Source material: Kill Six Billion Demons: Wielder of Names ch. 5-6
Blogged: September 22-26, 2019
Demon time!
Last time, Allison met the surprisingly fun Mottom and got herself dragged into attending a ball. This time, well, Pastwell had some nice thoughts:
Next time, we’re attending a ball, apparently! And meeting Mottom’s husband. Maybe chapter 5 will have us checking on Ciocie the way we’ve recently been periodically checking on White Chain, and then it’s back to the ball in chapter 6? I’d be down for that.
My biggest prediction is this: This comic continues to be excellent.
As much as Allison is fantastic, I would love to get a Ciocie-centric chapter.
Though considering the structure of book 2 so far, it seems more likely that we’re furthering the White Chain story. Maybe book 3 will have Ciocie chapters?
These are also the last two chapters of book 2, so we’re probably heading towards some form of subclimax. Doesn’t have to be a huge spectacle, judging by the climax of book 1, but we’ve got a small army of rabble following Allison. Maybe they’ll invade the ball and cause a lot of chaos?
There’s also the matter of Mottom’s husband, Top-Agog, and the “offer” Mottom has for Allison. Allison has already eaten forbidden fruit of life; is she going to make a deal with the devil now?
Uh, another one. With a less literal devil.
Let’s go!
Huh. Staying at the palace was actually the last thing I expected from this chapter opening. But it does seem like we’re not in Allison’s perspective at the moment… Did Ciocie find a way to make her way up here?
Hmm.
Okay, that’s not the guy who had the Sword earlier.
I’m sure this door guard is going to be relevant somehow though.
Party crashers? Expected that.
The party crasher being Juggernaut Star? Did not see that coming.
Is White Chain with you?
[alt text]
I think the final panel on this page was one of my favorite to draw in a while. I am way too into drawing that motorbike for obvious reasons.
It is a really rad bike.
Oh, I just noticed White Chain is on the back of the bike. Nice.
Certainly knows how to make an entrance.
Also, that’s more specifically White Chain’s empty shell, but it looks like that’s about to change.
[alt text]
O awful Rider of the night/
who shall not stray when led by day/
He that striketh down each man/
or beast or God that bars his way
Y’know what, let’s have an AI continue this poem:
O awful Rider of the night
who shall not stray when led by day
He that striketh down each man
or beast or God that bars his way
Who in every country and people
And in the full-grown and in the humble
Who has been no knight to be trusted
Who in the deep shall not sleep
That hath done all the great deeds
I am in my dreams dreaming
Of one that comes before and before
Who shall hold the world in his hands
And I in the same hold as he does
Who will say a long farewell to my land
And I will hear the last trumpet blast
That blows from that horn that brings death,
And he shall die upon his own land
And I shall be with him in his grave
And I will give me one sword to guard my land
That shall cut off all the heads of my enemies
And he shall be with me in my grave
And I shall be with him in his grave
And I shall be with him in his grave
I am in my dreams dreaming
Of one that comes before and before
That’s definitely a prophecy.
Because Juggernaut Star would just kinda break everything?
By which I mean everyone.
Of course Juggernaut Star doesn’t quite follow orders. You don’t look like that without being a rebel, with or without a cause.
Hello, servant. You should probably just turn around and forget you ever saw anything.
[alt text]
Things are not holding up well for background characters in this comic
Yeeeah
With Juggernaut around, it’s worth acting quickly if you want to minimize the casualties.
I think Jack Slash and Juggernaut Star would get along swimmingly.
White Chain, protector of the “fragile” and “meaningless”.
On the side, I’ve just been showing my mom a very good story that touches a little on themes like this; an MLP:FiM fanfic called Keepers of Discord. I recommend this reading by DrWolf as the best way to experience the story:
[alt text]
“If a man’s life were measured in tea it would be a precious thing indeed.” – Vym Yrttr, priest of YISUN
I feel like Lia/neuxue, that one Wheel of Time liveblogger I’ve been reading alongside the audiobooks of the series, would appreciate this line.
