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What are your thoughts on Alex’s reaction?
I wanted Alex to stand up for himself. To do what is right in his mind.
He’s in love. And it’s new to him. He’s dealing with the responsibility that Nastajia’s parents put on him… and it’s more important than the GLOBAL responsibility the sword put on him.
Thoughts?
Scott
DREAMLAND IS NOW AVAILABLE IN:
First comment!!! I was NOT expecting that.
Hi Scott,
Huge fan of the comic! I like Alex’s response, but I think it points out that he’s indeed not ready to be the king of Dreamland. Not sure if others would agree with me on that though.
We are definitely seeing a different side of Alex. Compared to the indecisive and somewhat clumsy beginning. It’s kind of like “Whoa! Wasn’t expecting that!”
I’m not saying that it’s unrealistic in any way. Since he’s been slowly changing throughout the series. But, it’s still kind of a shock all the same.
Hope that helps!
save the cheerleader, save the world
🙂
SO MUCH WIN!!! 😀 Yes! Stand up to him, Alex! He’s not trustworthy. There is ALWAYS more than one option and working with that dragon is at the bottom of the list. You’re not Nicodemous’s tool.
Scott, I love how Alex throws the TRUTH in Nic’s face and tasks HIM with the job. Nicodemus made the mess; he can clean it up. He’s perfectly capable and he no longer gets to boss Alex around! 😀 Way to go. 🙂 I love it. It’s totally appropriate that Alex is off to find Nastajia–a person he trusts implicitly and loves deeply. She is the one he needs to partner with, not that unstrustworthy dragon.
Interesting, and I’m of two minds about it. I like seeing Alex being more forceful and decisive. But the underlying push seems to be to portray Alex as not ready to be king (too personally focused) and that part seems a bit more narrative-driven than character-driven.
My opinion anyway, it’s a pretty subjective thing.
It’s nice to see Alex being more decisive. However, as king he needs to put the good of the kingdom before his personal desires. Or, to throw in a cliched Trekism, “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.”
Wasn’t expecting that, but it’s nice to see Alex put the burden of the consequences on he who set it all in motion so long ago.
Right on Alex!! Save the girl then save the world
This is not the way kings think.
Personal desires have to be put aside in order to achieve greater good.
Inthis situation I think that Alex and NIc can cooperate i.e. Nic may accept to help Alex find and save Nastajia (a really cool picture will be Alex riding on Nic flying to search for Nastajia) and then the 3 of them (with the help of the 4 others on Earth) try the best for both worlds!
Alex’s weighty responsibility aside, I like the way he presented this to Nicodemas. Since you’re asking me for help, you’re not the evil overlord. You’re not the great nemesis. You’re the misguided screw-up that caused this mess in the first place. Your hate for humans might have cost everyone everywhere their lives. Before you chew Alex out for putting petty concerns ahead of Dreamland, think about THAT.
I agree.
Well said sir.
Going along with Nic’s plea is not the way a king thinks either. The being asking for Alex’s assistance has already spent an enormous period of time usurping, deceiving, and subverting others. Now Nic presents an argument that others should work with him … and he should not be shocked that his case is rejected without discomfort.
Old advice: “for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory”. The nearest other counselor is Nastajia, and she needs to be found before she can be consulted.
I’m in agreement that this is not the reaction of a wise ruler that puts his people above himself. But this reaction is still most definitely in character. Plus, it’s just awesome. Even if he’s not making the right “head” decision, he’s still making a very bold “heart” decision, which still shows character growth from the bumbling, aimless drifter Alex was when he started this journey.
I found his stance in the fourth panel particularly moving.
Exactly, there are two things going on here, not just the question of responsibility.
Whether he ultimately agrees to begrudgingly work with Nic in the short term or not, what he said was 100% spot on as far as Nic’s past actions and their present result is concerned. Also, though I love it from a reader perspective, Nic’s somewhat holier-than-thou attitude in ‘asking’ for Alex’s help (in spite of all he’s done to kill/destroy Alex and everything he loves so far) only lends considerable weight to Alex’s argument.
