everyone else, have an excellent Monday.

Now that chapter 28 of What Lurks Beneath is finished, looks like I have a short write-up to deliver before chapter 29 starts on June 21. It was an intensely emotional chapter and I need to gather my thoughts.

 

Africa | Page(s): 373 | Patreon

(Figuring how to crop this single panel page was tough.)

Africa and Mondo pause to sit behind Safari’s fallen body. She tells her serval kit about how she wanted to be exactly like her mother as a young leopard. Life turned out to be tougher than she could have ever imagined. She rebelled against her mother’s teachings (including the tradition of naming their cubs after places in Africa), and that caused her to lose Binti. She nearly lost Mosi. For the longest time Africa thought she’d done everything wrong, but now she understands.

This page is a fantastic throwback and parallel to page 14 of Africa. It’s the page where Giza tells Africa about how rough it was growing up for her, but how her mother loved her and trained her hard to survive. We also get a peek of what Sahara, Africa’s grandmother, looked like. On this current page the parallel has been updated, and you can really see how Arven’s style has evolved over the last decade. Here the spectral effect is improved (although the original looked great too) and the glowing eyes are a nice touch. I also like how Sahara’s cheek fluff is a bit easier to see compared the last time she appeared in this comic. Adding Binti’s ghost is a lovely touch. She’s with her grandmother and great-grandmother now. Either way, she’s very much alive in Africa’s heart.

I love seeing Africa reflect on her own growth as a mother. She’s come to realize that she needed to be her own leopard. She didn’t need to be exactly like Giza, nor did she need to completely rebel against her mother. Africa has discovered that while tradition is important, having an open mind and flexible thinking are also great assets to have. This is doubly true for trying to not only survive, but helping the next generation thrive.

To Catch a Star | Page(s): 503, 504, 505, 506 | Patreon

The moon wolf continues to run and the Supernova biting into them are unable to hang on. As they’re forced to let go, the moon leaves them in their literal and figurative dust. Scorch manages to catch up and latches onto the back of the moon’s neck. However, the moon is determined to find Lupi and pulls away from Scorch. This leaves a chunk of fur and flesh in the Supernova leader’s mouth. Enraged, the large yellow wolf orders everyone in the cultist pack to follow the moon as they’ll lead the group to the sun.

Below the clouds, Lupi trots on looking dejected and is still heartbroken over the loss of Backlash and Shadow. The sun wolf comes across a star and instead of rushing for it, they look at the glowing rock. Their eyes tear up and they howl mournfully until they can no longer howl. Sitting down, Lupi lowers their head and begins to cry again. Suddenly, a howl from behind them catches them by surprise. Shocked, they turn around to see the moon heading right for them.

First, I have to laugh at the continued stupidity of Scorch. If the moon wolf hadn’t broken out of the pitiful constraints the Supernova placed them in, they’d have no easy way of finding the sun. Which means Scorch and the cult knew that the moon would try to join up again with the sun if set free. You’d think he would have just let the moon go and track them down that way instead of just capitalizing on a chance opportunity that arose. I guess the bigotry for anything Dusky-related just runs that deep.

As for Lupi, it’s obvious how much they’ve changed over the last few pages. Instead of falling into a trance when seeing a star and automatically going for it, they can now stop and ponder if they want to even touch it. I’m guessing the catalyst for this happening was them comprehending how much they loved Backlash and Shadow. To the point where seeing Backlash was enough to break them free of said trance. The pull of a star will likely never work on them again, especially since they are fully emotionally developed now.

The moon has caught up to the sun– what will they do now that they are together? Are they two halves of one person? Will they team up to collect the remainder of the stars and restore the world? I suspect that the sun and the moon are two halves of the same being merged together. There’s the fact that both the Dusky and the Nova have a figure in their myths named “Lupi,” and the strange dream that Lupi had on page 207. In it, they appear to be comforting the celestial body of the crying sun. Their reflection reveals a Dusky and Nova form as depicted in the myths. Of course the current sun and moon wolves don’t quite look like the versions of themselves in the myths.

Theory time.

I suspect at one time the sun and the moon wolves might have been actual wolves named Lupi. One Dusky and one Nova. They each did the things in their myth to gain the favor of the sun and moon. Their reward was becoming Lupi’s cloud formation for the Nova, and Lupi’s constellation for the Dusky. At that time their souls could have become one, existing as the figures from both myths. Then something awful happened that destroyed the moon. Perhaps the sun tried to harmonize with the moon to unite Duskies and Nova, but shattered it instead and ruined the land as a result. So Lupi’s soul was split again and sent down as two separate avatars representing those celestial bodies.

