June 10th, 2013
YOU GUYS LAST PAGE there were over 60 comments. AHHH! I don't know how that happened but I do know that you guys are beyond awesome! Even if every other page only gets two comments from now on THAT'S FINE because knowing you are all enjoying this so much to talk about it so much just gave me warm fuzzies all week and I wanted to thank all of you. ;u; Also thank you to everyone who is reading and enjoying but has never commented ever! You're also really cool for taking the time to read about my silly magic people and I'm so glad you're enjoying it. BASICALLY THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO READS THIS COMIC you all make my day every day! :"D <3
Vote for Runewriters and get an extra doodle! :"D This one illustrates some, uh, reader theories from last page.
Oh! And unrelated, if you're on DeviantArt but you don't follow Runewriters there, I wanted to let you know there's a "favourite character" poll over there because I have no patience and got curious! C: (And if you're not on DeviantArt you can just go creep on other people's answers c:).
Vote Incentive for This Comic.
From what I've gathered, it hasn't been said what makes certain things magical and other things not magical. Though, I'm now wondering if a runewriter's magickiness continues to linger after their death.
Yes, his earrings are magical and their main purpose is for runes, from what I've grapsed. I forget what runes he originally had on them, but I vaguely recall he had runes on them at the start of the webcomic.
I think the point is that he can't just change the colour of his skin into runes on his own. He needs to do simple runes on other objects to alter his own body with stripes and spots or whatever, which he then uses to make more complex runes. That's the impression I got, anyway.
posted at 7:50am on June 10th, 2013
I once asked Shazz in the comments and if I recall correctly, she said some things are just magical in nature. And the first couple of pages (if not the very first page) it is stated that runes can only be cast off magical things. Thus (if this rule is correct) everything that runes are cast off are magical - whatever that may imply.
posted at 10:52am on June 10th, 2013
Though I wonder if it's enough to just carve some runes onto a magic surface and then it's done and after being cast you can just -apparently- reuse the "mojo" [in lack of a better word]?
posted at 11:01am on June 10th, 2013
I think this is clearest image of Sev casting off of his earrings so far!
(and Obligatonym has it -- he was using a rune/spell (same thing) to runemark himself with things that are too complicated to draw with tentacles! c: )
posted at 7:51pm on June 11th, 2013
Heh! That vote incentive is hilarious!
posted at 1:15am on June 10th, 2013
It's indeed remarkably LOL-inducing. That last panel with Voldemort, just, just hilarious, can't find a better word.
posted at 10:54am on June 10th, 2013
(I'm so glad you guys think so, I was gigging about it all day xD )
posted at 7:52pm on June 11th, 2013
Oh, Sev. Will you ever NOT poke your nose in? (Please keep doing so it is very entertaining.)
A funny thing that occurred to me is that when I'm reading Sev's dialogue on this page I'm "hearing" it in a high-pitched Chipmunks-esque voice, and I realized that when he was a dragon I "heard" his voice as deep and resonant. Go brain! Add those details! Literally headcanon everything! Does anyone else "hear" his voice change when he's in different forms?
Aaaand I'm giggling like an idiot at the vote incentive. ALL OF THE ABOVE PLEASE. XD
posted at 1:31am on June 10th, 2013
I tend to hear it as perfectly normal, mostly because I think it's funnier, given the kind of voice I hear in my head for Sev.
posted at 11:59am on June 10th, 2013
omg chipmunk-voiced Sev is ADORABLE in my head; I approve.
posted at 8:32pm on June 11th, 2013
Blue and yellow don't make green!
posted at 2:28am on June 10th, 2013
Sev's rapidly getting bored reminds me of a scene from one of the Bartimaeus books, where a djinni is trapped inside a bottle until someone frees him, talks about how the seasons turn and years pass and the ones responsible for his imprisonment have likely turned to dust and been forgotten, entire civilisations awakening and collapsing in the time he's imprisoned. Cut to him being freed and we learn that it's been only a few hours, tops. Sev just puts me in mind of that a lot.
Also, with regards to character votes, firstly, thanks for putting in descriptions of them next to the characters because people like me suck at names. Secondly, gosh why did you have to make such wonderful characters thereby making it hard to pick just one?
