Seriously? The chapter ends on Monday?? I am not sure if I will be able to survive more than two days without a new page. If Red takes a break like she has for the past few chapters I might explode.
Anyways, I have a *terrible* sense of scale in this brain of mine, like it just doesnât comprehend the fact that both the tree, and the volcano are absolutely fucking massive. What Iâm supposed to be getting from this is the absolute enormity of the explosion in the fact that the dragons look like tiny birds, but my brain just doesnât get it. (Just like you said @Evil Tree)
to make the wait for the next chapter even harder, next page is probably going to be a cliffhanger, as this page seemed perfect for the ending and we have only one page left until the end of the chapter.
Big milestone for me honestly, I never thought that I would be up at 4am to manage this. I know itâs childish to say first but I was fucking ecstatic.
You can see Selach holding Erin in the last panel, along with the white, blue and red mermaids. From Red’s lore drops it makes sense why none of the Sekrai would have surfaced, because they’re more vulnerable to elemental corruption.
Wait, where? The two in the center are Tess and Alinua (you can tell by Tess’ ripped tanktop and Alinua’s purple hair), and none of the merfolk have Selach’s braided hairstyle
Yeah, it’s too dark of a purple to be Alinua’s hair, and we haven’t seen Tess and Alinua surface yet
…
Oh shit, they might never surface, Tess can’t really swim
On the right of the last panel is the Northern Wyrm (the one most out of the water. Move a little to the left, there’s two people poking out of the water really close together, as if one is holding the other, the smaller one (you can only see their head) has Erin’s purple-black hair. The larger one (head and shoulders out of the water) is Selach. If you look closely, you can see her braid trailing in the water.
In the last panel, there’s the red mermaid and the Northern Wyrm in the foreground, then there’s the white and blue mermaids, and you can see two dark-haired figures in the water, one of whom is holding the other. The person being held has purple-black hair, and the person doing the holding has dark grey hair in a braid.
In summary, clearly Selach and Erin, not Tess and Alinua.
water perfect density for put Tess in to swim inside very floaty Tess swim good put Tess in water put Tess in water no problems ever in water because good float and support for heavy metal body of big Tess the ocean yes a place for a Tess put Tess in water can trust ocean giving good swimground to Tess friend water
It’s a reference to a meme called “put baby in pelican mouth” (the first time i remember seeing it was on tumblr, i think?)
the grammar (or lack thereof) is intentional and follows the structure of the original meme
When your buddy is like “Hey guys I now a faster route” and now one friend is missing, another got kidnapped, everyone is injured and also there is an active volcano.
To give Erin at least a little slack, the Paladin attack has been brewing ever since they left Zuurith. It would probably have happened whichever route they took.
It might have gone differently if it hadn’t happened on a vulnerable fast-moving boat above monster infested waters, but hey.
It feels a little weird to be seeing the great and exalted Northern Wyrm just casually hanging out, only highlighted by her size, watching the eruption with the group. She looks oddly mundane next to the exploding volcano and hordes of dragons.
Head count! Tess and Alinua will soon reunite with Erin and Dainix. Kendal is in a dragonâs claws. And Falst is going to infiltrate the Paladins directly, which now that I think about it for half a second, will be an amazing opportunity to explore his connection to Light, which heâll likely be forced to use in order to pretend to be a paladin for any amount of time. Maybe even find out a bit about what happened to dad.
So a group of 4 will go rescue Kendal, and then there is a group of 1 which is obviously weaker but also better positioned to also try to save Kendal.
Kendal doesnât know the details due to being damseled, but every other character knows all of this information. Falst canât know for sure that there is a group of 4 coming for him, but he mustâve seen the plant so he knows how Alinua is doing, which means he knows who is coming for them and he knows they know where he is because of Tess who allegedly watched him infiltrate. Oh. And he doesnât know if Dainix and Erin lived. Oof. Well, he has strong evidence to suggest that at least Alinua and Tess are coming for them. And, while he wouldnât count on it, I do think he suspects even just the two of them can, with preparation, take on the Paladins. Incredibly intrigued about what happens next.
