Nah, got some hell raising to do with the big Gottdamerung on the horizon. Jaggernoth’s offering fat stacks of gilders *and* a Camaro as signing bonuses.
I searched the vastness of the web for the context of this utterance, and found only this debate among millions of empty silk threads…
I remain skeptical Preem Mahatma ever said those words, but lying is a fundamental art, and this axiom resonates strongly with me. Thus, I shall take it as a motto to observe, and laud you for it, if you don’t mind!
“Whatever you do may seem insignificant to you, but it is most important that you do it.” — Attributed to Ghandi, and copied across many quote databases.
Long ago, in the time of mainframes, modems, and 8-bit computers, I read that Ghandi had spoken this in answer to a common laborer’s question.
If you do not fight against evil because it is hopeless you will get evil.
If you fight against evil even though it is hopeless you might get something better.
Even if you don’t you will inspire those who eventually win.
Art is always a commentary on life as it is and/or life as it should or could be in the time it is created. And sometimes this meaning applies in multiple eras.
This is why the arts are so important to the world and not some effete pastime.
But art takes a backseat or is left at the side of the road when one is distracted with keeping body and soul together and in operable condition.
Things of descending import – Air to breath – Water to drink – sleep – food.
Shelter is in there somewhere depending on the environmental extremes and ones situation in the local food chain.
Art is taken up when there is time allowed for such pursuits.
Fortunately in this age there is plenty of that available – more than some would wish.
While I would never seek to correct an angel on matters of combat theological or martial, the gunpowder armaments of the benighted realms are different matter. Infinite Sigil Protects Space-Time, it is you who misunderstand your brother Red Ghost Casts Down the Chains of the Unworthy.
For that class of armament, defenders routinely were able to hold positions if outnumbered less than 3 to 1. Hence, holding a position when outnumbered 4 to 1 was impressive but not phenomenal. More akin to Vigilant Gaze Purges the Horizon’s performance in this tourney BEFORE the dust was knocked out of his armour, not after.
The 1st Minnesota was attacking a Confederate brigade on July 2. On July 3, they happened to be occupying one of the few spots that Pickett’s Charge penetrated the Union line, and they were forced to attack again.
I’d assumed that she sometimes shops in the children’s section because she’s tiny and that’s all she can find that fits: hence the gymslip. But why recreate that costume now? Because, she’s always thinking back to the last, good day before Gog Agog came and trashed their domestic bliss, and that what she wore then. Cio wants to wind the clock back. Leaving Zaid on Rayuba works with that too.
Aye, aye, ye win. Us’s prattle ringeth gold – or ebon mayhaps, an’ bested we fairsome, tha. Here’s ye payment! What says tha an’ I grab a round or two o’ drink ‘fore the fightin’ may pick up again?
(Yes, yes, you win. My word is gold – or ebon I suppose, and you bested me fair and square. Here’s what I owe you! Now what do you say we both grab a round or two of drinks before the fighting probably picks up again?)
Except that an angels armor/shell fits an individual angel as a key fits a lock. Meaning that even if an angel could fit inside, they might not be able to operate the armor properly.
A great stony fool of long ago acquaintance once observed, “Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”
She’s talking about herself; it’s what she said to the other angels before she flew off and accepted the Thorn Knight’s offer back in Wielder of Names.
I’m not sure about that. If true then it’s the most ungodly thrashing of pronouns ever. “I doubted it once but maybe now I realize she is right”? That’s a pretty strange way of referring to oneself. I suspect it is White Chain’s backhanded apology to Allison.
This perchance could be so, and one doesn’t doubt that it was meant with its duality, but sister White Chain being the subject of her own sentence jars with what she revealed when playing poker.
That her whole belief up unto and past that point was that if she faces odds (an opponent’s hand / an enemy / evil) that are clearly against her then the only logical action is to withdraw.
And go and have a coffee, erm, tea, one meant cup of tea.
A word in these strange times for any others of our readership for whom nothing in their daily life is really much different either, who maybe know severe anxiety a bit more than they’d like and whose self- and social isolation continues as almost any other day. I know there is at least one who shall most likely read this, and shall probably say ‘fuck off bitch’, and smile. 😛
If the whole party gets “well arrested” and if Solomon is arrogant enough to gather them into the same room, cannot Allison just transport them all away?