The Lupi representing the sun was supposed to collect the stars below the clouds in the Dusky’s realm. Meanwhile, the moon wolf (perhaps they’re also named “Lupi?”) was supposed to collect the stars above the clouds in the Nova’s realm. Once they had all the stars, they were supposed to make a wish to restore the world, including the moon’s celestial body. It would also show that the Dusky and Nova weren’t so different after all. Their avatars would take on the colors of the realm each wolf visited to drive home the similarities between the two types of wolves. Instead of that happening, Backlash’s pack became a cult dedicated to killing the sun wolf to avenge the moon. They would do this over and over again until the sun wolf lost all their emotional connections and forgot themselves as a person. Meanwhile, the Supernova found, abused, and then imprisoned the moon wolf. The moon realizing their other half was incomplete, decided to bide their time and wait until Lupi rediscovered themselves and their emotions.

Theory over.

I just have to say, after re-reading the myths for this write-up, I have to admire how badly Backlash’s pack and the Supernova have misinterpreted these stories. It seems like the point of the Dusky myth was not to be strong for the sake of being strong, but to use that strength to protect weaker beings. Case in point, Dusky Lupi became power-hungry, but once they had everything they wanted, it wasn’t enough. They didn’t find contentment in life until they found something that humbled them and gave them purpose. In the case of Nova Lupi, their gift was accepted by the sun because they didn’t care for worldly treasures and made a humble, earnest offering. In To Catch a Star, flowers seem to represent humility and earnestness. By missing the point of these myths, this again shows parallels to how Backlash’s cult pack and the Supernova cult aren’t that different, and don’t understand the teachings of the celestial bodies they claim to worship.

This comic is so refreshingly clever. My hat off to Sleepy for including these themes for the reader to find.

The Order of the Black Dog | Issue 28, Page 3 | Patreon

In the underground laboratory, Dr. Xijo rushes to the room where a sample of The Black Idol is being held. As he rushes in, he asks someone else if it [The Black Idol] has stopped. The other scientist says no, and that it’s still going. They also have never seen a reading like this. Meanwhile, the sample in the confinement tanks squirms as its shape has changed from an embryo to large wriggling tentacles.

The last time we saw Dr. Xijo, he was musing over The Black Idol and how the scientists of Egypt have raised a wild animal to the level of a person that will eventually turn on them. Will the doctor’s words to turn out to be true? I also have to wonder if the changing sample has anything to do with the other scientist who’s on vacation and is being followed. Is the person tailing her related to the Kae-Kariin scientists? Did the Kae-Kariin have a role in creating or cultivating The Black Idol?

Considering how the Black Idol is referred to as an “animal” I’m starting to think the martian doctor might not be so wrong in his assessment. I’m also starting to think the Kae-Kariin had a role in either bringing The Black Idol to Earth, or removing samples of it from Earth, kicking off the downfall of many other civilizations, including their own. The people of Earth are close to making the same mistake as they study the idol.

Golden Shrike | Page(s): 266 | Patreon

Kasko asks if they can take a break. He insists he’s not lazy, but has a thorn stuck in his hoof. Nero calls him out on this and the Woodlander buck insists he’s serious. So Nero offers to dig out the thorn with his new tine. Laughing and revealing he was being lazy and wanted to take a break, Kasko tells the Marshlander buck to get his imaginary tine away from his imaginary thorn. The two then tussle in the grass. Meanwhile, Runi decides to rest under a tree and Boneslav joins her.

She flinches at his presence and the Stonekrovn notices. He asks if she flinched and when Runi tries to deny it, he asks if he scares her. Again Runi attempts to deny the truth before admitting Boneslav does scare her a little. He insists he likes honesty and that he’s honest. He hopes that she believes he has no intention of harming her. Slightly calmer, but still uneasy, Runi thanks him and says he does seem very nice.

Boneslav is a brutally honest fellow. He’s indirectly saying he would like the same honesty in return. Considering they’re all traveling together and Kasko being secretive and dishonest became a point of contention, I’m sure Runi appreciates Bonslav’s honest nature. That said, I’m not surprised she’s uncomfortable around the Stonekrovn. Their first introduction was seeing another non-Stonekrovn buck have his head bashed in (even if he was a murderer), and then nearly being killed themselves. She was slammed so hard against the ground that she lost a tooth. Not only that, but Nero had his head bashed against a rock by the same buck who is currently traveling with them. The apologies and explanation helped, but it’s going to be some time before she’s completely comfortable in Boneslav’s presence.

I am hoping that getting their feelings out is the first step to building trust, much like what happened with Kasko.

In The Lion’s Den: The Scarlet Uproar | Page(s): 17, 18, 19, 20 | Patreon

Imagine my surprise when days after my quick and loose review of book one of In The Lion’s Den: The Wolf’s Veil went up and my musing about book two, The Scarlet Uproar, that Respeanut would drop several pages on Sunday. That meant going back and re-reading The Scarlet Uproar for context. Fortunately, only a few pages are out. They’re light on dialogue, but heavy on meaning. In other words, it’ll be difficult to contextualize the beginning of book two until much later.