Falst didn’t necessarily see the plant. He snuck into one of their boats, and getting out of his hiding place long enough to look at the plant would be tactically disadvantageous cause he could be spotted. But also, if the paladins spend any of the ride talking about the monster plant that got obliterated, then he might
Well, the Alinua/Tess ship is picking up speed, considering that Tess knows she can’t swim and yet still jumped into the middle of the ocean, either trusting Alinua to figure something out OR intending to save Alinua even at the cost her drowning.
Rakhn: BEHOLD MY POWER NORTHERN WORM! LET THE HEAT SCORCH YOUR ICY HEART! WINTER IS POWERLESS TO STOP ME! N.W.: (munching sea popcorn) Hmm, lava guy’s doing another firework display. Neat.
The volcano eruption with the clouds and ember effects is amazing for sure; I like how the dragons look like small birds as a visual metaphor for how Rakhn’s power eclipses even beings like them. My favourite part though is Ali and Tess entering the water; the perspective, splash effects, how the light from the volcano is rendered, all lovely.
Tess the poor swimmer is in the water, Alinua has no plants on her to make a raft, and N.W. and a good chuck of the mer-people are a fair distance away. Not ideal. Fingers crossed this cold plunge snaps Alinua into focus; maybe she’s strong enough to keep them treading water until help arrives.
Prediction for next week: Hmm, what to end the chapter with? I’m going for a scene change to Kendal, looking out at the collapsed tree and erupting island, with a look of defeated exhaustion. Maybe a sneak peek at a hidden Falst too.
Someone should tell Rakhn what a volcanic winter is. Heâs probably caused several over the millennia and blamed them all on his unimpressed nemeses.
I wonder what the oceanic equivalent of popcorn would be? Snails? Kelp chunks? Deep fried bivalves? Crab legs? Urchin guts?? Seagrass seeds??? CORAL POLYPS!?!? Or it could be something made-up and fantastical! And yes, I know the obvious answer would be fried calamari. The equivalent of popcorn needs to be weirder than that! Popcorn is a really weird way to cook a grain, even one as bizarre as maize.
The chapter is going to end on a cliffhanger wonât it. My guess is that the Northern Wyrm says something, or maybe weâll cut to Falst. Anyone got any ideas as to what it might be?
NO THE CHAPTER IS ENDING! also is that the northern wyrm? How does Tess move? What happens when the lava goes into the water with the colorful mermaids and WHERE THE TURNIP IS FALST?!
That makes perfect sense, but that also means Red has been lying to the listeners of RWD, she has said on several occasions that âsalt water is a terrible conductorâ I feel crazy. Thanks for correcting my stupid ass.
Placeholder for when Iâm awake enough to form real thoughts
First?
Seriously? The chapter ends on Monday?? I am not sure if I will be able to survive more than two days without a new page. If Red takes a break like she has for the past few chapters I might explode.
Anyways, I have a *terrible* sense of scale in this brain of mine, like it just doesnât comprehend the fact that both the tree, and the volcano are absolutely fucking massive. What Iâm supposed to be getting from this is the absolute enormity of the explosion in the fact that the dragons look like tiny birds, but my brain just doesnât get it. (Just like you said @Evil Tree)
Also, hi Selach and Erin!!!!
to make the wait for the next chapter even harder, next page is probably going to be a cliffhanger, as this page seemed perfect for the ending and we have only one page left until the end of the chapter.
*screams into a pillow* Iâve never had to wait for a chapter before, and itâs gonna be a cliffhanger and AUGHHHHHHH
Omg Im first
Big milestone for me honestly, I never thought that I would be up at 4am to manage this. I know itâs childish to say first but I was fucking ecstatic.
For mobile readers.
Alt-text: but how will this affect the trout population
Image source: bloosh
Well, trout live in cold freshwater. So this probably won’t improve the trout population.
Tumblr text: what kind of artist would I be if I passed up on the chance to blow up the volcano huh
Bluesky text: splashdown
You can see Selach holding Erin in the last panel, along with the white, blue and red mermaids. From Red’s lore drops it makes sense why none of the Sekrai would have surfaced, because they’re more vulnerable to elemental corruption.
