Source material: Kill Six Billion Demons: King of Swords, chapters 1-4
Blogged: May 18 – June 3, 2020
Alright! Let’s see what the Rising King of Swords is up to!
I don’t have a lot to add to what I’ve already theorized about this book, but it did just occur to me that the King of Swords can refer to a tarot card. *goes looking into associated meanings*
UPRIGHT: Mental clarity, intellectual power, authority, truth
REVERSED: Quiet power, inner truth, misuse of power, manipulation
This already sounds like the sort of vibe I expect from Solomon, or rather the vibe he probably expects others to get from him, which suggests I’m onto something.
The King of Swords sits upon his throne, facing forward as if ready to confront whatever life throws at him. He holds a sword in his right hand, the hand of the conscious, rational mind, and points it upright and to the left, the side of the subconscious, intuitive mind. This symbolises the King’s decisiveness, but also flexibility in all matters; while he makes decisions based mostly on his intellectual understanding, he stays open to his intuition.
K6BD’s book titles have a track record of looking like they could be about the Demiurges but actually being about Allison, and I don’t think this one is any exception. Reading this description, it certainly sounds a lot more like the ideals Allison will need to strive towards in order to become the best King she can be than like Solomon.
It also makes me feel even more certain we’re going into angels this time. The description highlights the King of Swords’ ability to balance rationality and decisiveness with intuition and flexibility, which is precisely the kind of conflict I would expect to come up when dealing with White Chain and other beings of strict Law.
The King wears a blue tunic, symbolic of a desire for spiritual knowledge, and a purple cape, symbolic of his compassion and intellect. The back of his throne is decorated with butterflies (transformation), crescent moons and an angel just near his left ear, positioned as if to give him subtle guidance.
I didn’t even notice the “angel of guidance” bit before writing that last paragraph. That would be White Chain.
The trees behind him stand still, and the clouds have settled. The wind from the previous Swords court cards has died down, giving the impression of stability and clarity rather than the confusion of sweeping change.
This is interesting, because if there’s one thing that’s been a constant for Allison throughout the first three books, it’s the confusion of sweeping change. She’s already started somewhat accepting her role as the Rising King since the end of Wielder of Names, but I think in this book she’ll start to actually settle into it. In Seeker of Thrones, she was working in the right direction (largely because it coincided with finding Zaid, of course) but doing so in a rather chaotic and unstructured way. In this book, we’re countering the chaos with law and hopefully finding a balance, allowing Allison to settle into the role and approach it like a true King of Swords.
A dorky King of Swords, but a King of Swords nonetheless.
Damn, I got a lot more out of this than I expected. I feel rather secure in my predictions for the book now, though, which is nice.
Let’s actually get started, shall we?
Oh, also, Allison looks rather stable and confident in the cover art, facing her path with the knowledge she can take it on.
Huh. Starting at Solomon’s place right off the bat.
Dude likes purple, clearly. Makes sense, symbolically — purple is associated with the Sin of Pride, which I believe Solomon embodies. (Similarly, the big red guy is clearly Wrath.)
But also, purple is a nice color so I can’t blame him.
The councilors have big “Greek philosopher” vibes. So far everything tracks, except the hall is a little less ostentatious than I’d expect. Maybe Solomon has a thing going where he pretends to be far more humble than he actually is?
His crown looks a bit less like antlers at this distance.
I have to wonder… If I were still on Tumblr, would this have gotten flagged by the nippleyeeters? It’s well within their rules for at least three different reasons (male-presenting, drawn, artistic), but the bots don’t give any shits about those.
But then again, he’s purple. The bots look for more conventional human skin tones, as evidenced by all the pictures of sand that got flagged.
Then again again, I had an image of Iron Will from MLP:FiM get flagged, and he’s gray.
[alt text]
Deus Pater
Hoo boy now that’s pride.
So how does Solomon handle the advice from his councilors?
Exactly how does the war look? Like, is it everyone for themselves, or…? We’ve got some alliances, I suppose.
Also I just noticed he even talks in purple.
Okay, it looks like things haven’t quite escalated to include the rest of the Demiurges yet. It’s just Mottom vs Mammon for now.
“Paternum”… “Imperiatrix Om”… Looks like we might be going for more Roman than Greek. Which is interesting considering just how much the Romans couldn’t stand Kings.
How often do you think some of the councilors whisk away these miniatures for a secret game of Demiurges & Dragons?
I suppose with Solomon being an “emperor”, we’re a little later in the Roman culture than the fierce hatred for kings.
As for Solomon’s actual words here… dangerous levels of smug indeed. There is so much pride oozing out of every single thing he says.
