This is VERY FAST, Tarren!” Erin yells.
They reply “Isn’t it great?!
As across the sea in their metal ship,
They speed like a horse’s gait!
Erin is aghast at the lack of control,
But receives Tarren’s response:
“We’re playing with the ocean, Erin!
It does what it wants!”
Apologies for the late delivery of this message. I just finished an essay, and it has played merry havoc with my sleep schedule.
Also, now that I’ve finished the essay, I’m getting back into Dwarf Fortress. That accounted for some of the delay.
Yes, I’m loving these two together. And I’m with Erin: boat… sail… I did not expect this kind of speed.
Tess: is going to love this
Falst: kitty can swim, but no like out of control sailing
Alinua: 😳
Kendal: ships don’t always go fast?
Dainix: hold on tight!
LOL! Tarren heard ‘we’re going very fast!’ as a compliment and wants to go even faster now. I love the interplay these 2 are having! And Erin looks in turn bounced around, horrified at his lack of control and then in the last panel … just looks so damn cute!
This comic is so darn fun. There are many webcomics out there that I adore, but I don’t think any of them combine plot and pure fun as well as this one.
…I love Tarren. They are SO much fun. And smart, because yes, that is the ocean, doing its thing. Also, hey, Erin, how does it feel to be in the presence of someone as Mad Scientist as yourself, but in another field? ;3
Anonymous Aurora Question #52: On a scale from “literally nothing happened” to “Dainix finding out the Soulshaper Monks might know what he is”, how excited are you to see Tarren?
I’m WAY more excited to see what Tarren does to Erin. I’d like for Tarren to do something ridiculously reckless and freak Erin out.
Then respond with ‘I’ve got it COMPLETELY under control!’
Oh boy I can’t wait.
I would rank a little below danix about the soulshaper monks knowing what he is. Tarren is a treat every time such magnificence is present on the page.
I legit think that line might be setup for a much later payoff of someone (Erin) accidentally or intentionally permanently altering the tides of the whole world.
Only her skin is metal — I’m not sure she’s dense enough for it to be a problem, strong as she is–she might just have to work harder to keep her head up. Although if it meant she could walk along the bottom of a lake or something, that would be neat.
I think red confirmed that both Tess and Kendal sink in water somewhere on tumbler. Granted, though, Tess can fly, and the ocean would probably just make her lightning attacks stronger, although probably with some collateral damage. As for Kendal, he doesn’t really need to breathe, so unless he’s attacked by something he should be fine too
So everyone who voted that Erin was “fighting for his life on Tarren’s boat” for the last few chapters gets a cookie XD
I adore Tarren. I hope we get to keep them for a little while — Erin needs more people like them to shake him up!
You can see he definitely disagrees with that last statement, though…Erin, sweetheart, that kind of thinking is what landed you with the Void Dragon, remember?
Magical tricks let the ship tear across the sea
Erin’s unsure of how safe it will really be
Tarren assures him control is still in their hand
But the old ocean’s more willful than quiet land
She may be fast, but I’d hate to be aboard her in the high southern latitudes near the horn. That mast will topple to the side in any breeze… much less the kind of breeze that creates 40 foot high waves, waves so tall that they obscure the ships beyond them. Aye, she may be a fast ship, but she doesn’t look very weatherly.
Well, I’m glad you asked! Usually, they have ropes called “stays” that attach the mast to the hull. In this case, the problem is also with the shrouds (and ratlines) – the “rope ladder” that keeps the mast from falling to one side or the other. The problem with this mast is that if a wind ever comes from the side, the mast will most certainly tip over – even in a moderate breeze, masts need to be properly stayed.
I’m just telling myself that Red doesn’t draw every single shroud and stay, let alone the running rigging. She keeps a very tight control on the amount of detail she draws. So the mast could be properly supported, after all, just without any of it being drawn.