How do you pronounce Yrttr? [ˈʏʈɾ̩]? [ˈjərt.tɾ̩]? Yourtutor? [ˈøːʈɾ̩]? Arthur? Is Veewyem Whyare Teeteear some soda I’m not familiar with?
These angels just love their dramatics, don’t they?
A race, then. Let’s see if Juggernaut Star, like Delicious, can move faster than fools can die.
[alt text]
Fires of Truth
The fires of truth shall devour all falsehoods.
Something tells me you won’t be so pleased once Juggernaut Star comes in here and does his thing.
Unless you find that sort of thing entertaining, which… fair enough.
This one’s cute.
This lady reminds me of the beggarknight. I wonder if she’s another Knight?
That hat is great. It reminds me of that one time a Homestuck character — I won’t specify which one, because spoilers — who was out of focus, in the background of one of the last few panels of Homestuck, looked like she had a really weird head shape. (She was also missing hands and legs, though her shirt arms and skirt were intact.)
I made “fanart” of that, basically drawing the character approximately as she looked in that panel.
One of the interpretations others came up with in the replies to my post was that her head was a ship, and someone with more art skills than I have drew that in more detail. It was beautiful.
Allison sees this for what it is, I think. See also “pet royalty”, that’s a bit of a tell.
[alt text]
Community challenge – come up with elaborate backstories for all the characters in this image
What do you think this is, the MLP:FiM fandom?
…the fans have done this, I assume.
And she said: “We are all just prisoners here
Of our own device”
Allison’s really not beating around the bush here.
Mottom has been set up as having been through something similar to what Allison is going through at some point. Is that how she ended up calling herself a prisoner? I’m guessing it’s in the sense that she feels trapped in her role as a demiurge for some reason, possibly related to the whole balance thing.
Oh yeah, the late god-king Rushed About! An alt text last chapter mentioned him. He’s dead, though, which I suppose left Mottom as demiurge in his place. I suppose that means she remarried.
I take it her first marriage wasn’t exactly consensual.
And so the parallel to Allison dyeing her hair ties together. It’s all about the image, as I was thoroughly reminded of by the original MSPA fan adventure K6BD in the Between post.
[alt text]
“Hastet Om. A man who picks his wives as though selecting beautiful flowers from a field. And he rips their petals off just as fast.” – Au Vam
With these hands I’ve picked a rose and have stopped its life
Only now I understand, it’s not what’s right.
Hmmm.
Mottom introduced Allison to the fruit of life, and then to the luxury, and she’s speaking rather frankly about what her life actually is like. She’s getting really personal with Allison and treating her really well…
…and she still has that “offer” to put to her.
I’m starting to wonder if maybe Mottom wants to pass all of this on to Allison so that she herself can escape this life.
Looks like we’ve found the point where Mottom’s patience for Allison’s frankness starts to wane.
Also those middle panels are definitely going in my reactions folder.
Cowardice and bravery. These two are such an interesting pair of foils. I’m looking forward to seeing whether Allison starts paralleling Mottom more as the story goes on, or she starts deliberately steering away from this kind of life.
I’m leaning towards the latter.
Also, “major discrepancies with the guest list” is a fun way of putting “deadly invasion by heavy metal angels”.
[alt text]
God of Light
Light? I’m not sure that’s the aspect I’d associate with Mottom. She seems more like a Thief of Life or an inverted Page of Doom.
Ooh, I was right!
What’s happening with Allison in that last panel? Freaky beggarknight magic? Some side effect of the fruit of life?
Ah, just it wearing off, fair enough.
Also “friends” is one way of describing them. Not necessarily an accurate way, but definitely a way.
Do we have another demiurge who understands the true meaning of the prophecy? Or is she just alluding back to her metaphor from earlier about how all girls like them would have to be queens?
Hard to say.
Also, we do know Rushed About is “late”, but maybe that doesn’t mean she’s remarried. Maybe they’re going to his grave?