He sees this conflict and goes “ugh I guess I’ll have to babysit them. better waltz in there and singlehandedly put a stop to this.” and when the issue of his succession comes up (though it’s interesting that it’s a concern the councilors are willing to bring to his face, compared to Mottom’s and Mammon’s followers), he simply says he’s made his will clear, indicating that that’s all that matters, and then asserts himself as infallible.
They say pride comes before the fall, and I think when Allison comes barging through here, he’s going to fall hard.
…pfft. As I get ready to flip the page after talking about Solomon’s pride, the Major-General’s Song starts playing.
This song is pretty much how Solomon comes off to me when he says there is nothing beyond his control.
Tournament arc? Tournament arc.
Solomon demands the beaches stay open and people go to work as normal. And hey, why not inject themselves with disinfectant while they’re at it? It might work.
And of course he believes himself practically invincible, whether by toughness or by skill.
I suppose this might be what draws Allison into the tournament. Maybe she’ll have reason to believe Solomon can get her Zaid.
This guy seems deeply distressed by Solomon’s judgment.
That last “father” possibly being literal did occur to me, but didn’t seem likely.
Fair enough. I guess that explains why this guy in particular is so concerned with the succession.
Are they all his descendants?
There’s a double meaning to poke at here, with “blood” referring both to familial relation and to violence, but I’m not sure how to put that in an interesting way yet.
I will note that one particularly famous Emperor-Who-Wasn’t-Technically-Emperor-Because-His-Adoptive-Son-Was-The-One-Who-Made-His-Position-That-Of-An-Emperor of Rome is known to have had some people in the senate — which is what this council most reminds me of — who got fed up with his prideful, kinglike behavior and took matters into their own 120 or so hands.
What I’m suggesting is let’s keep an eye on this guy.
Translation: “come at me bros”
[alt text]
Immortality
But is he as immortal as he seems to believe? I think not.
I like this architecture.
Rome is really quite a lovely city.
I don’t recall it being quite as green as this one, or having quite this many red domes, but I can definitely tell some inspiration was taken.
What’s with the super long bridge out to that one islet on the far right, though? That bridge makes absolutely no practical sense, but it’s simple enough that it doesn’t look like a “look how inefficient I can afford to be”-style display of power. Plus it’s clearly low enough to get in the way of the boat traffic.
Ah, I see. He built the bridge to draw the reader’s eyes to the islet, subtly preparing them for the next panel.
This looks like someone took the Colosseum, a factory, a junkyard and a meteor landing site and put them all in the same place. A casualty of the war somehow?
[alt text]
Shadow
Is this the ruins of something in his past, perhaps?
The smoke and the vehicles on the Ridiculously Inefficient Bridge do suggest things are still happening out there, though.
Wait! I’m only halfway through Worm, you can’t throw Ward at me now!
*quick double clap*
This “ward” looks like he stepped right out of Pirates of the Caribbean, spent a few years as a side character in a high fantasy world and then came here.
It’s been so long since I saw him that between art evolution, the wardrobe update and the rest of his fantasy isekai makeover, I only barely thought “that’s not Zaid, right? …right? surely that’s not him.” before moving on to this panel.
Let’s see if Zaid can make up for his honestly rather poor first impression on me. Make me care about his fate like Allison does, and in turn make me care more about that aspect of her motivations.
I wonder how deliberately Solomon set up this opportunity to brag about how he has enough power to put two suns in place and present it as something he can just mention and move on from casually.
I have to wonder… where did they come from? Did he create them, or did he take them? Are there two worlds with people on them out there that are now sunless because Solomon wanted two?
[alt text]
God Emperor
I have to say the alt texts so far this chapter aren’t much to write home about.
Seriously, this place really brings back the memories of the Rome trip I went on with my history and philosophy class, a few months after I started the liveblog.
It seems like Zaid’s being primarily characterized as grim (understandable given his pseudocaptivity) but observant and maybe somewhat calculating. He’s visibly not happy with his situation, but he’s acting relatively calmly and picking at the oddities, perhaps trying to work out exactly what options he might have.
Hm. I think Solomon genuinely believes this. He’s proud and certainly not without his faults, but he genuinely appears to think his work is a good thing for all his people. And it might even really be!
Also I guess the Ridiculous Bridge might be a result of wanting the main road to follow a straight line from the islet to somewhere on land? What’s at the other end?
(I know, I’m overthinking this one bridge in a setting full of extravagant but impractical architecture, shush.)
Hmm. Did Solomon see the prophecy of the Rising King and go “y’know what, maybe it’s about time someone took over, maybe this isn’t a bad thing”?
If so, maybe there is some real wisdom in him yet.
[alt text]
Aesma once stole–
Whoa, hold up, you mean I complain about boring alt texts and am immediately rewarded with a lengthy fun fact about my favorite goddess?
I should complain more often!