Also, isn’t that a lateen rig? Makes sense if things are so crazy–a fore-and-aft boom might be a liability with the kind of mad science Tarren’s messing with. BTW, my own read is up on page 29. I’m more into trying to make it work than picking it apart, myself.
That look of Erin’s in last (ninth) panel seems very foreboding and sobering to me. Could it be foreshadowing future troubles for Erin or past regret for changing something that should NOT have been changed? It seems something else is bothering Erin besides a bumpy ride.
But also: Neat outriggers on boat, or are they sea skies in the first panel, Red? But looks cool no matter what they are!
Waiting for next panel to just be Kendal and Alinua looking up to see the lovely view spoiled as experimental boat goes screaming by with Erin clinging to the side for dear life.
Delighted to see more of Tarren and the contrast between their wild glee and Erin’s fear at the lack of control. Also: you can’t change the tides? that DOES sound an awful lot like a challenge. Hm. Maybe I should be concerned.
Admittedly, I wouldn’t be doing much better than Erin, in his position. A friend took me sailing once. The little boat was only moderately tippy on the even-to-tippy scale, and my friend wasn’t at all a wild child. I acclimated, but the tipping made my heart jump, and even the most distant obstacles made me nervous about navigating at first. All that said, I still really liked it…
The rest of the Floof Squad’s reactions to this will be interesting.
Seeing Erin speak to other Mages from Asera has been a treat! First Jolon and now Tarren. From everything we have seen of Tarren, they are going to be a whimsical feature of the comic and i hope they continue to be featured.
Question for the comments section: Do you think that Tarren will go along with the floof squad on the voyage to Helm. Also who likely is the voyage to become an odyssey?
I think we will see Tarren every time the squad needs to cross an ocean. So now from Argist to Hollowong and later from Hollowsong to Asera. I think then they might tag along to the academy.
ERIIIIIN ERIN ERIN EVERYONE LOOK IT’S ERIN YAYAYSYY
I bet Erin thinks he’s too good to be fired from a bow. He’s smug like that.
For mobile readers.
Alt-text: so you’re telling me this blue-colored character… has gotta go fa-*gunshots*
Image source: tides
Tumblr text: ignore him he’s having fun
Twitter Text: the turbulence is how you know it’s working
The Alt-Text fxcking sent me
Da blue ones go fasta.
Wot? We gonna tak it fur de Great Whaa? (said the other Ork)
Sounds like Red is dead, sad. well that’s the comic everyone.
“you can’t catch us. we’re fast as fvck boi… still fast as fvck boi”
RIP Red, you shall be missed
I think Red was the one with the gun
Gotta go fast!
Speed Demon Tarren
And a less enthused Erin
Sail among the waves
This is VERY FAST, Tarren!” Erin yells.
They reply “Isn’t it great?!
As across the sea in their metal ship,
They speed like a horse’s gait!
Erin is aghast at the lack of control,
But receives Tarren’s response:
“We’re playing with the ocean, Erin!
It does what it wants!”
Apologies for the late delivery of this message. I just finished an essay, and it has played merry havoc with my sleep schedule.
Also, now that I’ve finished the essay, I’m getting back into Dwarf Fortress. That accounted for some of the delay.
Still reads good too me, @Goodbye! Thanks again for another verse of Aurora Ballad!
Loving the contrast between Tarren’s enthusiasm and Erin’s inexperience. xD
Yes, I’m loving these two together. And I’m with Erin: boat… sail… I did not expect this kind of speed.
Tess: is going to love this
Falst: kitty can swim, but no like out of control sailing
Alinua: 😳
Kendal: ships don’t always go fast?
Dainix: hold on tight!
LOL! Tarren heard ‘we’re going very fast!’ as a compliment and wants to go even faster now. I love the interplay these 2 are having! And Erin looks in turn bounced around, horrified at his lack of control and then in the last panel … just looks so damn cute!
This comic is so darn fun. There are many webcomics out there that I adore, but I don’t think any of them combine plot and pure fun as well as this one.