[alt text]
Final Libations
Final what now?
Ahh, ceremonial drinks.
Ah, yeah, looks like a mausoleum type place. We’re visiting his grave.
Unless her new husband just really likes graves.
…
Wait, hang on. What happens if you force-feed the fruit of life to a corpse? Does that do anything?
Damn, I was happy to have actually identified it as a mausoleum.
A belief in an afterlife, even here. Interesting.
Was Om ever a place, or just a dynasty of demiurges?
There’s not an ounce of tact or discretion in Allison.
I like how Mottom responds here, by simply snuffing out the light. That’s a yes.
[alt text]
The halls are dead now, their kings ground into dust. It is the table salt of their new mistress.
Mother Om-nom-nom.
I think Mottom would like Skitter.
I thought for a moment she was saying she plucked his eye out. That would certainly complete the Skitter reference I just made. Especially with his body being “swollen”.
But no, I assume that means the key she’s got in her forehead.
Of all the ways that sentence could have ended, this was not one I saw coming.
Mottom: I finally killed my husband to end his tyrannical lechery.
Rushed About: Stop telling everyone I’m dead, Nadia.
Mottom: Sometimes I can still hear his voice.
…also this really makes my response to Mottom having a husband in the first place a bit harsher in hindsight.
[Pastwell]
She has a husband?
…
She has one husband?
[alt text]
Grip of Fear
Its grip can be hard around one’s throat.
I’m assuming he wasn’t literally still alive or back as a ghost or anything. It was just her mind playing tricks on her.
I hope.
Oh.
Well then.
Is this the consequence of eating too much of the fruit of life? After you finally die, you turn into the kind of tree that produces the fruit?
That… would kind of explain why, if not how, a fruit of life would evolve in the first place, actually. The fruit entices people to eat it for the youth effect, and the tree reproduces by that process.
I take it this means he’s still demanding more “wives”.
Maybe he needs these sacrifices to continue producing the fruit?
Looks like it. Blood goes in, fruit goes out.
[alt text / title]
Wielder of Names 5-92 (Tree of Woe)
Tree of Woe. Nice.
Kind of reminds me of another entity defying death for a long time, namely the Face of Boe.
Called it!
But see, Mottom, you’ve made a good case for why you want to do this and why someone’s to believe that you’re willing to “offer” this without it being some trick. A little too good of a case. If you want to truly get rid of this coil, you have to trick someone, or find someone who doesn’t see the life you’ve been trapped in as a downside that outweighs the luxury. Allison’s not going to take this offer, not just because she has her own story and path to royalty to follow, but because you’ve laid out for her that accepting this is a terrible idea.
And that is what makes you a sympathetic character. You could have tried to foist this role onto someone else through deception and trickery, but you can’t bring yourself to do that. As much as you want out, you don’t have the conscience to trick someone into the life you can no longer bear, to make someone take that role while uninformed of its true nature, because you know so well what you’re asking them to do. And so you’re open and honest about what exactly this entails, holding onto a shred of hope that Allison might actually want to take your burden off your shoulders willingly.
I like this. I like this a lot.
Ah, a soft cap on how long it can keep you alive. Makes sense, if the fruit actually does what it does for the sake of what happens when you die.
Mottom’s really trapped between a rock and a soft fruit here. Is there anything Allison can do to get her out of this without fucking herself over in the process?
They flow from your eyes and turn into vapor when things get too hot to handle.
[alt text]
The ultimate tribute
And she didn’t even volunteer in the place of her little sister.
Y’know, when I envisioned Allison fighting the demiurges, this is not how I thought the first blow would come about.
Sometimes, a good smack is necessary.
(But not to children.)
I love foils so much.
This is real, this is me
I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be now
Gonna let the light
Shine on me
Meanwhile Mottom’s piecing together what just happened. I wonder how long it’s been since anyone actually succeeded at hitting her?