[alt text]
Aesma once stole Medam’s staff to use as a toothpick, then complained when it was too heavy and promptly returned it. She still dragged it out the hall of law, leaving a great furrow across the land so wide a minor god of justice fell in on the way back from a nap in the garden and was never seen again.
Ahahaha!
That’s Aesma for ya.
So. I take it Medam’s staff represents power in some form. Aesma steals power for the heck of it (“to use as a toothpick”), but it comes with responsibility (it’s “heavy”) and all of a sudden she wants nothing to do with it. But because she’s Aesma, she’ll still be reluctant to give it up without “dragging it” along the ground first, and so while power does get passed on, in the process of doing so the concept of justice falls to the wayside.
Solomon might want to pass on his power, weary of the responsibilities it comes with, but he’s too proud to pass it on to just about anyone, or to do so without dragging his heels. And so he does things that might not seem entirely just (such as keeping Zaid prisoner) in the process of ensuring the succession.
What exactly does it take to be worthy, though? Obviously there are traits one should have — traits Allison is growing into — but are you looking for the same sort of worthiness that you see in yourself, which may be overestimated? Do you believe that your successor needs to match up to you, while also believing you’re someone nobody can match?
Oh, that’s interesting. Solomon actually puts Zoss above himself to some extent… I wonder how well they knew each other.
Keyword: “supposed”.
Inheritor of nothing… so an Heir of Void, eh? *queues up the Homestuck fansong Inherit Nothing*
So where’s Zaid’s wall of centaur porn?
Okay, I joke, but the phrase “inheritor of nothing” really is, to me and very likely also to Abbadon given the comic’s background, linked tightly with a character who is associated with things like following tradition, keeping the Law of an empire alive, coming off as a little bit of creep especially in his introductory scene, and being subservient to people who talk in dark purple.
The dumbest part is that makes Solomon a juggalo.
(I swear if Zaid starts wielding a bow or talking about horses…)
[alt text]
Colosseum
Oh good, I didn’t fuck up the spelling earlier.
Oh, I guess it’s still under construction. I didn’t really question its unfinished form because the real Colosseum famously looks a lot like it’s unfinished too. If I remember correctly, the missing bits were used for the Colossus of Rhodes, giving the Colosseum its nickname? Or was it the other way around? Hang on…
*wikipedes*
Okay, no, I’m full of shit. The name is believed to have come from a different Colossus that was right next to the Colosseum (at the time known as the Flavian Amphitheatre), which might have been pulled down to reuse its bronze. The “unfinished” look is largely damage from earthquakes and stone-robbers.
I probably misinterpreted some what I heard years ago and scrambled the rest so it could make some sort of sense.
Yeah, okay, but how voluntary is it?
(I once again find myself wondering how the Tumblr bots would feel about this.)
Huh. I have to say, Solomon is making a better impression than expected so far. He may be proud, but he cares, in a way strikingly unlike Mottom.
[alt text]
The Celestial Legions – among the most formidable and certainly the most cosmopolitan of fighting forces ever assembled.
I suppose that’s why they feel British, Indian, Egyptian and Roman at the same time.
He’ll get his hands dirty in their place if he has to, because he has the power to do what they would struggle with. It’s not all pride and vanity.
Diamond. Hard to scratch, shines its light in many directions, unbreakable.
And I still haven’t seen past the beginning of part 2, but I feel like it’s appropriate that we’re associating the idea that “Diamond is Unbreakable” with someone whose design would fit so well into JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, while he’s surrounded by a host of other buff men.
[alt text]
The God of Frozen Form
What? Is that a reference to how his brand of immortality works? It would fit the “diamond” thing, I suppose.
Hell yeah!
I like him.
Hm. Are they not pleased with this?
I suppose it could be seen as Solomon showing off and undermining their authority, but he made it pretty clear why he’s doing this and I believe him.
Ooh. Has he been told of some of Allison’s shenanigans? Is he aware that she’s out there stirring up shit?
He’d know something happened to her when the angels took him, in any case, so he might be interested in “saving” her like she wants to save him. But looking at this last panel it really feels more like he’s hoping that she will save him.
It’s also very likely an excellent transition into establishing where Allison is.
[alt text]
Burden
It’s probably a good thing Solomon is black-coded.
With the end of chapter 1 and that transition, I think it’s time I go find something to eat and maybe stop for the night.
[Session 2]
Alrighty! Let’s get into chapter 2 and see what Allison’s up to!
wait what?
You’re telling me Allison had the patience for a one-year time skip??? I know she was going to train with White Chain, but a whole year?
Looking good, though. She even manages to rock the stigmata Mottom gave her.
[alt text]
The Skull of YS-Bey, the Garden God
I suppose that’s why there are so many creeping vines around it.
Pfffft. Is this her standard training routine?