…I love Tarren. They are SO much fun. And smart, because yes, that is the ocean, doing its thing. Also, hey, Erin, how does it feel to be in the presence of someone as Mad Scientist as yourself, but in another field? ;3
“THIS BOAT IS FAST!”
“THANK YOU!”
“IT WASN’T A COMPLIMENT!”
Disterssed Ein is best Erin
Anonymous Aurora Question #52: On a scale from “literally nothing happened” to “Dainix finding out the Soulshaper Monks might know what he is”, how excited are you to see Tarren?
Dainix finding out the Monks might know what he is has nothing on how excited I am to see more Tarren.
Extremely. I love them. So, so very much.
I’m WAY more excited to see what Tarren does to Erin. I’d like for Tarren to do something ridiculously reckless and freak Erin out.
Then respond with ‘I’ve got it COMPLETELY under control!’
Oh boy I can’t wait.
I’m at “Alinua discovering blue watermelons”, personally!
I’m a- ‘Tess getting asked to punch things’ They’re fun! They really shake up Erin
I would rank a little below danix about the soulshaper monks knowing what he is. Tarren is a treat every time such magnificence is present on the page.
This is a replay of my reaction to seeing the first panel on this page:
Yes! YES! Oh yea- WE’RE GONNA SEE ERIN BEING MAGNIFICENTLY SEASICK- LET’S GO!
*I kinda disturbed my parents while yelling this, but it was worth it to express my sheer joy 😁*
It seems Tarren can out Mad Science!(TM) Erin. Nothing can possibly go wrong, could it?
I rank below Dainix’s delight but somewhere around “Alinua sees a blue melon at the market for the first time” kind of happy.
That bottom-left panel, it’s just so very, very RED.
It would be perfectly at home in any OSP video.
I love it.
It’s the lack of nose.
I was about to point it out too lol
Moment of appreciation for panel 7 Erin’s face
*Looks at panel with absolutely no red on it
*Looks at Erin’s face
Oh yeah, I see exactly what you mean.
Tarren: You can’t change the tides.
Erin: Can’t I?
I legit think that line might be setup for a much later payoff of someone (Erin) accidentally or intentionally permanently altering the tides of the whole world.
The fact that we immediately know the “someone” is going to be Erin says a LOT about his character, and how good Red is at writing him
Tarren might want to try their luck with Erin’s sister. I’m sure Tess would be WAY more enthusiastic about their marvelous little boat.
Oh, Tess is going to LOVE it. I feel like the wildness of the open ocean is right up her alley.
Tess canonically sinks in water lol
i’m pretty sure everyone sinks in water
Only her skin is metal — I’m not sure she’s dense enough for it to be a problem, strong as she is–she might just have to work harder to keep her head up. Although if it meant she could walk along the bottom of a lake or something, that would be neat.
I think red confirmed that both Tess and Kendal sink in water somewhere on tumbler. Granted, though, Tess can fly, and the ocean would probably just make her lightning attacks stronger, although probably with some collateral damage. As for Kendal, he doesn’t really need to breathe, so unless he’s attacked by something he should be fine too
I like the idea that Kendal and Tess will be walking around in the Auroraverse equivalent of PFDs. (life vests)
“Can’t be in control-?” <– Watch live as Erin's worldview collides with his life experience.
The ship is swift, too swift for Erin
But Tarren seems not to be carin’
I was just playing Sonic Frontiers.
So everyone who voted that Erin was “fighting for his life on Tarren’s boat” for the last few chapters gets a cookie XD
I adore Tarren. I hope we get to keep them for a little while — Erin needs more people like them to shake him up!
You can see he definitely disagrees with that last statement, though…Erin, sweetheart, that kind of thinking is what landed you with the Void Dragon, remember?
Magical tricks let the ship tear across the sea
Erin’s unsure of how safe it will really be
Tarren assures him control is still in their hand
But the old ocean’s more willful than quiet land
Yay, another poet!