The last person might have been Rushed About. That kind of association could have disastrous consequences for Allison.
Are you thinking of taking down the tree, Allison? To stop feeding the beast at Hotel California?
Fair warning, steel and knives just can’t kill it.
[alt text]
I think Allison’s going a little further than most people to get some self-realization here
Hehe, ain’t that just the way with protagonists though?
Fuck yes, let’s burn, baby, burn.
Oh fuck, what are you doing here?
Do you disapprove of burning the tree, or just Allison’s hesitation?
The power… of the key, I would assume. Does she need that to destroy the tree, fire not being enough? Or is he just talking in general?
Title drop!
- Fate is not a cage except for those who fear it. That would be Mottom, in this case, caged by her fate, but Mottom acts as a foil for Allison in that respect. An example of what could happen to Allison if she were to take a different path. It’s interesting that Zoss says this while Allison is actively choosing to not let herself be caged by fear.
- By names she cuts the world as she pleases. When you rule, the world is what you call it. Call it Vladok and it will be a Vladok. Call it Princess Mamoru Moonshine Jagermeister Jack Jack Daniels Timothy Tim Bill Freddy Mercury Blueberry Luna, Esquire, and you can make it a Princess Mamoru Moonshine Jagermeister Jack Jack Daniels Timothy Tim Bill Freddy Mercury Blueberry Luna, Esquire. The world is what you make of it.
- And she cuts herself into greater forms still. The world is what you make of it, and you are what you make of yourself. It’s all about your resolution to be the best you can be and make the world into what you think it should be.
- Will you choose to be a king? This is actually a really good question, because as much as I expect Allison to end up with this sort of role as a potential outcome for her, I also think there’s a good chance she’ll turn it down.
Oooh.
She’s done fucking around. She’s grabbing fate by the balls and claiming her role.
[alt text]
Allison finds her inner fire
She’s always been fiery, but that fire has grown from a candle that blows in the wind to an inferno that is only fueled by the wind, and devours it.
And with the resolution to rule, she can call upon the power of the master key to reshape reality with the voice of god.
Well. Maybe she’s not exactly ready to reshape reality yet, but she can certainly fuck up a tree.
Case in point.
[alt text]
1/6,000,000,000
Interesting definition of a demon, but sure.
So would these be inner demons? Mottom’s, in this case?
Maybe… maybe it’s about time.
Yeah, considering what it took to keep you alive, this is one point on which sympathy is going to be a little scarce.
Villains motivated by a fear of death are kind of fun. Like, not motivated by wanting to avoid something in particular killing them, but by fearing death in general. That’s what makes Voldemort more interesting than just your run-of-the-mill racist terrorist, for instance.
It’s such a primal and understandable motivator, a thing everybody in real life has to make their peace with. It’s universally relatable in a way not much else is, and even though such characters can come across as a little immature because of it, who can really fault them for it? It’s one of those goals where it’s what they do to attain it that really makes them villains.
Mottom here is also a matter of complacency. She was dragged against her will into this life of cruelty and evil, but couldn’t see a way to get out of this persistent hurting and killing of others without sacrificing her immortality. And she was unwilling to do so. I suspect if Allison had taken her place, she would still want a continuous supply of the fruit of life in return for the throne.
[alt text]
Allison’s going to regret saying that
Yeah, probably. Doesn’t make it not awesome.
Right, there’s the teensy issue of pissed-off guards.
And also a small army of unannounced guests who are all competing to get to you first.
And there’s one of the most interesting people in that group.
[alt text]
Mathangi ten Meti, Murder the Gods and Topple Their Thrones
And reach heaven through violence.
You sound like you have experience.
Also, it kinda sounds like the key’s going to allow short-range teleportation, not just between realms. Nice.
Her master was female heavenly Diogenes, change my mind.
Well, Cio, you did say Allison needed a wise master to teach her, didn’t you? I think we’ve found one.
A self-professedly untrustworthy one, which sounds like fun.