Doing pullups on the face of a god has to be some form of sacrilege, which makes it even funnier because presumably White Chain put her up to this kind of behavior. Maybe White Chain didn’t actually tell her to do it here, but still.
tunnel ape
Two pages back with Allison and I already love everything.
[alt text]
“The unseemly moniker ‘tunnel ape’ is applied liberally to humans by the uncouth ruffians of many species in the Red City. None can be sure of its origin, only its ubiquity.” – Payapop Pritram
The “ape” part is pretty obvious, but why “tunnel”?
The trees behind him stand still, and the clouds have settled. The wind from the previous Swords court cards has died down, giving the impression of stability and clarity rather than the confusion of sweeping change.
Allison has had time to settle into the world, and she seems much happier for it.
I suppose knowing her as “that creature who keeps climbing my goddess” doesn’t count.
Ciocie was right, and now she’s more right than ever. Allison is hot as fuck.
[alt text]
Purpose
Training?
The Pleasure Guild? Why is Allison getting involved with that now?
I suppose beating up assholes is good training. It’s also a nice loop-around back to the way she first met White Chain.
(Was this page edited? The filename says KOS14r.)
[alt text]
Return
Yeah, like I said, we’re returning to the first antagonists she met.
This bouncer looks familiar.
I like the wonky horns on the devil.
The dealer is Catra from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
[alt text]
It’s about to get rowdy
The Daughter of the Nine Moons observes with carefully concealed glee.
Time to see how well White Chain has taught her.
This really doesn’t look like a move I’d associate with the Empty Palm.
Well, they’re gonna hurt in the morning.
[alt text]
Training
No shit.
“Self-preservation? What’s that?”
Allison definitely has a fistier style of Empty Palm.
It’s still very much about precision, though.
[alt text]
Brawl
Allison for Smash Bros, anyone?
Allison’s problem before was that she applied the third principle to the first two.
It doesn’t feel like she’s following the mantra particularly closely, even though she recites it.
[alt text]
The manual was written by the famous martial artist Musko Reeve, said to be master of almost every single style
Why do I have a feeling the name Musko Reeve is a reference to something? Serious question. No other name that’s shown up in alt texts like this have felt quite like that.
A downed opponent isn’t always a harmless one.
I’m guessing the toughness boost from the key is what’ll keep Allison from bleeding out. We’ve seen her survive far harsher blows from Ciocie.
Empty… foot?
Yowch.
…they have no trouble piercing her body but hitting the eye breaks the knife. It would seem a little arbitrary for the eye to be more invulnerable than the rest of her if not for one thing: The eye is the window to the soul, as we’ve had alluded to several times already. In that regard, it can also represent the soul directly.
So when the eye appears to be invulnerable, it’s her soul that can’t be harmed, and destroys what you use to attack it. Allison’s body is tough, but her soul is unbreakable and that’s what’s getting her through this story.
[alt text]
Allison definitely has a few unearned advantages here
Training is good and all but a key of nearly unlimited divine power doesn’t hurt either.
Yep. The eye hurts a little and goes red, but it’s barely scratched.
How’s the throat looking, actually? Maybe she’s just gotten generally less vulnerable overall and it’s not (just) symbolism about her soul?
Is it going to be the same one from the beginning of the story?
[alt text]
Boss Fight
Pfft, I actually thought that too.
It is! I forget his name, but it’s him!
“shrakking”…
“shrekking”…
some–
–BODY once told me
the world was gonna roll me
I ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed
[alt text]
The first appearance of Omun Vash was in the very first chapter of KSBD!
That’s right! Back when you could describe Allison as looking kind of dumb with her finger and her th– *shot*
Well hello there, ominous friendo whose long dark blue hair plus single horn come together to remind me of Queen Chrysalis.
Went straight from reminding me of Chrysalis to reminding me of a couple Homestuck characters rolled into one.
[alt text]
NOT TO BE FUCKED WITH
Evidently. I have high expectations for the amount of fuckery that will be conducted nonetheless.
How in the world did they just transition into reminding me of fucking Benrey from Half Life VRAI?
Clearly they can only be defeated if you bring your passport.
I very much like this character’s design, by the way.
I don’t find myself cycling through other characters they remind me of because they come across as unoriginal or anything. Quite the opposite, in fact. My brain is hardwired to seek associations like that, and when it comes across a unique design like this I guess it just kind of goes crazy looking for points of reference.
Case in point, what happened here brings immediate associations to Steven Universe and Stronger Than You, during which Garnet says “go ahead and try to hit me if you’re able” a second time and immediately gets hit in the face.
KILL BOSS… now that, at least, brings internal associations, to this comic. Specifically, a certain Bad Dude.
(This is obviously not him.)
