Source material: Kill Six Billion Demons: Seeker of Thrones, chapter 1-4

Blogged: November 22-28, 2019

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Heya! It’s that time of the month again, so let’s go find Mammon’s treasure fortress!

But first we need to find out where Allison and co. are at the moment. Some town in Mottom’s world, maybe?

Before my browser crashed and I had to retype this intro, it also just occurred to me that we’re probably getting the (possibly brief) story of how Mamoru ended up joining Ciocie’s party. I’m so down for more of both of them.

The party as a whole is just full of characters who make me happy right now, so whatever happens, I think this is going to be fun.

For me. Perhaps not so much for White Chain.

Let’s dive into it!

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Oh yeah, I forgot about Allison’s hairstyle change! She looks pretty good like this, and it’s fitting for her gradually beginning to accept her true self rather than the facade her old hair was representing.

[alt text]

Scaled God of the Deep

I would assume this refers to Mammon, who in this cover kind of reminds me of Worm’s Crawler, stature-wise, more than of a traditional grand dragon.

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Ah, looks like the place she woke up at wasn’t important enough for us to spend any real time there.

Also, new book means a little bit of recappery, as seen in that narration box reminding us that this is Throne.

(And of course she stole the ship.)

The explosions. Of course it was the explosions.

Does this mean Allison got the recap of how Mamoru joined off-panel? 😦

Poor Ciocie. She barely rescues Allison from one of the Demiurges and she near-immediately starts talking about seeking out another.

Told her what? Something new about Mammon or Mottom? It doesn’t sound like Allison has brought up Mammon before, so there would be no particular reason to mention that he’s one of the Demiurges unless you were listing them.

Or maybe it’s news about Zaid?

[alt text]

The captain of the Yamga was quite fine from the fall, as it turned out. He retired at age 40 due to the massive insurance policy he had taken out on his ship, then found out a week later that his creditors had fled the Red City and were now living hedonistic lifestyles as warlord accountants on one of the pleasure worlds of the Golden Army. So it goes.

Ahaha, so it goes.

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Reactions folder, meet your new friend alright.jpg

Whatever this is seems tied to Cio specifically. Something to do with Pi’ipiesi?

Uh-oh. Allison’s getting worked up and might be about to threaten something stupid to get them to listen to her properly.

I think the thing that gives them the right to be here is the fact that they came to her rescue.

Oh, yeah, this seems fair. I’m especially looking forward to Mamoru’s answer.

Are the scissors for cutting her hair and/or making snipping noises when their time is up?

I’m not sure your arms are in any condition for literal throwing of anyone, but I think they get the point.

Also that face in the last panel might make for an interesting emote, but fuck if I know what it would convey out of context. A really strange wink?

*adds it to his personal Discord emote collection as :wenk:*

[alt text]

A quite hardcore haircutting technique, but not as hardcore as one that may come up later in the comic

Hmm. Swords?

Of course, the most hardcore haircutting technique would be with a super sharp boomerang that slices through your hair, circles around your neck to get it all around and then returns to the stylist’s hand.

Chainsaws are also valid.

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At least Mamoru is still taking this better than one mister Pantyhose Taro.

I like how Allison can remember the name in the right order, despite how drunk she was when she did that.

I’m going to be calling her Mamoru until another preferred name is established.

Ciocie makes a good point.

White Chain is most certainly useful in a fight, yeah.

You’re gonna need to provide a little more context for that. Both for Allison (who has no idea who Metatron is) and to serve better a recap.

(Yeah, I did notice the conversation with Mamoru was written to touch on all the parts people would need to be reminded of. This scene is a good way of going about the recappery involved with each of these characters while at the same time progressing the relationships.)

[alt text]

Never has Allison been so threatened by a carrot

Pfft. I didn’t even notice the carrot.

This particular bit of recappery I actually did need. Like, I remember reading about this, but it’s nice to have it laid out like this.

