Well hello There LBH and what an excitement it is to see your work again
Thanks Limbo! Most nice to hear from you once again! Delighted for your ongoing support!
it was unknown to me that bogeys were anything but physically harmful and i think this is the first time...no there have been some violence in this comic but never blood shed (to my recollection)
Well, Sid busted up Von Smutt to a degree (he shed a few trickles of blood), but generally speaking you're right… bogeys are more focused on lusting, conniving and delivering covert tickles (as Bloody Head did to Tessie) than indulging in murder. Extreme circumstances led to the tragedy… had Hurd not been desperately pressed by a ferocious mob attack, he might not have reacted in such violent fashion. In this way, Sheriff Mew set events in motion that led to his own death… everyone gets a little taste of blame.
in the scene of Persephone's memory it was truly startling and we, the community know what has made young Sephie so lawful and hardened
Spot on! That was the idea, of course… both mine (for the reader) and hers (for Mercy). At this point, it becomes important to start to humanize (if that's the right term to apply to a were-personality) and de-mystify Sephie, so that fewer obstacles between she and her sister. Alas, Mercy has no idea what to make of this yet… at the moment, she'd prefer a sibling less complicated and easier to continue to hate. In her own way, she's as stiff-necked as Sephie... once she has time to reflect, she may soften her position.
while the means to travel via dreams was known, i really never considered the movement of the traveling tent
i assumed that they were placed in various locations...but that kinda planing is pretty dull huh?
There's no way, really, that anyone could anticipate Fiona's secret movements! I hadn't provided nearly enough foreshadowing, only the mystery! The revelation was meant to startle, which I hope it did!
also when moving the tent Fiona did not just use quasi mater but form, shape, and bring something that should not have been in the real/waking world here
That's an important distinction, and I'm glad you caught it! Fiona has actually altered her physical structure, not augmented it with Dreamtime substance. It's something few others can do… none of the other characters we've met up till now are capable of it. There's a special reason for this; I'll explain in detail once we've gotten past Bliss Harbor (the Feare's destination).
in the next chapter i assume that some fight will occur with Mercy and Fiona
obviously the greater mind might win?
heh we shall see
Heh heh! Quite true! I'm most eager to show what both the formidable Fiona and Mercy, with her wealth of self-taught Dreamtime skills, are able to do! If either of them was less impetuous and hot-blooded, they might have a chance to talk things out. But I don't think that's going to happen! Trust that I'll work loads of violent conflict and fetish activity into their face-off!
as always my good artist Outstanding work
Thank you for saying so! It's a difficult thing for an artist or author to know how his work comes across… he's too thoroughly and passionately involved to see it fresh. That's why we crave positive response so much… it let's us know we're on the right track!
Finally got sometime to comment here, to begin one of the best additions to the series LBH. I really hope I won't forget to add anything in my input of this chapter.
Very kind of you, my good friend! Knowing the harrowing dynamics of your excellent Tickler Raven series as I do, I suspected this chapter would address you in a direct way! Raven Drakil and Sephie have similar angst-filled pasts… it's scarcely any wonder that they've managed to form so close a bond. But more on that later!
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The first pages where we can see Sephie and Mercy begining to open a bit to the other, first Mercy not awakening Sephie to make sure she got the sleep she needed and then Sephie trying to open herself to Mercy, and I can see how hard is for her, she really feels bad for the time they have lost until now, and even later she seems to mean that doesn't think nor Mercy neither herself are the one to blame I think she is blaming herself of everything, since the bad relation with her sister until the lost of her mother, not to forget the fatal blow of losing her father like she did.
You're reading these scenes exactly right, as I knew you would! Much as they might maintain their guard, Mercy and Sephie do yearn for sisterly closeness and mourn the roadblocks fate has placed between them. Little courtesies, like the set-out breakfast and Sephie's forbearance, can come across as simple formal manners, but they really are meant to test this life-long gulf. Timidly… neither lady is confident enough to drop her guard entirely. And for both of them, plenty of vital outside interests distract from reconciliation. The possibility is too important to ignore, though.
You're entirely right; despite her protestations, Sephie does blame herself for the misery that's overtaken her family. While much of it was beyond her control, her choices (to harden herself against hardship and pain; to marginalize family responsibility in order to assume the wider guardianship of Tabor society) have indeed proved hurtful to Mercy, who lost guidance and companionship when she needed them most. Both of them are, to some degree, screwed-up individuals… and the current crisis leaves them little leisure for correcting these deficits.
