Final Quest #18

It would be great if it were two edge. Yes the "from the same planet" part make sense to me-- but I also think it has to be a closely enough related species. Like Homo sapiens and Neanderthals. We probably couldn't make offspring with Orangoutangs-- too different. Tigers and lions-- yes. Tigers and coyotes-- no. Still- a healer's abilities might have been necessary to create Two Edge anyway. But I imagine, being half elf and half troll, if he's not sterile, he himself could hook up with someone of either species and create a baby.

Only question-- if it were him, why did Venka have that talk about how there is "no answering fire"? That seemed pretty straight forward.

Outlier wrote:

I think Venka's baby-daddy has got to be Two-Edge. Why else have Cutter bringing up how elves and trolls are not that different just a few panels before.

To show the Firstcomer troll that he's wrong to despice Two-Edge because he's half-elf. Far as I know Cutter doesn't even know that Venka is pregnant.

I wonder if Two Edge ever had danced the horizontal tango?

Ha, it was in the postbox today. Have only flipped to my most dear elf so far and ... was surprised. Rayek-Grandpa!!!
I have no clue who the father could be and I won't even speculate. Unless maybe Zhantee could as a spirit... but...
Windkin again, please... no more entanglement. And one day e.g. Teir is his own grandfather or something.

But then, it is only 2 pages! And with a cliffhanger. Aww, noes! Unfair.

Well, now I can read the rest of the comic.

Lunakat wrote:

I wonder if Two Edge ever had danced the horizontal tango?

I doubt it. Not unless one of those "games" with Winnowill resulted in her deciding incest would be a great way to break Two-Edge even further. :-/

I'm all for a Two-Edge and Adhri couple.

I was hanging on facebook... Someone there asked who will lead the wolfrider now. A good question because Cutter and Ember's roles have been overlapping a lot. And Wendy reaction to that question: *grin*

What if Ember decide that Cutter is not up to it anymore, not enough of a wolfrider anymore, and don't want to give him back the leadership? As much as she loves Cutter, I can see her do that if she think it's the good thing for the tribe. Your thoughts?

If I were a wolfrider, I would rather have Ember at the moment. He looks like he's not all there anymore and his secrecy about their mission with the trolls was very strange. I don't think all wolfriders would agree, though. The "heart circle" seems very loyal and Strongbow seems very hung up on Cutter, too, for some reason.
It would be very interesting if Ember made that decision.

It would also be interesting if Two-Edge was the baby's father, but I don't think he is.

I don't think Two-Edge is the father. Venka told him there was no answering spark in her. Given that, I think it would be terrible for him if he were.

Miscellaneous wrote:

I'm all for a Two-Edge and Adhri couple.

I was hanging on facebook... Someone there asked who will lead the wolfrider now. A good question because Cutter and Ember's roles have been overlapping a lot. And Wendy reaction to that question: *grin*

What if Ember decide that Cutter is not up to it anymore, not enough of a wolfrider anymore, and don't want to give him back the leadership? As much as she loves Cutter, I can see her do that if she think it's the good thing for the tribe. Your thoughts?

Yeah, that was me, not that I was actually expecting a direct answer. However, I could easily imagine Cutter simply deciding to retire. Just being like "You know what? I've done enough these last 500+ years."

Redhead Ember wrote:

However, I could easily imagine Cutter simply deciding to retire. Just being like "You know what? I've done enough these last 500+ years."

Now that the issue is finally in my greasy little paws, the context is a little easier to follow  

I, too, could see Cutter going that route. At the end of the issue, he did sound a bit more like a retiree than a chief. But why does Ember keep being compared to Bearclaw? I think she's got a much cooler head on her shoulders ("Fire-hair" having a "cool head"... hehe ). Yes, he was all about The Now-- but he wasn't a complete stick in the mud. He did discover and open trade relations with the trolls, which was about as extended as their world could become at that time.

It's more than somewhat disturbing to see Cutter behaving the way he is. Part of "Tam" was him being straightforward and guileless, even in his later years while battling the Djunn. Now he seems to take a certain perverse joy in casting coy little sideways glances and being unnecessarily secretive, even toward those who love him... just like the human he was once modeled after oops, I mean Timmain.

I'll give Cutter credit for one thing, though. He finally says point-blank to Two-Edge's face what the elves have been demonstrating via their actions for centuries: he's more welcome among them than not. Two-Edge certainly doesn't get shafted by elves a fraction as much as he does by trolls (or humans for that matter); hell, they've even healed him more than once. Sure, he can't avoid the fact that he is of two worlds, but maybe step away from the angst a little now, in light of that repeatedly proven positive regard?

I feel for Strongbow even more in this issue. He brought up the point I keep bringing up; spirits can't really touch and hold each other. Even if he worries about danger in life to some degree, he wants to physically be in it. (And does anyone else buy that bull about how Moonshade often wished to be intangible and invisible, yet still alive? She was always stealthy, true, but talk about a massive retcon. I don't recall her ever expressing such a desire before.)

Preserving your safety is one thing; to be like a living ghost is another. To once more see how removed Moonshade is becoming from the physical, from the things she loved and the experiences that helped shape her life, and how COMFORTABLE she was with it, was undoubtedly a shock to Strongbow. Now he feels his lifemate really has reached a place he can't get to and share with her because he can't even imagine being that removed from the world.