Oh, and lastly, about the comments thing. I have been wondering, do you know how many views your webcomic gets each week? Judging by how well you do in the votey thing, it seems like a fair few.
posted at 7:17am on June 10th, 2013
Ahahaha NO I DO THAT TOO where I'm like "wait... which character was that again" on some longer-running stories UNLESS THERE ARE PICTURES.
And regarding your last question, I do, more or less. The people I have hosting with have some pretty cool stat analysis things I can look at to see how many IPs were here and where those people came from. Runewriters is sloooowly getting closer to the number of readers TNH had, which makes me all kinds of excited. :"D
posted at 8:15pm on June 11th, 2013
Aha, first time commenter but I've been a reader/comment lurker for a while now :D Jonan ended up getting my vote but it was pretty close between him and Tareth. Which, by way, is something I've thought since following RW: Tareth is awesome. So many comics with a young female protagonist, even comics I like a lot, seem to go with the brat-warrior type. Tareth as a sweet sheltered down to earth type is so refreshing.
Another random thought I've had that someone may have mentioned before: Xira will be super handy for translating for Jonan on the fly if they all manage to actually meet back up. Assuming of course Jonan doesn't pitch a total fit having his thoughts peeked in on (odds seem good for that).
posted at 8:55am on June 10th, 2013
Ahhhh gosh! Thank you so much! ;u; This is really super encouraging!
posted at 7:59pm on June 11th, 2013
This is the first time I've commented but just want you to know i love the comic its great in the quality of the art and the story.
posted at 8:59am on June 10th, 2013
Ahhhh gosh, thank you! ;u; That is wonderful to hear; I'm so happy you're enjoying it!
posted at 8:16pm on June 11th, 2013
heeey! Waitaminute...
Is that Tareth in the background, entering that alley?
posted at 10:59am on June 10th, 2013
Totally is. One walked out as the other walked in.
posted at 4:47pm on June 10th, 2013
Is it weird that I've started assigning Xira a british accent in my head? I don't even know why. I AM british.
posted at 12:02pm on June 10th, 2013
What is weird is if he's the only one. Now I can not think of him with a british accent. Maybe it's because he's so polite and helpful?
posted at 1:31pm on June 10th, 2013
omg I HAD NEVER CONSIDERED THIS for his voice, that's kind of awesome. xD Authorial headcanon is that Quentin and Esra have British accents, but I totally encourage everyone else to make up whatever voices you want! Tareth's deaf accent is basically the only important one. c:
posted at 8:18pm on June 11th, 2013
Calling it now, this ends with the building on fire.
posted at 12:14pm on June 10th, 2013
I feel a little bad for how hard I laughed at this.
posted at 4:01pm on June 10th, 2013
Aww, Sev is so cute as a monster/squirrel thing. <3 His eyes and those little tentacles.
Sidenote- You cut your hair!? It's pretty!
posted at 1:39pm on June 10th, 2013
I also like your new hair (and "Shaz" shirt, for in case we couldn't tell :P) - though I miss the trademark sleeves; "Classic Shaz" from the TNH days is as recognizable to me as Phil Foglio's bowler-hat avatar!
posted at 11:24pm on June 10th, 2013
Aw, thanks guys! :")
And Kwaj, old habits die hard -- how I draw myself honestly depends on what I was wearing that day. xD
posted at 8:28pm on June 11th, 2013
I choose to believe that this means that you own a "Shaz" or a "Shazzbaa" shirt. I like that.
posted at 11:43pm on June 11th, 2013
The haircut looks good :)
posted at 8:22pm on June 14th, 2013
I seem to be very much in the minority here, but Esra is my favorite. I've always had a soft spot for the overworked and under appreciated. I also think Esra would be a good friend, he's very loyal and dependable.
posted at 2:25pm on June 10th, 2013
Except for the whole "not caring if you're brutally murdered as long as your blood doesn't taint the rest of the building" thing.
posted at 3:19pm on June 10th, 2013
(I love Esra dearly, and I'm so pleasantly surprised that he has fans! THANK YOU FOR VOTING FOR HIM, SEVEN PEOPLE. xD )
posted at 8:30pm on June 11th, 2013
I'm most concerned about them finding Jonan again. Assuming Xira searches for Sev by "listening" for his mind voice (and assuming people's minds have similar cadences to their spoken voices), it shouldn't be too difficult for Xira and Tareth to compare notes and track Sev down. Also, Sev tends to draw attention to himself.