Presumably yes. Assuming of course this isn’t all part of Solomon 777,777 dimension chest keikaku.
Maybe all of this is to angry Allison as much as possible or push her to action because he realise SHE could be the next King, and he is ploting for her to take his place so he can fuck off.
Maybe Solomon as plan within plan, who know with this smug magnificient bastard.
A Geas Knight in the back row of the Arena rises from her seat,
saying thus to her nearby comrades, also observing the Tournament,
“Witness – Ye ! See ! The Eye of Contention Rises Again in yon Aeon !
I wager upon this One !”
A nearby Vatra wearing a red fez shakes his head and scoffing at this replies,
“But dost thou not view the Damage, said Aeon has taken ?
Look how battered Xe is.
Why – there is a HOLE through that body !”
Clenching her mailed fist towards the field,
the Geas Knight replies with conviction,
“That’s why I Believe this one can touch the Emperor.”
The Vatra sputters… “Wait – you don’t mean…..”
“YES ! – BECAUSE THEY NOW POSSESS – HOLY ANGEL ARMOR !”
Every defeat you can walk away wiser from is a not that much of a loss.
The Black Speech may be crude and insulting to ears who deem themselves more sophisticated but I can´t help but be fond of it. It is a bottomless well of creative insults to draw from when they are needed.
Forty-first page of the chapter? Damn! I was pretty much sure a new chapter will start today, with previous page seeming proper conclusion and everything. Well, still proofs the wisdom of my favourite joke (& probably the best joke ever):
“Remember, only fools are sure, while smart ones are always in doubt”.
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely!”
She’s been that colour since book one, so I don’t think it signals a state change.
Also: “Next I wyll speak on the Ymps, or Blue Devyls. Ymps are flymsy of Body but possesseth a Tongue most vyle and skylfull in the Art. The Blue Devyl possesseth Skin of nyght-hue, hyr Mask is royal, and hyr Blood is ebon. …” — Thulsa Drulle, quoted at WON-1-12.
She’s been that way since we first met her. Don’t know what Abbadons intended design meaning at the start was since he was still figuring out how devils work at the time, but canonically it’s probably an echo of her being a former ebon.
A devils skin color being the same as their mask color isn’t necessarily a hard rule, Princess is a red devil but her skin is blue and Kill Boss, a red devil, from a little ways back has blue-grey skin.
A Devil’s Mask determines their color, and a Devil’s Mask is built of names. As long as Cio bears her names, and her guilt, she will remain merely a blue. The color of her skin is irrelevant.
However, I’ve never gotten a devil to tell me if the skin color is a choice, by chance, or a result of their circumstances. I doubt the later, else Princess would too bear Ebon colored flesh. Perhaps I must merely shatter more masks to learn the truth.
The first time was an accident, yet the crunch was so exquisite and the fight far superior to anything that came before that it has become a habit. I’ve taken to carrying spare masks on my armor, to rebind those foolish enough to challenge me. With the jails across Throne leaking like roofs in the rainy season, I at least know any devil who crosses my path will need time to regain their stature.
42 Fragments the Universe Beyond All Reintegration
She’s a powerful sorceress, who may have invented a new branch of paper-based magic to while away her time in house arrest.
She’s a fearsome warrior, who dominated the fight in Hell 71, fought a way through the Priests of the Count, and defeated two late-stage contestants in the tournament … without really trying, while having a domestic.
She makes effective plans while everybody else just bumbles around.
She actually seems to know what she wants, and a way to get it, and the grace not be overwhelmed by her want. For all the talk of “wisdom, restraint and emptiness” who’s actually practicing that? Hint: she’s the one with the horns.
And yet her accomplishments do not change the color of her skin, your eyes see the pigments as surely as my own or you would not defend her like a passionate lover.
Cio is terrified, of loss, of her former actions, and of herself. She can take no steps along the path of royalty until she overcomes her terror. Her Want is a Want that she denies herself, and she cannot take any steps along the path to Royalty until she accepts herself.
So yes, merely a blue. Perhaps you should fight more Blue Devils, you might come to appreciate their stature. Do not think Cio is the only devil to have fallen from on high, or the only Blue devil to approach the road of kings.