After gathering her giant’s tears into a small jar, Kay dozes off thinking about the Feline Critter’s capital city, The Lion’s Den. When she wakes up, she notices there is a gap in the boulders large enough for her to fit through. Her giant likely forgot to make sure the cave entrance was completely shut.

She notices her giant asleep and takes the opportunity to grab the collar hanging on a stone holder. Then using the giant’s glowing tears as a light source, Kay exits the cave. Running downhill, she notices a van parked on the mountain. She cautiously creeps closer while pocketing the collar. She’s then abruptly grabbed from behind by a Feline Critter wearing a gas mask. Another Critter then places a cloth bag over her head, and sprays her with knockout gas. She goes limp in the first Critter’s arms and they both load her into the van.

Without dialogue, it’s hard to tell what’s on Kay’s mind. From previous pages, it’s clear that she has multiple, conflicting wants in her life. She wants to live with her giant, but also yearns to be in The Lion’s Den. Or at the very least, she wants to socialize with other Felines and hang out in the city. She also did something earlier in the story to have what I’m assuming are soldiers chase her out into the wilderness. It was at that point she was saved by the same giant she appeared to be searching for. Her giant has also been putting her on a tighter figurative leash.

Kay being a cat, she couldn’t help but take the opportunity to defy the giant when given the chance. That said, I’m sure she didn’t plan on being kidnapped. I’m guessing these particular Critters were looking for her given how close they parked to her giant’s cave. It’s possible they were sent out by the city guards or Kay is an outlaw with some type of bounty on her head. Or an organization in The Lion’s Den is collecting giant-owned Critters in order to experiment on them and/or obtain information about the giants. There’s a chance the exploits of Dunbar and how being bestowed a giant’s life force as a way to fight off the Therians caught the eyes of some authority.

Either way, I don’t think Kay is about to have a good time.

Home | Page(s): 856 | Patreon

Fjordor wordlessly walks over to Kargo. As the older Rifle comes closer, Kargo pins his ears back and lowers his head. Suddenly, Fjordor embraces the Jaro-mix and tells him it’s good to have him back. Kargo embraces him in turn, and Ferah looks on smiling. A few moments later, the rain passes and a rainbow appears. Rogio and Roamer trot around talking while the shepherds from Whispervale and Nordgarde tribes move the Nova antelopes up a grassy hill. Raun wraps Vigr’s injuries, and the latter insists he can stop. Instead, Raun is determined to stay by the Nordgarde lead shepherd’s side until his injuries, including broken ribs, are properly wrapped. Rogio announces that the dogs who are able to move should strip the raiders of their armor and help burn the bodies.

I’m mildly annoyed with the interaction between Fjordor and Kargo. I feel like the two shouldn’t be embracing like old friends who haven’t seen each other in years. The last time they were together, the mood was hostile. Kargo had a PTSD episode where he killed two Solar Stag Tribe merchants. Instead of helping him work through his obvious issues, Fjordor instead called bounty hunters to come and execute Kargo. His only “mercy” was allowing him to run to the north, back to the tribe that traumatized him. It didn’t work out so great as Kargo was killed by Ranach.

At the very least Fjordor should be shocked that Kargo is somehow alive again. Maybe surprised and a bit remorseful over how things were handled. (It would be one thing if Fjordor tried to help Kargo multiple times and was rebuked, but instead he was left alone by his Jarl and best friend to unsuccessfully work out his trauma.) As for Kargo, he should be at least somewhat apprehensive being around the dog that put a bounty and death sentence on his head. If he wanted to remain cordial, perhaps a “I’m not ready to talk to you just yet” utterance would have worked. The hug just doesn’t make any sense to me.

Others have pointed out the possible ship between Vigr and Raun. I can’t say I really care. These are such minor characters that I’m not bothered about Raun moving on from Keirr (after all Keirr broke it off after leading him on), or Vigr being into males after it was so taboo in the Meteor Tribe. These guys are minor characters mostly in the background. If a romance plot does happen, readers will likely just see them together in the distance.

As for Rogio burning the bodies of the raiders, I think it’s actually smart. The raiders themselves have lost the chance at having their comrades’ bodies returned by attacking the Nordgarde Tribe for no reason. The tribe was doing what the raiders originally wanted by leaving. Since Ronja is off talking to Fraujar, I’m guessing Rogio is in charge of this as Baron. Though burning the bodies is smart, I’m a bit amused that he’s suggesting it now– especially after his and Roamer’s chat about them and their kin finding it to be unnatural. It makes me wonder what changed. Perhaps the idea of not having a bunch of angry, vengeful ghouls lurking around? Since the bodies have to be burned on Meteor Tribe land, I wonder if they’re going to carry the dead bodies back down the mountain?

I’m doubtful any of this is going to be shown.

On hiatus:

Lost Scent | Page(s): | Patreon