Wait, where? The two in the center are Tess and Alinua (you can tell by Tess’ ripped tanktop and Alinua’s purple hair), and none of the merfolk have Selach’s braided hairstyle
Nope, those are both Mermaids. Look closer
Yeah, it’s too dark of a purple to be Alinua’s hair, and we haven’t seen Tess and Alinua surface yet
…
Oh shit, they might never surface, Tess can’t really swim
where are you looking? im dying i can usually tell what people r reffering to but not in this case i guess
On the right of the last panel is the Northern Wyrm (the one most out of the water. Move a little to the left, there’s two people poking out of the water really close together, as if one is holding the other, the smaller one (you can only see their head) has Erin’s purple-black hair. The larger one (head and shoulders out of the water) is Selach. If you look closely, you can see her braid trailing in the water.
In the last panel, there’s the red mermaid and the Northern Wyrm in the foreground, then there’s the white and blue mermaids, and you can see two dark-haired figures in the water, one of whom is holding the other. The person being held has purple-black hair, and the person doing the holding has dark grey hair in a braid.
In summary, clearly Selach and Erin, not Tess and Alinua.
The eruption looks beautiful. But, uh, Tess can’t swim.
Oh hey, there’s Selach and Erin! … where is Dainix?
water perfect density for put Tess in to swim inside very floaty Tess swim good put Tess in water put Tess in water no problems ever in water because good float and support for heavy metal body of big Tess the ocean yes a place for a Tess put Tess in water can trust ocean giving good swimground to Tess friend water
R/ihadastroke
It’s a reference to a meme called “put baby in pelican mouth” (the first time i remember seeing it was on tumblr, i think?)
the grammar (or lack thereof) is intentional and follows the structure of the original meme
I think my brain actually short circuited while trying to read that.
[Red voice] Scoop!
When your buddy is like “Hey guys I now a faster route” and now one friend is missing, another got kidnapped, everyone is injured and also there is an active volcano.
Oh and you met fish people.
Alinua getting to meet mermaids is one of at most 3 good things total to have happened to anyone since they took the faster route
Still a bit of a Monkey’s Paw kind of wish. “I hope we get to meet a mermaid!” [Ship destroyed, two crew members lost, WYRM HEALED]
Youâre going to be cursed to never un-attune the spell slot unless if youâre in the Gnamma, DROP IT NOW.
(Please catch the reference)
This series of events will be recounted in years hence as “that time we took a faster route”
To give Erin at least a little slack, the Paladin attack has been brewing ever since they left Zuurith. It would probably have happened whichever route they took.
It might have gone differently if it hadn’t happened on a vulnerable fast-moving boat above monster infested waters, but hey.
Your wrist doing okay Red? That’s a very pretty volcanic eruption you drew but I wanna make sure you didn’t get Carpal Tunnel from drawing it.
It feels a little weird to be seeing the great and exalted Northern Wyrm just casually hanging out, only highlighted by her size, watching the eruption with the group. She looks oddly mundane next to the exploding volcano and hordes of dragons.
Head count! Tess and Alinua will soon reunite with Erin and Dainix. Kendal is in a dragonâs claws. And Falst is going to infiltrate the Paladins directly, which now that I think about it for half a second, will be an amazing opportunity to explore his connection to Light, which heâll likely be forced to use in order to pretend to be a paladin for any amount of time. Maybe even find out a bit about what happened to dad.
So a group of 4 will go rescue Kendal, and then there is a group of 1 which is obviously weaker but also better positioned to also try to save Kendal.
Kendal doesnât know the details due to being damseled, but every other character knows all of this information. Falst canât know for sure that there is a group of 4 coming for him, but he mustâve seen the plant so he knows how Alinua is doing, which means he knows who is coming for them and he knows they know where he is because of Tess who allegedly watched him infiltrate. Oh. And he doesnât know if Dainix and Erin lived. Oof. Well, he has strong evidence to suggest that at least Alinua and Tess are coming for them. And, while he wouldnât count on it, I do think he suspects even just the two of them can, with preparation, take on the Paladins. Incredibly intrigued about what happens next.
