The first half of this vacation is a lot busier than I would like it to be. Unsurprisingly, preparing to leave town for Otakon is a lot of work. I’m still deciding on if there will be a roundup next Monday or not. The Monday/Tuesday after that will likely be a comic review. And speaking of conventions, my pictures from Anthrocon 2024 are up.
Africa | Page(s): 380 | Patreon
The herd comes to a halt once they realize they’re no longer being chased by Chui. After a very brief headcount, it’s discovered Jamal is missing. In the distance the large leopard holds the now dead gazelle by the throat in his mouth. Nia wails and asks why Chui keeps hunting them down. Paa laments that he’s a predator and the herd is the easiest type of prey around.
First, I’m kind of shocked that comments were disabled on this page on DeviantArt. It’s not DA unless a few people pop off in the comments, I guess. Still, it’s extremely rare to see Arven disable comments, so whatever happened must have been upsetting. I hope she’s able to sort and smooth everything out.
As for the page itself, Jamal did not make it. Even if Hazina could go back to drive Chui off, it’s too late as the gazelle is already dead. His death is slightly on the ironic side. The one herbivore that was really into learning about and studying predators has become dinner. My feelings on his death are mixed. Jamal was an interesting comic relief character. I expected him to be more of a jock-type and hostile to Paa regarding Nia. None of that rivalry happened, and he seemed pretty easy-going when he wasn’t geeking out about carnivores. However, he was warned about the dangerous situation they were in regarding the fog, and should have known better. It’s a fuck around and find out situation.
RIP Jamal. You were a cool one.
The Order of the Black Dog | Issue 28, Page 12 | Patreon
Agent Jackson asks Okpara a series of questions. She will only confirm that Zira Okpara is her real name. She stonewalls the rest of Jackson’s questions. He finally states that the more information she gives them, the better they can ensure she’ll remain safe. The kae-kariin insists that nothing can keep her safe now that her true form has been revealed. She’s surprised that she’s even still alive. The SIU agent assures her she’s in the safest place on Earth, but that she is a threat, and her safety status can be changed. Okpara replies that they can do whatever they want.
Given how worried Okpara is, I’m suspecting that failure was not an option regarding the mission. Maybe if they’re caught or revealed by the Earthlings, they can expect to be executed. Perhaps the scientist that was kidnapped will have a body-double sent into the facility to do just that to Okpara. I do find it rich that Jackson is claiming she’s in the safest place on Earth given the information breaches and the kidnappings. My low opinion could change if they actually manage to root the people who kidnapped the scientist out BEFORE anything harmful happens.
I’m also curious as to why the kae-kariin are back on Earth hiding among creatures they dubbed as “disgusting.” At least as far as the kae-kariin from the 1800s in the United States was concerned. They already knew the people of Earth were parts of the Black Idol given individual forms. They also knew how dangerous the creature itself is. Are they planning to sabotage the people of Earth before the truth about everything gets out? Is this an ancient science experiment gone wrong that they’re seeking to correct? I’m just so very curious, and I hope Jackson can get Okpara talking one way or another. (Though torturing her would be on the morally reprehensible side, and I hope he’s better than that.)
Lost Scent | Page(s): 53 | Patreon
Tulpi’s brother berates her for letting her guard down. She admits the dog asked for help, and her brother is having none of it, as she fell for one of the oldest types of distraction. Tulpi insists that she didn’t know as it was all happening so quickly. The other dogs return with the news that the pugs got away with all their cash. Annoyed Tulpi’s brother sarcastically suggests they ought to just give the thieves the entire cart, before telling the others to blame his sister. The smaller Akita defends herself by throwing the fact that he was complaining about how quiet and anti-social she is back in his face. So when she tries to follow his advice, it just leads to a bad outcome. Worse, no matter what she does, it’s always wrong, and he can always do better.
Yeah, I can see why Tulpi left home. She has it rough here. If she keeps to herself, she’s ostracized. If she talks to others she’s duped, and it’s her fault for not realizing. Yes, she did drop the ball regarding the pugs, but perhaps her family should have given her some advice on what to watch for regarding thieves. I can completely empathize with her.
