Is it time *now* for the ‘Good’ mages to step in?
No? Still waiting? Okay, will start preparing the funeral rights for those who will die while we wait
If this succeeds then their sacrifice will have been worth it and they can rest in whatever afterlife they deserve. If not, they’ll die horribly anyway so might as well go down fighting.
The mages are aiming for Ranna’s achilles heel, metaphorically speaking. The spot in Smaug’s belly where the dragon is missing a scale and the shot can get in.
Another interpretation is that the shot they are going to fire off requires a build-up, that they are already preparing and that it’s charging at the Speed of Plot, as they say. Which is why Queen Anna and the Fox need to do Something Dramatic.
They are. Sometimes in war you have to make sacrifices to win, and in this case it involves the forces on the ground keeping Ranna’s attention on them while the magi get set up to counterattack when there’s an opening.
I freely admit that "historically-significant worldbuilder porn for academic pedants who genuinely want to stop the narrative flow to discuss why the town has suffered from funds mismanagement for decades" is a very, very specific fetish audience, but damn it, my kink is okay. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it like ink on a chapter-long sidebar about the history of a hilltop.
This said, yes, totally agree…this is neither a Tolkien nor a Jackson epic battle under the dark sky. It’s a textbook Morris, and it’s a thing of utter beauty!
As a matter of strict fact… I am both a Jackson /and/ a Tolkein fan. I not only have sat through the entire extended trilogy in a single setting, but am perfectly willing to do it again if enough interest is shown by my family.
And at the same time, I have read the Silmarillion several times, and have used it for reference when considering my own world building projects. So… I put my hand up as one who would willingly "subject themselves to that."
That being said, I like to think I’m far less subtle when I’m parodying, paying tribute to, or outright stealing from my inspirations. ("Sauron was a boob." -Lewie)
Do all of you know it was a simple joke, wasn’t it?
I read lich of the rings and know that you can write for yourself and when you do a parody or you want saw respect don’t need to hide.
It’s only that the vision of the first scene and that strip… well it’s complicated don’t do.
PD: I try to read the Silmarillion. Only say that how many people i need months to finish the dark forest and you will know the rest.
PDD: Really, i want not to disrespect your work or you
As someone who read the Silmarillion for the first time in sixth grade, including every appendix, and all the appendices in Return of the King, I am glad to see others here who respect the high lord of epic fantasy. 🙂 While the movies committed some highly annoying sins against the original stories, they were a good fun romp in their own right despite that, and deserve respect. I never thought anyone would be able to tackle a project of that immense size that successfully, and it brought the stories to the attention of whole new generations of people.
All that said, other then the obvious parodies, I really don’t see that much similarity to Tolkien’s work here (other then the obvious, that it is an epic story involving a LOT of world building, and giant battles). There are only so many ways to sensibly set up giant fantasy battles with magic involved. Certain circumstances lead one down a similar path to the one others have traveled before. That doesn’t mean you are copying, that just means you are making sense and telling the story well.
In any case, there are worse fates then being compared to Tolkien. 😀
I don’t mind being /compared/ to Tolkein at all. I kinda rankle at being accused of just copying the cinimatographers of the film series.
Also I couldn’t disagree more about how the movies committed ‘sins’ against the books. Other than turning Pippin into a clown, they adapted the crap that didn’t work (Like the Tom Bombadil rubbish and giving the female characters just a little bit more presence and agency.)
I should have put "sins" in quotes, as in changes to the original story that some conciser sins. There is no way to adapt something that big to the big screen, and a modern audience, without making changes. I also said I liked the movies. 🙂
Ah, is that what they were accusing you of? I guess that part went right over my head. I don’t really see it. *shrugs*
I am appreciating something about Rana. If you omit her horns and wings (or not, depends of standards), she visually doesn’t look like an evil person/deity. And I love it because I am not fond of the trope of evil being heinous and good being fair-looking.
Most big bads are easily pinpointed because they look "villanous" and gives creeps. For example neither Voldemort, Sauron or the Emperor of Star Wars are people who you can find in the streets and say "Hey, looks like a nice person who pays his taxes".
