2.1.29
on March 29, 2024
at 3:00 am
the use of “may be” in Erin’s final statement might strike one as odd, but actually science has not yet proven the existence of anything Erin does not believe he can control. this is because science has been continuously unable to contact Tess for comment, as she described their questionnaire as “boring” before firing herself into the stratosphere for fun.
hubris mcgee strikes again
you’d think that getting blown up several times and nearly killing all of his friends would change his mindset in some way but nope. same overconfident wizard from chapter 4
Despite appearance, Erin is capable of learning from his mistakes. It’s just that his sense of self-reflection is highly compartmentalized.
My belief is that him learning from his mistakes only increases his hubris. After all, to him he has be very wise to learn from his mistakes.
Cassius, that’s the best way I’ve heard anyone explain the disconnect between the “hubris McGee” fanon and the way Erin actually behaves!
Time until karma: 3 days. Erin is *the* cosmic plaything, so yeah, the Forces That Be won’t let that smirk stand.
is it hubris if he succeeds? I would say that the idea of taming the sea is complete hubris, but that doesn’t seem to be what he wants to do. he wants to not have a bumpy ride (granted it is a bit much to ask for from the ocean), but it is something he is willing to do himself. He just wants to calm a very small part of the ocean.
He does have self reflection, but seeing as how the team just fought a storm god, Erin has “reason” to be cocky about the weather.
I would say it counts as hubris only if it impacts his interaction with the rest of the world beyond that skill directly.
A good example would be Revali – when it comes to his skill in combat and with his wind magic, he is genuinely just about as good as he claims. However, it still came back to bite him in the fight in his divine beast, because his incredible skill was insufficient against a foe like Windblight.
Erin is similar – he is genuinely as good as he claims, but the fact that he knows that means he’s not braced for it when something slips past his skills and strikes him in an area he’s not actively guarding.
For mobile readers.
Alt-text: this would be a very funny time for a shark to show up
Image source: control
Well that’s ominous
Why do I get the feeling that’s foreshadowing something?
Tumblr text: feel better?
Sorry for being a tad late, my Tumblr is acting up. I have no clue how long this will last.
Twitter Text: magic! is there anything it can’t do? (yes)
With his arms out wide
All the waves quickly subside
Powerful T-Pose
Erin touches the runes on each
Of his forearms: glowing,
They becalm a circle around the ship,
The elements to their Magus bowing.
I think what we’re finding is that Tess is the thing they can’t control
Oh, well, that was quick!
Also, that note at the bottom. Amazing. Even when she’s not on the page at all, Tess remains the best character.
Wow Erin, hubris really is your best friend and worst enemy.
You know what? I’m 99% sure this is just a lateen rig variation of the Sea of Thieves sloop, and I’m not just saying that because of the fact that I like SoT. I’m saying it because the deck plan and drawing style for the boat itself reminds me a LOT of how Sea of Thieves depicts ships (especially in their comics).
Erin casts magic to make the sea peaceable
He thinks all forces are just as entreatable
He can accept there are things he cannot command
But he still seeks to bring power back to his hand
A majestic T-pose makes the sea still
So some things at least Erin bends to his will
Oh the frustration of patiently waiting as the page unfurls pixel by pixel. I truly have underestimated how trash my wifi can be.
“majestic T-pose” 😭I’m dying
Meanwhile:
Alinua: Hey look over there.
Kendal: Why, what’s going on?
Alinua: Idk it looks like someone is messing with the currents and the very tide itself.
Kendal: Who would do that? And why for that matter?
Alinua:
Kendal:
Alinua: I think I know the answers to both those questions and I think you know them too.
Ah, delicious pride. And now, we await the inevitable, screaming fall.
Our Pompus Nitwit has never met something he can’t fix. This is because he tries to ignore everytime he fails spectacularly.
LOL! Things that can always be relied on: the rising sun, water being wet & Erin’s hubris. ^_^
Wait if there’s no waves or wind coming in bc he stopped them, how are they planning to move?
ALSO interesting thing I just noticed: he’s not using any runic circles here, despite his whole lecture on always using them in Zuurith. I wonder how come
I believe that’s where the arm tunes come in.
At the moment there is no higher being present that might exercise control over the elements as part of their domain. Erin didn’t use circles either when he was entering the Storm in Chapter 4.
he is stopping wind and waves around the boat, but the boat has a wind lacrima making a breeze that blows in the sail. I don’t know how the water lacrima will interact with Erin’s set up, but we will see soon.
This teamup is magnificent. Their sciencing at eachother is magnificent. I love them both.
Lol the Description is great. Science will never be able toncontact Tess for comment until the questionnaire is a Dragon and the answers are “punch up for yes” “punch down for no”, “punch in the Auroran equivalent of Morse Code for elaboration”
yo can this be the new standard for forms? that would make life so much more fun
Headcanon accepted!
Ooh, glowy arms make ship all steady. I hope Erin will explain what he did. How did he do that?
(SoT has out riggers on their boats too?)
Oh, Erin. Proof of concept indeed.