I’m not sure Allison has made the connection between the guy who thrust the key into her skull and the Conquering King and then showed up a few times in the Void, but at least she knows who White Chain is talking about.

Ciocie the storyteller isn’t fond of this summarizing.

I love how ironic it is in retrospect that the first time Ciocie took over the exposition from White Chain, I referred to it as Meenahing — disrespecting elaborate storytelling and cutting to the chase — when it turns out Ciocie is the storyteller. And also a blue lady with glasses. Ciocie is clearly the Aranea of the two, but White Chain is definitely not Meenah.

Perhaps not now, White Chain, but I expect it will be by the end of this comic.

Unless Allison relinquishes it on the basis of “no one should have that much power”.

Now would be a good time for Allison to bring up the weird bearded guy.

Oh right, White Chain has also heard this version of the prophecy. Was this the thing Ciocie didn’t want to tell Allison?

Of course I still think the prophecy just got the pronouns wrong, or people assumed pronouns from “king” without the prophecy actually using any.

You don’t sound quite convinced there, White Chain.

[alt text]

I was trying so hard to not break out into Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure posing here

c o n f i r m e d

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I like Allison’s new attitude towards this. It’s going to be interesting to see how it manifests when she’s back in action.

Meanwhile, Nyave is channeling Dril, facing a goddess and walking backwards onto the ship of some people who are interested in taking the Demiurges down.

Mykos, right, that’s the name of the world.

Are you here to repay your debt and also keep your father from bankrupting your family for the same reason, then?

Going home would mean telling her father about what happened.

Also I love this shot of Ciocie getting the idea to steal the ship.

Ooh, looks like Nyave has a lot of hidden skills. Definitely a valuable team member.

[alt text]

The Silent Brothers were good tutors – however Nyave had to first go through the terrible inconvenience of learning their secret sign language, which made the whole thing a bit of a hassle.

Well, at least that gives them a better way of communicating what she needs to learn than just pointing at the books she has to read.

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[Discord]

Fender Krixwell:
What kind of feeling does this emote suggest to you guys?

The NaNo Rabbit:
Just woke up and the sun is so fucking bright why is it this bright whomst the fucketh gave it permission
Is what I get from that

Fender Krixwell:
That is quite valid.

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I’m reminded of Steven Universe.

Are unbound devils actually conscious, or just a mess of chaotic energy?

I suppose maybe her know-how is largely theoretical for a number of things?

Hell yes, let’s Ciocie it up.

Is she going to mention Pi’ipiesi or is that cat going to stay in the bag until later in the book? The cover suggests he’s going to be relevant, in any case.

Also I totally should’ve ended that part of his name with “-eye” rather than “-i”, to make the pronunciation clearer. The spelling I went for makes it look like it spells “pepse”. Then again, Ciocie looks like it should be pronounced “cho-cheh”, so maybe that’s appropriate.

Oh fuck ahaha

(don’t dooo iiit)

[alt text]

Nyave got changed remarkably fast, but then again she was trained as a handmaiden

Heh, makes sense. Kinda.

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This panel, by the way, is going in my reactions folder:

I would never commit such book abuse, but it’s a good image for reacting to writing you don’t like.

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Ahahaha

So I take it you didn’t catch on earlier to Ciocie basically writing fanfic about you, eh?

Every part of this is beautiful.

I like how Allison seems to be enjoying this Allison x Ciocie slash fic more the clearer it becomes what it is.

Oooh, those were just highlights, there are more bits in between.

“If I say my real name, the horrible curse that torments me will surely come true.” — possible reference to Ciocie’s old black name? Notice also that the stranger is described as “dark”, suggesting Ciocie might be writing herself as she once was.

Oh. Well, that’s a little awkward.

I never realized Praman Nand was a devil, but at the time I didn’t know about ebon devils and I never really needed to think about Nand after I did learn about them (even when Pi’ipiesi showed up).

You probably should, but don’t think you’re getting out of exposition hour. You’ll end up having to tell it all over a romantic dinner.