Yeah, like DivFord says, in the Silmarillion, prior to his physical destruction when Numenor sank, Sauron was very good looking and charismatic. So much so that his captors were charmed by him and were corrupted by him.
To be fair to the Lord of the Rings, Sam decides Strider isn’t evil specifically because someone evil would "seem fair and feel foul", so the assumption in that world is that evil is usually physically attractive. Also, I believe Sauron is described as beautiful in the Silmarillion, back when he had a physical form.
Even with the horns and wings, her appearance (if we didn’t know her all too damned well) would say, "Fun-loving tiefling adventuress rocking a maxxed-out Enlarge spell" rather than "Sadistic, age-ending megalomaniacal tyrant".
Which is why some of the best villainous actors are people like Alan Rickman: consider how suave and handsome he was as Hans Gruber, how dashing he was as the sheriff of Nottingham despite chewing up the scenery and having fun being the bad guy. Or Christian Bale in American Psycho.
I find villains work well when they are pretty and vain. Kind of a subversion of Roald Dahl’s famed quote in The Twits.
Real life version: Jeffrey Dahmer the Milwaukee Cannibal/Monster looked quite the charming handsome young man when he was active.
There was a TV show that had the presenter do a test in the streets with a series of photos, asking just on look would the young woman asked go out with them/feel safe around them. 90% of them said they would feel safe/date the handsome blonde man… which was Jeffrey Dahmer. 3 of them recognised the photo for who he was.
There are evil beings who can afford to be ugly, some it suits even. Voldemort and the Emperor are like that. But I always thought for instance, that the Devil must be really attractive and pleasent to have around, because as an attractive person he has way higher chance to manipulate others (like leading into temptation), as he would have as a hideous beast. I think it depends on how the evil operates. But the attractive ones I always found somewhat scarier.
the more serious story driven atmosphere is cool and I’m really loving what you’re putting together here, but when are we gonna get back to the softcore pornography we all know and love? I wanna see some cute goblin booty.
There are 3333 other pages you can look at (more if you count the D&D game). If you just wanted porn there are other sites for that as well. Please let Rich tell his story at his own pace.
Pick up your copies of YAFGC Volumes 1 - 5 at our online store. Multi-book bundles and sketch editions available.
The side of good is really in deep shit.
…but Ranna’s latest move is exactly what Eddy and Vanessa hoped she would do.
https://www.yafgc.net/comic/3199-the-plan/
Let’s hope the mages and priests are all at the top of their game here!
Is it time *now* for the ‘Good’ mages to step in?
No? Still waiting? Okay, will start preparing the funeral rights for those who will die while we wait
If this succeeds then their sacrifice will have been worth it and they can rest in whatever afterlife they deserve. If not, they’ll die horribly anyway so might as well go down fighting.
The mages are aiming for Ranna’s achilles heel, metaphorically speaking. The spot in Smaug’s belly where the dragon is missing a scale and the shot can get in.
Another interpretation is that the shot they are going to fire off requires a build-up, that they are already preparing and that it’s charging at the Speed of Plot, as they say. Which is why Queen Anna and the Fox need to do Something Dramatic.
Shouldn’t the title be: Ranna tits the sea saw?
You mean, it’s not?
I kinda saw that a first too. . .
Me too. 🙂
I mean, we probably all did after the way she bragged about how powerful she is now.
well the longer they wait the more she will destroy
Their plan hinges on Ranna being distracted so she doesn’t see their spell coming. So yeah, the material component is a lot of people dying.
And they are the ‘Good’ guys?
Well, there IS a lot of monsters on their side…
They are. Sometimes in war you have to make sacrifices to win, and in this case it involves the forces on the ground keeping Ranna’s attention on them while the magi get set up to counterattack when there’s an opening.
Someone was revisited Lord of the Rings, wasn’t it? 😉
Nope. Contrary to popular belief, I can imagine stage setups all by myself.