The “idiot lass” here is White Chain, not Allison: check the wording. But yes, we love Cio as Cio and don’t want her turned red/green/gold/ebon, or uplifted, or goddessified.
I see this ending poorly for White Chain. There’s two things that could happen in my eyes.
1. White chain gets shattered by Ki Rata. Cio bails, Princess and Nyave are captured, and Allison is truly alone at the end of the chapter. White Chain may still retreat to the void, since there’s still some plot armor around her regarding Micheal, Metatron, and Juggernaut Star.
2. White chain gets shattered by Ki Rata but hurts Solomon post mortem, either through her actual body or with her exploding.
No way is she gonna be battered like she is currently for the rest of the comic; even if she flat out wins then she’ll need an angel armor repair service. And if she just gets blown up, maybe she’ll want something a bit more her next time.
I don’t know, I suspect that Solomon has either seen or fought enough angels to know at what point they’ll explode at. Not to mention he could retreat to a safe distance and ki rata from there, though he might be too prideful to allow himself that.
There’s another problem though, the usual creators of angel armor haven’t made any for centuries due to some kind of disagreement. The only other source appears to be Metatron, so, they’d have to either somehow reconcile the disagreement or find an exiled or rogue armorsmith who probably lives in seclusion on some wild frontier world.
White Chain deciding to square up with Solomon despite the gaping hole in her chestis probably the most inspirational thing I have seen so far. They were right when they said the greatest kings did not need to do anything for people to kill for them.
The recent set of pages have been one of the most uplifting and inspirational of the whole series.
Like, damn, Vigilant Gaze went all out to support White Chain with a (also self-)motivating speech and went toe-to-toe with Juggernaut and managed to banish her.
This is a world fallen in despair and disrepair, but like the unquenchable spark in the Angel’s body, a flame of hope and justice keeps burning on.
It is heartening to witness it finally throwing some light in this world.
I find it noteworthy, that as White Chain learns here and enacts that lesson, for the first time this chapter — and possibly ever if I cared to recheck — the ornament in her headgear closes its circle completely as if to form the flame into a demiurge’s halo.
My impression is that her helmet is normally a circle, then begins to spread wider and wider as she exerts herself. Start on page 108 of this chapter to see an example of this: she’s all closed up in panel 4, then see it opening up in the last panel. At full thrust the two halves occasionally open so far as to point forward!
Just a thought on the form Allison and Cio did- That was with Cio in blue mask. What do you think would happen if she was black mask? I dare say even one bearing a key would hesitate.
I doubt very much that an Ebon devil would ever release their “partner” once the transformation was complete. What ought to be noted is that in spite of it appearing to be the case that fusing with a devil significantly heightens the strength of the other party, no known Demiurge has ever done so. This being the case I believe it would be safe to assume that such a risk is considered too high even by the likes of the mad Tyrants.
The main problem though is the fact that you have two egos fighting over control. The excerpt from a ways back said that in nearly all cases, the human ended up rejecting the devil or the devil subsumed the host, burning itself out in the process. It did say that the few that did survive didn’t survive the war.
The fact that the devil would/could end up burning itself out (and going nova/supernova? No idea if that’s what happens) also means that it’s just as risky for the ebons, so, it’s unlikely that an ebon would willingly do it. Unless maybe they were already extremely powerful (as the alt-text said I think) but then, ebons are generally already very powerful, so, dunno.
Truesome. Needwise trust nae workaday f’neither black flame, warm na hot, sosuch yey raresome un devilskin. De’ils vulnrabmost feedin thuswise us; as too be yon fed-on if nae ample vigor abund.
Both wee Cio an Alice full trustin an full giein each a tother, both fair powersome; well raresome fine match indeed.
Trouble be comin if’n Cio personality be changin, as well it would as ebon. Yey mightisome wi un ebon, but seven bells o strife.
Mathilda Morgana Galileo Figaro, Blue devil extrodinare
Soooooooo, it turns out that – according to the Wiki – Cio’s name is a pun; “Ciocie Cioelle” is pronounced the same way one would spell out “C-O-C-A C-O-L-A”.
I’m too embarrassed to tell you how I’ve been pronouncing it 😧.