Also here’s another addition for my reactions folder and emote collection:

  

[alt text]

I’ve got so much more coming, don’t worry

Yeah, Ciocie’s not getting away with writing just two pages of this beauty.

Wait, that wasn’t what you meant?

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She looked freaking awesome.

(Also, another point in favor of being the Aranea: She’s rather spidery when she wants to be, even now.)

As for the setting, this appears to be the Fortress of Yre. Is this where she lost her old name? That would explain why she tensed when Allison mentioned the place.

Oh yes, that’s a great black name for sure.

Yabalchoath. How is that ch pronounced? Is it a [ʃ] as in the Nahuatl word/name Xochitl?

[Edit from a little later in the post: Between sessions, I’ve learned that it’s specifically the Hispanic pronunciation of Xochitl that uses the [ʃ] for ch. The Nahuatl pronunciation uses [tʃ], like in English “cheap”.]

[alt text]

A true devil at play is a horrible thing to watch indeed

To be fair, even this one really peaceful guy in Abrahamic mythology, a carpenter who went by the name Jesus, was known to lose his temper at bankers.

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Ciocie’s reputation precedes her.

I suppose this is about that key she stole?

Ahh, it was from Mammon, so it’s especially relevant in this book. Mammon’s not going to be happy to see her, and if he’s responsible for her losing her name, she might not be keen on seeing him either.

A few different things to comment on here:

• Fractal? How is the fortress fractal? Is it made out of smaller treasure fortresses?
• Mammon bought his key, but was it with money?
• A kinslayer of the less sympathetic variety.
• “whose clergy kill with the pen” is a really good way of describing the power bankers and their like can have. Especially coming from a writer, since the pen is mightier than the sword.
• Yre reminds me of an anvil.

I’m mildly surprised to hear the devils actually have a governing body.

…hm.

Hmmm.

Hmmmmm.

Ciocie might not be the only devil from this panel that got downgraded at some point.

Jury’s out on whether there’s an actual connection (even between the two latter images) or they just have similar growths, but color me suspicious.

I’m vaguely reminded of an OC I have talked about on the blog a long time ago: my D&D character Icarus Blackthorn. A tiefling charlatan who got overconfident in his abilities and attempted to scam a demon lord, only to end up in said demon lord’s service as a warlock.

Praman Nand looks a lot smaller and more humanoid in this panel. Did something happen to turn him into an androsphinx? Maybe that just came with power.

[alt text]

I am truly sorry for over indulging in backstory on this page

Nothing to apologize for, pal.

I mean it helps that it’s for my favorite character in the comic, but still.

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Ohhh. That explains a lot.

Are ley lines parts of that fragmented power given out to emissaries?

Well, doing something impossible seems like what you might use the master key for.

Niiice.

This would also explain why White Chain though Ciocie would know how to get the key out of Allison’s brow.

So the big question is: How did Mammon get it back and did that result in Ciocie’s renaming?

Interesting. There’s some memory loss between incarnations, it seems, at least of the final moments.

I wonder what happens to Servants who die, by the way. Humans are described as the only true mortals (does that include other animals?), suggesting they too have some form of rebirth.

[alt text]

Solomon’s smugness did not wear off with time

Noted. We’ll have to see when he gets more panel time whether that’s a good thing or not, characterwise.

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Oh fuck.

Wait, so does that mean she was only stealing one of the original 777,777 keys, not the full combined key in his brow?

Easily bought, easily gone.

I wonder if we’ll run into any of those monuments, or if Mammon or the angels destroyed them all.

You could’ve been great, but greatness is built on the people who support it, and you didn’t exactly treat your support very well.

This is good. A redemption arc in her backstory, a realization that she was wrong to be so cruel… I like this.

Icarus’ fall also changed him, but more in that humility replaced much of his pride, and he became averse to people seeing his true self in any way (even literally — he casts disguise self at will and keeps himself under a variety of illusory appearances at all waking hours). He went from proud trickster to a ball of fear and insecurities who pretends to be a proud trickster. He even embraced the magic the experience gave him, using it to fuel his facades and to project pain and fear onto others so he can pretend he’s not the one feeling them. It’s also a matter of taking control of the magic so he can pretend the deal with the demon lord wasn’t him getting shafted.

