Annotated 4-4
“ROLE initiative! Ah? AHHH? WAKKA WAKKA!” Yyyeahhh, not our best gamer pun. The people who most notably take initiative that subverts their inspired roles, Taro and Best, don’t exactly cover themselves in glory doing so.
Check out the smirks in the background of the last panel. Eat it, grandpa! We had no idea we’d see these particular Sky Elves again, but that reaction shot (Erica’s initiative, I think) gave us a firm foundation when we did.
The note Syr’Nj receives here (foreshadowed in the chapter’s first frame) was related to the question of what Byron and Gravedust are up to while Syr’Nj is just, you know, forging an alliance with the most powerful ally Gastonia will ever have, NO BIG DEAL.
Wakka wakka, indeed.
I wouldn’t smirk too much Hollister since those old men ultimately got the last laugh. It’s surprising this didn’t all backfire since the sky elves could’ve thrown in their lot with the world’s rebellion. Harky really needed a better diplomatic corps although I’m sure Gondalessa did his best.
Actually, I would think that the Sky Elves and the Avians might already have some friction.
“I said ‘Hey! You! Get off of my cloud! Don’t hang around, ’cause two’s a crowd!'”
That’s probably true, and really, it’s might’ve been the only thing preventing things from going down that road–which is good. Imagine if conjuring food/etc can be restricted in some way–find a way to limit where you conjure from to certain geographic locations. Suddenly, Gastonia’s the ONLY place on Akkara getting magically burgled all the time, and meanwhile, the sky elves are feeding the monster army with the Council’s lunch.
“The note Syr’Nj receives here (foreshadowed in the story’s first frame)…”
Goes back and looks at the first page of the chapter.
Looks again, more closely.
Realizes he *completely* missed the note-delivering bird. Both times, I think.
Omg me too. O_O
I looked and looked at the bird and couldn’t figure out why it was landing on her arm during that panel. And I always thought she was holding the littlest To-Do scroll :’D
Mhm. It’s just too far off from known real-world context for a messenger bird to be a raptor, to land on an arm like a hunting falcon rather than at an established known roost, and/or for it to be able to seek a specific recipient.
Gastonia’s Angels
I missed both smirks and bird on the first read-through.
“The world is growing complicated. I suggest you consider your place in it.”
This line always stuck with me, I think it’s my favorite in the whole comic. This strip originally came out when my world was, in fact, growing more complicated. It was like Syr’nj was speaking directly to me and giving me advice.