Hmmm, Vash’s expression just made Kendal coming back a little bit less likely. I’m starting to think that I might actually correct about Kendal becoming a sentient sword.
Alinua’s here echoing everyone’s fears from the moment we thought for more than 2 seconds about the implications of Kendal actually succeeding in getting Vash back and potentially losing himself in the process, so of course Vash is now put in an incredibly uncomfortable position to put things mildly because what the hell do you even say in that kind of situation?
Everyone who’s spent more than two seconds actually talking to Kendal is just quietly trying not to be devestated, and Tess is just like, ‘sounds legit, i’m tess btw’
Tynan is also here.
And now Zuurith has entered the room and it’s like, dude why are you even here?
so yeah, i think ‘read the room buddy’ is probably an appropriate response.
only thing that could make this better is Caliban and Tahraim showing up and pulling out the popcorn, as they should honestly
“I mean, I’ll do it. Anyone mind?” says Tess.
Alinua stalks forwards, Tess draws back.
“Life’s chosen, right? I’ve been meaning to thank you,” Vash smiles.
Meeting his gaze with tearful eyess she says, “Give him back.”
“…I-” the brightly glowing Vash hesitates.
“Vash.” Zuurith booms, now they’ve finished the work.
The radiant blue flames dance as his eyes narrow,
Agitiating the bright light he casts. “Ugh.”
Maybe he’s just here to say thank you? … Oh, who am I kidding, it’s Zuurith.
Vash must want to thank Alinua for her healing that stabilised Kendal. On that subject, I’ve had this minor headcanon for a bit that Ali’s out of control healing of Kendal might have been an intentional move by Life though Ali. Maybe Life saw the potential for Kendal to aid her, his unique Void-less body, starmetal powers, etc, against the Collector, and later V.D..
Alinua must be very concerned for Kendal; a party of injured friends and she goes straight to Vash. While it could be that bringing Kendal back is complicated that’s causing Vash to hesitate, I’m thinking Vash might just be taken aback by her demand. Maybe Vash doesn’t yet realise how much of a personal impact Kendal has had on people around him.
Prediction for next week: Vash and Zuurith have an … engaging conversation about how Vash is doing this, Tynan tries to sneak away only for Dainix to stop him and vaporise what’s left of his incarnation, and Erin prays that his party do no more international incidents in the presence of Big Z himself.
Ya think Dainix feels upstaged? I mean, if I had been on fire for a while and someone else showed up engulfed in fancy blue fire I think I’d have to take it a little personally.
Also, isn’t the entire city of Zuurith reduced entirely to rubble? And all of its inhabitants just witnessed their god being a useless wet noodle. I suspect Zuurith has lost his powerbase more thoroughly than Vash had at the start
No, we have foreshadowing of this. Gods usually respect each other’s domains or it’s war. So Vash is stepping on some serious toes here, no matter that he’s ridding Zuurith of an international pest. A god can make war on another god, but they can’t take over. It was okay when Kendal was fighting Tynan, because Kendal’s not a god and not bound by the same rules. And I’m sure Vash can’t just say “whatcha gonna do about it, punk?” because all the gods abide by this rule. Pretty sure they’ll step in.
Also, I’m pretty sure we now know who gets the finishing blow, and how Vash is going to give his vessel back to Kendal (if he can).
Zuurith is going to want to take all the credit, too, so he can get his city back.
Oh, so we were nearly all wrong on Wednesday; Tess is stepping up to the execution block out of sheer pragmatism.
Vash: “Oh, for the love of- You’re welcome! Now f*ck off!”
On a more serious note; Zuurith, you could not have picked a worse time to start sh*t. Vash was about to really drive the lesson home to Tynan, and in you come to throw a hissy fit because your nemesis was the one who saved you. Stand on the side of pragmatism, for once, please?
Or; perhaps Zuurith is calling out Vash for sheltering the chaotic hooligan that cracked his prison beyond easy repair, even when factoring stone magic into the equation. In any case, I’m going to be very surprised if Zuurith is here to thank Vash.
But I suspect Zuurith will be the one who ends Tynan. Not that he deserves it, but it would work with his “law and order” thing and maybe improve his relationship with Vash.
