Page 1394…
Happy Monday, All!
Hope you had a wonderful weekend!
This week should be a good one. I hope the comedy of it all comes through.
Enjoy.
Scott
PS. Depending on how many pages I can get ahead…we may or may not have an update on Thursday (Thanksgiving).
If not…I’ll let you all know.
Well at least he’s apologizing relatively gracefully. Personally if I had a king and he punched me I’d prolly punch him back…. or revolt.
So is Dastan going to kiss him? O: *brick’d*
I love that Alex is insisting apologizing instead of getting cocky about the king thing. Great show of how he’s growing. Excited to see where this is going!
Hey I called it days ago. He is SO gonna be kissed by him!
Yea kiss my gal 1 more time and you’ll get it
Ok, anyone besides myself know that Dastan means Trickster?
I didn’t know that! Nice one. 🙂
Dastan is also the name of the main character of the Prince of Persia movie.
Is this guy the Prince of Persia gone Mermaid?
It would only be fair towards Nastaija.
And it would show the merpeople, that the new king, although he is human, is capable of understanding, that the way of greetings of his people are something he can live with.
So, Go!
BTW: I bet it would be a huge honour for Dastan that the king chose him to impart the magic of the mermen on the king.
From the same root word as “dastardly”, I’m so sure. 🙂
I have to wonder what the significance of a Merman with blood red eyes, and a name that apparently means “Trickster” happens to be. Mayhaps this guy has some connection to the Nightmare Realm?
Screw Dastan, I’ll kiss Alex myself after seeing the third and fourth panel. Of course that won’t give him a merman’s tail but that’s beside the point.
As far as I know, in Persian, “Dastan” means strong
Let’s see what Wikipedia has to say: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dastan
Here it says it means “story”.
I really like you, English-speaking people 🙂
Your presumptions, that everybody understands english (if you speak slowly enough), names must have english meanings…
… and speaking about, red-is-evil is presumption too 😉
Oh my God why is Alex just the cutest thing OTL
BUUUH I’D KISS HIM TOO. <33333
Although I'm really hoping he gets some sweet merman action in the next few pages. B)
I sense Alex being punched by Dastan after properly kissing one of the mermaids. Surprised, looking at Dastan, asking “Why?”, he responds: “That’s for making out with MY girlfriend! You see, I adapt to other cultures quickly TOO!” 😀
…So I know this makes me a horrible, skeptical reader, but I think you guys might be on to something being this guy just seems a little too genuine and kind.
And Geo, since this comic is written in English by an English speaker for an English speaking audience, that assumption is probably a pretty gosh darn sound one. =P
Likewise I’d expect a comic written in German by a German speaker for a German audience to play into German socio-cultural things, or a comic written in Japanese by a Japanese speaker… you get my point.
Assumptions are a perfectly fine–and extremely helpful–things to have, as long as they abide by context and the one-who-assumes is willing to set them aside when facts present themselves. Tharian has given us no reason to think that he did otherwise, and was quite sharp (in my opinion) catching the red eyes, as I did not.
Weeeelllll, Alex has a little more learning to do. I would hope they recognize NOT to push him too far right now, or they’ll have a SECOND diplomatic incident. Nastajia SHOULD have briefed him on all the customs; this is a fail of vision on her part.
His treating her as “My Girl”, OTOH, is a failure on his. If Nastajia wants to kiss some other guy, it’s HER he needs to have the discussion with, because it’s her choice, not his. He doesn’t own her nor have any rights to treat her as property.
Darn my colorblindness. To me his eyes look gold/brown, even after being told they’re red.
Now Nastajia has to apologize for not telling Alex of the customs… oops…
Would a proud elven princess really be that thrilled being referred to as property? Especially by a human?
Maybe I read too much but elves are proud to the point of racist. While the half-elf breed does exist on many story planes it just seems strange in this case. Alex is using a “ownership” phrase.
Of course, I’m over-reading into this. She digs him and he IS king, so .. probably nothing.
And at least Alex has the gumption to apologize for a misunderstanding. Good for him.
Is it just me or is the mermaid in the second panel just creepy? >.<
Nastajia might be pleased. As noted, this isn’t just a human, after all, this is Alex, AND the King of Dreamland. That’s a pretty potent combination, and being called HIS girl might be personally and politically agreeable. If not, I’m sure she’ll correct him. Later.
Besides, this IS Alex. She’s got to be used to him being a bit of a blockhead.
It’s not you. They are more of a golden-brown, but some people called them red to try to emphasize a theory they were going on…
Awwwwwww… I like the Mermaid/Seahorse Lady Hybrid!!!!
That panel does make her lips look kind of big though for some reason, especially in relation to her eyes, maybe that’s it?
Heh, I like that, but I dare say Alex is in for some Merman action! 😛
I don’t think its over… guess who has to kiss the king now… not a mermaid, but Dastan, LOL will be uncomfortable!
Actually.. I think I’d kiss Dastan.. mmmmm 🙂
Assumptions may be understandable and “fine and helpful” when reading a comic written in English by a native English speaker, but they are still assumptions. 🙂 I know plenty of writers who intentionally browse the cultural and social information from other backgrounds to give the worlds they create as much diversity as our own. It wouldn’t be too outside the realms of “normal” for Scott to have done the same.