No, I didn’t grow up with my siblings at all (different mothers), but I know what it’s like to not know much about the world, and how awful people can be. And when they do something awful like steal, to be the one blamed for not being knowledgeable enough about different types of theft while no one has taken the time to teach you. Double angst if you’re a child. Add that being made to feel inadequate all the time, and it just adds to wanting to leave home and never returning for more than a few hours to visit.
The awful truth here is that the money is gone, and this is a screw-up. Perhaps Tulpi shouldn’t have been left alone to watch the cart. I don’t know. I fear that whatever happens, her family will be overly harsh.
Golden Shrike | Page(s): 275 | Patreon
As the group prepares to go to sleep, Runi wonders if Karuna plans to forget his grudge and become more involved with his creations. Kasko hopes not, as he likes to live a lazy life. Nero also adds the god is kind of a dick. Everyone wishes each other a good night. Runi continues to look at the stars and thinks about how the world is filled with stories big and small. Once their journey ends and all is made right, will someone tell their story? Will that story be worth listening to, and how will it end? She prays it ends happily.
This page is extremely meta. Of course their story is being told as it happens, after all, Runi is the narrator. That said, she brings up an interesting question about the ending. It is too soon to know if this story will have a happy or sad ending, or something in between. I fear dealing with the gods and a foe like Antaras won’t be a walk in the park. Even now we have body counts with Helevise’s murder, Antaras murdering the couple who followed them, the murder of pups in Boneslav’s mouth, and even Loss coming for a good chunk of Kasko’s former herd. I get the impression that if everyone in the group survives, there could be could heavy losses regarding deer kind. Or perhaps someone in the group simply doesn’t survive. Time will tell as this story continues to progress.
In The Lion’s Den: The Scarlet Uproar | Page(s): 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 | Patreon
The two cat critter smugglers shoot a rope line from the small boat’s winch into the foggy body of water. The rope’s hook hits something in the distance with a loud clack. The one smuggler who was in the boat gets out, and they leave an unconscious Kay to her fate. Three robed figures in the shadows pull Kay from the vessel once it reaches its destination and drag her off. Still hazy from the drugs, she blinks in and out of consciousness as two of the feline critters argue among themselves. One wants to sexually assault her while she’s out, the other insists on leaving her alone because their boss didn’t want a single mark on her. As they debate, there’s a loud noise and a blinding light. An unknown figure knocks the two out.
They then stand in front of Kay and walk toward her just as she blacks out again. Later, she’s been deposited in a trash heap in an alley in the city. Finally, waking up the feline realizes she’s home. A voice says “So I figured,” and the confused cat looks up to see a rabbit woman sitting on a ledge. When Kay demands to know who she is, the rabbit replies “the critter who saved you from those smugglers, silly.” The cat thanks the rabbit in an off-handed matter, noting she could have gotten herself out. The other woman rolls her eyes and replies sarcastically before jumping off the ledge to properly greet Kay. They exchange names and the rabbit is Harzuk Laga Valerus. The cat demands to know why her rescuer’s name is so long, and Harzuk asks why her name is so short.
So Kay was being smuggled by someone. I’m still betting that this smuggler ultimately wants critters who are or were once owned by giants. I’m guessing for this operation to work, there have to be critters operating in areas unaffected by the Therians’ mists, so they can freely enter and leave areas subjugated by said Therians. It might be a while before we figure out who exactly wanted Kay and why, as she was rescued by Harzuk. Whom I’m assuming is a woman. If that’s incorrect, I’ll update this post accordingly.
I find it curious that Harzuk knew where Kay lived and brought her there. I suspect whoever the rabbit is working for (or with) either directly knows Kay or knows about her. Perhaps they’ve been keeping tabs on the cat while she lived with the giants, but was unable to rescue her until she was within the city. (Therian mist and all that.) Either way, I suspect that Kay is going to owe Harzuk or whoever the rabbit is working with for her freedom. I’m wagering she’s going to get drawn into a fight involving the Therian currently ruling over The Lion’s Den. I’m just basing this on the promotional art for this book.
On a brief side note, I’m doubtful Kay could have easy gotten away from her captors without Harzuk’s help. She’s a prideful cat and likely can’t admit she was saved. Even after rescuing her, Harzuk was guarding her until she woke up.