[alt text]

The angels do not take threats to the Red City lightly, almost certainly part of why the Demiurges consider it neutral ground.

That seems reasonable.

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That seems fair, though you’re not making a good case for yourself when it comes to the whole “why should I let you stay” topic.

(Icarus wants absolutely nothing to do with demons after his fall, which of course is why he signed up for a job that involves tracking down all seven demon lords. Wait, what?)

Ooof.

Allison, you’ve got a slight case of the glowies. And is that a crown forming around your head?

Allison’s really leaning into her royal badass side here and I love it.

…still badass.

[alt text]

The Rising King

Looks more like The Dropping King to me, but fair.

Honestly, I’m glad the comic and Abbadon never tried to keep up the pretense that the characters are right about Zaid.

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Not alone out here, it would seem.

I like how that speech bubble looks like it could be coming from the model on the dye packaging at first.

So is this Mamoru?

Nope, better.

Not entirely, it would seem. I don’t think she’s quite sure who she is anymore.

[alt text]

Closer and closer

Allison and Ciocie? Yeah, I could see this scene bringing them closer.

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“And thuswise the stranger leapt into her bed and–”

Tough luck, Allison. Ciocie ain’t leaving until she’s cheered you up.

“It’s a shock to not recognize thaself anymore,” says the character who just got done telling us about how she ended up changing and realizing her old self was bad. Ciocie knows what she’s talking about here.

(Incidentally, now that I know the story, I retract the idea of Ciocie writing her self-insert as ebon. She wouldn’t want to, even if she’d like to have a powerful name again.)

This is an oddly pessimistic take, but I suppose this is exactly what she feels she’s doing now, by agreeing to help Allison against Mammon. Failing to change, repeating her mistakes.

Worrying about it is what she was doing for a while there, but now Allison has come around, forcing her to make a choice. Continue worrying and lose Allison, or stay and repeat old mistakes. And she chose the latter, which has her questioning herself.

I think.

[alt text]

I call this arc the ‘shipping’ arc

Hah, that seems fair.

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Ooh, we’re getting into White Chain’s gender identity from Ciocie’s perspective? Nice.

I suppose Ciocie’s analogy makes sense if the layers are more than just pretension. That’s the part I disagree with — the idea that what’s at the core is the “real” you. In what way is Yabalchoath any more real than Ciocie Cioelle? Sure, the urges that made Yabalchoath who she was are still there, but Ciocie Cioelle still made the choice to avoid being her and has the urge to stick to that. When it comes to who you are, choices matter.

No mask fits perfectly.

Allison can try to be the scared bimbo. She can try to be the nerdy barista. She can try to be tough adventurer. But only by being herself can she pull through.

(i-i-indirekuto kissu!!)

I don’t know if smoking is the way to go about this, but it seems like progress.

[alt text]

They’re getting off the boat soon guys don’t worry

I for one am enjoying the shipping.

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Hell yes.

Wait, why do we have to go to the Heretic’s Court? Do we need their blessing like it seemed she did when she was Yabalchoath?

Is the king of all devils the little one in the middle of the court panel from earlier?

…

Oh my cod. Please tell me the king of all devils is secretly Number One. I know Number One is a blue devil and seemed subservient even to Ciocie, but on the other hand, it would be fucking hilarious.

“In more ways than one, tha know. Tha know preciserly what tha read in my book.”

[alt text]

Allison knows how to accessorize for impossible heist missions

A fierce haircut on her head, a sweet jacket around her shoulders, a badass sword in her hands and a beautiful stranger on her lips.

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The next page opens chapter 3 and I have to be at work in a little over an hour, so this seems like a good place to stop for now.

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[Session 2]

Let’s get off the ship probably!