Vash doesn’t need pupils to give The Look, but if he did he totally would’ve given himself some because at this point his job seems to be looking cool, beating up Tynan and making Alinua sad
@Stargazing bookwyrm I would actually propose the opposite, Vash in the sword until needed, or them swapping ala Yugioh using the relic.
Or we can all be mistaken right now and once things are done here, Vash’s soul goes back into captivity. I mean it can’t be over THAT easily off camera with the soul collector’s shenanigans…
Ok. I know Red is Aro-Ace and like the least likely person in the world to write a romantic subplot between the two leading characters, but Alinua concern for Kendal is the sweetest thing and like aaaaghhh yk? Anyway looking forward to seeing humble Zuurith. Good times ahead.
The artwork! It is so damn good!! Panel 5!!! Alinua’s expression devastated me and I was crying immediately. OMG how can you do this so well – and please, keep doing it!
I was rewatching Red’s Trope Talk on writing female characters and she talked about how her first female character “was pretty and demure and cried a lot and had healing powers… it was a disgrace really.”
I’m guessing it was proto-Alinua, and yeah she’s not really “demure” and she only cries a few times… but seeing her tears here reminded me of that lol. But we all love her!!
Alinua wants Kendal back *now* to the surprise of absolutely no one (except Vash, apparently). Also had a feeling Tess would be down with finishing of Tynan, but it’ll be interesting to see who actually gets the eXecution Points (unless Tynan slips away in the distraction Zuurith’s about to cause)
The party is shaken up,
Tess is her ever cheerful self.
Alinua steps up,
To everyone’s surprise,
She touches the hot blue flames
“Give him back.” She near cries.
“I-“ Vash attempts to say,
But is interrupted by the nuisance of yesterday.
This was my first try at something like that, I hope it wasn’t too bad.
Wow, the emotions conveyed in this page are awe inspiring. It’s so pretty!
And also, is Alinua getting burned by the starfire!? That girl scares me
Vash looks… somehow entirely taken aback by this. I kind of get the feeling that he doesn’t entirely understand human emotions or attachment. He cares about human life on a large scale, or the life of Kendal specifically, but actual friendship is a concept that seems to elude him. Interesting stuff.
I think the reason Tess is the only one ready to take Vash up on his offer is A: because she is the least injured by the fight (she only fell out of the sky a little and she’s made of metal so i don’t think that made much of a dent in her) and B: she doesn’t have the emotional context of Vash returning to Kendals body. She barely knows Kendal, and she doesnt really understand what is going on with him glowing all of a sudden. All she knows is he stabbed himself, got shiny and kicked Tynans ass.
I know that Red was heavily inspired by dragon ball z but I think this fight scene needs to end. I was into the comic ever since she mentioned it on trope talk but my ability to stay with this is really struggling.
okay this isn’t the right page for this but I wasn’t here that day so.
now that we all know what’s going on with kendal and vash (kindof) I would like to point out the cover art of Chapter 17 was a months-previous absolutely BRILLIANT foreshadow. It shows two shadows behind kendal, one that looks like vash and another like kendal, with the vash shadow stabbing the kendal shadow through the abdomen. It’s such an incredible foreshadowing trick, and Red released it in like FEBRUARY. I know myself and a few others were very confused by the meaning, and I just want to say that hats off to Red for that.
I’m also fascinated by how different Red can make the two look with simple things like changing their eyes and expressions, even while keeping the same basic character design for both kendal and vash.
Alright, Vash, we all appreciate Starman Mode, but Alinua’s right: you gotta step off the stage again for a while. Partially to avoid an uncomfortable conversation with the big Z here.
I reeeeeeeally hope Alinua isn’t burning her hand off while doing this.