[alt text]
“It’s rare that devils have the patience to learn martial arts, but I wouldn’t want to be one of the unlucky sods that runs into one that does.” – Yag Vitro, Guild Boss
The ferocity and agility of devils with the style and skill of angels makes a force not to be fucked with.
This would normally be a kill move, I think, but Allison has tanked worse before her year of training and getting super buff.
“Just die already.”
Maybe she has her passport after all?
Writing the coughing sound effect phonetically is a nice touch.
[alt text]
K I L L B O S S
It’s short for Krissy Immanuel Leopold Leopard Benrey Onceler Serotonin Superstar.
Yeah no that’s not in response to Krissy Superstar towering over her. I think Allison is seeing something behind or above them, and I suspect it’s White Chain.
Beautiful entrance.
[alt text]
And you thought there wouldn’t be a training montage!
You got me there. I mean, I knew White Chain would obviously show up and I noticed Allison’s sloppiness, but I did think for a moment that the time skip took the place of the training montage.
And I mean, to some extent it did. It just wasn’t enough training, so we need more montage.
Of course White Chain would be a stickler for proper titles when taking on a student, no matter how unordinary the circumstances.
Seriously, I don’t think we saw Allison use her palms once in this scene. Sure, not everything in the Empty Palms style requires that — pretty sure White Chain uses her fists from time to time — and the name probably refers more to the unarmed nature of the style than to the literal palms of the hands, but still.
Krissy, rude. The protagonists are talking. Wait your turn like a good side character.
The best kind of training: Right in the middle of a real fight.
[alt text]
There’s a reason most human martial artists don’t train with angels, namely that it’s well known you will spend every second feeling like a complete buffoon.
And to that, the angels would say that it’s because you are a complete buffoon.
Given the symbolism of “flames” in this comic’s lore, it feels like quenching a flame should be something more than simply killing the target, in the case of targets that aren’t human. I don’t think that’s the case here, though — what I’m talking about would be advanced dark magic.
Yeah, uh, about that. Your associate seems to be getting dealt with shortly themself.
This corridor is having a rough day.
[alt text]
I will mention briefly you can play a character using any of the martial arts I’ve detailed here and in previous pages in the KSBD RPG and they work exactly as advertised
KSBD RPG? Sweet!
Krissy appears to be having a moment here. Maybe they’ll turn on Vash?
Close enough.
Vash, you have a few seconds to negotiate if you want.
I for one like our new friend Krissy Immanuel Leopold Leopard Benrey Serotonin Superstar.
[alt text]
(timestamped to 00:59)
There goes my hero
Watch him as he goes
Hah! Krissy’s off to fight some foo.
That’s apparently the end of chapter 2, so I’m going to go find myself something to eat.
[Session 3]
Right, chapter 3, let’s go!
I freaking love that I can look at this image and parse the giant walking colossuses as buses.
Or cars, as the case may be. These seem to take fewer people a piece.
Buff Allison can step on me I mean, um, I’m really enjoying Allison’s positive attitude in these chapters.
Vash doesn’t seem to be enjoying the bus ride quite as much.
Yeah, no, there’s absolutely no way there isn’t going to be some kind of situation coming up where the master key can’t help her. That’s how these things work, especially when you eyeroll like that Allison
[alt text]
Spires is Throne’s docks, taking in all manner of airships and void craft in enormous, never-ending waves
Are the spires themselves like air control towers, then?
Allison’s face ahaha
You can tell she’s heard it a thousand times.
I mean, she definitely remembers it. I think the problem might lie in understanding and application.
True. I tend to enjoy characters like that, though.
Aww, look at them both being cute.
I do really appreciate that White Chain lets her literally-rock-hard mentor face drop for a moment. It’s easy to underestimate the value a moment like this can have.
[alt text]
It took a long time to work out how White Chain smiles, I don’t think it’s actually happened in the comic before
And it didn’t even require being strangled to death or riding on Shrek’s shoulder!
The composition here is so good on a symbolic level. Surrounding them, as White Chain denies it being in her nature to change, are birds, smoke, and the hues of fire, some of the strongest symbols of impermanence and change. More fire, is of course, found in White Chain’s design, tying into the lore that equates life with fire, including that of angels. If anything, an angel in a physical form is stone given fire, given the ability to change.
(Notice also how when White Chain lets her “hair” out, it has a rather smoky shape to it.)
We then get Allison calling out how this attitude is like how White Chain would think when they first met, implying that this too is something she believed had changed.
And finally, the moment White Chain has said her piece — that it’s a law of being and therefore is something she won’t willingly break away from — she is immediately addressed as brother.
All of this points to a certain willful regression in White Chain. In taking on Allison as a student, White Chain has assumed a role, the role of the angelic master. She’s taken on a role that, in order for her to do it as she perceives right, forces her to reembrace the hard and immutable presentation she started breaking away from in Wielder of Names.