(Though I really wouldn’t mind more shipping.)

This looks nice, but it doesn’t seem to be Throne, unless it’s a more beige part of the town than I remember.

I like the little garden gnome devil sitting next to the barrels.

At the bottom of the stairs, we have some of “the dead”. Is that what happens to Servants who die, or are they tied somehow to human deaths? In either case they don’t seem numerous enough. Are they just their own kind of being with a separate origin?

Barrel auntie seems to need some coaxing to come out.

I wonder if this has anything to do with the sword Allison’s been using from time to time. It featured prominently in the cover, so maybe we’re getting its story in this book.

Barrel auntie has seen better days.

[alt text]

Someday I will make all these signs translatable

By releasing a guide to the writing system?

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Hah, that seems fair.

Not gonna lie, the whole noodle thing in this scene gives me major Kung Fu Panda vibes.

So, uh, Barrel Auntie is Mottom, yes? That in mind, it makes total sense for her to have this perspective. There seemed to be nothing Mottom wanted more in retrospect than a normal life, apart from continued immortality.

Also she has no chill.

“Here, go train your fucking self if you must.”

[alt text]

You fool, you child, you’ll never save the world

Nope, never, totally not gonna happen.

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Does it count as calling it if I just correctly figured out the implications of what the author said?

Also let’s be quite upfront about it: I’m not sure whether this is a flashback, or whether that’s Nyave or not (she looks like she might be, but I don’t think the noodle vendor thing fits without something changing between this and her time with the Silent Brothers). If either or more likely both of those things are true, Barrel Auntie isn’t Mottom, which is a third thing I’m not sure about.

There are a lot of things I’m not sure about.

Okay, definitely looks like we’re doing some flashback funkiness. But now it seems the girl is the auntie. Maybe she’s not Nyave, but Nyave’s aunt, and that’s why they look so alike.

Oh! It’s whatsherface the beggarknight!

*checks previous non-Aesma K6BD post*

Right, Mathangi ten Meti, thatsherface.

She looks a bit beaten, which is interesting. The moment we get a touch of backstory, lifting the veil of mystery surrounding Mathangi, we also drop the sense of untouchability.

Ooh, I happened to leave the tab for the previous K6BD post on the panel where she talks about her old master who slept in a barrel in the marketplace.

[alt text]

Meti: recommending children play with rusty blades since 33 S.C.

So does that mean the master was named Meti and was where Mathangi got the “ten Meti” part of her name from, or that Mathangi picked up that habit just like she did the habitual drunkenness and untrustworthiness?

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There goes the habitual drunkenness.

Oh look! It’s Creation!

Aesma jokes aside, I suppose this might be Juggernaut Star?

Yep, that’s Juggernaut Star alright. And he sounds just as hungover as Mathangi feels.

[alt text]

If you thought I’d get rid of a character who’s literally a skeleton riding a motorcycle you’d be dead wrong

Well duh. That’d be a crime against everything heavy metal.

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So it seems the wheel is his real body and the rest is a flame-based projection.

In related news, apparently Juggernaut Star is a Steven Universe gem.

Oooh. Do we perhaps have someone for White Chain to relate to, who is similarly not conforming to angel gender roles?

And also putting up a front of heavy metal to hide their insecurities and tiredness?

[alt text]

Fun fact: this was influenced partly by Juggernaut’s original design

Cool. I suspect I will end up being sent that after this (whether I say so or otherwise), unless it’s still spoilery.

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What’s going on with my internet? Pages are taking ages to load in enough clarity that I can read the text, let alone take good screenshots.

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I’m not sure about them not being adversaries. Depends how much Mathangi cares about keeping Allison from harm.

But I’d take this.

Bye bye!

Google seems to have decided that “puerile” is French:

I think I get the gist of it anyway.

I like the headband, and its wearer’s overall design.

also hi sumo baby

[alt text]

Just a bunch of rowdy fight boys and girls, looking for a good punch up

Everyone’s still on for tonight’s tavern brawl, right? Don’t forget, it’s at The Queen’s Blessing, six PM sharp, be there or be square!

