Page 414 – Kidd Commander!

caribouchat

Ah! This is – just great.
The fifth, huh?
Wondering: Could Rook inherit Raven’s star? I think this Regret Iridescent and her would fit really well together…

Aria

The fifth! the babiest sibling

Amaaré

So…is Brokenspectre’s real name Mana? Or have I got this confused?
And stars can eat each other? Wait, god*child*? So Mana is the child of a god? Or of a star?
I’M SO CONFUSED NOW
(Excellent page, just very very confusing)

Aria

So fun thing about stars, starstone, all that weird hivemind shit. They don’t really use names? OR their name system is so weird and intuitive we just don’t have a way to translate them into human speech, since they sort of just think at each other in their like, brainweb, and communicate without needing to address an individual. It’s also seen as a dumb human thing to try and summarize one’s entire being into a single word, annnd with so much word magic running around it’s probably not safe for something so strong to have a name that could be used against them. Hazard’s star became “a derelict eye” after it was attached to him, it’s a detail more than a title.

a brokenspectre is the term for WHAT Mana is, which is KC lore we’ll get to later. Mana is a name she and Baby Phin came up with for her when Mana decided to uh. Jump ship re: god stuff and start adapting to being in a human form (the weird gross human body shape, much much stronger emotions than this other star or the giant starstone we saw in the mines show). It’s used reeeally rarely out loud though, for the aforementioned security reasons.

“Child” is also a limitation of them trying to communicate in human terms. When a star loses pieces they form new consciousnesses if there’s enough to work with, which is what all these little friends would be considered. Like Starstone, they can also rejoin if they decide they want to.

Which they generally don’t. It’s tough to give up your consciousness again once you’ve been yourself for a while. Also, like, Gods used to sovereignty tend to not get along with each other very well

(Thank you! Sparkle City aww yeah)
- Amaaré
  
  That clears up a lot, thanks!
  Your description makes it sound like all the “stars” we’ve seen so far are actually parts of one actual star that formed their own consciousnesses (that word has far too many s’s in it).

Wereael

“Where are your wings? Your eyes, your teeth?” That’s a pretty big hint as to the nature of the “stars”. Also, this makes last page a lot less confusing. Mana, Phineas’ star, was previously part of a larger whole, that included the other star pieces we saw last page (Phineas, Raven, Crow, Jocasta, and the unnamed person, all being bound to one of the pieces). Which explains why the others could feel when The Derelict Eye was (nearly) consumed. They’re all linked.

Also, Aria, didn’t you previously explain that “brokenspectre” was related to Phin being a commander? From what’s shown here there doesn’t seem to be a specific relation to it being a commander thing, since Hazard had one. Unless that’s a hint that only a commander could do.. whatever was done to bind the star pieces (meaning it was intentionally misleading? And a hint that Crow did the.. binding thingy).

Wereael

Also! This ties up some Raven foreshadowing from a few chapters ago. Raven said something along the lines of “compared to him, what could I be but a shadow/reflection”. Crow and Raven both have eye symbology tied to their characters. Crow’s (dominant? I’ll just call it the eye focused on for now) right eye is the focus, while Raven’s left eye is his focus. In both characters, that’s also where they store their star piece. So it can be seen that Raven is a reflection of crow, in that an image is mirrored when it is reflected. Also, they’re brothers, which is an emotional relation between them (Raven being a shadow compared to Crow).

This is really good writing! This chapter has been a joy to read so far, keep up the good work!
- Aria
  
  Thank you so much!
Aria

I think I did, and it might be in canon where Roy was talking about Commander hearsay where their shadows were too big if we’re thinking of the same thing? Commanders work with sun energy, or light energy, so it’s sort of become an assumption that they have some sort of light or energy source (which we would consider, I guess, their weaponized soul) trapped inside them that makes their bodies Weird.

It’s also possible a detail or two ended up being different from what I put in a comment, I probably tell you guys way too much down here over the longass time it takes to get these stories told hahaaa. When in doubt, what’s in the pages is Better Canon than me trying to answer questions early without spoiling too much! I’m not great at speaking, which is why I make comics.
- Wereael
  
  No problem! I was just confused, and yeah, with this length of time some details are bound to change. Thanks for the explanation, though!
  - Aria
    
    For the record I totally don’t mind explaining certain things! I know the way I write this kinda leaves the reader to do a lot of legwork sometimes. Little things that are inconsequential to the mechanics might change over time but I do have solid ideas for these concepts, so hopefully it all shakes out eventually for everyone as the story goes on.

gqbrielle

stg i’m putting PHINEAS K. on my next personal reference credit application lmfaooooo GO BUBBLEGUM CHILD

Oscar Crooks

I CAN SEE THE LINK IT”S LIKE RIGHT THERE JUST NOT IN WORDS OR SYMBOLISIM OR ANY PROVABLE MANNER AGGGGHS

anyway I

Aria

look into ur heart the answer is there
Aria

aaaaa that’s right it’s so cool you caught that! That sequence was pretty messy art-wise so I wasn’t sure it worked. They pretty much just kept Phineas’ mouth in this instance, but there are usually some crude teeth and mouths scattered around the tain’s form when they manifest somewhere.

Sandman366

The talking floating flower is assuming the hybrid to be weak.

Hmm. What gets punched first? It, it’s word bubbles, or it’s assumptions? (Actually, if they punch a word bubble, that’d be two out of three, wouldn’t it?)

(On the one hand, yes, something between two states of being might be considered weak. On the other hand, I fully expect the slider bar stuck halfway between “Star” and “Human” to actually be hovering right over “Total Badass” (in shiny sparkly font and everything).)

While this page does make the previous more understandable, I do obviously still have a question. Mana is “Fifth”. In a series…or set, presumably. Does it stop at five? Are there more? (Actually, wait, no. Bird Crew got their stars in another universe….so how are they part of the same set!?!? What determines them to be part of the same set?)

Wait. Hang on. Was this not the star hoping for Phin to come for it way back when? Or was that the Artemis? If it was Derelict Eye, he’s being quite the dick to someone he begged assistance from.

Wereael

To be fair, mana did just try to eat it. That warrants some dickishness, I would think.
- Sandman366
  
  Derelict Eye was also surprised to still be around. Makes me wonder if this dickishness is taunting to get eaten on purpose.
  
  Which also sounds pretty dumb, unless it’s supposed to work as some kind of sabotage. (Re: the two of them barely fit in there as it is.)

A Wild Bird

A teen, a flower, and a spirit missing body parts walk into a bar…

Aria

stop me if you’ve heard this one

caribouchat

I’m wondering… Is this a biblical reference? I seem to remember that the snake lost his wings, his teeth and his feet as a punition for making Adam eat the fruit…

Aria

A good rule of thumb for this comic is if it looks like a biblical reference, it probably is! Although in this case I wasn’t thinking of the snake specifically. I can’t remember where else I’ve said it before, but Mana is a Seraph, which looks considerably different from her form on this page. So the eye asking her where her angelic trappings are is just honest confusion about her not looking the way they remembered.