Comic 587 - Before anything else

24th Apr 2020, 6:00 PM in Chapter Nine
587 - Before anything else
Average Rating: 5 (9 votes)
rufiangel 24th Apr 2020, 6:00 PM edit delete
rufiangel
Heya folks, happy Friday! :D I hope everyone has been hale and hearty during these trying times.

Here's a quick refresher course for this comic page:

- Who is Raven? Raven is Zirconia's leader. He was first mentioned - not by name - on this page (which is incidentally Jaguar's first appearance). Ophelia mentions Raven by name, as well as the fact that she Zirconia's leader's aide on this page (which marks the first heartwarming meeting between Ophelia and Seia, btw). She talks directly to Raven on this page, and we also see Jaguar speak with the mysterious shadowy figure Raven on this page. We have yet to see Raven properly.

- What was Zirconia again? Zirconia is a guild that seems to be up to no good. From interrogating the leader of the Danrir rebels that attempted to assassinate the Raiz in Lari Oasis, Seia learns that a 'generous tipper' marked with the Zirconia guild emblem manipulated the situation to allow Sho, a personal servant of Abel, the opportunity to sneak into the palace and steal an artifact. The guild is mostly known for its slave racket, with Nemi finding the same guild emblem on a couple of slavers the party captures in Spherea.

- Who is the Holy Capital's Darling? This is one of the many titles held by Abel, Cain's beloved brother, as listed on this page.

Oh, and finally - the white circle you see on the dirt is Manubar, which was first mentioned on this page with its uses explained there, too. :) It's been seen in-comic here and there since without further explanation, though I figured it was time for an A/N refresher on what the heck that is, lol.

I hope the above helps a bit - I know it can be hard to pick this back up after such a long break! I'll be glad when I can get some visual chapter summaries up for readers >3<

Also, MST3K of Pow! Right in the Nostalgia fame had a little surprise in one of the comic's updates this week. Can you spot two rather familiar characters in the background? ;) Thanks so much for the sweet cameo, MST3K! :3

Alrighty, that's it for now. Thank you so much for reading! ;v;*)/ See you guys again next week with a new update~
CiciEnixa 24th Apr 2020, 6:30 PM edit delete reply
CiciEnixa
Little do they know that a horde of cute cocos are just lying in wait in the bushes, waiting to pounce upon them with so much adorableness that they break all their seriousness and awkwardness. The only words they can speak is "awwwww <3"

I don't believe Zirconia knows Abel either. If they could see those tormented Cain flashbacks... *shudder*
rufiangel 1st May 2020, 4:41 PM edit delete reply
rufiangel
That would be super adorable XD <3 Seia and Kylie would almost certainly have the same kind of reaction to them though XDD

Jaguar has said on this page that they got something the the 'Beloved One' wanted :3 so they probably know something, lol. But as to whether they fully understand what they're doing for Abel... that's a question they probably need to ask :')

Those tormented Cain flashbacks are especially for the readers' eyes though <3
mjkj 24th Apr 2020, 6:32 PM edit delete reply
mjkj
Oh, so Seia has more insight - and Zirkonia is just a tool...

I hope Ophie comes to term with Seia soon...

@alt text: no, I do not think it was just the wind, I guess someone is spying on them?

@a/n: thank you for all the links <3 *hugs*
rufiangel 1st May 2020, 4:42 PM edit delete reply
rufiangel
Seia certainly thinks he might have more insight, at least XD;

People need to stop parking themselves near trees, that's where I hide all my spies ;P

And you're very welcome, I hope they help :D (them links)
mjkj 1st May 2020, 7:32 PM edit delete reply
mjkj
They do, thanks again =)
KAM 24th Apr 2020, 7:01 PM edit delete reply
KAM
It was just the readers. ;-)
rufiangel 1st May 2020, 4:42 PM edit delete reply
rufiangel
Creepy fourth-wall breakage, aww yeahhh ;D
megados 24th Apr 2020, 8:06 PM edit delete reply
megados
Thanks for the recap! It does help. :D So much remembering!

Now then, who could be eavesdropping here, Hmmm?

I hope you are continuing to do well also! A lot of boredom here at times.
rufiangel 1st May 2020, 4:44 PM edit delete reply
rufiangel
I sometimes have to wrap my head around these things as well XD;; many pages to sift through! I'm glad the recap helps! :D

As for who could be eavesdropping... we'll find out soon enough ;) (in uhm one hour and 17 minutes as of writing this comment reply lol)

Maybe I should try to post more entertainment in the A/Ns '3' I'll think about it for next week's update~
megados 1st May 2020, 8:09 PM edit delete reply
megados
well we do know you can be entertaining! :D
MST3KFan 24th Apr 2020, 8:56 PM edit delete reply
MST3KFan
Seems Seia is more knowledgeable than Ophelia thought about things.