I already theorized about this book dealing with striking a balance between the chaos of devils and the law of angels, and it mirroring Seeker of Thrones in terms of character arcs to some extent. I think we’re already seeing a bit of that: Ciocie reembraced her former more devilish identity and it went too far, so she had to reel it back in and strike a balance. White Chain, here, is doing the same with her angelic identity.
(It’s worth noting that where Ciocie went through that because of external pressure, I think for White Chain it’s mostly internal.)
Prisons are close enough to air control towers, right? Right?
…wait. High-altitude prisons are reasonable enough — they’re the reason dungeons are called that, since “don jon” originally referred to the highest room in a castle — but you built them in the part of town that gets the most air traffic? What? That’s like begging for prison rescue attempts hidden among normal traffic!
[alt text]
These angels are 36 Will Not Give Ground to Sinners and 47 Sound of a Hammer Striking Steel
Nice names. Sound of a Hammer Striking Steel reminds me of Perrin Aybara, a Wheel of Time character I considered bringing up when White Chain accused Allison of being hasty, because while I like hasty characters like his friend Mat better, I identify more with him than I do with Mat.
A classic problem with law-based, “immutable” characters like the angels: They will continue to do things the same way even when change, in this case the rotting of the prisons, makes it not actually serve its purpose anymore.
Oh hey, Michael. It’s been a while since we saw him. I’m not sure I’d even recognize him right now.
Notice the emphasis on brother in a sentence relating to one who insisted on White Chain being male. Are these two perhaps aware of that issue and agreeing with Michael, or are we just being asked to pay attention to that because it’s going to be bothering White Chain? Probably both.
Ooh, Allison noticed and is taking issue with it, it seems. I don’t think her reaction in the panel is about the rotted prisons.
…you never talked about it at all, did you. That looks like the face of someone who’s realizing she’s known an angel for over a year without knowing said angel’s gender for sure.
Nice save.
[alt text]
We’re back!
*waves*
cradling the teacup
What the… where did they catch a Garbodor and why is it hanging from the ceiling?
Huh. So that’s why her number is on the higher end of the ones we’ve seen.
And apparently the name catches the attention of 75 Garbodor I Choose You To Duel Bad Guys.
[alt text]
The inert bodies of angels often reside in the warding towers where they hold criminals. Sometimes, on long sojourns in the void, these bodies are left for years, guarded by human servants, other angels, and orders of Peregrine Knights. It is not uncommon for an angel to leave its body for hundreds of years, during which time an entire shrine, town, or temple complex might spring up around its immobile body, much to the angel’s surprise on its return.
So what you’re saying is this is Garbodor’s parking lot and he(?) just returned from VoidMart.
Home, sweet home. So, where are you hiding your girlfriend?
Those scars are pretty deep considering how tough she’s gotten.
Oof.
Evidently little miss Green Allison is still alive and well in there.
Don’t listen to Green Allison, White Allison. You look great, and even if you didn’t, it would be okay.
Hell yes.
Stability, balance, finding her identity after so many years of turmoil…
Obviously this status quo can’t last, and Garbodor will likely be the reason it doesn’t, but for now Allison is more stable than she’s ever been in the comic’s story.
[alt text]
The unusual appearance of the walls might become apparent next page
The walls are made of hardened butter.
There’s also a lot of light shining through those windows. Is this perhaps not entirely real?
Oh that’s fantastic.
I did notice that the walls also seemed to be the roof in her room, but I assumed it was an attic thing. And I mean, was I wrong?
Mamoru has an armchair but eats on the floor.
thirty kinds of tea
I guess that’s what happens when you presumably live with Nyavechain.
Cio and Nyave sighted!
Watering the plants to the point where not sleeping is a benefit… Cio, how much water do those plants actually need? Please, you’ll drown them.
I don’t know what to laugh more about, the fact that White Chain has a shrine to Ys-Het in this house full of lesbians, herself seemingly included, or the fact that she’s got a spot dedicated to praying to a god inside another god.
Do shoes count as unattended if you’re wearing them but not paying much attention to your feet?
The mail services around here sound a little suspect. Might be best to rely on the bird port.
Probably doesn’t help that the mailbox is within the reach of the dolo monkeys.
[alt text]
Since only Nyave and Allison actually sleep, they get the actual bedrooms (one is around the back). Cio spends a lot of time cooking, White Chain patrols, and Princess mostly lurks in the armchair.
At least the cooking will help her avoid drowning her plants.
So where is White Chain, anyway? *shifty eyes* …in Nyave’s bedroom?
Yep, gotta get your morning coffee before aligning your inner force. (Says the guy who’s never had a cup of coffee in his life.)
Also I love that one of the monkeys is playing along.