Also, why would anyone subject themselves to that?
t!
I freely admit that "historically-significant worldbuilder porn for academic pedants who genuinely want to stop the narrative flow to discuss why the town has suffered from funds mismanagement for decades" is a very, very specific fetish audience, but damn it, my kink is okay. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it like ink on a chapter-long sidebar about the history of a hilltop.
This said, yes, totally agree…this is neither a Tolkien nor a Jackson epic battle under the dark sky. It’s a textbook Morris, and it’s a thing of utter beauty!
BWAH!
Yeah, mon ami, your kinks are a-ok with me.
I ever tell you about the guy I know who insists that Tom Bombadil is the most important character? (nope, not a Jackson fan, he)
How do you feel about dozens of pages describing the packing and subsequent unpacking of a hat collection?
t!
> How do you feel about dozens of pages describing the packing and subsequent unpacking of a hat collection?
Okay, I’m breathing heavily now.
Footnotes. Tell me there are footnotes…!
Get a (reading) room, you two. ?
My wife had rooms in Reading, once.
t!
Goldman cut the hat thing, alas.
But Pratchett and Brust are good for the footnotes.
t!
‘Princess Bride’ reference there I believe
As a matter of strict fact… I am both a Jackson /and/ a Tolkein fan. I not only have sat through the entire extended trilogy in a single setting, but am perfectly willing to do it again if enough interest is shown by my family.
And at the same time, I have read the Silmarillion several times, and have used it for reference when considering my own world building projects. So… I put my hand up as one who would willingly "subject themselves to that."
That being said, I like to think I’m far less subtle when I’m parodying, paying tribute to, or outright stealing from my inspirations. ("Sauron was a boob." -Lewie)
> I am both a Jackson /and/ a Tolkein fan.
Yeah, I know. It’s weird.
t!
All kidding aside, I remember VERY well the description of your reaction when you first saw Jackson’s Hobbiton.
t!
Do all of you know it was a simple joke, wasn’t it?
I read lich of the rings and know that you can write for yourself and when you do a parody or you want saw respect don’t need to hide.
It’s only that the vision of the first scene and that strip… well it’s complicated don’t do.
PD: I try to read the Silmarillion. Only say that how many people i need months to finish the dark forest and you will know the rest.
PDD: Really, i want not to disrespect your work or you
Sure thing. Just… whether you meant it or not, what you said was "You’ve been copying the Lord of the Rings movie, haven’t you?"
As someone who read the Silmarillion for the first time in sixth grade, including every appendix, and all the appendices in Return of the King, I am glad to see others here who respect the high lord of epic fantasy. 🙂 While the movies committed some highly annoying sins against the original stories, they were a good fun romp in their own right despite that, and deserve respect. I never thought anyone would be able to tackle a project of that immense size that successfully, and it brought the stories to the attention of whole new generations of people.
All that said, other then the obvious parodies, I really don’t see that much similarity to Tolkien’s work here (other then the obvious, that it is an epic story involving a LOT of world building, and giant battles). There are only so many ways to sensibly set up giant fantasy battles with magic involved. Certain circumstances lead one down a similar path to the one others have traveled before. That doesn’t mean you are copying, that just means you are making sense and telling the story well.
In any case, there are worse fates then being compared to Tolkien. 😀
I don’t mind being /compared/ to Tolkein at all. I kinda rankle at being accused of just copying the cinimatographers of the film series.
Also I couldn’t disagree more about how the movies committed ‘sins’ against the books. Other than turning Pippin into a clown, they adapted the crap that didn’t work (Like the Tom Bombadil rubbish and giving the female characters just a little bit more presence and agency.)
I should have put "sins" in quotes, as in changes to the original story that some conciser sins. There is no way to adapt something that big to the big screen, and a modern audience, without making changes. I also said I liked the movies. 🙂
Ah, is that what they were accusing you of? I guess that part went right over my head. I don’t really see it. *shrugs*
Twist: panel four is Ranna’s own people getting smote 🙂
Ahh good, she did read the "Evil Overlord Handbook".