But now who is out there listening in on their conversation? Let the two have their alone time!
rufiangel 1st May 2020, 4:45 PM edit delete reply
rufiangel
Seia certainly has more info than Ophelia expected him to~ *nod*

And they've been having quite a bit of alone time until now XD they just haven't been able to find a moment where their thoughts are sorted and they have some peace and quiet enough to speak~
Scia 25th Apr 2020, 3:42 AM edit delete reply
I see a large critter sleeping in the top-left corner of the last panel, *almost* blending in with the rocks. Maybe that's it? Or at least part of it?
rufiangel 1st May 2020, 4:46 PM edit delete reply
rufiangel
That large critter is also in the last page if you check :3 will they be relevant? We'll see~~~ fufufu
Scia 25th Apr 2020, 8:51 AM edit delete reply
Found another mention of Raven, BTW. =3

http://serpamiaflare.com/comics/464
rufiangel 1st May 2020, 4:46 PM edit delete reply
rufiangel
Oooh, yesss! XD Thank you for catching that!
Scia 25th Apr 2020, 3:37 PM edit delete reply
(Third post...) Unrelated to the current page... I've been rereading the archives and had a SERIOUS "OH SNAP!" moment.

I don't exactly know *all* the theories, but... as far as I can tell, people have generally been excluding one (possible!) Silver Mage from the list of people who could've wanted to learn Serpamia Flare.

Cain and Kylie's backstories match up a little too well. o.o; The major events for them happened "several years" ago. It's *possible* that Abel gained Silver Magic after Kylie's mom left, and so momma doesn't know about him. The "several deaths" Cain apparently caused... the location of them was never specified. (Not even by Ren. I checked.) Something malicious enough to destroy Archaiea WOULD be a 'deeply disturbing' thing that might wreak conflict across an otherwise-loving soul...

In case you haven't guessed it by now... I think Cain had wanted to use Serpamia Flare - whatever it is - to try to kill Abel. .____.;;; If so, it miiiight be enough for Kylie to consider - or end up reflexively, without thinking - going against her statement that she would never judge him for his past.
DLKmusic 26th Apr 2020, 2:36 AM edit delete reply
DLKmusic
That is possible, and deeply disturbing if true.

My only argument against it, which may or may not be valid is that Cain mentioned that he had never been outside Capitol City before he was banished. (he could be lying about that, but I don't personally think so, He is after all a terrible liar).

That's well worth considering (or horrifying to consider, take your pick). I personally think it was Abel though, and what happened to Kylie and her mother is what weakened him so much. I know it's an obvious theory on my part, which means there's a good chance it could be wrong.
rufiangel 1st May 2020, 4:47 PM edit delete reply
rufiangel
If there's anything I've learnt from Cici-muffin, it's that the best way to respond to theories is to just smile and nod and go "Maaaybeee" XD but mannn it's haaard XDD

That said, thanks for taking the time to write this up <3 I love reading theories X3
DLKmusic 26th Apr 2020, 2:46 AM edit delete reply
DLKmusic
Glad to see you're still on target, Rufi! page is great, and if you are trying to stop us from not shipping these two, you're failing!!!!!

RL, hang in there! it's boring here too... it's one thing to never go out and do anything, it's quite another to not be ABLE to go out and do anything, and cabin fever is starting to set in big time!
rufiangel 1st May 2020, 4:49 PM edit delete reply
rufiangel
Goodness! XD Well, I won't stop people from shipping whoever they like :3 (unless it's something that breaks the law >.>)

It's definitely a psychological thing too, people feel more trapped because they feel like they can't go out as opposed to them making that choice. It's like when you're told you can't eat doughnuts and suddenly that's all you crave, even though you maybe only had one every few weeks if at all, lol. :'D
Crestlinger 26th Apr 2020, 5:09 AM edit delete reply
I know this chapter is mainly aimed to be about Nemi but I would not mind at All if the rest of it was about these two.
rufiangel 1st May 2020, 4:50 PM edit delete reply
rufiangel
Oh my~ I'm glad to hear people are interested to know what these two are upto :D I'll go ahead and say that while this chapter covers a lot of Nemi stuff, we'll also get to see what Seia/Ophelia are upto throughout :3 (A bit like the last couple chapters~ they're like... Party B at this point lol)
Alterna 30th Apr 2020, 10:16 PM edit delete reply
Thank you so much for the refresher! I would not have put those facts together even without a hiatus :P
rufiangel 1st May 2020, 4:52 PM edit delete reply
rufiangel
You're very welcome Alterna! :D I don't expect readers to remember everything, since I've got a bunch of stuff happening. I'm happy to post refreshers, they also help me remember to keep the plot threads I've started tucked in and not loosely fraying about XD