Also Dainix is back and seems to be doing well (assuming he can extinguish himself), which is good. (Not exactly a small detail, but I’m embaressed to say that it took me a couple readthroughs to realize that)
Also, as many people pointed out the “I-” is pretty ominous for Kendal’s personhood. That kind of face doesn’t usually make the sentence end with “-have cookies if anyone wants one first”. Best case finisher:”-want to wait until someone finishes off Tynan and I have word with Zuurith, just in case”. Worst case finisher: monologue about how this is better actually? Or just “-want to but idk how” (the option where everyone leaves unhappily)
Personally, I think Vash will probably purposefully leave the vessel so that Kendal can live on. Vash seems the type to believe a city god’s purpose is to protect their people, and as far as they’re concerned Kendal would be their last living subject. Plus, it would be interesting to see Kendal’s character development when they see what it’s like being on this side of self sacrifice.
to the one person who said falst killsteal i am all for that
theres just people having Emotions and Arguments and falst is just like yo we gonna do something about the giant ass dragon or no
I get why Alina is concerned but given the knowledge we have I honestly thoght it was a given that Vash was going to let Kendall have the body back… eventually. do I think Alina may have to wait until Vash has had time to finish dealing with Zunrith and for someone to finish Tynan off and possibly for a bit after that though? Absolutly. Do I think Vash dosent think Kendall is a person in his own right? no. Honestly the most logical reason I can think of for Vash sticking around for a while has less to do with Kendalls freedom of choice, and more to do with the last choice he made. He stabbed himself in the gut really hard already pretty beat up. Like you can still tee the GIANT STAB WOUND on him, at least let Vash stick around untill you guys can bandage that up. I almost WANT Vash to stick around for a bit if only so Kendal’s body will have time to recover from all that without phisically hurting Kendall. huh, this got longer then I thought… oh well
@Queenie I think that’s pretty unlikely. Everything from the difference in personality to the visual changes in the character design and text boxes points to this being Vash. Plus, revealing it was just Kendal all along would take away a LOT of the emotional impact of the previous couple of pages, so its not the right move writing-wise. And if this is Kendal, why doesn’t he just reveal himself when Alinua begs for him to come back? If Kendal always had the ability to heal himself like he supposedly does in 1.18.8, why did Kendal have to be healed by someone else every other time he got injured?
@Queenie and @MJZ-31
Also, he said on the last page that if Tynan still thinks Vash is the only one who can beat him he wouldn’t learn his lesson, and now Zuzu might have a problem with Vash interfering in his domain. Being Kendal would be better for him and everyone else in every way.
Yeah there’s no way Kendal is gone. If Kendal is gone, the plot is gone, the glowy effects become less glowy, and stakes become nonexistent. Plus, we know Vash doesn’t see Kendal as a tool: he’s worried for his safety in multiple pages. Anyways, that’s just my thoughts
for having lost almost all dtail vas is extremly expresive good job red it look asmazing
ps can e talk about how his face just whet from “no noits fine its ok” to “you absoulout mother fucker”
Alinua, dude, I understand your concern, but don’t worry. Vash’s soul is stuck in a cave.He’s a sort of possessing Kendall for a bit but he can’t stay.And besides, he wouldn’t take Kendall. Our boy will be back at around the end of the “encounter”
For mobile viewers.
Alt-text: read the room buddy
Image source: vash
Zuurith, not now.
Hey, hey, Vash, is, is it setting in yet how flippant you are being??
…I’ve got nothing original to say. Just, “Squeeee!” and “Gorgeous art, amazing writing” and also “I love you, Tess <3".
Hmmm, Vash’s expression just made Kendal coming back a little bit less likely. I’m starting to think that I might actually correct about Kendal becoming a sentient sword.
Hey if you look closely at Tess’ eyes there’s these really faint outlines of what could be pupils. Or they might just be shining.
Alinua’s here echoing everyone’s fears from the moment we thought for more than 2 seconds about the implications of Kendal actually succeeding in getting Vash back and potentially losing himself in the process, so of course Vash is now put in an incredibly uncomfortable position to put things mildly because what the hell do you even say in that kind of situation?
Everyone who’s spent more than two seconds actually talking to Kendal is just quietly trying not to be devestated, and Tess is just like, ‘sounds legit, i’m tess btw’
Tynan is also here.
And now Zuurith has entered the room and it’s like, dude why are you even here?
so yeah, i think ‘read the room buddy’ is probably an appropriate response.
only thing that could make this better is Caliban and Tahraim showing up and pulling out the popcorn, as they should honestly
“I mean, I’ll do it. Anyone mind?” says Tess.
Alinua stalks forwards, Tess draws back.
“Life’s chosen, right? I’ve been meaning to thank you,” Vash smiles.
Meeting his gaze with tearful eyess she says, “Give him back.”
“…I-” the brightly glowing Vash hesitates.