Jonan, on the other hand, is trying to be inconspicuous and Tareth doesn't know him well enough to be able to describe his mannerisms to Xira. So what will Xira look for? Somehow I don't think Jonan will be thinking a helpful "Gosh, I hope I find Tareth and Severian because they are my people."
posted at 3:34pm on June 10th, 2013
However I can completely imagine Necropony thinking "they are my people." Y'know. If he has coherent thoughts at all.
And if he thinks of anyone except his master as "his people."
But still.
posted at 4:03pm on June 10th, 2013
But
1, Xira knows (of) Jonan (previous page for reference).
2, I can very much imagine him thinking "Oh, where in the hell is that savage shapeshifter and that dumb girl? At least I have Necropony."
posted at 6:36pm on June 10th, 2013
Unfortunately even if Xira could compare memories of a person's voice and compare to that person's internal idea of their voice, Tareth has never heard Sev actually talk! It'd probably be easier to find Johan from passers by thinking things along the lines of, "OMG I just walked past the Necromancer of Rusanne what's he doing here?!"
posted at 7:25pm on June 10th, 2013
Ooh, excellent point. For some reason I did not consider the surrounding townsfolk at all.
posted at 4:12pm on June 12th, 2013
Heh heh heh. Necropony, receptacle of all that was good in Jonan before he brutally murdered it on the altar of his ego.
I wouldn't place bets that Necropony has word-shaped thoughts though.
posted at 4:50pm on June 10th, 2013
Whoops meant to reply to Rachel... oh well.
posted at 4:51pm on June 10th, 2013
YEAH NO I would imagine he does not have thoughts really at all, honestly. If he has ANY I would imagine they'd be like...Hache-level of coherency: "food!" and "master! <3" and the like. (Does he eat? Maybe he doesn't eat.)
(ahahaha don't worry that it wasn't a reply! Since I edit the pages for Shazz I usually end up keeping up with the comments--it's not my comic, at all, but I end up with a weird emotional investment in it all the same. xD)
posted at 8:46pm on June 10th, 2013
Hmm. Don't see a lot of time passing between panels... Sev must have gotten better at letting go of stuff.
posted at 11:05pm on June 10th, 2013
Ahhhh Sev. You're even more adorable and amusing as a weird mutant squirrel. XD
Glad we all made your day last week, Shazzba! You deserve it for all the fantastic work you are doing on this comic! ^^ The art is beautiful, the characters are loveable, the world is intriguing, and the plot is well-written and keeps bringing me back for more! Keep up the great work!
Also, I voted for Tareth, which I have to say is really saying something because I almost NEVER like the female characters over the guys. Guys are dorky and hilarious, which your guys fulfill nicely here, but Tari is just so sweet and amusing that I have to love her most of all.
Also-also, I like your comments board and how informative it is; I did not even notice that Sev was carving runes into his earrings with his tail until I saw someone mention it. XD; Go me for observational skills.
posted at 11:20am on June 15th, 2013
I can't believe that I've been reading this comic for so long, and just now realized there was a comment section filled with awesome people talking about awesome story details. This also means that the rest of my day will be full of comment combing for awesome tidbits!!!
posted at 10:38am on June 23rd, 2013
I love the shape of Sev's bored bubble. It totally feels like an exaggerated emphasis on "BORED", just so that he lets your readers just how BORED he really is.
On a side note, I have a question about facestealers. (I'm pretty sure it's not one word but I've forgotten and am too lazy to check right now)
Do they kill some random dude and then assume his form, or do they enter his body and control him after he's dead? Or do they just do it while he's still alive, like phorid flies do to fire ants?
It's a totally pointless question but I'm so good at asking those. It's amazing, really. I should get an award.
posted at 6:48am on September 2nd, 2013
Comment by scienceguy8
Carving runes into his earrings with his bone tail. Good idea. Great way to pass the time. Probably less tiring than changing the color of his skin into runes, but I thought they only worked if carved into something magical. Why does he have magic earrings? Does he normally put runes there?
While we are on the subject, what makes a good rune substrate? Bones? Minerals? Some man/magic made composite?
posted at 12:40am on June 10th, 2013