Page 1974…
Happy Friday, All!
Well, it looks as if Tracy somehow managed all the pages despite being sick.
Thank you Tracy.
Question for you all…
I had imagined Nastajia and the kids being a bit more “concerned” during these last few pages.
Tracy drew them happy (I’m assuming because Nastajia has to get them to not be afraid).
What are your thoughts? Keep it? Or go for more “tense”?
Love to get your feedback.
Have a wonderful weekend. And thanks for reading.
Scott
i like the look on the faces. like surprised glee.
Tense wouldna work with children so small as these. I’m fine with happy and determined. 😉
How can you be NOT happy, when you are fighting alongside a supercute elven princess on a pirate vessel against the nightmare realm?
Cu KyleFL
Not that it is realistic, but plausible:
The children have just demonstrated some superhuman feats of lifting and throwing cannonballs accurately, have navigated a flying airship and could very well harbor some pretty strong anger towards the nightmare realm beasties.
I find it plausible that they perceive this as a sort of game at which they are now winning. Wouldn’t you be smiling too?
Besides, if they were scared to any degree, flying should not be possible. (Is that the right interpretation of human powers in Dreamland?)
Needed to add a separate post:
I have not commented for quite some time and I am super happy to say that Tracy has been doing a fantastic job. Get it? FAN…
And Scott, the hiatus of this story began to feel like the years of torture that many endured feeling like there would never be another Star Wars movie. And then there were. Good or bad, it fills our hearts with gratitude.
But you are better than George Lucas, you ALWAYS intended to finish YOUR story.
THANK YOU!!
As children usually follow adults in moments like this, adults have to pretent being unafraid (lead by example and all that) and the children usually copy that after a while. So happy is the right tone.
I found it a bit odd that a ballista shot would just blow up the ship like that. Was totally unexpected.
Exactly.
Indeed.
Gunpowder magazine?
A most excellent, non-cliff-hanger Friday page! =)
TV Tropes and ‘Shoot the fuel tank’ 😉
Hey, it’s dreamland, anything can happen if you believe it hard enough 🙂
If I was a kid getting to throw cannonballs at pirates that had previously tormented my dreams, I think I’d be having fun and smiling, too. I felt that them smiling and having fun seemed natural, and that if they had more grim expressions that it might be a more lasting, haunting experience for them as they grew older.
Also, getting them to be filled with joy is a good way to make sure they overcome fear, and it a natural reaction to them being rescued from their fears.
Plus, if they’ve spent much time in Dreamland, they may know who Staj is, and it would be like the added bonus of hanging out with a celebrity you looked up to, and having them wanting to be with you. This would be another thing that would cause them to be filled with joy.
It should stay as is. It does have a “Peter Pan” feeling about it and a bit contrived… but that’s how one has to be with children sometimes, especially in times of danger. It has a different feel and emotion from the rest of the story– almost out of place. But that’s because the rest of the story has consistently dealt with adults. Now there is one Elven Princess dealing with seven children, and she has to instill in them courage to save the day.
In reality (whether she knows it or not) she has quite a small and powerful army with her. If she and they realize they are impervious to damage as is Daniel, those seven children could mop up Dreamland. They can will themselves to be anything they want, including super-strong. The presence of awakened human children in the Nightmare Realm could very well be its Achilles Heel.
Oh follow-up: as for the children smiling— if I found myself able to fly, I’d be smiling too!
I recall Terry Pratchett opens ‘Soul Music’ with a horse-drawn carriage going over a cliff and exploding, although my memory could be going too. If it’s good enough for him…
Nightmare realm. Magic Missile. Big badda boom.
I’m interested in seeing Alex and Nastajia reunited!!! 😀 😀 😀 🙂
I would see a mixture – Nas would look happy even if she’s faking it, some kids would look happy and some would look more scared. No kids alike and all… it would be natural for them to have varying reactions.
We’d have to see ‘tense’ and ‘happy’ side by side to see which was better; but I have no problems with ‘happy’. As has been pointed out, the kids have Nastajia on their side, they’ve seen her wipe out a whole crew of pirates, what do they have to worry about as long as she’s not scared? And I’m not sure the Nightmare Realm CAN scare Nastajia, she’s too angry at them for that.
I find their expression very fitting. Nastaja has been very motherly towards these children since she found them. As you personally know 😉 parents will do their best to keep their best face forward to help the children cope with whatever stressful situation is going on despite wanting to give into fear/overwhelming emotional shutdown ourselves. Not only has our lovely princess done this in spades, but she’s boosted their self-esteem where the Nightmare realm had tried to tear it away.
Still praying that Tracy gets to feeling better.
+10 internets for the 5th element reference 🙂
I believe you are correct. That is how Susan’s parents die.
welp that there’s a good question, Scott, because you sort of have to make the choice of (relative) real vs story. In my personal experience with lucid dreaming, you absolutely cannot doubt that something will work, especially flying, or your mind just wont let you do it. Now if you don’t know you’re dreaming this is triply true.