To wit, in truth, Nic is just as if not more selfish than Alex will ever be, and far more manipulative. It JUST so happens that as the threat applies to both Dreamland and Earth it gives Nic the leverage of claiming it to be of concern to everyone, and therefore allowing him the outrageous license of appearing to be reasonable/pragmatic.
Good for you, Alex, now it’s in Nic’s hands to convince him he actually has something other than misguided hubris and hyperbole to offer in his search for help. Apologizing for his short-sighted delusions of grandeur might be a start (not to mention trying to kill the guy/his friends >__>
I think he’s making the right decision here, but for the wrong reasons. After everything that’s happened here, to fully rally the forces of Dreamland in both body and spirit, he’s going to need Nastajia at his side. He’s not going to get that level of support as Nicodemus (the overthrown tyrant) and Alexander (the bold but inexperienced noob) alone. Nastajia is a born leader and will be able to bring that morale element that will be needed for this fight. Either that or there will need to be a martyr (which I hope it does not come to that).
this is a good reaction for someone who is not trying to prove anything other than he will keep his word to Nastajia’s parents AT ALL COSTS, but it does prove he’s not ready to be king.
I would really like to see Alex suggest he and Nic team up to rescue Nastajia–HIS trusted advisor–and then they all team up against Abbadon.
If you’re trying to paint Alex as good king material, i think this would be the best way. if Nic is the one that has to suggest it, it only proves Alex just doesn’t possess the level-headed thinking a (good) king needs, which is fine if that’s the route you want to go.
But then Dreamlanders will rally around Nic again, because they will have no one else unless Alex relinquishes the sword to Daniel.
You’re forgetting the corollary (such as it is) of that Trekism: That sometimes the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many.
FWIW, I don’t accept those as fundamentals of morality, or ethics. To do so is to reduce morality (or ethics) to a mere numbers came, i.e., might makes right.
This.
I meant that I wasn’t expecting that Alexander would do that. But then again, Nic isn’t that trustworthy. As usual, good job Scott!
I’m not getting what’s going on right now.
I don’t like this response, I love this response. WTG Alex!!!
I think Nicole, Nathan, and Charles above said a lot of what I’m thinking. Nic has already proven he’s manipulative, conniving, untrustworthy, backstabbing, I could go on. Alex would be foolish to simply go along with this at the dragon’s first plea for “teamwork”. If they teamed up and saved the worlds, first chance Nic has to remove humans from DL, king and all, he’ll take it.
As to Alex showing he’s not king material…I disagree. A king may need to put his desires last but Alex isn’t just going after Nas because he wants to. He made a promise and a king should keep his word. Besides, a kingdom’s strength does not just come from it’s king, it comes from it’s people too. There are others who I think will fight for DL and for Earth, what a people need is a king they can trust and rally behind. If Alex wants to be a good king for DL, I think it’s important he prove that he trusts his people and that they can trust him. Striking a deal with the turncoat dragon and neglecting his responsibility to protecting Nastajia are not ways to show he can be trusted.
Tagline from the US TV show “Heroes”.
Working with Nic in no way guarantees success. Nicodemus is blind to anything but his own plans, which may not be the best. Better to find Nastajia and make further plans with her.
I would not trust Nic any further than I could throw him. Working with him would be playing with fire. Alex has a strong team. He doesn’t need Nicodemus. I’m very surprised that everyone seems so ready to trust Nic. He cares NOTHING for what happens to Earth.
Yes! safyrejet’s comment FTW! 🙂
Commanding Nic to do his own dirty work makes Alex finally look like a true King. I love it!
The thing is, I think it is the right decision. Alex might go try to save the world and not Nastajia, but the fact is, we’ve seen that Nastajia IS the reason he was able to fend off so many of the legion of Abbadon before they took her away. She is his strength.
Do you honestly think he’s going to be that much help trying to save Dreamland if Nastajia isn’t there with him? That’s not exactly going to win him the crown, is it?
But it will fall on Alex if/when Nic fails.
I don’t think the Dreamlanders will be too trusting of a king who knew about the oncoming war and passed the buck.