Falst didn’t necessarily see the plant. He snuck into one of their boats, and getting out of his hiding place long enough to look at the plant would be tactically disadvantageous cause he could be spotted. But also, if the paladins spend any of the ride talking about the monster plant that got obliterated, then he might
Oh get scooped bitch
Well, the Alinua/Tess ship is picking up speed, considering that Tess knows she can’t swim and yet still jumped into the middle of the ocean, either trusting Alinua to figure something out OR intending to save Alinua even at the cost her drowning.
Tess to the rescue!
The lighting is IMMACULATE!!! Panel 3? Hell yeah!
Rakhn: BEHOLD MY POWER NORTHERN WORM! LET THE HEAT SCORCH YOUR ICY HEART! WINTER IS POWERLESS TO STOP ME!
N.W.: (munching sea popcorn) Hmm, lava guy’s doing another firework display. Neat.
The volcano eruption with the clouds and ember effects is amazing for sure; I like how the dragons look like small birds as a visual metaphor for how Rakhn’s power eclipses even beings like them. My favourite part though is Ali and Tess entering the water; the perspective, splash effects, how the light from the volcano is rendered, all lovely.
Tess the poor swimmer is in the water, Alinua has no plants on her to make a raft, and N.W. and a good chuck of the mer-people are a fair distance away. Not ideal. Fingers crossed this cold plunge snaps Alinua into focus; maybe she’s strong enough to keep them treading water until help arrives.
Prediction for next week: Hmm, what to end the chapter with? I’m going for a scene change to Kendal, looking out at the collapsed tree and erupting island, with a look of defeated exhaustion. Maybe a sneak peek at a hidden Falst too.
Someone should tell Rakhn what a volcanic winter is. Heâs probably caused several over the millennia and blamed them all on his unimpressed nemeses.
I wonder what the oceanic equivalent of popcorn would be? Snails? Kelp chunks? Deep fried bivalves? Crab legs? Urchin guts?? Seagrass seeds??? CORAL POLYPS!?!? Or it could be something made-up and fantastical! And yes, I know the obvious answer would be fried calamari. The equivalent of popcorn needs to be weirder than that! Popcorn is a really weird way to cook a grain, even one as bizarre as maize.
I really like how you point out something cool about the art on each page, it reminds me to go back and admire how well done it is
The chapter is going to end on a cliffhanger wonât it. My guess is that the Northern Wyrm says something, or maybe weâll cut to Falst. Anyone got any ideas as to what it might be?
*isnât it
Aw, we don’t get to increment the bridal carry counter. But panels 3 & 4 is SO PRETTY I almost don’t care
TL;DR Big boom
(Please ignore the fact that the volcano erupting is the one thing on this page that does not have a sound effect.)
NO THE CHAPTER IS ENDING! also is that the northern wyrm? How does Tess move? What happens when the lava goes into the water with the colorful mermaids and WHERE THE TURNIP IS FALST?!
Trouts are fresh water fish. So if there was any trout population in the island, well…
Please do not accidentally zap the nice merpeople, Tess
Donât worry, salt water is a terrible conductor.
Salt water is darn good conductor. Fresh water (fewer minerals) less so. Distilled would be the least conductive.
FUCK- YOUâRE RIGHT???
That makes perfect sense, but that also means Red has been lying to the listeners of RWD, she has said on several occasions that âsalt water is a terrible conductorâ I feel crazy. Thanks for correcting my stupid ass.
b l o o s h
MMMMHMMMMMM TESSLINUA CRUMBS!!!!! DELICIOUS!!!!!
Cool, sweet fireworks!
At least Erin is okay.
Ok, um, I’ll come back later.
Probably
-Signed The Vessel Of A Glowing God
(aka The Princess)
Hm… I wonder if Alinua will have to grow Tess some gills…hope she’s ready đ
It’s a good thing Tess is at least partially made of metal because she has taken some absolute punishment today.
Remember the “SCOOP HER”s from the last page’s comments? Yeah.
Just when Rakhn blows his top
Underneath, Tess knows not to stop.
Metallic strength and electric leap,
Plop! into the watery deep.
Someone’s been reading the Bobiverse series
My dad is really into those
I really like the first one, I haven’t read the others