I suppose after all the angels and devils I shouldn’t be surprised that that was a name.
I’m surprised that was a name.
Cutting, as in cutting spacetime with the keys, I presume.
[alt text]
Hall of Death
All I can think of is Judgment Hall in Undertale and now I can practically hear the first few notes of Megalovania.
This ain’t gonna work out for you, guys.
That shot didn’t make the cut.
[alt text]
The 100th page of Wielder of Names!
Yay! 😀
Here comes the crowd?
Hiya, everyone. Long time no see!
How many of you is Juggernaut Star about to murder?
[alt text]
Colosseum
I don’t think the lions are supposed to be watching from the audience seats.
Yeeeah, you kinda drew a crowd, Allison.
Also I love the entrance of the Kool-Aid Sumo Baby.
[alt text]
OOOOH YEAHHHHHHH
Ahaha, deliberate reference! 😀
The next page is the beginning of chapter 6, and it’s getting very late, so that’s my stopping point for the night. 🙂
[End of session]
I got a message from the patron with some responses to the fanventure stuff in the Between post:
1. It really wasn’t me this time. Although I have definitely read these, I didn’t want to try to dump too much on you but it seems to have worked out well in the end.
Yeah, I figured that wasn’t you, since you’d presumably send it through Patreon rather than as an ask. And yeah, that worked out nicely, though it did take a little longer than I anticipated, pushing the chapter 5 session back a day. Worth it. 😛
2. The point you got to is where the archives break down, and only a few random pages from later in the thread have been recovered as well as some delightfully context-free images. So anything further would be even more nonsensical.
Aww, that’s a shame.
RIP the MSPA forums. I was never much of a user of them, but it’s still really sad that so much was lost.
3. On some of the later recovered pages, the comic had the subtitle “Magical Girl Allison Hell Sparkle Fairyland” and I think that’s amazing.
You’re right, that is amazing. 😛
And also very on-brand for the Homestuck fandom.
4. Even going into the real comic, Gog-Agog was originally planned to be male. Here’s the early concept art: i.imgur.com/7Y8rmew.png
I think the idea of demiurge numbers was dropped or it was just for the order the concept art was released. I’ll try to round them all up someday.
Hmm.
Okay, I had an idea for something the numbers could correlate to, but the closest there is to an “official” order for the seven deadly sins is the levels of the Mountain of Purgatory in Dante’s Purgatorio, and that makes Greed the third level. Greed is obviously Mammon, not Gog-Agog, so that hypothesis is out unless there were some major switcheroos in the concept stage.
I see this male Gog Agog also doesn’t have the hyphen, like the one in the fanventure.
5. Since you touched on it, I suspect Gog-Agog’s name is probably a reference to “Gog and Magog” from the Bible where the final boss fight against Satan is supposed to happen even though nobody can agree about where it actually is.
Huh, never heard of that. Sounds like a reasonable origin, though.
6. You’ll note that Allison’s first name was predetermined but her last name was chosen via submission (and carried over to the real comic). So possibly the first name has more significance? There are some ideas about that but I’m not entirely sure!
I think it’s an Alice in Wonderland thing. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Zoss initially called Allison just Alice.
The funny thing is I think this makes Zoss the rabbit.
Also as someone in your comments pointed out, that Twig liveblog link seems to be dead.
Whoops — I got the URL wrong. It’s chris-reads-stuff, not chris-reads-twig. Sorry about that!
[Session 2]
Chapter 5 was very good. Let’s see if chapter 6 can top it!
The page post title (and consequently the url) calls this the War of the Teacups. Looks like a lot of teacups are having a bad time.
[alt text]
Ballroom Blitz
AND THE MAN IN THE BACK SAID EVERYONE ATTACK
Looks like we have a winner of the race. And fancy punches!
Let’s see how well Allison can defend herself against Juggernaut Star until White Chain butts in.
Not far behind!
Allison’s reaction to this is going to be interesting considering the last time she saw White Chain and the fact that they just came in alongside someone who attacked her on sight.