“Vash.” Zuurith booms, now they’ve finished the work.
The radiant blue flames dance as his eyes narrow,
Agitiating the bright light he casts. “Ugh.”
Hilarious that I had to look up Zuurith’s name, in his own city.
Zuurith isn’t going to be happy.
Kendal had an actual soul. That soul is not going to be lost just because Vash’s souls is now also inhabiting the body
Maybe he’s just here to say thank you? … Oh, who am I kidding, it’s Zuurith.
Vash must want to thank Alinua for her healing that stabilised Kendal. On that subject, I’ve had this minor headcanon for a bit that Ali’s out of control healing of Kendal might have been an intentional move by Life though Ali. Maybe Life saw the potential for Kendal to aid her, his unique Void-less body, starmetal powers, etc, against the Collector, and later V.D..
Alinua must be very concerned for Kendal; a party of injured friends and she goes straight to Vash. While it could be that bringing Kendal back is complicated that’s causing Vash to hesitate, I’m thinking Vash might just be taken aback by her demand. Maybe Vash doesn’t yet realise how much of a personal impact Kendal has had on people around him.
Prediction for next week: Vash and Zuurith have an … engaging conversation about how Vash is doing this, Tynan tries to sneak away only for Dainix to stop him and vaporise what’s left of his incarnation, and Erin prays that his party do no more international incidents in the presence of Big Z himself.
Yes it would be very polite if you could give him back now
Oh no, will Zuzu want to finish Tynan off? That can’t end well…
(Also, go Tess!)
Zuurith just don’t
Also also, hey look, Dainix is still completely on fire. Curious when we’ll get a more complete explanation of what a crucible is.
Oh look, danger is over. Need to go pick on Vash to stroke my own ego after getting owned by Tynan. – Zuurith
The sheer disgust in Bash’s eyes towards Zuurith is hilarious.
*Vash’s
Ya think Dainix feels upstaged? I mean, if I had been on fire for a while and someone else showed up engulfed in fancy blue fire I think I’d have to take it a little personally.
Anyone want to bet that Zuurith has a different base form now?
Alinua’s face is breaking my heart 🙁
There once was a vessel of Life
Who, after all of the strife
Quietly pleads
With a heart that bleeds
For her friend who was stabbed by the knife.
Anyone else imagining the “Vash” in a tone of pompous condescension? Also, it’s so cute how Tess is holding on to Erin so tightly.
Also, isn’t the entire city of Zuurith reduced entirely to rubble? And all of its inhabitants just witnessed their god being a useless wet noodle. I suspect Zuurith has lost his powerbase more thoroughly than Vash had at the start
Anyone else thought she just punched Vash for a second?
No, we have foreshadowing of this. Gods usually respect each other’s domains or it’s war. So Vash is stepping on some serious toes here, no matter that he’s ridding Zuurith of an international pest. A god can make war on another god, but they can’t take over. It was okay when Kendal was fighting Tynan, because Kendal’s not a god and not bound by the same rules. And I’m sure Vash can’t just say “whatcha gonna do about it, punk?” because all the gods abide by this rule. Pretty sure they’ll step in.
Also, I’m pretty sure we now know who gets the finishing blow, and how Vash is going to give his vessel back to Kendal (if he can).
Zuurith is going to want to take all the credit, too, so he can get his city back.
how is zero wolf always the first commenter.
That ugh. I can’t. It’s amazing.
Also Ali in this page is is gonna make me cry. Her eyes are perfect in panel five.
Oh, so we were nearly all wrong on Wednesday; Tess is stepping up to the execution block out of sheer pragmatism.
Vash: “Oh, for the love of- You’re welcome! Now f*ck off!”
On a more serious note; Zuurith, you could not have picked a worse time to start sh*t. Vash was about to really drive the lesson home to Tynan, and in you come to throw a hissy fit because your nemesis was the one who saved you. Stand on the side of pragmatism, for once, please?
Or; perhaps Zuurith is calling out Vash for sheltering the chaotic hooligan that cracked his prison beyond easy repair, even when factoring stone magic into the equation. In any case, I’m going to be very surprised if Zuurith is here to thank Vash.