42 Fragments the Universe Beyond All Reintegration
And I guess Preem Nand decided to add the rest to put her down to blue mask for whatever reason. Canonically maybe to avoid attracting attention (though evidently word got out eventually, since WC knew. I wonder if WC was among those that brought down Yabalchoath.), but obviously it’s Abbadons choice since blue devils happen to have the most emotive faces.
I suspect you meant to reply to someone further back, but anyway. It’s a dialect used by all devils, the batlike red devil from book one did it all the time, Vladok used it somewhat, and some of the ebons back in Seeker of Thrones displayed the accent. It’s just that most of the time we see it, it’s coming from Cio.
hello!! Very interesting discussion glad that I came across such informative post. Keep up the good work friend. Glad to be part of your net community.
first
Does tha expect a medal? Mayhaps tha will get a gold star fer effort.
Yes
Will Himself pin it on my straight Jacket?
Nay, that old devil’s busy bein’ locked up. Back to yer padded cell with tha.
Nah, got some hell raising to do with the big Gottdamerung on the horizon. Jaggernoth’s offering fat stacks of gilders *and* a Camaro as signing bonuses.
Let there be no genesis, for beginnings are false.
This is the one and true First Comment, even if it was not apparent at first. And its name…
… its name will be…
CUT SIX BILLION COMMENT CHAINS SHORT-wait no, that’s way too long.
In my long experience, fools tend to rush in and die
But sometimes they can’t help it.
Such is the case of the legendary Sir Leroy, Son of Jenkins.
Ay! The great Leeeeeroy Jenkiiiiiiiiiiiins of fame and glory. Who’s battle cry echoes through the multiverse!
At least he had chicken.
I hear tell that he administers a fried chicken establishment – well he says its chicken.
Cowards, weak, those rushing to die!. They’re all Foxbirds to me.
Hastily or lately, everyone comes across my threshing floor.
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread…
Or so it is written.
Yet what happens when the Angel is a Fool?
White Chain. 😉
Genesis anew! An Tús!! We begin again!
Juggystar spikyarse’ll be thrilled t’be hearin that, us sure.
It is with that last panel that I finally realize how relevant this chapter is to modern times. And that’s most likely not an accident.
“Anything you can do will be insignificant; but it is infinitely important that you do it.” — attr. to Ghandi (perhaps explaining integral calculus).
I searched the vastness of the web for the context of this utterance, and found only this debate among millions of empty silk threads…
I remain skeptical Preem Mahatma ever said those words, but lying is a fundamental art, and this axiom resonates strongly with me. Thus, I shall take it as a motto to observe, and laud you for it, if you don’t mind!
“Whatever you do may seem insignificant to you, but it is most important that you do it.” — Attributed to Ghandi, and copied across many quote databases.
Long ago, in the time of mainframes, modems, and 8-bit computers, I read that Ghandi had spoken this in answer to a common laborer’s question.
If you do not fight against evil because it is hopeless you will get evil.
If you fight against evil even though it is hopeless you might get something better.
Even if you don’t you will inspire those who eventually win.
Art is always a commentary on life as it is and/or life as it should or could be in the time it is created. And sometimes this meaning applies in multiple eras.
This is why the arts are so important to the world and not some effete pastime.
But art takes a backseat or is left at the side of the road when one is distracted with keeping body and soul together and in operable condition.
Things of descending import – Air to breath – Water to drink – sleep – food.
Shelter is in there somewhere depending on the environmental extremes and ones situation in the local food chain.
Art is taken up when there is time allowed for such pursuits.
Fortunately in this age there is plenty of that available – more than some would wish.
white chain pls don’t do anything foolhardy
During the Battle of Gettysburg the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Regiment stopped a Confederate brigade. Of the 262 men who went in, only 47 came back.
Sometimes hope and desperation is all you have.
*looks up “brigade” in Wikipedia*. They were outnumbered four to
one and stopped them? That’s pretty good considering.
4 to 1 on the defensive is good, but not phenomenal.
The wars of the time required some 3 to 1 superiority for the attacker to reliably push through.
You misunderstand. The defenders were the 1.
While I would never seek to correct an angel on matters of combat theological or martial, the gunpowder armaments of the benighted realms are different matter. Infinite Sigil Protects Space-Time, it is you who misunderstand your brother Red Ghost Casts Down the Chains of the Unworthy.