Going into that, it has been sometime since you told us that Sephie had a traumatic past but something like this is terrible. She not only seemed to love her father but she seemed to idolatrize him, and the way she lost him, knowing Sephie it's clear that she has made herself responsible of that. Such a deep wound, I really hope she'll be able to find the way to heal it. In any case don't doubt that she has all the suport and help that Raven can provide and more.
The idea was to wound Sephie both physically and psychically; her savaged face is a constant, impossible-to-ignore reminder of the past she despises so much. Her devotion to her father was indeed insanely strong; she didn't just love him, she wanted to
be him. That's a prime reason she's such a fanatical law officer: if a Sheriff Mew can forever dominate the bogeys, it's tremendous compensation, as though Dad never actually died. Not a healthy way to approach her problems, acting all alone as she does. It leaves her without much support now that things have begin to go so wrong. Raven has been an ever-faithful friend, and his healing approach has done much to keep her sane. The help he can offer is compromised by the extreme crises in his own life, of course… betrayed by his closest compatriot, dealing with pernicious, ongoing evil in his homeland, operating under the threat of Hand-imposed death if he should fail! Sephie understands, and blesses him for the aid he is able to lend… more will be on the way soon, as you well know!
Another surprise of the chapter, Tessie Tingle (I have remembered the name this time) her parallel adventure continues in this chapter, she is finally released, but in what place! Barefooted on the labryinth were sephie first need guidance, and with the proximity of big bogeys like Sid, I would say that she is trouble, hope you'll keep her safe until the end of the story LBH! I'd say she has been though more than enough.
Thanks for worrying so much about Tessie! As a minor story character in such a forbidding situation, she needs all the sympathy one can spare! Fortunately, the lady's role has played out primarily for comedic effect (as opposed to the angst Sephie stews in)… nothing very bad happens to the comedy relief. Well, not usually! If she stumbles into any more trouble (and it could still happen!), chances are it'll be mostly for giggles!
All the part of the dream world and it's iincredible rules keeps being revealed, finally Angie manage to take a look to it in her full conscience. And Fiona's skills is something to keep an eye on, what a majestous bird she has become.
Angie's first lucid trip into Dreamtime is turning out to be just as wondrous/terrifying as she feared/hoped it would be (having your good friend of several weeks assume size of a battleship is guaranteed to throw you!), and promises to become more harrowing still once Mercy intervenes! I'm compelled to wonder if she regrets her decision to join with the wake-walkers… if not now, perhaps when she makes her first
solo journey…
And as always Mercy keeps growing, I think is safe to say that she is the real protaigonist of that story (she was the first char in action, or better said to receive action, back on chapter 1 if I'm not mistaken) and in any case the effort you are putting in her it's clearly visible, she has been able to create an imponent armor in the dream world, the confrontation with Fiona and the meeting with Angie will be something to remember.
I always considered Mercy to be the story's main protagonist. The story is primarily her story… however, if other characters have vied for large enough chunks of attention that they might also be considered the primary protagonists, I consider that a fortunate thing! Mercy's narrative concerns were never meant to swamp the larger story points or dominate attention when supporting players required focus; Tabor County would seem a paltry, artificial place if it played host to only one well fleshed-out personality!
It's always been my intention that Mercy' story should be a journey from callowness into competence; that's the way folks generally evolve and it makes for instinctively engrossing drama… especially when, as with Mercy, it's bound to be a bumpy ride! She hasn't worn away enough of her silliness or awkwardness yet for anyone to be entirely confident in her judgment or actions. And, as we haven't yet reached the mid-point of this yarn, she's not likely to earn all our trust anytime soon!
And at last, I really thank you for the hidden cameo there, you already know my thoughts about that part, I'm very happy that Sephie is been able to show trusting like this kind.
You're entirely welcome! Thank you for all you've done to make it work so well! And, as you know, that potential hasn't been exhausted even yet! I'll just leave that hanging of now… don't want to spoil any upcoming surprises!
Thanks for an awesome char LBH, can't wait to chapter 22!
It's always my great pleasure, Raven! Thanks to you for your loads of generous support! Also to your sometimes-feathery alter ego for being such a splendid pal to Sephie! She may have had a terribly tough life, but getting to know Raven Drakil has been a crowning compensation!