Now that’s one way to carry groceries home.
And hey, she found a better spot for her pull-ups!
Snacking during power cultivation and getting berated for it by your angelic teacher is an important part of any healthy morning routine.
[alt text]
Since Throne’s sun is broken there is no differentiation between time of day unless you move into the sun or shade-side of the disc. This makes keeping a regular schedule somewhat difficult and can be troublesome for outworlders.
You just need to set Throne spinning. No big deal.
This joke setup is rather obvious but it’s classic for a reason. It still manages to be funny even when you know the basic premise of the joke. 😛
So what are they actually doing? The botany would imply something like handling a garden hose, but is that actually something she’d be getting lessons in? I’m all for Cio sharing her hobby with Allison and them being cute about it, but it might also be something more useful to their long-term goals.
Like devil magic!
They totally do spend some time together in here for, ahem, “hose wrangling” though.
Also that’s a lot of precarious lit candles. Dril is that you?
Red, the color of fire, used for transmutation. This raw untapped potential even looks like a particularly blobby sort of fire.
And then there’s white and black. In the context of K6BD, they’re also colors of fire, but where red is the color of human fire, they’re the colors of angel fire and devil fire respectively. If they’re not outright creative and destructive arts, I expect white imposes structure and black breaks it.
[alt text]
Between the joke in the comic and this thumbnail it’s probably a good thing my blog is tagged as 18+ on Patreon.
The proper SFX for this moment is *EGG*. Yes, even when she’s manifesting a peach.
“All things can change form.” Sticking to a theme.
Ah, Allison. Thinking about baseball, are we?
We’ve seen her attempt at subtlety. It involved a mysterious stranger and was about as unsubtle as it gets.
Also this
is made even funnier when given the context that it happens right before
[alt text]
Allison originally intended to create an apple, but she didn’t really mind
Yeah, she’s more than fine with exchanging the fruit of knowledge for the fruit of bare butts at the moment.
Yeah, I had no illusions that we would stay to watch.
Anyone who wishes otherwise can refer back to
You’d think Cio would have some idea of that after what they’ve been up to.
I freaking love these dorks.
What’s on Allison’s mind? Zaid, maybe? I mean, it was her attempting to do the sexytimes with him that got one of them into this mess. (Probably him, really.)
Hmm. Perhaps *EGG* really would be appropriate SFX.
I always thought “King” was just being treated as a gender neutral term in this world, and all the usage of “he” in reference to the Rising King was a mistake or assumption based on the wording, but maybe the prophecy and Zoss know more than even Allison about certain things.
There are other things Allison could be referring to here, just as a result of the journey they’ve been on, but this is the first panel that has made me even consider the concept of transmasc Allison, and it fits. All of their struggles with trying to fit in among the girls, all that stuff. And especially coming on the heel of Allison expressing their support for transfem White Chain and in a series of chapters themed around change amidst a status quo, it seems like this might actually be the direction the story is going.
And hey, if it turns out buff Allison is a guy… he can still step on me.
You’re learning angel martial arts and devil magic, but there’s still one thing you don’t have a teacher for. Human magic. Or, well, divine, but channeled through an invention of humans’.
At least, you don’t have a teacher who sticks around for anything but a few paragraphs in the late-game of each book.
Maybe that’s where Solomon comes in. Maybe he could teach some of how to use a key, while also bringing Allison closer to their original goal of saving Zaid?
As for what the “something out there” is… Metatron, maybe? He certainly has major endgame antagonist vibes.
[alt text]
Since the sun does not move in throne, the temperature depends on what side of the city you reside on. In Dusk, it’s generally quite chilly.
I know what it’s like to live in dusk for months on end.
Oof. It looks like Cio is keeping it casual. A little too casual, unwilling to fully step in in those moments where Allison needs a moirail and not just a matesprit — uh, pardon my Homestuck. I mean, when she needs emotional support and not just, y’know,
Ah, right. It seems they still have this prick who could fill the role I suggested for Solomon. That makes more sense anyway.
[alt text]
“He was a coward by nature. An unparalleled master of sword law, who only knew how to kill and maim. An exceptionally poor swordsman.” – Unknown
No appreciation for the softer or more defensive skills, just as Ciocie is only caring for the more… active, side of things.
I think you’ve always been stronger than you gave yourself credit for, Allison.
Allison mood: Not in the mood.
The symbol of the master key… all and nothing. It’s also the on-off button of creation.
nyoom
[alt text]
Ignition of the Heir
Just add fuel and heat!
“Am I powerful” is not what they asked.
Also he has a point. Why didn’t they cut ties with Incubus?
And then Allison beat up the Demiurges, transitioned and moved to Earth-Bet (in Gog-Agog’s section), living out the rest of his days as a superhero named Dauntless.