For that class of armament, defenders routinely were able to hold positions if outnumbered less than 3 to 1. Hence, holding a position when outnumbered 4 to 1 was impressive but not phenomenal. More akin to Vigilant Gaze Purges the Horizon’s performance in this tourney BEFORE the dust was knocked out of his armour, not after.
The 1st Minnesota was attacking a Confederate brigade on July 2. On July 3, they happened to be occupying one of the few spots that Pickett’s Charge penetrated the Union line, and they were forced to attack again.
It looks likely to be the first non-foolhardy thing that White Chain has done in awhile.
That’s it, White Chain. The first step on the path to royalty.
If hope is all we have, then our needs have been more than provided for.
Cio with them piccolo clothes beam powers
Piccolo clothes? What?
Anyways, I thought devils usually bought their clothes, but I guess she manufactures them using red magic or something.
The original reincarnation of the Great Demon King.
I’d assumed that she sometimes shops in the children’s section because she’s tiny and that’s all she can find that fits: hence the gymslip. But why recreate that costume now? Because, she’s always thinking back to the last, good day before Gog Agog came and trashed their domestic bliss, and that what she wore then. Cio wants to wind the clock back. Leaving Zaid on Rayuba works with that too.
It’s a reference to Dragon Ball Z Abridged, where Piccolo’s ability to just MAKE clothing at will is dubbed the “Clothes Beam!”.
It is easily her most metro attack.
Ah, good. Team Four Star is not yet forgot.
Cio’s tail thwipping back & forth in 1st panel. Boy is she tweezed.
Helmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!
Well, ne’er let it be said that a bit of smackin’ someone around en’t a valid way to get yer point across. Proud o’ her fer seein’ the light.
Hidesome, tha? Jest, we! But pay’s us since ole Spikeyarse do nae bring th’wheel.
Aye, aye, ye win. Us’s prattle ringeth gold – or ebon mayhaps, an’ bested we fairsome, tha. Here’s ye payment! What says tha an’ I grab a round or two o’ drink ‘fore the fightin’ may pick up again?
(Yes, yes, you win. My word is gold – or ebon I suppose, and you bested me fair and square. Here’s what I owe you! Now what do you say we both grab a round or two of drinks before the fighting probably picks up again?)
White Chain could just swap armor with Vigilant Gaze for the duration of the fight.
Except that an angels armor/shell fits an individual angel as a key fits a lock. Meaning that even if an angel could fit inside, they might not be able to operate the armor properly.
A great stony fool of long ago acquaintance once observed, “Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”
I wonder if Abbadon is doing the self quarantine thing? This new page came up pretty quick.
Anyways, anybody know who White Chain is talking about? I suppose it could be Allison…
She’s talking about herself; it’s what she said to the other angels before she flew off and accepted the Thorn Knight’s offer back in Wielder of Names.
I’m not sure about that. If true then it’s the most ungodly thrashing of pronouns ever. “I doubted it once but maybe now I realize she is right”? That’s a pretty strange way of referring to oneself. I suspect it is White Chain’s backhanded apology to Allison.
It’s White Chain taking pains to refer to her past self as “she,” in defiance of all laws of grammar, diction and decency.
This perchance could be so, and one doesn’t doubt that it was meant with its duality, but sister White Chain being the subject of her own sentence jars with what she revealed when playing poker.
That her whole belief up unto and past that point was that if she faces odds (an opponent’s hand / an enemy / evil) that are clearly against her then the only logical action is to withdraw.
And go and have a coffee, erm, tea, one meant cup of tea.
“I wonder if Abbadon is doing the self quarantine thing? ”
If you’re an American, you should be doing the self quarantine thing, as much as it’s feasibly possible.
City hes in is on lockdown, so id be surprised if he wasnt
For most of us full-time artists the self-quarantine thing is basically business as usual, tbh.
i think people with normal jobs doesnt realize how different freelance artists lifestyle are compared to the others
A word in these strange times for any others of our readership for whom nothing in their daily life is really much different either, who maybe know severe anxiety a bit more than they’d like and whose self- and social isolation continues as almost any other day. I know there is at least one who shall most likely read this, and shall probably say ‘fuck off bitch’, and smile. 😛
I figure she means Delicious, the petal knight Juggernaut Star killed
I get the impression she’s referring to Nyave, who gave a speech on King of Swords 7-66 and 7-77.