My opinion is the following:
-This shows how far Alex has come as a character. He’s developed a sense of honor and has learned to be steadfast in pursuing a course of action, and say “no.” Boy just needs the right motivation to get a fire lit under him, it would seem.
-This also shows how far he still has to come as a ruler. Unfortunately, Nic does have a point, and Alex doesn’t seem to quite see that the needs of the “many” may outweigh the needs of the “few.”
-On the other hand, Alex also has a point. Nic did have a very big, scaly hand in creating this mess, and it’s Nic’s job to clean it up. Manipulating others into helping him may be an expedient option, but is it the right option?
Unfortunately, this is the sort of dilemma where neither decision seems completely right or completely wrong, and the stakes are high on both sides. But I do think that you’ve done a great job of showing Alex as a complex, growing character here by giving him this moment where he shows surprising courage.
*tosses two cents into the jar*
WOOOOO!!!!! GO ALEX!!!!!!
Finally he’s showing some backbone!
He’s not passing the buck, though. And the other crew are about to discover just how on the brink DL is with war. Everyone is well aware of Nic’s involvement with the NMRealm and will blame him for any problems that arise. Nic proclaiming that he told Alex will be taken with a grain of salt because of his already questionable reputation.
Simply put, Alex has nothing to worry about and he’s made the right decision. If Nic fails, it won’t put Alex in a bad light.
Thank you all!
These are ALL questions I’ve asked myself when writing this. And it DOES show he’s not ready (if he’ll ever be) to be king. But it DOES show how much he’s grown as a character.
I hope you enjoy these next few pages. Hang on. There’s some twists and turns ahead.
On the one hand, Alex is right, this IS all Nic’s fault, he (Alex) DID promise Nas’ parents he’d get her safe, and her welfare IS probably uppermost in his mind. On the other hand, Nic is right, this IS a threat to Dreamland AND Earth, and it’s only by working together they’ll have much chance to stop Abaddon. And on the third hand, Alex IS King of Dreamland, at least for now, and Kings have to put the welfare of their people ahead of all else. And that third hand belongs to Nastajia, who is probably going to DOPE SLAP him to the infinite power when she finds out about this. Because putting others ahead of herself is what she’s been doing pretty much since her parents vanished. And Alex not doing the same, even if it’s to save her, is probably not going to go over well. Especially if it puts Ashendel at risk.
I think this is a situation where they have to all save each other AND Dreamland and Earth. Nic is a powerful fighter and has lots of knowledge but who’s going to follow him? The population of Dreamland will follow Alex and Nas, but without her he won’t be as strong, and without him she might not be able to succeed. Nic, if he’s smart, will stop arguing and instead help Alex save her (does Alex even know where she is?), Alex will persuade Nastajia not to put an arrow thorough Nic’s eye at the first opportunity, and maybe they’ll be able to win.
I wonder what Dan is going to have to say about all this…
Hi!
“Ready to be king”? No.
Growth as a character? – I’m not so sure. His response sounds to me like it is just male hormones kicking in. “Growth” would have meant saying something like, “Help me find Nastajia first!”; “being a king” would have meant thinking like a king, e.g., telling Nic that Nastajia was not his ONLY concern. For example, that Alex came in with her and as King he has no intention of leaving her to her fate while there is still a chance that she is still alive; secondary considerations being that she has a powerful magic bow, would be a great field general in a fight with Abaddon, and he values her counsel (especially when it comes to dealing with Nicodemus).
If Nic is as smart as I think he is then he will offer to help find Nastajia just to get Alex into the fight. Can Alex trust Nicodemus? I don’t know, but Nicodemus did hand him back his sword so that at least is a positive sign that Nic is on the level – at least for now.
On one hand, the fate of the world is always a higher priority than the fate of one, so in a lot of ways he’s being immature.
On the other hand, in a lot of ways he is being mature. He’s fearlessly standing up for himself and sticking to his principles, and he washes his hands of the situation by correctly pointing out who’s to blame. It’s the perfect method for an imperfect motive.