[alt text]
Spin the Wheel
Try not to land on “Bankrupt”.
Looks only a little slower than fools can die.
This does not look like a good thing.
[alt text]
There’s a reason everyone is afraid of Thorn Knights
They’re so… pointy!
White Chain is done fucking around.
Honestly, that’s a good summary of this comic so far: Everyone’s done fucking around.
ora ora ora ora
Well, that one’s fucking dead for a while.
Is there even a head left?
Hi there, old pal.
[alt text]
Don’t ever let an angel cry without a fire extinguisher on hand
So if humans cry water, and angels cry fire, what do devils and servants cry?
My guess is wind for the devils and dirt for the servants. The latter sounds even more uncomfortable than the fire.
Looks like someone’s got a lot of introspection to do. And/or shock processing.
And perhaps withdrawal symptoms from the fruit of life, though it’s a little quick for that to be the cause of her reddened eyes.
Ohhh. Mottom’s the reason the palace is tilting and maybe falling. It was floating by her power, and now she’s decided to stop that because she’s lost everything anyway. Thus the cries for mercy.
I kind of like that one blue devil who thought to try saving herself with the hook.
Red White Chain!
[alt text]
In an ironic twist, Juggernaut Star is owned by a crate of teacups
Absolutely fucking beauteaful.
No hard feelings, by the looks of it. Now we just need Ciocie and the party will be reunited!
I mean half the problems here came from Hell 71, so getting the hell out of here would actually be a good solution even if “the hell” was the object of that sentence.
Watch your back, Mathangi!
So many teacups!
I’d say it was Juggernaut Star’s turn to be done fucking around, but he never really did that.
[alt text]
This is less heavy than I was expecting, but still fitting.
A little disappointed at being left behind in favor of White Chain, are we?
[alt text]
She’s probably going to fight with that hairpin too
She’s probably just as deadly with that as with the ½bladekind, if not more.
[page description, accidentally spotted]
The Maybe Sword
We did have the idea of getting Allison a legendary sword teased, and this comic was made by a Homestuck…
The broken blade thing aside, the Maybe Sword looks like it would’ve been really tiny for a legendary sword even when fixed.
But let’s not judge a sword by the hilt. Or a chisel knife, as the case may be right now.
(What if the blade was in a Schrödinger’s cat situation, where it may or may not be broken and therefore was both at the same time?)
Yeah, that seems about right.
Jack Slash: “Reach heaven through violence, Theo.”
It’s worth noting that the visuals of the cut are very reminiscent of Allison’s Master Key powers. I’m not certain she’ll end up wielding the blade, but if she does, it’ll fit in aesthetically.
The sanctioned action is to Cut
Hmm. I suspect this is about some rules that apply to knights and/or magical weapons that I’m not familiar with yet.
Well. This looks like it’s going to cause a lot of collateral damage.
The palace is already unsteady, let’s cut it in half too while we’re at it, because why not?
[alt text]
Crazy Blade – Meti’s Infinite Edge (Part 1)
Crazy is right.
The dynamic between these two characters in a nutshell.
Ahh.
I think the tree of life has successfully reproduced.
RIP Mottom, maybe.
[alt text]
The time soon nears when I can finally stop drawing banisters. On that day, I will weep with joy.
The devil is in the details. For comic artists, that means the background details.
Oh! Hi there. It seems you haven’t quite turned into a tree that was spreading its roots through the entire palace to destroy it from within yet.
So how’d your introspection go?
[alt text]
Glory
That is a rather glorious depiction of Mottom. 🙂
TEAM WHITE CHAIN’S BLASTING OFF AGAAAAAIN
Yeeeah I don’t think Mottom is very happy with what you did back there.
Also I’m assuming we won’t be leaving Allison without functional limbs for the rest of the story, so something or someone’s (Meti?) gonna need to have healing powers around here, probably.
