2.5.33
on September 12, 2025
at 3:00 am
being a water mage underwater is like being telekinetic with extra bonus features but being a lightning mage underwater is like being a floating AOE stun grenade. anyway find out if this foolproof plan is also poolproof next time on DBZ
Wow, Catarus is so cool
Oh, first comment. Huh
alt text: missed opportunity not using the sfx “POP” in panel 3
image source: crackle
it seems Zero Wolf is late today, so I will be a substitute
Thanks.
I for one was expecting “POP” in panel 3.
I am waiting for Monday for the large ‘POP’. Though I feel sorry for Alinua only being able to end the Wyrm’s body suffering and not being able to re-awaken its divine being or bringing a more harmonious existence.
Bluesky text: Huh, did I forget to put a preview image on this one? Oh well! It’s a surprise!
Tumblr text: see you on monday!
The mobile readers thank you for your services!!!!
It occurs to me that some folks from outside North America might not be aware that the ubiquitous major brand of puffed-rice breakfast cereal in North America, Rice Krispies, has three mascots called Snap, Crackle, and Pop, referencing the way puffed rice crinkles in milk. They’ve been part of the brand’s image for *several* generations.
tumblr text: see you on monday!
Bluesky Text: this plan seems fine and good
. “Whoa!” the white mermaid swerves away as the Northern Wyrm snaps its mouth closed, nearly hitting them.
. Caturus grits his teeth, sending a crackle of lightning down the threads of ice. The Wyrm snarls as it dances along its body, shocking it. The mermaids and Sekrai carefully keep their distance.
. “There.” The Wyrm’s eyes widen as the lightning fades, tracking Alinua as she and the Captain swim. “Just under the mane is the base of its skull,” Valia says, pushing Alinua down. “Choose your moment and strike decisively. Do not give your magic the chance to mutate it further.”
. “I- I see it,” Alinua says, moving carefully. “I think… I think this is the only help I can give you.” She reaches the body of the Wyrm, floating above and moving her hand down toward its hide, Life magic softly swirling off her palm.
Just post plzzzz ugh
Who ordered a truck of lightning and bubble effects on this page? It does look cool.
Caturus: Naughty Wyrm. Bad! I said… No biting!
*zap*
Tess: No, no, no! When you shock a sort-of-dragon you need to do it with FEELING!
Well, that confirms it. Those water tendrils Caturus threw around that turned from smooth to jagged was due to turning water to ice (you can even see bits of it breaking off here) rather than lightning coursing through them. The page he does this even highlights his water rune tattoo, implying only that element. My mistake.
Wow, Valia is downright shoving Alinua towards the horrible thrashing monster. Probably because she wants this done quickly before the Wyrm gets free, but the funny part of me is imagining her thinking “Byys! Selach wasn’t kidding, this wind-blower is a slow swimmer!”, and is trying to rush her down.
Prediction for next week: … Something’s going to go wrong; problem is I have no idea what. The fact that the fourth panel implies that the Wyrm has seen Alinua doesn’t bode well.
Maybe it’ll wrestle free of Caturus and try to shake Ali off in an underwater chase scene. Maybe it’s healing and magic will go out of control where Alinua is, trapping her in its flesh. Or maybe whatever happens will come out of the blue. The weekend wait is gonna be long.
I don’t think you were wrong. I’m pretty sure this is both water (frozen) and lightning. TZZZZT! just says lightning to me, plus the author comments….
This right now is lightning with water, I know.
I was talking about a comment I made two pages back on 2-5-31 where I thought Caturus was using lightning magic when the water tendrils went spiky; as other people pointed out there, he was actually turning the water to ice.
Has Caturus tried frying himself? That always seems to work for Erin in a pinch.
I admit, when I first saw the jagged lines I assumed it was lightning. When someone mentioned ice, ehhh… I wasn’t sure ice could be strong enough to be useful against a chimeric water dragon, so I thought it had to be lightning. Now, okay, yes, a clear difference.
I live for Caturus being this cool. Oooh those powers!
On one hand, I understand Red not wanting to use the blue variant of lightning (everything is already so blue here underwater), but on the other, we basically never see it in use.
For reference, Lightning the element has two aspects/variants/polarities – one yellow, the other blue. The last time we saw blue lightning was back during the Tynan fight.
Do you know the difference between them? i did a quick search for why that happens in real life and apparently yellow lightning is rare because it occurs in dry air, which wouldn’t make sense here. Is one more powerful or are they like equal and opposite forces?
They are both interchangeable, unless they are interacting, in which case they attract the opposite colour and repel the same one (I think), like magnets. Most mages have a preference colour, although im not sure if yellow is more common or something.
Can that thing not be silly looking?
Man what the hell is Alinua gonna do when she opens those eyes up and sees a smaller version of herself in each of them like goddamn
Studio Bones fisheye lens
a bsd reference??? in MY aurora comment section??
likelier than u think 😀
Wait, I think its finally going to do something besides flail around!