Do we know a greater fool?
If you meet one fool, they’re the fool. If everyone you meet is a fool, you’re the fool.
The majority is, by definition, sane, even if they are all fools.
It’s a Gog-a-gog world out there.
Your definition of sanity has some troubling loopholes.
A fool would be the norm, but would that fool be sane? Would doing the same foolish things still have the same unsavory consequences?
Just putting it out there that White Chain has just Returned from Emptiness To Subdue Evil
Sometimes, you just have to hope you crit.
Is the horse’s house a home
marked by seal’s teeth and bones?
or just the Angel, all alone?
If the whole party gets “well arrested” and if Solomon is arrogant enough to gather them into the same room, cannot Allison just transport them all away?
Presumably yes. Assuming of course this isn’t all part of Solomon 777,777 dimension chest keikaku.
Maybe all of this is to angry Allison as much as possible or push her to action because he realise SHE could be the next King, and he is ploting for her to take his place so he can fuck off.
Maybe Solomon as plan within plan, who know with this smug magnificient bastard.
A Geas Knight in the back row of the Arena rises from her seat,
saying thus to her nearby comrades, also observing the Tournament,
“Witness – Ye ! See ! The Eye of Contention Rises Again in yon Aeon !
I wager upon this One !”
A nearby Vatra wearing a red fez shakes his head and scoffing at this replies,
“But dost thou not view the Damage, said Aeon has taken ?
Look how battered Xe is.
Why – there is a HOLE through that body !”
Clenching her mailed fist towards the field,
the Geas Knight replies with conviction,
“That’s why I Believe this one can touch the Emperor.”
The Vatra sputters… “Wait – you don’t mean…..”
“YES ! – BECAUSE THEY NOW POSSESS – HOLY ANGEL ARMOR !”
Now I, at long last, understand why neither Swiss cheese nor donuts have ever been bested in battle.
Reach heaven through the best of bad puns my friend!
Every defeat you can walk away wiser from is a not that much of a loss.
The Black Speech may be crude and insulting to ears who deem themselves more sophisticated but I can´t help but be fond of it. It is a bottomless well of creative insults to draw from when they are needed.
Forty-first page of the chapter? Damn! I was pretty much sure a new chapter will start today, with previous page seeming proper conclusion and everything. Well, still proofs the wisdom of my favourite joke (& probably the best joke ever):
“Remember, only fools are sure, while smart ones are always in doubt”.
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely!”
One scratch and white chain becomes of the seven Gods of the new world.
…..
Claw his eyes out bitch!
I love Cio’s Clothes Wrap Self Technique
No YOU teared up a little reading the last panel shut up
Clio’s face is blue but the rest of her body is ebon. Does that mean her ranking among demons is changing again?
She’s been that colour since book one, so I don’t think it signals a state change.
Also: “Next I wyll speak on the Ymps, or Blue Devyls. Ymps are flymsy of Body but possesseth a Tongue most vyle and skylfull in the Art. The Blue Devyl possesseth Skin of nyght-hue, hyr Mask is royal, and hyr Blood is ebon. …” — Thulsa Drulle, quoted at WON-1-12.
She’s been that way since we first met her. Don’t know what Abbadons intended design meaning at the start was since he was still figuring out how devils work at the time, but canonically it’s probably an echo of her being a former ebon.
A devils skin color being the same as their mask color isn’t necessarily a hard rule, Princess is a red devil but her skin is blue and Kill Boss, a red devil, from a little ways back has blue-grey skin.
A Devil’s Mask determines their color, and a Devil’s Mask is built of names. As long as Cio bears her names, and her guilt, she will remain merely a blue. The color of her skin is irrelevant.
However, I’ve never gotten a devil to tell me if the skin color is a choice, by chance, or a result of their circumstances. I doubt the later, else Princess would too bear Ebon colored flesh. Perhaps I must merely shatter more masks to learn the truth.
Sh…Shatter Masks! But you… You’ll release It. You know, that… Stuff, T-T-Truth!