[alt text]
Mercy’s certainly not in her vocabulary
Though Mercy from Overwatch would probably be good to have here afterwards.
And here I gave you credit for respecting her right to an informed decision.
* She is filled with DETERMINATION
I think, ironically, that Mottom not living forever might provide a new source of the fruit of life for everyone else. Not that Allison would use it, given what the tree requires to produce it.
We’ll have to see what happens if she does die on-screen. It’s not really that important in the grand scheme, I’m just curious as to whether the author thinks along the same lines I do with respect to why the tree and fruit of life are the way they are.
CIOCIE YESSS
“fetid lumpenblossom” is a beautiful insult.
[alt text]
Tha flaxen-brained soggy fop-moppin!
I get the feeling Abbadon enjoys writing Ciocie’s devilspeak, and really, who can blame them?
That is absolutely the best way to deal with this problem and I love Mottom’s expression in that third panel 😛
So, Ciocie, I’m guessing you got up here on a paper beast or something, like when you entered this world? Is that who’s supposed to bring you upwise?
Oh hell yes, that’s way cooler!
And is that Mamoru? Hell fucking yes, it’s Mamoru! And the girl Allison freed from becoming one of Mottom’s slaves, if I’m not mistaken. (I forgot her name, sorry.)
I am so down for this crew.
[alt text]
The Yamga
I don’t know the origin of it, but it seems like a decent name for an airship.
The weakness of ships, airborne or otherwise: Weather magic.
Mottom seems to be getting older over the course of this page, which is a neat touch.
And then there’s Allison dropping another bit of hard truth on her.
Wheel of Time Corner: For all that I’ve compared Allison to Mat Cauthon, she also touches on some of the themes associate with the Super Girls, particularly Nynaeve and Elayne, about bravery and how it’s not about not being afraid, but about controlling your fear and trying in spite of it. Both Nynaeve and Elayne are prone to thinking they aren’t brave, just because they feel a little fear while doing extremely brave things.
Granted, Mat is similar too, but it’s not so much that he doesn’t think he’s brave as that he just doesn’t want to be a hero because heroes have a tendency to get themselves killed.
[alt text]
Last minute
Gotta get some last minute burns in there.
Fuck, that’s a really good point.
“self-pitying turbobitch” is good but doesn’t hold a candle to “fetid lumpenblossom”.
Took me a moment to realize that, and why, Cio was saying this to Allison.
Time for some large-scale teleportation! Where are we going? Please take Cio, Mamoru, White Chain, Whatsherface the servant girl and a giant fucking flying ship back to your sorority, Allison.
Here we gooooo
[alt text]
Crown
I suppose this is about Mottom’s crown vanishing.
I love the composition in this panel.
Your Heiress of Burden slipped away.
Is she going to die of old age now or will that take a little while longer?
I don’t think this is the oldest we’ve seen parts of her face at, but she’s getting older really quickly.
[alt text]
The second to last page in the book!
The patron informed me a while back that this is incorrect.
I’m kind of hoping the next page stays on Mottom.
…the next page is pure black. Pfft.
I like the ambiguity over whether that’s because we jumped to the effects associated with use of the key to teleport, or because Mottom blacked out. Or both.
Allison can also have blacked out, that’s fine. It’s to be expected when she strains the ability so much.
Old-fashioned healing, I see.
So where are we and why does it look Chinese?
I like how Mamoru looks perpetually pissed about being involved in all of this.
That door looks really sturdy. I’d really expect that door more in a prison.
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“It’s said getting out of bed is good for your health, but on the contrary I would argue I am hardly in danger of getting robbed, shot, or dropped off a building here, so here I shall stay, thank you very much.” – Arlimgan, guild scion
Hah!
(Mat Cauthon would approve, though I can’t see him literally staying in bed for very long.)
Cio isn’t wrong.
Cio isn’t wrong.
This is a point where Allison and Mat differ.