It’s very, very human. 😀
And a King under full power, rampaging his wrathful way through the ranks of Abbadon won’t be the least bit distracting to their plans. Won’t divert any resources from any portal attacks, if it’s even ready yet. Nope, not at all. (full sarcasm mode disengaged)
And Nic needed to be rhetorically kicked in the daddy bags too. None of this mess would be here if he hadn’t pulled of his little coup and shadow alliance with Nightmare in the first place. It IS his smoking smuch to clean up. Bout time he gets started.
Without acknowledging it here, Alex’s mindset could be, “What’s stopping you from stabbing me in the back as soon as we do overthrow Abaddon’s plans for world domination? I’m nipping that in the bud right here.” It may be something we see in upcoming pages. And seriously, I do see such a thing happening.
Alex was never “proper” king material to begin with. He has the heart of one but not the savvy. If Alex does take the throne, he’ll have Dan and Nastajia to help him out with the politics. But as character development, it’s perfect. He’s putting someone other than himself first. He’s standing up to a creature who could easily grab him and bite his head off before any defense could kick in. He’s not backing down or being indecisive. Nastajia may smack him for putting her and his promise above everything else, but a part of her will no doubt appreciate it all the same.
Mixed feelings here. Not sure if it’s what I would have done, but trusting Nicodemus seems… iffy at best.
He’s not passing the buck. He’s laying down priorities. Do this first, then get busy saving the worlds. How long do you expect it to take for Alex to rescue Nastajia? Actually he really just needs to find her, supergirl rescued herself already. Then the two of them can get to saving the worlds together with the help of the rest of their LOYAL friends.
Or actually, we’ll just keep reading and see what Scott has in store.
Good he’s being more assertive… but if Nastajia actually IS truly his only worry right now, that seems very, VERY immature (unless he’s somehow seeing through Nic’s plan and more smart than he seems to me right now?).
Yes. But:
*snark* I can imagine Alex finding Nastajia shortly, and she goes:
“*facepalm* You turned Nicodemus offer to save the world DOWN, in favor of rescueing ME? Omg Alex… what WERE you THINKING?!!?! Now, GO BACK and APOLOGIZE to him! OF COURSE we must help him save the world!!!”
… 😀
Alex: “But I thought…!!!” X-D
Flying Man!
I like this. Sure, you can question whether he’s doing the right thing or not, but this is a big step forward in character development for Alex — the college student who still hasn’t chosen his major. Faced with this situation, he has made an entirely independent decision about what he’s going to do, and he’s expressed a perfectly good rationale for that decision.
I strongly suspect that whatever Alex does, he’ll still need Nastajia to break Abaddon’s threat to both worlds. It is good to see him standing up for himself – but he’s not thinking like a king must. And it’s not like Nastajia hasn’t had emotional moments of her own, such as when she insisted on following her parents into the nightmare realm. Both of them are still young, which should be taken into account.
One other thing. It’s… interesting jumping back and forth between story lines – but you may have people thinking pages are out of order once you put this into a book. 😉
Alex should know by now that Nastajia doesn’t want or need him “rescuing” her. She is not going to stay home and bake cookies while her parents and friends are out saving the world.
A true king does not think of himself, but must think of everyone else first. What is best for the people of Dreamland? Him going off to “save” Nastajia or him working with Nic to save the place they both love in different ways? That said, I still wouldn’t trust Nic any farther than I can throw him.
Wow! Never saw that one coming! 🙂
At least the first season.
Alas, latest page, we meet again.
Exactly this.
Not the best move, but a very in-character move for Alex—it’s proof that he’s growing, but he’s not grown up yet. And he’s showing ol’ Nick what’s what, to boot.
“”This is not the way kings think.
Personal desires have to be put aside in order to achieve greater good.””
Actually, this is a bunch of fairly modern malarkey. In the past Kings did nothing BUT what their personal desires dictated. Oh sure, they were *supposed* to act more lofty than that, but in truth, most failed and failed big time.
Besides, Alex wasn’t born to nobility, He hasn’t has this stuff drummed into him for as long as he’s been able to think. He’s a modern day human with modern day morals. He is the kind of modern-day king this world needs.