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And so it’s on to chapter four! I have to say I like how the chapter ends don’t let you click the image to proceed. It makes it easier for me to notice the chapter endings, so I don’t accidentally click past them even though I have a list of page numbers to look out for.

I’m not sure if that was a thing before this book? In any case, these last few chapters have been the first time I’ve noticed it. Maybe it’s just because these chapters are shorter so it comes up more often.

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…actually, no. I turned to the next page in hopes that a restart of the router would solve the internet problems, but it’s not looking that way. I’ll have to wait and see if it works better tomorrow or Sunday. At least between chapters is a natural stopping point.

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[Session 3]

I’ve got a few hours, so let’s see if my internet works enough to finish this now!

Welcome back to Corpse City.

Actually, I suppose this would be Nyave’s first time here, probably.

Not having a great time with those arms there, eh?

She was lucky Nyave had as much medical knowledge as she did, but bandaids and bandages don’t seem like enough treatment for something like this.

Pffft. I love how casual everything about this appearance is. “Hey.”

Last time he showed up, Allison had blacked out due to key usage. Did she just faint from the injuries? That seems more likely than Incubus just randomly showing up on the ship.

[alt text]

Suddenly, Incubus

Suddenly, Incubus, indeed.

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This is beautiful. This guy who by all means should be a villain appearing and just being all casual about having poked around in Allison’s mind and wanting to deal with “problems”… It’s fun.

Is it just me or did Incubus get a slight design update? I could’ve sworn he looked a lot more like Zaid last time. Might just be because he was being affected by Allison’s mind or something.

The visuals in this page are fantastic. I love the implications of Allison’s self-loathing being a swarm of little Allisons beating down the other sides of her personality, who are much bigger. The self-loathing is stopping her from being who she truly wants to be in full, but it’s a tiny part of her that has been allowed to infest everything.

Also, Allison in that last panel gives me major Xena vibes and I haven’t even seen Xena.

Maybe it’s just the dreamscape being a dreamscape that allows it and he’s not a shapeshifter outside it (I assume he exists outside it, for a variety of reasons), but Incubus seems to like changing his appearance as he goes. That’s a trait I enjoy in characters.

[alt text]

I will fully admit I had way too much fun drawing this page

What? Abbadon, the artist who designed a city where almost everything is a giant petrified god, having fun drawing a page like this? Naaahhh…

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I fucking love dreamwalkers.

It doesn’t exactly look like you took them under your wing.

Also I like that we’re having Incubus’ domain be dreams both in the sense of the mindscape and in the sense of aspirations. There’s a reason the latter are known as dreams too, and this seems like a good opportunity to explore the connections between aspirations and mindset.

Oh, alright, that was the “before” part of the visualization.

None of these transformations look quite real, but this is a dreamscape. Not quite making sense is par for the course.

So does this mean you’ve been giving out fractions of your power to people to help their dreams come true? For a price, I would imagine.

Or maybe he’s talking about using his powers to modify their minds to make them more ambitious?

[alt text]

He probably dresses up like this three or four times a week minimum even when not in someone’s dream

Yeah, that sounds about right.

---

I wonder if his bulge is that big outside the dreams.

And by extension, does he look anything like this in the real world?

---

It’s so nice that Allison is genre savvy enough to ask these questions. Nice Sailor Moon outfit, by the way.

Hm. I haven’t seen Sailor Moon, but I’m pretty sure Incubus is supposed to be dressed up as Tuxedo Mask here. Is his outfit actually controlled more by Allison’s subconscious than his own ability, or is he just playing along. Does he have some say in it?

Anyway, let’s get to the point: It seems Incubus is aware and planning for the new war that Mottom was so afraid of. Now that Allison is disrupting the balance of the Demiurges, things are sure to erupt, and he wants to be prepared by having her on his side.

Of course there’s also the issue of the prophecy, and making his own position with the successor as good as he can before the Demiurges get taken down from their current power.