Well hello there, colleague!
She may be fast, but I’d hate to be aboard her in the high southern latitudes near the horn. That mast will topple to the side in any breeze… much less the kind of breeze that creates 40 foot high waves, waves so tall that they obscure the ships beyond them. Aye, she may be a fast ship, but she doesn’t look very weatherly.
out of curiosity, what sorts of things do strong masts have that this one lacks?
Well, I’m glad you asked! Usually, they have ropes called “stays” that attach the mast to the hull. In this case, the problem is also with the shrouds (and ratlines) – the “rope ladder” that keeps the mast from falling to one side or the other. The problem with this mast is that if a wind ever comes from the side, the mast will most certainly tip over – even in a moderate breeze, masts need to be properly stayed.
If it helps at all, this rig is closest to a fore-and-aft rigged ship, and is probably somewhere between a proa and a cutter.
I’m just telling myself that Red doesn’t draw every single shroud and stay, let alone the running rigging. She keeps a very tight control on the amount of detail she draws. So the mast could be properly supported, after all, just without any of it being drawn.
Also, isn’t that a lateen rig? Makes sense if things are so crazy–a fore-and-aft boom might be a liability with the kind of mad science Tarren’s messing with. BTW, my own read is up on page 29. I’m more into trying to make it work than picking it apart, myself.
GOTTA GO FAST
Yaaaay, more Tarren/Erin dynamic! And of course, Erin not being in control of things yet again. That seems to be a pretty recurring theme for him…
I love panel 7-
These guys!!!!!! I love how Erin looks like he’s about to puke
Here comes the plot, doo doo doo doo-
Erin’s face in the last panel like “But can’t I?”
That look of Erin’s in last (ninth) panel seems very foreboding and sobering to me. Could it be foreshadowing future troubles for Erin or past regret for changing something that should NOT have been changed? It seems something else is bothering Erin besides a bumpy ride.
But also: Neat outriggers on boat, or are they sea skies in the first panel, Red? But looks cool no matter what they are!
I just finished rolling with difficulty so you’ll have to excuse the brain worms, but Dani and Tarren would have so much fun together
I feel like Erin is talking a little bit about Voidy there
Waiting for next panel to just be Kendal and Alinua looking up to see the lovely view spoiled as experimental boat goes screaming by with Erin clinging to the side for dear life.
Time to see if the Void Dragon gets seasick lol
You can practically hear the wind and ocean whooshing in this page. I love it.
Wheeeeeee =D
Delighted to see more of Tarren and the contrast between their wild glee and Erin’s fear at the lack of control. Also: you can’t change the tides? that DOES sound an awful lot like a challenge. Hm. Maybe I should be concerned.
Admittedly, I wouldn’t be doing much better than Erin, in his position. A friend took me sailing once. The little boat was only moderately tippy on the even-to-tippy scale, and my friend wasn’t at all a wild child. I acclimated, but the tipping made my heart jump, and even the most distant obstacles made me nervous about navigating at first. All that said, I still really liked it…
The rest of the Floof Squad’s reactions to this will be interesting.
Seeing Erin speak to other Mages from Asera has been a treat! First Jolon and now Tarren. From everything we have seen of Tarren, they are going to be a whimsical feature of the comic and i hope they continue to be featured.
Question for the comments section: Do you think that Tarren will go along with the floof squad on the voyage to Helm. Also who likely is the voyage to become an odyssey?
I think we will see Tarren every time the squad needs to cross an ocean. So now from Argist to Hollowong and later from Hollowsong to Asera. I think then they might tag along to the academy.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they fully joined the floof squad, because it has been confirmed that there will be a seventh member at some point
Really? Where?
Aww, Red, for my birthday? You shouldn’t have :]
Actually straight downwind is not the way to achieve maximum speed in a sailboat!
It’s great to see how Erin acts with his school friends. I relate so. Damn. MUCH!!!
oh i like this one
oh i love this i love them