Y’know, initially I’d thought Valia had made the correct call in striking decisively to stop the Wyrm (despite her evident prejudice and fear of unknown and powerful things that hastens her to hostility), but I’m starting to suspect that critical information is missing, that maybe something else needs to be done and that the resolution will have an unexpected complication and twist. Perhaps Alinua will sense or intuit something at the last moment?
This. Exactly.
What have we learned so far?
The Collector is Bad. We already knew that.
Alinua doubts herself. We’ve known that since she saved Kendal.
Just story-wise, this needs to accomplish something more. We don’t yet know what that is.
I mean…we’ve seen Alinua’s discomfort with Life simply shifting her body sans permission, where previously her attitude was “Don’t know, don’t want to know, it’s fine, isn’t it?” when Erin pressed her to inquire more about her magic. We also know, or it’s been proposed, that the Collector has stolen the soul of a god before, not just nature spirits as Lady Ilia suggested. So…why did she need Vash in particular?
It also confirms that, very dangerously, the Collector can move anywhere on the planet, including the deep ocean…which means the Floof Squad may not truly be safe anywhere.
And Red DID promise, some way or another, she was going to get Alinua to see a mermaid XD
But I’m hoping we finish this chapter with Alinua having some serious misgivings about what being a Vessel means, even if Life is a lot less heavy-handed about it than Walter. (And it would certainly be an interesting twist if the Collector HAD been to the Soulshaper monks!)
What could be accomplished with this part of the story?
Bare minimum, Alinua could create allies with the mer-people and Selkrai who are essential to locating the rest of the FLOOF squad and getting them back on track. Possibly allies who turn out to be Very Important Later.
It’s too soon for a confrontation with The Collector, I think, but we could get significant insight into what she does to the gods she captures, how much trouble Vash is in, and maybe Kendal by extension.
We might get More Information, but not enough pieces of the puzzle to make sense of it (yet). That’s what I’m betting.
My other bet is that when they (eventually) reach the SoulShaper monks, they’ll find The Collector’s been there first… and they’re not going to like what they find. (Maybe that’s where The Collector got her information on how to breach the soul barrier.) Part of the “traveling to be healed” trope is that if you’ve been there before, something will have significantly changed when you return; if you’ve never been there before, then the trope is it just isn’t what you expected.
…So, the last time we saw Alinua (or Life) reflected in its eyes like that, the Wyrm ran like hell. Which means there’s *some*thing in there that has enough awareness to be afraid of life magic…right? And what exactly was Alinua trying to do the *first* time she touched it? Because something tells me “the only help I can give you” does not include spine-snappage…especially if Alinua was right, and the body doesn’t even know *how* to die anymore. A broken spine might be nothing.
…Gah. Is it Monday yet?
I think she was trying to figure out what was wrong with it internally the first time.
My guess, regardless of Alinua’s intentions, Mama Life is going to open her eyes, because I God is still trapped in there. A god in pain, because that body does not respond to it in any way any more. My money says, she just saw a vision of how the Collector builds chimera, and so she is going to build the god a new body to live in.
I am hoping for any Third Option twist on Monday… AAAAAAAAAAAH Red, did you HAVE to give us another page where Alinua ALMOST does something?
Oh yeah, my favorite cereal mascots. Snap Crackle Kzzt!
Okay, actually, I have a crazy theory. And I kind of feel like I’m cheating because it’s going off lore from a Tumblr post, in which Red described the Wyrm as keeping a persistent incarnation that goes through cycles of natural birth and growing, and this wouldn’t have occurred to me otherwise. But. We saw the Collector messing with underwater chimeras at the embryonic stage of development here: https://comicaurora.com/aurora/2-5-22/
What if she screwed with the Wyrm’s ability to produce a healthy, mutation-free hatchling reincarnation? And what if Alinua could somehow help it do that? What if the Wyrm needs to ditch its old body and create a new one, but can’t without help? (due to both going mad and the chimeric taint) Anyway, just a late night theory, g’night!
Saw Wsablek’s comment right after posting this… yeah!! okay I’m not the only one this occurred to!
Which tumblr post was that? Because I remember seeing the incarnation thing about the merfolk god, who is different to the Wyrm?
Also i love your pfp
Oops, you’re right. I seem to have gotten the merfolk god confused with the Wyrm: https://www.tumblr.com/comicaurora/628202822604931072/what-can-you-tell-us-about-merfolk-and-leviathans
and thanks! I drew my pfp myself! 😀
Its an understandable mistake, I remember that there was stuff about the wyrm also being a people god, but more in the local sense
Underwater magic:
Water: Super-telekinesis
Lightning: Overpowered stun grenade.
Fire: …
…it’s also the magic of transmutation so can I make acid and burn people that way?
My pet theory is that acid is to Water what metal is to Stone. I.e., the sub-element that channels the opposite element