Alinua’s emotional distress is visible
And at last Zuurith is back, wanting some more trouble
But I suspect Zuurith will be the one who ends Tynan. Not that he deserves it, but it would work with his “law and order” thing and maybe improve his relationship with Vash.
Vash doesn’t need pupils to give The Look, but if he did he totally would’ve given himself some because at this point his job seems to be looking cool, beating up Tynan and making Alinua sad
@Stargazing bookwyrm I would actually propose the opposite, Vash in the sword until needed, or them swapping ala Yugioh using the relic.
Or we can all be mistaken right now and once things are done here, Vash’s soul goes back into captivity. I mean it can’t be over THAT easily off camera with the soul collector’s shenanigans…
Ok. I know Red is Aro-Ace and like the least likely person in the world to write a romantic subplot between the two leading characters, but Alinua concern for Kendal is the sweetest thing and like aaaaghhh yk? Anyway looking forward to seeing humble Zuurith. Good times ahead.
I don’t blame Vash. Let him enjoy his (probably) brief freedom from his prison.
The artwork! It is so damn good!! Panel 5!!! Alinua’s expression devastated me and I was crying immediately. OMG how can you do this so well – and please, keep doing it!
I was rewatching Red’s Trope Talk on writing female characters and she talked about how her first female character “was pretty and demure and cried a lot and had healing powers… it was a disgrace really.”
I’m guessing it was proto-Alinua, and yeah she’s not really “demure” and she only cries a few times… but seeing her tears here reminded me of that lol. But we all love her!!
I vote we let Tess do it
Alinua wants Kendal back *now* to the surprise of absolutely no one (except Vash, apparently). Also had a feeling Tess would be down with finishing of Tynan, but it’ll be interesting to see who actually gets the eXecution Points (unless Tynan slips away in the distraction Zuurith’s about to cause)
oh come ON Zuurith
The party is shaken up,
Tess is her ever cheerful self.
Alinua steps up,
To everyone’s surprise,
She touches the hot blue flames
“Give him back.” She near cries.
“I-“ Vash attempts to say,
But is interrupted by the nuisance of yesterday.
This was my first try at something like that, I hope it wasn’t too bad.
Wow, the emotions conveyed in this page are awe inspiring. It’s so pretty!
And also, is Alinua getting burned by the starfire!? That girl scares me
took you long enough Zuurith
Vash looks… somehow entirely taken aback by this. I kind of get the feeling that he doesn’t entirely understand human emotions or attachment. He cares about human life on a large scale, or the life of Kendal specifically, but actual friendship is a concept that seems to elude him. Interesting stuff.
that fifth panel… my heart… aaaaaaaaarrrrgggggg!!!!
I think the reason Tess is the only one ready to take Vash up on his offer is A: because she is the least injured by the fight (she only fell out of the sky a little and she’s made of metal so i don’t think that made much of a dent in her) and B: she doesn’t have the emotional context of Vash returning to Kendals body. She barely knows Kendal, and she doesnt really understand what is going on with him glowing all of a sudden. All she knows is he stabbed himself, got shiny and kicked Tynans ass.
I know that Red was heavily inspired by dragon ball z but I think this fight scene needs to end. I was into the comic ever since she mentioned it on trope talk but my ability to stay with this is really struggling.
Come on Tess, don’t let the melodrama distract you, let him have it.
okay this isn’t the right page for this but I wasn’t here that day so.
now that we all know what’s going on with kendal and vash (kindof) I would like to point out the cover art of Chapter 17 was a months-previous absolutely BRILLIANT foreshadow. It shows two shadows behind kendal, one that looks like vash and another like kendal, with the vash shadow stabbing the kendal shadow through the abdomen. It’s such an incredible foreshadowing trick, and Red released it in like FEBRUARY. I know myself and a few others were very confused by the meaning, and I just want to say that hats off to Red for that.
I’m also fascinated by how different Red can make the two look with simple things like changing their eyes and expressions, even while keeping the same basic character design for both kendal and vash.
I vote for Zuurith starting to make a scene and tries to claim the kill, but Falst just does a killsteal while the Vash and Zuurith are talking.
Zuurith, you cad! Interrupting Alinua’s acclimation, Tsk!
I love how the wording isn’t “Bring him back” it’s “GIVE him back.”
Wait, did Erin get a new shirt? Did I miss that? Or was the damage not as bad as it looked earlier?