HOWEVER,
in the story, the kids went from scary pirate kidnapping to blood fest to airship battle with explosions. I think it would be hard to get the kids happy through all that. On the other other hand, some kids would be all about the adventure.
SO
I would have a mix of expressions on the kids. Some are totally digging it, some are apprehensive, maybe one starts apprehensive but then gets totally into it…
that’s my 2 rupees.
What exploded, exactly?
I think the smiles fit because they have conquered their fear. Also if they were worried concerned or timid right before takeoff I don’t think they would all fly off together, especially since Nastajia can’t fly on her own. I think it would take all of them united together, and the smiles portray that. It also shows the difference an encouraging adult can make. It only takes a kind comment or two to brighten up a child’s day.
Good lord! 😀 Who needs a king? All Dreamland needs is Nastajia as queen! She is just too amazing! And I love the attitudes and smiles. Nastajia understands Dreamland and how it works. She knows that the children have the power and has no fear that the outcome will be anything but good. I love this!
The big barrels of uh….. Explode-ium 290?
Honestly I think Tracy read the situation perfectly here. Kids are naturally curious and wish to be happy and playful. In their dreams they were being kept in the nightmare realm. Then they were rescued by a Princess and led on the most wonderful adventure. I think of Peter Pan. Wendy and the kids were originally a bit afraid of the whole new world but by the end they are right along fighting with Peter and the boys against the large, fierce pirates. These kids got over their fear by hurling cannon balls at their foe and now it is a great adventure. They might be a little afraid, but Nastajia brought them all together to believe THEY were in control. Props to her and props to the kids for being so brave. Props to Tracy for reading the script so well. 🙂
I think the hope and determination in their faces is perfectly appropriate for the children. They trust and believe in Nastajia and her hope is faith in them propels them to their faith in themselves.
Cool kids don’t look at explosions.
I have to agree with pretty much everyone else; happy feels appropriate here. I took the children’s excitement as proof of Nastajia’s mastery of the situation. She knows that they can do pretty much anything they believe they can, and she’s done an excellent job of making them believe they can do anything!
A Giant Explosion Occurs Behind You. You Don’t Look At it. This Fills You With Determination. Would You Like To Save?
Well done, Tracy. Well done.
Scott, I think the scene works because the kids might think it’s super cool, and Nastajia is there with them as a reliable Guardian type. If she had gotten hurt or something like that. Then the kids might have shown concern about their situation.
The faceexpressions are perfect. But the second to last panel should have been bigger, with more details of where the ship got hit and how its breaking up.
And the last panel should have been on next Mondays page >;>>>
What a waste of the perfect cliffhanger …
Addendum, maybe even show the explosion through the limited view of Alex looking glass.
Because for him, it IS a cliffhanger. In this very moment, Alex has to fear the worst.
Yeah, pretty much what mightycleric said. As I recall, regardless of how much I believed my dreams were real or not, I wasn’t “concerned” about things that were happening in my dreams as a child. Even now, as an adult, when I’m having some weird as heck nightmare, I’m pretty nonchalant about it all in the dream.
I also think Nastajia is just too battle hardened, confident, and outright angry about the way the children have been treated to show fear or concern. She’s the sort to get her game face on and get down to business of destroying the bad guys. No time for concerns.
happy ,, definitely happy.. the kids are on a birthday party high.!! where else can a kid throw rocks an break stuff.. and THEN they git to FLY!! what little kid would not be happy!!
oh an Nastajia gits to fly again verry happy 🙂
exploding tip arrow?
Thank you Tracy. Feel better soon.
Methinks those gas bags are filled with hydrogen…
I agree with most posts: the kids MUST be happy to fly, and considering it’s dream, it’s not so unrealistic for them to get happy. And Nastajia may be concerned and hurt and whatever but MUST fake being happy for the children. I think she only looks happy when children are looking at her, so that works perfectly.
I agree I think the facial expressions are ok as is. The kids were a little worried at the beginning when Nastajia first showed up but got over it and now see this as a super cool dream adventure. To them, this is one battle, one that they’re now winning, with the princess/acting queen of elves leading them. Different mindset from the rest of the cast (and us) who’ve been following an ongoing war with Nastajia being chased all day by nightmare beasts, Alex being blown out of the water, and Felicity being attacked by poisoned claws.
Nastajia, having been following this whole thing, might be a little more worried. But, as many said, she would have to fake being happy to put the kids at ease. She also knows the power of happy kids from all her years adventuring with Alex, and these kids have been doing pretty good, so she’s probably reasonably confident at this point.
Thank you all! I really appreciate the feedback.
The smiles stay.
🙂
Thank you, Tracy! You are wonderful!
“Albert with one aimed harpoon ignited their rum with a spark and soon flames drove the pirates away~” Sorry, it just… The moment was too perfect, lyrics taken from a song by the band Steam Powered Giraffe called Captain Albert Alexander.