Mat is continously on Cio’s page here, never wanting to be dragged into things like this again. But as much as he grumbles about being “not a bloody hero” and not wanting any part of it, he’s also the type to help others at whatever risk there may be to himself. He’s been known to, without hesitation, travel across half a continent and break into an impenetrable fortress to save the life of an acquaintance he wasn’t even that friendly with. And that’s just one of many instances.
The difference is that Allison has come to accept that this is her life now, much faster than Mat ever did. She’s going to do crazy things in order to save the day, and her party members had better get used to that.
Mat: “A bloody hero. Thom, if I ever look like acting the hero again, you kick me.”
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It’s a nice number to end on, coincidentally.
123 is a nice number, it’s true.
We’re not quite done yet. The patron instructed me to go until the book 3 cover and take a look at that, so let’s click that next page button one more time.
Welcome to Erebor. Smaug’s looking a little more dense and chonky than I remember him.
It’s so good to have the party reunited. We’ve got White Chain still in those robes from the last few pages of Wielder of Names, which I suspect have something to do with the War of the Teacups and going berserk like they did, and/or with whatever location they’re in. They’ve taken their face off for some reason, perhaps signifying revealing the truth about themself and the Thorns (unmasking)?
Ciocie is looking fly as ever and I’m so glad to have her back.
The servant girl whose name I really need to go looking back for (something on N?) seems nervous but collected, which is a good combination.
Mamoru’s pissed as ever. I’m looking forward to finding out how Ciocie managed to recruit her.
And it looks like Pi’ipiesi Emayecks is back, which to me suggests more Ciocie focus. Hell yes!
And we obviously can’t forget Allison, who has an entirely new look. She’s still got the brown hair, but a cool and new cut, and she’s now covering her limbs presumably because of the wounds from the latest Mottom confrontation. I like this — she’s moving away from the fake “dumb blonde” image she was projecting at the start, and the best part is that she looks comfortable.
Oh, and welcome back, possibly-four-handed blade.
Right, the title, so much to comment on!
So Wielder of Names was about Allison learning to wield identity — both her own and others’ — and become confident in her ability to be the hero and the ruler. By the end, she “chose king”, embracing her power to change reality. And if she has chosen to be a king, she needs a throne. Her own place in the world, from which to change it. So perhaps this book will deal with figuring out where to fit into the world and who must be taken down for that to become possible.
There’s also the search for Zaid, but that might take a back seat.
End of Wielder of Names ch. 5-6
I kind of accidentally did part of this section already, but yeah…
These chapters were excellent, especially chapter 5. I really love the way Allison and Mottom act as foils to each other, and Mottom’s story is a very good one. Allison performed her first grand heroic/royal act in destroying the tree of life and was generally awesome throughout the chapters. We finally got a name for Mathangi ten Meti, Juggernaut Star was owned by teacups both literal and metaphorical, and the party is finally assembled.
I don’t think Mamoru and serva– Nyave will necessarily follow forever considering the prophecy seems focused on Allison, Ciocie and White Chain… but I should probably look back at the prophecy and see if they’re pictured on the sidelines. I know there were characters there I didn’t recognize at the time.
Hmm, no, I don’t think they’re any of the shown characters.
So, housekeeping: Next time I do K6BD*, we’ll be taking a break from the comic proper to go back and read the Aesma story. I really get the sense that I’m going to like Aesma as a character, so that should be fun. See you soon!
(*: which looks like it might be in November, on account of the 16.13 save failure incident and bits of procrastination resulting in no paid Worm blogs this month unless I get something in over the next five days)
Krixwell Liveblogs 
This chapter was when I bought into Allison as the protagonist properly. I didn’t dislike her previously but while she was a fun character she also lacked the agency and motivation to drive the story or make us really cheer for her in a more specific way than ‘be okay’ or whatever. In the end book 2 is mostly devoted to Allison finding her place in the story.
I – like I’m sure most readers – share your enthusiasm for more Cio! Hope you get around to blogging the start of chapter 3 before Christmas.
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