Can’t get enough of this comic. Nothing is certain and everyone makes mistakes, but few mistakes are ever completely bad, and the overall tone is lighthearted. It’s a rare gem.
Yeap, I second that. Kindom before personal problems would be worthy of a King (even if most did not act like that in history)
Huh, have I commented before, or did it by chance select the avatar most like my main roleplaying character? ^_^
A, I can certainly envision Nastajia reading both Alex AND her parents the riot act for treating her like a little girl or a damsel in distress. On the other hand, loved ones are funny that way. Gotta love ’em.
Alex hasn’t agreed to work with Nic, or even to save the worlds. So far, he’s only agreed to save Nastajia and told Nic “not my problem” (“you fix it”–that’s passing the buck).
he finds her and she says “go save the world”–great! but it’ll show Alex in incapable of thinking for himself, and i don’t want to see that.
There is also the fact that he’s been told (multiple times) that he isn’t the king and doesn’t have the right to make those descisions. He was told in no uncertain terms to get Nastajia back to safety and do nothing else. What could he do in that situation and not “be the bad guy”? Besides, he’s right. Nick did cause this mess. If that oversized lizard really cares about Dreamland like he says he needs to get his act together and take responsibility for his own mess!
I like Alex’s reaction – but only as an *initial* reaction.
The correct response to that reaction should be something along the lines of, “how impressed will your girlfriend be that you let the land she loves die in order to chase after her?”
…After which he should go save the world.
🙂
It’s random unless you set up a gravatar.
Thank you!
I think that Alex is being smart about this, though possibly without realizing it. It wouldn’t be wise to simply accede to Nick’s demands. For this alliance to work, Alex must not allow Nick to be in charge, he needs to maintain his own independence of thought and action. Alex should do what is necessary to help Nast, if only to make sure that Nick understands the ground rules of the alliance.
I hope Nic says, OK lets go get her.
I think Nick will can handle this determination and use it to his advantage. Like, “Okay, you are right – Nastajia is this way, oh, accidentaly right behind the portal which we must destroy to free her…” 😉
Love the snark. 🙂 But they don’t need to “help” that dragon in any way.
If he could trust Nicodemus, it would be passing the buck. But he can’t trust Nicodemus. He’d be a FOOL to join with Nic now. Doing so would make him a real patsy who can’t think for himself. He needs a strong, trustworthy team with him to take on the Nightmare Realm, not a scheming, murderous dragon.
It’s a very good two cents. 🙂 I truly wonder, though, if Nic cares about the “many” either. I honestly think he couldn’t care less if Earth blew up. He wants to rule Dreamland, end of story. Nic only cares about his own ambitions. Maybe we’ll see that change, maybe he’ll come around, but not now.
Yes. This.
Nicodemus has lost ALL credibility and trustworthiness. Even if he agreed to follow Alex’s lead, Alex would need to be watching his back at all times. The moment there is any defeat of the Nightmare Realm, Nicodemus would turn against Alex and his friends. They have to be prepared for that if they are going to work with Nic in any way.
So I noticed. Sheesh.
I can’t decide if Nic really just cares about his own ambitions, or if he’s gotten so obsessed with Dreamland’s welfare that it’s turned into a hatred of the “invading” humans in his mind. Hard for me to say. Either way, even if Nic has the wrong motivations for making his argument, the argument itself is still pretty good. (Which is why he’s so frustratingly good at manipulation.)
LIKE in capitals.
I’d say the fact that he confronted, rather than bargained (used diplomacy) in any fashion, shows a lack of maturity that is necessary to running a kingdom, especially in a world with so many kingdoms and most/all of them having magic of some sort.
While it’s obvious that the dragon can’t be trusted, and it’s possible that pausing to bargain might cause too much delay, it’s also true that the verbal equivalent of slapping him in the face isn’t likely to make for a quick and easy exit either.
I’d’ve at least put some cards on the table and tried to find a way that the dragon’s influence could help. “I have been tasked with seeing the elf princess to safety. If you can help me achieve that quickly, I will wield this sword to defend both our worlds.” Or some such.