The first time was an accident, yet the crunch was so exquisite and the fight far superior to anything that came before that it has become a habit. I’ve taken to carrying spare masks on my armor, to rebind those foolish enough to challenge me. With the jails across Throne leaking like roofs in the rainy season, I at least know any devil who crosses my path will need time to regain their stature.
“Merely” a blue?
She’s a powerful sorceress, who may have invented a new branch of paper-based magic to while away her time in house arrest.
She’s a fearsome warrior, who dominated the fight in Hell 71, fought a way through the Priests of the Count, and defeated two late-stage contestants in the tournament … without really trying, while having a domestic.
She makes effective plans while everybody else just bumbles around.
She actually seems to know what she wants, and a way to get it, and the grace not be overwhelmed by her want. For all the talk of “wisdom, restraint and emptiness” who’s actually practicing that? Hint: she’s the one with the horns.
Merely a blue. Right.
And yet her accomplishments do not change the color of her skin, your eyes see the pigments as surely as my own or you would not defend her like a passionate lover.
Cio is terrified, of loss, of her former actions, and of herself. She can take no steps along the path of royalty until she overcomes her terror. Her Want is a Want that she denies herself, and she cannot take any steps along the path to Royalty until she accepts herself.
So yes, merely a blue. Perhaps you should fight more Blue Devils, you might come to appreciate their stature. Do not think Cio is the only devil to have fallen from on high, or the only Blue devil to approach the road of kings.
“Get out of the way of our idiot lass!”
Never change, Cio.
The “idiot lass” here is White Chain, not Allison: check the wording. But yes, we love Cio as Cio and don’t want her turned red/green/gold/ebon, or uplifted, or goddessified.
I feel weird for being as attracted to Cio as I am.
That tha’s weirdysome tis as may be, but nae fer findin thon wee imp enticin. If’n un other thinkin elsewise, thum be weirdy.
At least you are in the same company as the Conquering King’s heir.
I see this ending poorly for White Chain. There’s two things that could happen in my eyes.
1. White chain gets shattered by Ki Rata. Cio bails, Princess and Nyave are captured, and Allison is truly alone at the end of the chapter. White Chain may still retreat to the void, since there’s still some plot armor around her regarding Micheal, Metatron, and Juggernaut Star.
2. White chain gets shattered by Ki Rata but hurts Solomon post mortem, either through her actual body or with her exploding.
No way is she gonna be battered like she is currently for the rest of the comic; even if she flat out wins then she’ll need an angel armor repair service. And if she just gets blown up, maybe she’ll want something a bit more her next time.
I don’t know, I suspect that Solomon has either seen or fought enough angels to know at what point they’ll explode at. Not to mention he could retreat to a safe distance and ki rata from there, though he might be too prideful to allow himself that.
There’s another problem though, the usual creators of angel armor haven’t made any for centuries due to some kind of disagreement. The only other source appears to be Metatron, so, they’d have to either somehow reconcile the disagreement or find an exiled or rogue armorsmith who probably lives in seclusion on some wild frontier world.
White Chain deciding to square up with Solomon despite the gaping hole in her chestis probably the most inspirational thing I have seen so far. They were right when they said the greatest kings did not need to do anything for people to kill for them.
The recent set of pages have been one of the most uplifting and inspirational of the whole series.
Like, damn, Vigilant Gaze went all out to support White Chain with a (also self-)motivating speech and went toe-to-toe with Juggernaut and managed to banish her.
This is a world fallen in despair and disrepair, but like the unquenchable spark in the Angel’s body, a flame of hope and justice keeps burning on.
It is heartening to witness it finally throwing some light in this world.
It would seem White Chain has found their way
She’s going to try to punch Solomon to buy them time?
Let us remember that White Chain has learned to bluff. Perhaps she has a plan… let’s hope so.
Or maybe she already knew how to bluff? The greatest bluff of all would be fooling others into thinking you can’t bluff.
Let us watch the final battle of White Chain.
Alison’s all like “Wait, she’s not yelling at me? WTF is this?!”
I find it noteworthy, that as White Chain learns here and enacts that lesson, for the first time this chapter — and possibly ever if I cared to recheck — the ornament in her headgear closes its circle completely as if to form the flame into a demiurge’s halo.
