Wielder of Names 3-41
YISUN walked once with their son, Ogam, through YISUN’s plum garden, which was in full bloom. When the winds blew well and nourished the trees there, their blossoms were sublime, and they bore so much fruit that the great ten-antlered guardian of that garden was very busy keeping intruders out.
The rumor stood that a single succulent bite from a plum of YISUN’s garden could grant immortality, and so hundreds of fine warriors, sages, and wisdom seekers constantly assailed its walls in times of plenty, seeking the bounty within. It was said this perplexed YISUN, who would not wish such an awful curse on any of their children.
“Father-Mother!” bellowed Lord Ogam as they walked along the winding path, and thumped his cavernous chest, “Have you seen that I am a great warrior?”
“I have,” said YISUN, “You are very skilled at reducing your opponents into their constituent parts.”
Ogam was very proud, but then bent his rough knees and turned his scarred pate towards YISUN in supplication. “Oh Father-Mother! I have thought upon this for some time. Let me perform a great service as your son. Surely, you must have an enemy that I can destroy for you?”
“That is a good question,” said YISUN, “Do I have such an enemy?”
“If such a man, woman, or godling exist, I shall not rest until I scrape his brains from his head,” bellowed Ogam, and made a fist in salute.
“Once in the market I saw a man in a great rage,” said YISUN, “He spat and cursed his enemy, and tore at him wildly. Blood flew from his fingernails, and spittle was around his lips, and his fight was fierce indeed. He was a mighty warrior.”
“Was he successful?” said Ogam.
“No,” said YISUN, “He remained locked in combat for the whole time I watched him, and though he panted and heaved with sweat, he saw no success. His struggle was eternal. The man that he tore at was himself.”
“A madman, and a fool!” proclaimed Ogam, and spat upon the ground.
“Ogam is observant,” said YISUN.
– Psalms 10:27
… y’know YISUN is pretty damn snarky.
YISUN, master of sick burns and dropping the ball.
This is why i love KSBD.
This comment section…
He might also have meant that YISUN is everything and that anyone he might fight would be nothing but a part of himself, which would be silly.
Reading this passage again, it struck me as The great enemy, I. One cannot hope to defeat the self in a bloodied rage, one must instead know stillness; and through that stillness, one must hope to pluck the great heart of I from it’s body in an act of precise, simple violence, as though it were a plum on a branch.
Thinking on the great enemy known as I, it really isn’t as hard to defeat as everyone thinks it is. All that is needed is a knife or a suitably large fall.
Prim did it with a mirror, made from her own tears.
Hansa was born having done it.
To defeat the ego of I you say?
Bah, in doing such an act thou would not be the victor, infact thou would be the defeated and thus have lost said struggle.
How can you defeat the Great Enemy with a knife, when a knife is a thing that does not exist? A knife is as much of a lie as the body it cuts.
Just realized that We are all fraction of fractions of YiSun’s divison. Thou art God. I am god. We tear at ourself.
Write the stories, or they will be written for you.
And whatever you do, don’t fall in love.
Oh man, I wonder where Cio’s actually taking Allison
In a certain way, it’s Allison taking Cio.
Especially if that “lightning” is what I suspect it is…
Blueberry
:0 Cio is excellent, all these updates are excellent, everything is excellent.
I love this whole sequence — Alison gets to be a dork but also grow a spine, Cio gets to be awesome but also vulnerable. Also my favorite fashion statement slash pun came back (coat of arms!). Also the whole of the void just looks phenomenal.
This is a good psalm.
To hide the key… or to grant to her its powers?
a writer often has more than her own interests at heart
=//=
NEVER TRUST A DEMON!
The stars in her face
The demon seeking hope
I think her form has been growing more firey and solid ever since she got Vladdock’s kiss. The heat from it’s hot black flame might fuel her warm black flame so far from the great flame of throne.
She looks more solid than the other magisters now, though, so there might be more to it.
Awww. 🙁 *hugshugs*
Cio continues to be adorable as always and I really wish her and Alice the best of luck as with all the Thelma and Louise vibes I am getting from them right now they will probably need it.
Interestingly Cio seems to think that Alice is simply hiding the key rather than the Successor, does this mean she does not know the prophecy or does she simply not think Alice is the subject of it?
Also did Alice and Cio flying through the gate activate it?
No, you can see people walking into it and getting all lightningy in the third panel. Unless you were asking how the gate can be used, in which case yes they did.
A _lot_ of people in-comic are convinced that the successor isn’t Alison, but her boyfriend. See the recent interlude featuring White Chains and the Thorn Knight.
They seem to understand the difference between male and female. This is hardly surprising, given that they themselves exhibit male and female traits. However, they seem to subscribe to a method of inheritance in which male inherits from male and female from female. They forget far too soon that YISUN was both and neither, so any inheritance from YISUN would both fail to follow their world-rules and follow them at the same time – another perfect example of the paradox of YISUN. That a non-inheritance was received, being taken by force instead, means that a nothing must again be inherited to begin a tradition – yet another paradox, for a nothing cannot be an inheritance.
Is there a reason, though, that there can’t be multiple successors? Sure, there can only be one King, but that doesn’t mean they can’t fight over it. With the way this comic seems to treat the idea of anything absolute or constant, I’d be shocked if ‘prophecy’ meant ‘one interpretation, no deviation’.
Honestly, I’m more worried about what her boyfriend’s state of mind will be when they reach him. Whiiiich seems like it might be a while yet, since Clio can’t drive, and she’s not even the _drunk_ one.
