October 5 2011 Comic

[Schnopps]

Not too often that you see someone choosing to forget or to remain ignorant about their true self.

[Darkfur]

Beat me by 2 minutes...

Love the comic, that would be hard to decide to not know your past

[JustZsolt]

"So I've decided I'm not going to let myself do anything to put risk anymore."

Hm, I think there will be troubles about that sentence... Maybe in the next comic.

[FurryForlife]

Alt text: A Change of heart.

[avwolf]

"I'm going to burn my old journal, and avoid contact with other living beings for the rest of our lives."

But hey, Trace is learning. It's nice to see that he's actually become aware of the fact that he's dangerous and his past is a dark hole he shouldn't delve (as much as this decision will disappoint Sithil). The question is going to be if he keeps up with it (he's probably still got Flora's immortality somewhere in the back of his mind), but he's actually learning lessons from the destruction and loss of life that has been surrounding him. And, unlike Keith "I kill everyone I love" Keiser, it seems like Trace might be learning the right lessons.

[Chocolate]

Loving the development coming back to the cover pair

Trace looks like he is finally making the 'right' steps and committing to the now

- Chocolate

[BadFoMo]

I guess I was wrong again. I figured we were going to stick with Trace and Flora for a bit longer, but we wouldn’t have a comic today because of the Voting Incentive.

Anyway, is it just me or do their eyes look a bit too big for their heads? Also, is Tom trying something new with the black parts of Flora’s fur? I just don’t remember her ears being done like that.

[avwolf]

It looks like Tom's doing some experimentation with his linework in general here. Notice how much the lines around Trace's face vary in thickness, even compared just to the last comic. I think it's a little dramatic in the second panel, but looks pretty good in the fifth.

[Chocolate]

I see it very clearly in the penultimate panel, Av :3

- Iseeitnow Chocolate

[Kerensky287]

It seems to me that he's been doing a LOT of artistic experimentation, and in my opinion it's paying huge dividends. The art has been fantastic for a good long time now, but it seems like every week some new detail just pops out at me - stuff like the reflective eyes in some panels, the extra fur texturing, and, as has been mentioned, Flora's stripes in today's page.

I also like where this comic's going. From the looks of it, Trace is willing to put his past behind him; I feel like the amnesiac angle has been played to death in other works, and the fact that he's willing to set it aside makes me think that he's growing as a character. Amnesia is a really useful trope in fiction because it makes it really easy to teach the audience about your character - their motivation is to learn about themselves, in fact, so as they succeed in their goal the readers will inevitably learn too. With Trace, he's less of a reader stand-in now and more of a thinking being. He's not mindlessly marching down memory lane. He's stopping and going, "You know what? No. I've seen enough. This isn't me anymore. I'm going to go be somebody else." He's a character that can be made interesting enough in his own right without having a mysterious past as a personality hook.

I dunno if he's going to propose or what next chapter but I sense plot development on the horizon.

[Hoppy]

I'm really liking how he's doing the backgrounds now. The shading is very nice. Really helps give the panels more 'depth', I think.

I wonder if Trace is going to ask Flora to marry him? It's really funny that, technically, and even legally in some way, they already are married. Both of them have declared as much, but not to each other. That was a neat bit of writing to have that happen.

[2plus2makes5]

Huh, my opinion is that Trace will try to use mana to erase parts of his memory. (Hey, it worked once, right?)

[Darkfur]

Huh, my opinion is that Trace will try to use mana to erase parts of his memory. (Hey, it worked once, right?)

Actually i believe 'Mask Magic' was used? it is different from regular magic.
(I have no idea where i heard that from...)

EDIT:
and maybe if he CAN do it, might he erase the wrong part (say... the part about flora and his love for her?)

[2plus2makes5]

Huh, my opinion is that Trace will try to use mana to erase parts of his memory. (Hey, it worked once, right?)

Actually i believe 'Mask Magic' was used? it is different from regular magic.
(I have no idea where i heard that from...)

Good point, but I bet there's a similar spell he could find/has in mind.

[Schrodinger]

I think Trace has had enough of messing with his own head.