Chapter Twelve Page 17
posted 1st Feb 2018, 11:23 AM

1st Feb 2018, 11:23 AM
Saeriellyn
THURSDAY UPDATE! I can't even remember the last time that happened. Special treat this week. :)
user comments
1st Feb 2018, 12:30 PM
Ragnar_Deerslayer (Guest)
Fflewdur's stubble has never looked better. Eilonwy is still the queen of eye-rolling. Melyngar's profile in the last panel turned out particularly well, I think (the contrast between the white and grays, and the eye contact).
1st Feb 2018, 2:24 PM
Saeriellyn
Yes that closeup of Taran and Melyngar is my favorite thing on this page.
I guess realistically Fflewddur will have a full beard by the time they get to Caer Dathyl!
1st Feb 2018, 1:06 PM
Stever
It would certainly be easier to have those wolf senses, but then you'd be smelling everyone and everything for a mile around.
Heh heh, "saucy minx" XD
1st Feb 2018, 2:22 PM
Saeriellyn
That aside of his is my own addition and I’ll probably get some flack for it from the hardcore literary purists. But my head canon is full of little comments and witticisms and side-jokes that they could have said but just didn’t make it into the text because Alexander was such a minimalist. I love how small things like play with the characters and round them out though. In my head, Eilonwy and Fflewddur have a very affectionate, banter-y relationship.
12th Feb 2018, 5:06 PM
Honzinator (Guest)
We bipeds appear insufferably Pecksniffian in our deference to the banishment of natural odours to all the canids I've known, and likely any wolves as well.
Also, I love the banter too, even if it isn't strictly canonical. It's clearly affectionate, since spavined ___ and the live don't show up.
1st Feb 2018, 1:59 PM
MK_Wizard
Ha! Fflewdur was always my favourite character from the book and you do him so much justice here from his dialogue to his design.
1st Feb 2018, 2:27 PM
MK_Wizard
That and people always underestimate how mature and wise he is. I mean, as quirky as he is, he was the most level headed person I knew.
1st Feb 2018, 7:45 PM
Saeriellyn
It's true. Very understated because he's comedic, but if you actually think about the humility and maturity it takes for a grown man to step aside and allow this wet-behind-the-ears kid to assume the leadership role, it's pretty astonishing. And at the same time you know he's there, ready to take over once circumstances get over Taran's head (the battle scenes toward the end, etc.)
1st Feb 2018, 3:23 PM
LMS (Guest)
Yay!
Very familiar with the books, but I'm not going to throw them at you for the occasional extra remark to fill them out.
I've been on hikes like this in national parks. The mountains are so beautiful, and I love how you drew the light and the spray off the falls. I imagine the beauty of nature is much less peaceful when you can hear wolves chasing you.
Obligatory character comment: Hold your horses! (Or don't.) Taran is about to be brilliant! (Rare, in Book One.)
1st Feb 2018, 7:47 PM
Saeriellyn
Ha! Yes, I suppose it dampens one's appreciation of scenery to be listening to apex predators following on one's trail.
Taran's brilliance is rare enough at this point that E has to make an obligatory obnoxious remark about it. Can't let that golden chance fly by.
1st Feb 2018, 5:14 PM
Rob S. (Guest)
Another great page! I love you you bring this world and these characters to life.
1st Feb 2018, 6:09 PM
The Doodler
Ooh pretty.
(And maybe our small-town king can't grow a full bushy beard, he just gets increasingly stubbly.)
1st Feb 2018, 7:50 PM
Saeriellyn
I suspect our bard's whiskers would grow with the same reckless abandon and ignorance of consistent direction as his hair.
2nd Feb 2018, 2:07 AM
Skyboy91 (Guest)
These last several pages have been just beautiful and I love the pace they are coming! I think you're getting better and better. I second (or third) the Fflewdur comments, the books just wouldn't be the same without him and you really have him pegged.
2nd Feb 2018, 3:15 AM
Saeriellyn
I just think of him as a cross between Lloyd and my own husband. It works really well. :)
2nd Feb 2018, 3:03 AM
joeyballast
I wish I could call someone a saucy minx.
Probably not the best idea these days... XD
Love the environment in panel one, by the way. I get a real sense of scale from the rocks.
2nd Feb 2018, 3:17 AM
Saeriellyn
Maybe not, but only because Americans probably wouldn’t know what it meant and would assume you were being dirty. I’m not sure how much either word is used in Britain anymore for that matter. But it’s one of my favorites, along with cheeky monkey.
2nd Feb 2018, 4:41 AM
CM (Guest)
I always pictured the landscape in this part as being a bit rougher. However, that was set when I was a child, and had never been in mountains. In my mind, they were all just bare rocks ending in icy spires.
Currently revising my mental image of this section. Cheers for that!
2nd Feb 2018, 11:40 AM
Saeriellyn
Well, Wales does have those kinds of mountains, and we’ll get to them! I just can’t bear to pass up the chance to show all the different types of scenery! Melyngar is about to get them out of the woods and into the heather though. :)
16th Apr 2020, 10:23 AM
Leader Dessler
"Saucy minx"?!? I can't believe he said that! And he even got away with it! If Taran had called her that he would be lying knocked flat on the ground by now. /LOL/
(BTW, am I correctly observing that during these recent panels, Fflewddur has effectively assumed the lead by privilege of age and only lets Taran believe he was still in charge?)
Here I have to leave a little bit of criticism concerning the sound effects. I don't know about its American counterpart but the European wolf does not bark. It may apply a short "wuff" on rare occasions - as a signal of attention when a stranger is approaching or as a warning to cubs overdoing it - but not in series, unlike with dogs, and never on the prowl.
16th Apr 2020, 12:31 PM
Saeriellyn
Huh. Well, good to know - too late to go back on this one.
And yes, Fflewddur has always taken the lead in terms of where they are headed - Taran did, if you recall, ask him to act as their guide; Taran's leadership rests in the decision-making, but having never been out of Caer Dallben, it would be ridiculous for him to forge their path.
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