I aslo think that we, as readers and internet browsers, are entirely too cynical and inclined to see evil masquerading behind the face of kindness. This is a story designed to be enjoyable to children as well as adults. While I do think it is an important lesson for kids to learn that duplicity exists, it’s not likely this story will be over-loaded with it. 🙂
I’m so proud of Alex for thinking of shaking hands with the guy while apologizing =D
I agree with the theorists… not that because I know of any specific meaning behind the name Dastan… just that usually when the author has a specific introduction like that where you see a giant headshot of the guy together with his name, I assume that we are supposed to remember that name as he will come up again with an important part…
oh a side note, reading Clash of Kings right now (by george martin, i think?) and they are making a huuuuuuge deal out of “my lord” implies you are ONLY a lord, where as “your grace” is the proper way to address the king….
Technically she shouldn’t have needed to explain them that much…he’s been given his own fishy tail before. 😛
Re: “only a lord”;
You mean as in another quite Popular Book:
“For thus says [only a] LORD, who created the heavens…I am [only a] LORD, and there is no other.”
? 😉
About assumptions: Oh, absolutely. As I said; assumptions are fine if made in context, and if you’re willing to set them aside when facts present themselves.
About being cynical: …You might be right. *Coughs*
This has been mentioned before on other pages. The last time Alex got his own tail, he was unconscious. Therefore, he doesn’t know that the kiss was what kept him from drowning.
Hmm…I perceive his eyes as a rich brown-red. Definitely perceived them as brown. But that’s just me.
And those who have studied history more than I feel free to correct me, but…
Kings often could be (besides kings) dukes, lords, counts, knights, etc, and the other titles would be over different regions, such as “King of Dreamland,” “Lord of…” Um. Pixie Valley?
Ignoring my need to brush up on Dreamland Geography, that might be what’s coming into play here.
Alternatively, along the lines of what Bezman said, he could be speaking such as “My lord and master,” such as is found in the Bible.
Wow! After three attempts at posting, I hope WordPress lets this through…
Agree with Nex.
Bezman appears to be using Dictionary.com’s 5th definition of ‘lord’ which is:
“a titled nobleman or peer; a person whose ordinary appellation contains by courtesy the title Lord or some higher title.”
Whereas This Verse in The Bible makes more clear what The Scriptures are actually saying:
Nehemiah 9:6
King James Version (KJV)
6Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.
Therefore, it is evident that The Scriptures’ use of the term is better described with the first definition at Dictionary.com which says:
“a person who has authority, control, or power over others; a master, chief, or ruler.”
So instead of saying,”[only a] lord”, The Scriptures are actually saying,”The Only Lord”.
I think Alex is handling this very well.
Um, actually, although I’m not looking for Dastan to be evil, I see a bit of a red/pink hue in there myself. It’s possible that different people’s computers just tint things differently.
I really like that Alex still feels he needs to apologize even if he’s King. As for that merman, I have to say, I’m feeling a bit paranoid too, here…
Hmmm…
Reddish eyes on a merman, dramatic close-up of his face, evil dragon that just recently disappeared…in the Ocean!
Is anyone else seeing these connections?
Oh, and also, the emphasis on totally makes me feel Alex is being a little sarcastic. I think, instead of a kiss, Dastan might have another fist flying his way.
Alex: What is your name?
Daston: Daston, my lord.
Alex: Well Daston, (take sword off back and places on Daston shoulder) I proclaim you Daston, official kisser of King Alex’s court. And I will be your first member to receive this honor.
Oh I’m pretty sure I’m right on the cynical bit. After all, I’ve been a member of the “I don’t trust Arvamas” club for a while now (only recently have I begun to reconsider that stance) for no reason other than he was a little too…I don’t know…not what I wanted from a “resource” character who seems to have taken the role of being Nastajia’s support in the absense of her parents (though it probably explains her initial behavior around Alex in the first few chapters).
I’m not entirely sure when I stopped believing in “if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it’s probably a duck.” I look for evil intentions behind almost every corner just as much as the next person. 😀
Huh…I must have missed those conversations. I never realized that Alex was unconscious at the time he was last mer-kissed. *shrugs* Even so, there was some explanation of how the magic worked that followed his regaining consciousness…I’ll just have to go back and re-read those pages to see why I was so certain he knew what was going on. 😛
I see him getting a Kiss from Daston tomarrow. chuckle
Sigh beat me too it I see.
I don’t see the “object” treatment you do. After all, when discussing the signifcant others in your life, it’s fairly common to refer to them as “my girlfriend/fiance/wife” (and other terms for the other gender of course). The only difference here is that Alex dropped the “friend” from “girlfriend”. He seems to be implying a relationship exists between the two fo them…which is to be expected given the kissing they’ve done (I seriously doubt Nastajia’s the kind of girl who would kiss someone with whom she didn’t want to be in a relationship). The posessive part of the phrase is the “my” which is irreplaceable IMO if you’re trying to express that relationship.
Surely the other merpeople would notice the sudden appearance of a fully adult stranger in their midst who wasn’t part of their population prior to Nick’s disappearance…at least unless there’s a lot more complicated stuff going on. 🙂
I dunno.. Never apologize to another guy for almost making out with your girl. It sounds like an invitation. Just sayin.
Is this the first time that Alex has publicly told other people that Nastajia is “his girl” (Certainly the first in those words though)?
Don’t know why there are so many meanings to the name, but Disney used it for Prince of Persia because it means Trickster, in the idea of someone being quick minded, fast on their feet, etc.
http://kabalarians.com/Male/dastan.htm
That its an English-speaking thing is also presumption.