Kargo is determined to make sure he’s as far away from Nordgarde as possible before anyone can be hurt by his reveal to the capital or bounty hunters. Fjordor replies that he’s in the same spot as Rogio once was. Having thoughts of leaving loved ones behind in order to keep them safe. Kargo begins to protest, but the older male continues and remarks that Rogio fought and earned his place back along the living. The Jaro-mix can do the same. After all, he’s stood strong against the toughest of enemies and never ran, and he shouldn’t start doing so now.
Elsewhere in the territory Fraujar asks Raun and Arnfold to stay behind to help out Nordgarde. The dogs don’t object and Raun grins at Vigr telling the Lead Shepherd that he’s stuck with him. Behind the Whispervale Jarl, Ronja walks with her daughters and talks with them. Fraujar smiles watching her pass by.
The parallel that Fjordor is making to Rogio just doesn’t make sense to me once you dig below the surface. In the conversation between the former Midnightgarde Jarl and Rogio on page 629, the MT Artisan tells the older dog that he needs to leave because he fears he might do something horrible to the people he cares about. So Fjordor tells him to leave, win the battle, and to fight because he had faith in Rogio. Here the former Jarl is telling Kargo to stay and fight. Not only fight, but fight against the capital which would be detrimental to Nordgarde if they’re trying to scrub themselves of their Meteor Tribe image. Also, the same capital where Fjordor originally had said bounty placed on Kargo’s head.
That doesn’t make sense to me. Yes, he told Rogio to fight, but he also told him to leave, not stay. In this way, wouldn’t it make more sense if Kargo left rather than drag the entire tribe down for harboring an outlaw, and possibly killing bounty hunters? If they did that, Nordgarde wouldn’t be much better than Southspear in that regard. And as far as Kargo goes, it’s not like he was framed or anything. Even with his PTSD episode, he still killed two dogs. He’s in the wrong. Yet again, Kique wants it both ways in having him only face some consequences for his actions as the plot demands, rather than it having any real meaning. The outlaw and bounty hunter plotline is pure shit. Sometimes I wonder if HE should have been the one to go to Southspear instead of Ranach. Or maybe Kargo should have never been revived– or at the least been absolved of his crimes having already died.
As for the second part of this page, I’m still surprised that Keirr didn’t help with the move from Meteor Tribe territory to Nordgarde Tribe’s new home. Again Ronja is his cousin by blood, and Roamer is like a cousin to him considering how they all grew up. Fraujar knows this, yet he is content to leave Arnfold and Raun behind in Nordgarde to serve as members. Honestly, it should have been Keirr because wasn’t the entire point to reunite the scattered family? Why is this all being dragged out? Doubly so if Fraujar and Ronja are going to become a couple as the story seems to be implying. It’s not like Keirr is doing anything significant in Whispervale for Fraujar.
On a somewhat related note, the Nordgarde Tribe page on the Wiki is just a mess. Most of the characters still have their Meteor Tribe paint despite being shown wearing their new tribe paint in the comic. There’s no title or face paint for Shepherd despite the rank and paint being shown with Akleja in the members’ section. Vigr still has his MT face paint. And with the exception of Ronja, Kargo, and Akleja everyone else either has no paint or are still sporting their MT colors. Yet the page was updated to include Raun and Arnfold as members. Would it have been so difficult to update the character portraits with the new paint?
On hiatus:
To Catch a Star | Page(s): | Patreon
About the comment section of Africa – there was a bunch of kids harassing Arven, trying to push her into including their OC’s in her comic. She has politely declined and explained that she already had the whole comic scripted. Moreover, their OC’s were actually traced/stolen from another artists, including one of Arven’s friends. After being called out for stealing, those kids have started argument with half of the comment section, called their friends to defend them etc.
I’m not surprised that Arven didn’t want to deal with this anymore and simply closed the comment section for this page. Hopefully it won’t happen again to her next week.
Thank you for the explanation!
I saw one kid mention their OCs, then started arguing with and blocking others. I’d figured they’d given up and moved on, not escalate. Since comments are reopened, it seems Arven smoothed everything out. Fingers crossed she doesn’t have to deal with all that again.
thief kid also edited the africa wiki to include “their OCs” as characters.
glancing over, it looked like there was another fight, not related, that also got nasty between two commenters.
That’s crazy. Dude didn’t know when to quit. No wonder Arven had to step in.