At least it’s consensual, as long as he can’t manipulate what it is people want á la Heartbreaker.

oof.

But yeeah, with that kind of struggle, that desire to be in control for once, I can’t imagine something that sounds very much like a more passive variety of mind control (or at least might allow something like that) would sound particularly appealing.

There’s the argument that this would just change Allison to be able to take control more often, but in the back of her mind, she’d know that was partially Incubus. It wouldn’t be the same. And she’s just started learning to do it on her own.

But this was never a comic about Allison making good choices, was it?

Well, this is a thing now.

…I’ll withhold judgement on whether it’s something I like narratively. On one hand it could allow for a lot of fun plot and angst later on, but on another, there’s a risk of every badass Allison moment being tainted by “okay but is that Allison or Incubus?”.

I think the best outcome would be Allison feeling the effects of this and eventually deciding she doesn’t need him.

[alt text]

I had to sneak this costume switch in somewhere in the comic

Yeah, that’s fair. Can’t have this comic without Allison appearing in a Sailor Moon outfit.

I have no idea what Tuxedo Mask’s deal is in Sailor Moon, aside from that one “but you didn’t do anything” meme, so if something about Incubus taking on his appearance while doing this to someone in Sailor Moon’s outfit is relevant, it’s going over my head.

Is that Allison, or the new part of her mind?

Is there a difference?

Oh, it’s Incubus’ physical form, nice. Didn’t expect to see him so soon, after realizing he might look different in reality. Apart from the scars, though, he’s holding up a lot better than I was imagining.

Who’s the dripper?

[alt text]

“A beggar king, king of the pit, he skulked out of his hypogean lair and pocketed the world one night. He then proceeded to use it as his plaything, for none could reach him, so far down was his domain.”

“Yoink.”

He’s described as the Sword King of the Middle Army. Does that have to do with how he rose up?

Hmm. Someone asked me a while back how I thought the other Demiurges handled their immortality. Maybe the blood pit is part of that, rather than or in addition to having a role in his dreamwalking?

Jeez, dude, your place is kinda flooded. This is going to be such a mess when it starts coagulating.

Pfft. He’s got rabid fans.

Lethyx is an interesting name. It seems tied to Lethe, the river of oblivion in the Greek underworld, which is fitting for a pit associated with someone who deals in dreams. This is where dreams go to be forgotten?

More what? Ecstacy?

(Dual meaning intended.)

Oh, hi there, Jagganoth. What’s up?

Is this a social call?

[alt text]

Meetings

Sounds a bit more formal, yeah.

---

There’s something mildly ridiculous about that throne. It’s just perched on the tiniest hoard in an otherwise ugly as shit storage room.

So, are you insinuating Incubus never earned his power, Jagganoth, or did he literally steal that chair?

Sore spot, apparently. Was he a prince who got shafted by succession until he rose up and took what he saw as his? Something like that?

Hmmm.

Hmmmmmm.

[alt text]

Unholy Compact

Demiurges working together can only mean good things.

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Interesting. So Jagganoth knows about Incubus’ plans with Allison, but while he thinks that’s part of the two of them bringing a reckoning, he doesn’t seem to be fully in on it, since he questions whether Incubus thinks it will be enough to stop him.

Not a bad plan, really.

Jagganoth certainly does have the power of “intimidatingly big”.

So yeah, it’s more than a matter of foresight on Incubus’ part.

[alt text]

There is no honor among demons, only daggers

Another instance of “demons” outside the comic proper. Interesting.

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End of K6BD: SoT, chapters 1-4

Lots of good stuff here! We’ve got a bit of downtime for our heroes as they trek towards Throne, but even then we’re learning stuff about the characters, getting wonderful ship fuel and getting a better look at one of the Demiurges. This is how you use downtime well.

Next up, in chapters 5-6, we’re probably moving on to meeting the King of All Demons and maybe heading towards Yre. Sounds like fun!

See you soon!