He does sort of have a point with his last remark– Tarren has been looking to solve the damaging effects of water to ships, which is kind of an interesting parallel to someone whose body has also been compromised by water. But Erin’s solution is short term; he can’t hold that, and it works against the ship’s design.
Their exchanges continue to delight, though. The way Tarren rests his chin on his hand, like ‘here we go’. They must make an interesting pair when they’re at home.
Oh, Erin. Proof of concept indeed. He does sort of have a point with his last remark– Tarren has been looking to solve the damaging effects of water to ships, which is kind of an interesting parallel to someone whose body has also been compromised by water. But what Erin’s done isn’t really a solution.
Their exchanges continue to delight, though. The way Tarren rests his chin on his hand, like ‘Annnd here we go’. They must make an interesting pair when they’re at home.
…Dammit, how did that end up there twice? :/
Fumblefingers. My apologies.
Small detail: Tarren uses they/them pronouns. If I remember correctly. You might want to keep that in mind in the future.
Oh, oops! Thank you for the reminder! I’ve been trying to keep that in mind.
Sometimes my fingers are faster than my brain.
How many times does the world have to knock Erin down a peg for him to understand the rule of jinxing?
Well, considering there are no sharks at the moment…
It seems like there’d be dire ecological consequences for this, but I couldn’t tell you what they are. Bare minimum, you’re increasing the height of waves near you. Maybe creating a high pressure system and the weather consequences that implies?
Or, maybe it just has the same consequences as a boat with a larger footprint. Who can say?
I think it depends a lot on how exactly he’s creating this “calm zone”. If he’s just PUSHING the waves away from them in a circle by force, it would probably just have a similar impact to a larger, equally fast, ship. But what if he’s actually using something like destructive interference to CANCEL OUT all the waves in a certain radius around the ship? …I’m not actually scientifically minded enough to puzzle out exactly what effect that would have on the local environmental conditions, but I feel like it would be worse in some ways and better in others.
I feel like Erin has a spiritualy unhealthy relationship with the the uncontrollable world
Erin’s expression in that last panel is oddly reminiscent of Shrike. I think it’s the level of smug, the partially lidded eyes, and the light grey in the irises. And yet, the man was grimacing and terrified nary a page ago…
Anyway. Snickering at “unable to contact Tess for comment,” and liking how Tarren and Erin are playing off each other here. Two different flavors of overconfidence:
– Tarren: reckless willingness to play with and be at the mercy of forces that one can ultimately not control. See: cyclone spell; ship that shoots forth across the ocean as if from a bow. Wild child. At least they recognize that some forces are mightier than they are.
– Erin: healthier levels of mortal fear, but the abject hubris of believing he can tame those mighty forces. In fairness, his proof-of-concept worked. For the moment.
This *would* be a very funny time for a shark to show up. Or a dragon.
My thoughts exactly! I noticed that face too – it took me a few seconds to remember who it reminded me of too. Tess would be the antidote to Erin’s hubris, but she’ll get bored and leave halfway through scolding him 🙂
That description SENT me lmbo
can’t wait for this to fail dramatically
that description is so true and i am extremely disappointed that my brother didnt understand it
Meanwhile:
Alinua: Hey, look over there!
Kendal: Why, what’s happening?!
Alinua: It looks like someone is controlling the very tide itself!
Kendal: That has the potential to go really wrong…
Alinua: Well let’s not make it our problem, we’ve had enough excitement for a lifetime already-
Kendal: Alinua…
Alinua: Kendal I understand you want to get involved but I was hesitant just to let you walk out here-
Kendal: It’s Erin.
Alinua: Of course it is.
Can we all take a moment to appreciate how gorgeous this page is?
I really needed Red’s commentary this morning… a laugh like that helps me overcome my fears.
Boat nerd here. So, we got a very modern hull shape, and I’m loving it. The Aurora world is definitely not at a purely Medieval tech level! Especially not when the Academy gets involved…
Also, with freeboard like that, she’ll be very dry, even doing the Northern passage in the dead of Winter. My call is that the actual, structural, main deck is down at the level of the outriggers. Kind of like how Bering Sea fishing boats have massive bulwarks, except Tarren’s added an upper deck on top. Note that the outriggers might solve the stability issues that might cause. Also, I think she’s got a deep V-hull, and could certainly have static ballast along the keel.
The single lateen-rigged sail is fine, really. The yard is made out of whatever ultra-light-and-strong alloy he used on the hull, allowing Tarren and Erin to raise it on their own, and since the lacrima controls the wind direction, a boat like this doesn’t *need* to play complex aerodynamic games with multiple sails.
The rough ride is probably caused by the fact that Tarren’s basically ignoring what the real wind and seas are doing, and they’re getting a lot of pounding because of it. Sounds like he’s pushing the limits of how much he can “suggest.”
Friendly reminder that Tarren’s pronouns are they/them.
Erin casts magic to make the sea peaceable
He thinks all forces are just as entreatable
He will admit there are things he cannot command
But he still seeks to bring power back to his hand