There’s no way that spear is ten cubits long though, unless Allison is also a lot bigger in this dreamworld. Yet, at least; maybe it’s not done growing.
Touché!
[alt text]
One drop of blood
I see at least five, but you do you.
In all seriousness, this is probably calling attention to the parallel between this and Solomon’s decree from the beginning of the book.
A solid sprint is useful in a pinch, but it won’t help you win the Olympics without some endurance running to go with it.
“We’re gonna win,” he says. But who exactly is he including there? Just himself and Allison? Himself and Jagganoth? All three?
Is Incubus how Allison finds out about Solomon and his tournament?
Can’t be a terribly long story, there are only two and a half pages left of the chapter.
Unfortunately this story was never going to be about Aesma. I knew that from the moment he said his friend was wrong in the same way Allison supposedly is — it’d be typical of Aesma to be as wrong as possible, but I think she’d definitely take Incubus’ point of view.
Also the timeline doesn’t really work out for Aesma and Incubus to have been friends like that, but that’s less relevant.
Anyway, the monks remind me of the Allies prior to WWII.
…wait, Rayuba, wasn’t that… *checks earlier screenshots* no, Solomon’s world wasn’t named. The name sounds familiar somehow, though.
[alt text]
Praxis
Putting ideas into practice… is that referring to the monks?
That seems like it’s going to backfire.
…hold up. That hairstyle on everyone, that skin tone, that cloak color, those forehead wrinkles… the citizen-soldier is Solomon, isn’t he.
Called it! I don’t know how I called it, but I called that it was that world!
This adds a little depth to why Solomon picked that specific world to build up his capital in, and to give an extra sun.
Wait. Am I crazy or is the lead monk Zoss? What?
Yeah, that’s pretty much what I expected, before I got distracted by the lead monk looking disturbingly familiar.
And it’s not like this disconfirms anything either. We’ve seen Zoss come back from apparent onscreen death once, somehow, so there’s nothing to say he can’t have done it multiple times.
[alt text]
Solomon’s Song
I wonder if he regrets any of this.
Moral of the story: Solomon was scary as fuck even without divine power.
More vengeance to get? Or perhaps you’re talking about how he still has opposition among the Demiurges? Or even that one kid of his?
Concordance time!
Maybe we’ll stick with them next chapter? I expect Gog-Agog will be relevant this time.
End of K6BD:KOS ch. 1-4
That was a lot of fun! Solomon’s shaping up to be a very intriguing character, Zaid isn’t all bad, and Allison and her crew are just as great as ever, if not even greater.
White Chain’s due for an arc that teaches her that it’s okay to change, while Ciocie and Allison have some trouble in paradise to work through when it comes to emotional support. Should be interesting, but before we can really get into that we need to get them out of their time skip status quo and back into the swing of the plot. That will likely happen either as a result of the Concordance that’s about to take place, the Garbodor angel who recognized White Chain’s name, or both.
See you soon!
Krixwell Liveblogs 
“Red, the color of fire, used for transmutation. This raw untapped potential even looks like a particularly blobby sort of fire.
And then there’s white and black. In the context of K6BD, they’re also colors of fire, but where red is the color of human fire, they’re the colors of angel fire and devil fire respectively. If they’re not outright creative and destructive arts, I expect white imposes structure and black breaks it.”
The Arts have mostly gotten spoken of in the comments and Abaddon’s Ask tumblr for KSBD. Also, a bit in the RPG, IIRC.
The Red Art is the Art of Dominion and is used to change one thing into another thing as seen here. Cio uses this when she’s doing her paper shenanigans(the magic kind, not the fanfiction kind).
The White Art is the Art of Division and is used to change one’s self. It’s a bit funky, but an application of it is when someone travels the Void personally and you see their skin, their muscles, their skeleton, and then their soul. Legends say that the gods used the Art of Division to destroy themselves and create the Wheel.
As a corollary, there the Red-White Art(sometimes called the Pink Art in comments) that’s a combination of the above two. It is used to change other people. Mottom’s the most frequent user on screen, with her use of “Perish” and turning that one guy into a tree. If you look back at the text box when she casts, you can see it’s White and Red interwoven.
The Black Art is the Art of Creation and is the rarest of the Arts. There’s only a handful of people in the cosmos that can use even a part of it and even the Demiurges aren’t included in that number. Abaddon has described it as “using Flame to kindle Flame.”
He’s also said that someone that could master all three Arts could “Spin the Wheel and laugh at God” but also that such a person would be True Royalty and “beyond such petty applications of the Art.”
LikeLike
Royalty is a continuous cutting motion; the act of Conquest is never finished, and Dominion survives only by the eternal application of Violence.
i look forward to these blogs; i hope you’re doing well
LikeLike