My impression is that her helmet is normally a circle, then begins to spread wider and wider as she exerts herself. Start on page 108 of this chapter to see an example of this: she’s all closed up in panel 4, then see it opening up in the last panel. At full thrust the two halves occasionally open so far as to point forward!
The second panel reminds me of just how painfully thicc Allison is.
Words you may recall from Pree Maya:
Reach heaven through violence.
If you meet God on the road, kill him.
White Chain is a keen listener.
Did… did Cio’s hand fart in panel 5?
Naw, she’s fluffing the dress, but I prefer your interpretation.
I love Cio’s insults. A compendium of them should be made for posterity, and for impromptu use at cocktail parties.
The swishing tail is also cool.
Go to towwwnnn, Cio!
She’s about to do it to ’em.
Cio’s tail in the panel one.
Pree holey angel.
Just a thought on the form Allison and Cio did- That was with Cio in blue mask. What do you think would happen if she was black mask? I dare say even one bearing a key would hesitate.
What would you name such a fusion? Allichoath?
Remember, you heard it hear first.
I suspect it would be something strange and terrible to all involved, mask and wearer included
Sounds awesome. Let’s do it.
I doubt very much that an Ebon devil would ever release their “partner” once the transformation was complete. What ought to be noted is that in spite of it appearing to be the case that fusing with a devil significantly heightens the strength of the other party, no known Demiurge has ever done so. This being the case I believe it would be safe to assume that such a risk is considered too high even by the likes of the mad Tyrants.
The main problem though is the fact that you have two egos fighting over control. The excerpt from a ways back said that in nearly all cases, the human ended up rejecting the devil or the devil subsumed the host, burning itself out in the process. It did say that the few that did survive didn’t survive the war.
The fact that the devil would/could end up burning itself out (and going nova/supernova? No idea if that’s what happens) also means that it’s just as risky for the ebons, so, it’s unlikely that an ebon would willingly do it. Unless maybe they were already extremely powerful (as the alt-text said I think) but then, ebons are generally already very powerful, so, dunno.
Truesome. Needwise trust nae workaday f’neither black flame, warm na hot, sosuch yey raresome un devilskin. De’ils vulnrabmost feedin thuswise us; as too be yon fed-on if nae ample vigor abund.
Both wee Cio an Alice full trustin an full giein each a tother, both fair powersome; well raresome fine match indeed.
Trouble be comin if’n Cio personality be changin, as well it would as ebon. Yey mightisome wi un ebon, but seven bells o strife.
I would love for this comic to be adapted by disney so that Princess Jack could be the best disney princess ever.
Heh heh. An who be voicin us Princess justsomelike? Nae a brainspark us.
Neer come a be sadbesay, too way much Ciospeak be cut.
Gods no. Any day where a property is kept from the talons of the great mouse is a good day.
Soooooooo, it turns out that – according to the Wiki – Cio’s name is a pun; “Ciocie Cioelle” is pronounced the same way one would spell out “C-O-C-A C-O-L-A”.
I’m too embarrassed to tell you how I’ve been pronouncing it 😧.
Yep. One presumes that Praman Nand was using name magic to turn his restored wife sweet and bubbly. Didn’t *entirely* work.
Maybe not, but she’s fizzy and rots your teeth.
And I guess Preem Nand decided to add the rest to put her down to blue mask for whatever reason. Canonically maybe to avoid attracting attention (though evidently word got out eventually, since WC knew. I wonder if WC was among those that brought down Yabalchoath.), but obviously it’s Abbadons choice since blue devils happen to have the most emotive faces.
Odd question: If you’re an “Ebon” devil, why do you use the same cant as the blue devils?
I suspect you meant to reply to someone further back, but anyway. It’s a dialect used by all devils, the batlike red devil from book one did it all the time, Vladok used it somewhat, and some of the ebons back in Seeker of Thrones displayed the accent. It’s just that most of the time we see it, it’s coming from Cio.
So about White Chain’s body/shell: can she repair it? Can angels modify their shells? What happens when a shell is totalled?
Another Flame that refused to surrender light for heat wakes from slumber. The revelation comes that light and heat are the same.
Great post.
Great post.
Great post.
Great post.
Great post.
Great post.
Great post.
Outstanding post once again. I am looking forward to more updates.
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