Page 422

by Aria on April 13, 2017 at 4:48 AM

This is the last chapter for this arc! Neat!

The next update is four pages and they’re all pretty involved, expect them next week sometime. I’ll keep you posted if there are any serious delays. Until then, hey! There’s some new stuff on the cast page! Maybe if you click around something will happen? who knows

thank you very much for reading <3

Oscar Crooks

AAAAAAAA IT THOUGHT THEY MIGHT BE RELATED CAUSE MAGPIES ARE IN THE SAME GENUS AND ARE CLOSELY RELATED TO CROWS/RAVENS THAT’S NOT EVEN THE IMPORTANT BIT THOUGH

Gideon’s Murder’s symbols (the ones in the middle of their names) correspond to the four elemental symbols of alchemy, Air, Fire, Water and earth to Crow, Jocasta, Raven and Maggie respectfully. While this is nice for symmetry and sort of explains why these were the four introduced first, it gives us some huge clues on the rest of the Murder.
Because the symbols used are the same as the ones in Medieval alchemy we can assume the other members of the Murder are based of the other Classical elements, which are Aether, Mercury, Salt and Sulphur.

Artemis is likely Aether as it’s the only element without a symbol, and is non-corporeal. it doesn’t really count as an element. Which corresponds with Artemis role in both crews. they haven’t been mentioned in the cast page and when Jocasta was speaking to Hazard, she didn’t bring up Artemis at all. This could be because she assumed they were dead however. That and Artemis doesn’t really have a lot of presence, They stayed radio silent during Hazards and Phineas fight.

Unfortunately there aren’t anymore names to match up with symbols, however character details can be gleaned from what these elements represent.

Mercury, In Achemical lore, is the base metal from which all others are derived,the
This is likely the Grey person we met back on page 413, whiles there’s very little information about his character, It’s interesting he would be called Sir, as that imply’s that he’s a leader. and as mercury is the element that all others are derived from It makes sense he would be a leader. That and mercury represents “The life force or a state that could transcend death or the Earth” Which makes sense as he’s the only other surviving member of Gideons Murder. The other thing is the color co-ordination, mercury is grey like his skin.

Sulfur represents the multiplicity of human nature and the eternal aspiration to reach enlightenment. “Sulfur represented evaporation and dissolution. It was the middle ground between the high and the low or the fluid that connected them” So this character likely joined Gideons crew to become a god, but didn’t have the means or determination to become a Sun-chaser on their own

Salt. “In the Tria Prima, salt stands for condensation, crystallization, and the essence of a thing” Perhaps they were a star, seeking to become whole again?

Thanks for reading!
- Wereael
  
  Good theory! I also noticed in the cast page how each of the Murder’s symbol was one of the four elements. Air is fitting for Crow.
- Aria
  
  Gosh <3 well oscar as usual your super mindful observations are both adding years onto my life and making me intensely nervous as a narrator, good work~
Sage

I know there isnt much evidence for my theory, but i don’t think Maggie is gone. its been told too definitively that he is gone, with much to surety that he is. It kind of makes me doubt that he is really gone.
The cast page shows that he is growing more and more clever, which makes it seem unlikely that he didnt find someway out of his demise. why he would be hiding, i dont know. But being completely wiped away would give a good excuse for people not to actively look for you.
Or he could really be dead, but that doesnt feel like it fits, for whatever reason.
- Amaaré
  
  Oh I’m pretty sure he’s around somewhere, you’re right, he has far too much presence for someone long dead.
Wereael

Cast music and character descriptions, oh my! The songs for each of them are good. Only one I hadn’t listened to being Maggie’s. ~~Auugh if only Cosmo Sheldrake released more music~~
- Aria
  
  I wish he would!! Maggie doesn’t quite fit the motif anyway though, he would have gotten something weird either way hehe
Amaaré

You know, I really hope Maggie the Magpie is less killy.
- Wereael
  
  but what if maggie is not kill?
l33tninja

I’ll just leave this here . . .
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2557d51297360d0c2bbc3ca6e18da57a0425defcd524eb2a683a15a6b4c9fcaf.jpg
- Aria
  
  the comment god accepts and is delighted by your offering
  - Sandman366
    
    Speaking of murders, the play on words for Crow’s Murder is great. Group, and attempted, all in one.
    - caribouchat
      
      I’m missing something here (English not first language…), I’m sure, could someone explain?
      - Wereael
        
        A group of crows is called a “murder” in english. Which is why Aria called Crow Gideon’s crew “Crow’s Murder”. Murder is also a word that means killing someone (or attempting to, in attempted murder). So, “Crow’s Murder” ties in to the name for a group of crows (and other birds, in this case), and Raven’s plotted murder against Crow Gideon (and possibly other attempts on Gideon’s life, unbeknownst to us at this time).
      - Sandman366
        
        Like a group of fish is called a “school”, a group of crows is called a “murder”.
        
        So Crow’s group is called his “Murder”, but can refer to what Raven wanted to do to Crow himself.
      - caribouchat
        
        Ok, thanks to both of you. So, is there also a play on words in “Kidd’s complement”? (just wondering)
        (Also wondering) how many of the seven satellite system we already know…
      - Wereael
        
        Mm not as obviously. A complement is something that completes (a group in this case). That’s the only interpretation for that spelling, but; it’s one letter different from compliment, which fits Kidd’s character I suppose. Not sure.
        
        Possibly more than we think? I’m hoping we see more of the person that made the tower the starship landed on, that we saw before. They would make a good addition to the crew. ~~also, the robot, though that’s not so much seen as well.. y’know~~
      - Aria
        
        Sorry I haven’t been around much for a couple days! I was at a convention, it’s hard to find time to get to a computer hehe
        
        So, Phin’s crew doesn’t really have a title yet, mostly because it’s hardly even fulfilled the requirements to be a crew of any kind and is currently more like two idiots who hang out a lot. So Kidd’s Complement and the satellite system stuff aren’t REALLY canon? As in, characters aren’t going to be using the terms in the story in the context that we know them. Not for some time, at the very least. It’s just meta stuff so we the audience have something to refer to the group with.
        
        “Complement” is a good word and I like it a lot! Basically, Phineas’ crew is a bunch of people she’s gathering to fulfill roles she can’t, or cover weaknesses she has. A complement of people would be a group of people who are able to make each other stronger than any of them would be individually.
  - l33tninja
    
    whew that’s a relief…I was told the alternative was being thrown into a volcano, so…
Sandman366

I think I see a face in that bigger blotch.
Does not make this page any less weird.
- Amaaré
  
  The shape in the smaller blotch looks like the head of a bear.
Amaaré

Since almost all of the other characters have had their names discussed, I’d like to talk about some of the symbolism of “Phineus”.

In origin, the name means Oracle, “bronze skinned one” or “mouth of brass”, not sure either of these really apply, but you never know.
In mythology however, Phineus was punished for his crimes by being blinded “never to see the sun again”(!) But this punishment angered Helios, the sun god, who sent the Harpies to rescue Phineus.

I don’t know if Aria is referencing any of this at all, but the relationship with the sun god is hard to dismiss as coincidence.
- Aria
  
  😀
  - Amaaré
    
    Oooooh I totally forgot that!
    *ticks off one point on chart*