Alright, Vash, we all appreciate Starman Mode, but Alinua’s right: you gotta step off the stage again for a while. Partially to avoid an uncomfortable conversation with the big Z here.
Calling it now, Vash is going to leave Kental’s body to avoid a talk with Zuurith
Awww forever besties
Looking at all the recent panels, I just realized how absolutely jacked Kendal/Vash is
I reeeeeeeally hope Alinua isn’t burning her hand off while doing this.
Also Dainix is back and seems to be doing well (assuming he can extinguish himself), which is good. (Not exactly a small detail, but I’m embaressed to say that it took me a couple readthroughs to realize that)
Also, as many people pointed out the “I-” is pretty ominous for Kendal’s personhood. That kind of face doesn’t usually make the sentence end with “-have cookies if anyone wants one first”. Best case finisher:”-want to wait until someone finishes off Tynan and I have word with Zuurith, just in case”. Worst case finisher: monologue about how this is better actually? Or just “-want to but idk how” (the option where everyone leaves unhappily)
Personally, I think Vash will probably purposefully leave the vessel so that Kendal can live on. Vash seems the type to believe a city god’s purpose is to protect their people, and as far as they’re concerned Kendal would be their last living subject. Plus, it would be interesting to see Kendal’s character development when they see what it’s like being on this side of self sacrifice.
And now I’m curious about how Vash knows about Alinua, since he doesn’t seem super aware of everything that Kendal’s been up to.
“Stupid Flanders,” – Vash
to the one person who said falst killsteal i am all for that
theres just people having Emotions and Arguments and falst is just like yo we gonna do something about the giant ass dragon or no
I get why Alina is concerned but given the knowledge we have I honestly thoght it was a given that Vash was going to let Kendall have the body back… eventually. do I think Alina may have to wait until Vash has had time to finish dealing with Zunrith and for someone to finish Tynan off and possibly for a bit after that though? Absolutly. Do I think Vash dosent think Kendall is a person in his own right? no. Honestly the most logical reason I can think of for Vash sticking around for a while has less to do with Kendalls freedom of choice, and more to do with the last choice he made. He stabbed himself in the gut really hard already pretty beat up. Like you can still tee the GIANT STAB WOUND on him, at least let Vash stick around untill you guys can bandage that up. I almost WANT Vash to stick around for a bit if only so Kendal’s body will have time to recover from all that without phisically hurting Kendall. huh, this got longer then I thought… oh well
I just thought of something, what if that’s not actually Vash??? Like I’m thinking it’s Kendal pretending to be him?
Come on Vash, stop being a jerk and give Kendal back to his friends. Or at least make yourself a new body.
@Queenie I think that’s pretty unlikely. Everything from the difference in personality to the visual changes in the character design and text boxes points to this being Vash. Plus, revealing it was just Kendal all along would take away a LOT of the emotional impact of the previous couple of pages, so its not the right move writing-wise. And if this is Kendal, why doesn’t he just reveal himself when Alinua begs for him to come back? If Kendal always had the ability to heal himself like he supposedly does in 1.18.8, why did Kendal have to be healed by someone else every other time he got injured?
@Queenie and @MJZ-31
Also, he said on the last page that if Tynan still thinks Vash is the only one who can beat him he wouldn’t learn his lesson, and now Zuzu might have a problem with Vash interfering in his domain. Being Kendal would be better for him and everyone else in every way.
Yeah there’s no way Kendal is gone. If Kendal is gone, the plot is gone, the glowy effects become less glowy, and stakes become nonexistent. Plus, we know Vash doesn’t see Kendal as a tool: he’s worried for his safety in multiple pages. Anyways, that’s just my thoughts
TL;DR: Oh you’ll stop him?
No, I’ll stop you.
Also sorry for my absence. My phone died.
for having lost almost all dtail vas is extremly expresive good job red it look asmazing
ps can e talk about how his face just whet from “no noits fine its ok” to “you absoulout mother fucker”
Alinua, dude, I understand your concern, but don’t worry. Vash’s soul is stuck in a cave.He’s a sort of possessing Kendall for a bit but he can’t stay.And besides, he wouldn’t take Kendall. Our boy will be back at around the end of the “encounter”