Nah, she just skimmed the abridged version…
I see someone has their head in the clouds, but she won’t be in Cloud 9 for long.
The good guys are either them or the Rannites. Choose.
Maybe with her (not BK’s) hide-bound thought process, a sword seems appropriate, but with the size comparison, i’d’ve used a flyswatter 😀
It’s awesome to know some of the gods have not been consumed
Ranna better hope there are no Lilliputians running about.
At her current size, they *all* are Lilliputian in comparison 😀
Hah! Can almost imagine it when they start swarming all over her: "Hey! Get off! Don’t go in there, that’s not a cave! Neither is that!!"
That reminds me of Jungle Burger.
I am appreciating something about Rana. If you omit her horns and wings (or not, depends of standards), she visually doesn’t look like an evil person/deity. And I love it because I am not fond of the trope of evil being heinous and good being fair-looking.
Most big bads are easily pinpointed because they look "villanous" and gives creeps. For example neither Voldemort, Sauron or the Emperor of Star Wars are people who you can find in the streets and say "Hey, looks like a nice person who pays his taxes".
Do we actually see what Sauron looks like though?
Saruman on the other hand…
Yeah, like DivFord says, in the Silmarillion, prior to his physical destruction when Numenor sank, Sauron was very good looking and charismatic. So much so that his captors were charmed by him and were corrupted by him.
Thank you, never got around to reading that book, was just going by the movies
To be fair to the Lord of the Rings, Sam decides Strider isn’t evil specifically because someone evil would "seem fair and feel foul", so the assumption in that world is that evil is usually physically attractive. Also, I believe Sauron is described as beautiful in the Silmarillion, back when he had a physical form.
Even with the horns and wings, her appearance (if we didn’t know her all too damned well) would say, "Fun-loving tiefling adventuress rocking a maxxed-out Enlarge spell" rather than "Sadistic, age-ending megalomaniacal tyrant".
Which is why some of the best villainous actors are people like Alan Rickman: consider how suave and handsome he was as Hans Gruber, how dashing he was as the sheriff of Nottingham despite chewing up the scenery and having fun being the bad guy. Or Christian Bale in American Psycho.
I find villains work well when they are pretty and vain. Kind of a subversion of Roald Dahl’s famed quote in The Twits.
Real life version: Jeffrey Dahmer the Milwaukee Cannibal/Monster looked quite the charming handsome young man when he was active.
There was a TV show that had the presenter do a test in the streets with a series of photos, asking just on look would the young woman asked go out with them/feel safe around them. 90% of them said they would feel safe/date the handsome blonde man… which was Jeffrey Dahmer. 3 of them recognised the photo for who he was.
There are evil beings who can afford to be ugly, some it suits even. Voldemort and the Emperor are like that. But I always thought for instance, that the Devil must be really attractive and pleasent to have around, because as an attractive person he has way higher chance to manipulate others (like leading into temptation), as he would have as a hideous beast. I think it depends on how the evil operates. But the attractive ones I always found somewhat scarier.
Remember, Lucifer is an Angel (ex-Angel?), so yeah, very attractive and seductive
the more serious story driven atmosphere is cool and I’m really loving what you’re putting together here, but when are we gonna get back to the softcore pornography we all know and love? I wanna see some cute goblin booty.
There are 3333 other pages you can look at (more if you count the D&D game). If you just wanted porn there are other sites for that as well. Please let Rich tell his story at his own pace.
Bless you, EndsBeginning, for saying that.
t!
I’ve read the entire comic so far, it’s a joke bro. though I do like the way he draws nudity without putting too much focus on it.
I hear you, man. I love drawing that stuff too. But this damned epic story keeps getting in the way.
Was so close to being, Ranna Tits The See Saw
*facepalm* Need coffee. I totally misread the title for this strip.
Join the club 😀
It may have been intended to be misread. *chuckle* Though "Tilts" does relate to the title of the chapter, "Ranna’s Fulcrum".