Actually, that’s not necessarily an accurate example – I think the Thorns are intentionally lying when they say that her boyfriend is the heir, to get WC to wreck the plans of the First King (whom they hate) to achieve a better stability (which they also don’t want), but that would WC approves of (else she’d forswear the oath, cracks be damned).
Maybe they see a false heir as one who could bring about the end of the multiverse that they desire? They probably will even find it amusing that the First King’s deception to keep Allison safe (naming bf king, which is why the demons grabbed the bf and claim him heir), should backfire and see the fake crowned, to the glory of ruin and dissolution.
Well. So which of those beverages has she still not parted with and what are its effects on her metaphorism?
What happens to a soul who enters dreamland while in the void anyway?
And it’s neat that even night itself casts a shadow in the void.
Cio has chosen as her profession to name a colossal entity, namely history itself. I just wonder, can you put a mask on that?
History is the coward’s truth. The present is such a more challenging lie.
One would call such a mask a book.
YISUN is truly the master of the sick burn.
And LOL at Allison passing out. I hope for Cio’s sake that she doesn’t wind up puking all over that Coat!
Oh no. I ship it. I ship it so hard.
The literal flying of sparks does not hurt, one must admit.
3/108 get?
And what next? I never was satisfied with this verse. Is Ogam ever to realize he is the very man of whom YISUN speaks?
The mad fool suffers the failings of both with none of their strengths.
Is not YISUN speaking of themself? YIS and UN fought for 7 days….but even YISUN has no wish for Ogam to slay them.
Thinking that the parable is meant to refer to Ogam is just a narrow view. The wider and more all-encompassing truth of it is that it refers to Yisun, who is everyone. Ogam and any enemies he might choose to face in Yisun’s name are all Yisun simply playing a different role. There is no chastisement meant here, I believe. Yisun is simply laying out the reality of the universe.
She thinks she knows the plans of Kings, little does she know true Kings do not plan for they know how fickle the World is to plans.
This page is making me Ship Cio x Allison so much.
Cio is a fanfiction writer.
We will write fanfics of a fanfic writer.
Fanfictionception.
Though I have been through The Void enough times to be aquainted with it, the geometry of the place still baffles me.
Consider for a moment the ear wire on the bespectacled demon In frame 5. In spite of it’s apparently much smaller size than the brim of the hat, it never-the-less surrounds the hat as the paper-riders bump into each other.
Indeed, the spatial mechanics of the void almost as outlandish and unintuitive as the dreaded “Quantum Theory”. The wise thing to do is to not think too closely about it lest you start losing your sanity.
If however, like me, you have a surplus of sanity, don’t have a good use for it (or simply don’t enjoy being sane), then it can be a very fascinating subject of study.
WHOOPS
I hope Allison doesn’t flop off when they make a turn. We also have some nice self-deprecating YISUN here. A very great page all together.
I hope Allison _does_ flop off, so we can see Clio holding onto seven things with her extra hands.
Does Cio actuall care? That would be most facinating.
Why is she blue and sparkly? Is this the alcohol, or the Key?
I ship these blueberries.
Lo! No lenses of Yur-ai are needed to see what is right before our eyes. The question is no longer ‘if’ but merely ‘when’ this ship shall sail about the wheel, wild and proud. By YISUN’s grace, let not the dreaded hetshit brine the waters.
I once met a window which suffered a terrible melancholy, for it was never used by the folk of the house to come and go. I told the window that this was the door’s purpose, and that a window is a door for sunlight and breezes and drifting music. This seemed to cheer the window greatly.
A lie half-told brings only misery. When you tell yourself a lie, it must be truth, or it will never seem true.
Hostility to love in any form is soulless and disgusting, Shipmaster. You would do well to respect whatever happens.
Being said, I am ambivalently neutral over whether Allison continues her quest to rescue her lover or if she and Cio kindle something between them. Let the wheel turn. I am merely trapped in the spokes.
As are we all, whether we admit it or not.
Though like most absolute statements, that one is rife with the possibility of exceptions.
We know the prophecy demands both light flame, and dark – if Cio is dark, and White Chains light, it might be argued that there must be an equality in their relation to Allison. not necessarily symmetry, but a parity of expectations and connections. If love should bind the one, an equal love will bind the other, though the love need not be romantic, platonic, or courtly.
You are wise, Pree Carlos. Though my heart favors some ships over others, a good shipmaster knows true enough that any vessel has a right to at least attempt to sail. Should the garden bear roses or lilies, it will be as YISUN intended.
I see no pairing that could rival, dare I say it, my own immaculate beauty. Truly, the sheer potential for that which binds the heart…and that which breaks it, is staggering. I do ever ponder how this new vessel of intimate feelings will challenge Allison’s current endeavors with the captured man.
I call it now: Cio is planning to betray Allison. She feels guilty in advance.
Hopefully Cio is breaking a promise by not working for her former employer. Her masks shatters, Allison renames her with only ONE name…shabang, instant ebon devil!
But if this were done the devil that would result would be very much different than our dear Cio. And more than likely less friendly to the heroine. Not the greatest of plans, I believe.
Who would a demon named Cio, just Cio, be?
I was under the impression it was only Angels that shattered upon uttering falsehoods.
Falsehoods, yes. But it is Oaths that bind the Devils, not Law. Breaking a bargain is how Vladok ceased to be.
One broken promise is no serious injury for a healthy devil like Cio. Anyways, a Devil knows better than to make big promises that she doesn’t intend to keep and offer no great reward to an unsavory Golden Devil.