I guess this means their "divorce" really is final. [sigh]

Anyway, I'm proud of Cutter for reaching out to other trolls and offering them a chance to come along when the Palace leaves. It's also good to see him and Ahdri standing up for Two-Edge; he seems surprised but pleased by that, and by the First Troll's acceptance of the offer. I wonder if Cutter could bring himself to "retire", as another poster suggested. I want to see him comfortably and happily living in the smaller truth. Maybe that could offer him enough peace to be able to explain to everyone what happened to drive him momentarily insane.

I'm still waiting for the few Wavedancers to make it to the Palace, wanting to see how they could adapt to a largely non-amphibious life. I hope they haven't been forgotten. And I find myself hoping Venka has a boy. Imagine how that would tweak Kahvi's nose. Skywise will have to learn to accept other people's choices in all this. His time with Cutter and the rest of the Wolfriders is now limited; he needs to take Cutter's lead and cherish it, because when the time comes, he and Moonshade will likely be the only Wolfriders to leave. (Unless Windkin wants to go as well, for some reason.)

I'm confused, I thought Moonshade was the one that said she loves the flesh too much and doesn't want to give it up? I mean she also talked about the whole invisibility thing too, but I thought in that scene where they were together in the furs in the Palace (which doesn't look cozy at all btw, just like a bathroom floor which is obsessively cleaned) she was saying did not want to be a spirit.
I probably have to go back and re-read.

She did say spirits can't touch, so I was mistaken. I remembered that too late. But in past issues, in the Original Quest and everything after, Moonshade never mentioned wanting to be able to disappear, as far as I can remember.

No, she hasn't , you're right about the retcon thing. Moondshade's whole palace thing has always not made sense to me though anyway: she was depressed and didn't like the wolfrider way anymore, she moved into the palace. Initially it seemed like a good getaway but then she just kind of just disappeared story wise in terms of character.... I mean I get that she was 'changing', but who she was becoming or what she's become is a lot more vague and nebulous than who she really used to be. In a way the whole invisibility thing is kind of a perfect metaphor for her actual personality pretty much being nonexistent now.

I'm probably just having an allergic reaction to the new age-y stuff associated with the palace, I just can't stand it.

A sadly apt comparison. :-/

The palace seems to have that effect on everyone who spends a lot of time in it.

it seems to be sucking the life out of everyone in it. There was the usual stiff standing around- I can't blame Rayek from being estranged from his cardboard-cut out parents...
Otherwise it was a pretty good book, I thought. Lots of stuff going on, some decent art, and a nice teaser surrounding Venka.

I think life in the Palace looks pretty magical. Moonshade has more going on than ever before in her life. I mean-- before she had sewing, and her marriage and her kids (who all left)... and her conservative values. But now she can make herself invisible! (Hmm...) I'm sure she can do other stuff too.

Anyways... she also got really tall! With hair that defied gravity! I wonder... is it supposed to mean anything that when Strongbow comes to visit, she makes herself small again so she fits with him?

Elwing wrote:

it seems to be sucking the life out of everyone in it. There was the usual stiff standing around- I can't blame Rayek from being estranged from his cardboard-cut out parents...

Naah! Didn't you remember that awesome reunion-scene?
"Jarrah. Ingen."
"Son."
Great emotions!
*sigh*

And Ghost-Moonshade is kinda... scary? I feel sympathy for Strongbow, now that she seems to slip away from him, like a ghost. And he's more a down-to-earth guy.

Lunakat wrote:

I wonder... is it supposed to mean anything that when Strongbow comes to visit, she makes herself small again so she fits with him?

Oh, that's because apparently Wendy has some kind of moral problem with tall elves interacting with short elves now. Remember when Timmain made herself short to tell Cutter about the TimTam Revelation? And then in the midst of her trauma after he ran off, she shaped herself tall again so that she could explain to Aurek what had happened? I'm guessing that's the reason that Windkin went off Ahdri after he met Aroree. If tall elves aren't even supposed to talk to short elves, then I'm sure they aren't allowed to bone short elves either. Thus Skywise and Leetah "keeping themselves short" for Cutter.

/sarcasm, by the way, but this is a niggling detail that's been annoying the heck out of me in FQ!

I doubt it. Skywise hooked up with Aroree for decades.

I know, that's why it's so weird that tall elves and short elves seem to be segregating themselves in FQ. I did say "sarcasm".

I think it has more to do with accommodating loved ones who are uncomfortable with personal growth.

Lunakat wrote:

I think life in the Palace looks pretty magical. Moonshade has more going on than ever before in her life. I mean-- before she had sewing, and her marriage and her kids (who all left)... and her conservative values. But now she can make herself invisible! (Hmm...) I'm sure she can do other stuff too.

Anyways... she also got really tall! With hair that defied gravity! I wonder... is it supposed to mean anything that when Strongbow comes to visit, she makes herself small again so she fits with him?

While I know Moonshade was a traditionalist, or her values were seen as conservative or whatever, that's not really even the point to me. The point is more like she had immense strength especially when you look back to the Dreamtime issue. She seemed to follow along with Strongbow for a while yes, but she that really wasn't how I defined her later on. I thought she was steely, kind, and loyal all at once.
Now she's just fluffy and sounds brainwashed.

Lunakat wrote:

I think it has more to do with accommodating loved ones who are uncomfortable with personal growth.

I have a big problem with interpretations that are that literal. If this is what's being said, I will most likely vomit.
She didn't have a problem showing off her invisible powers (lol look dear, I've learned how to disappear... I've taken my passivity from the beginning of EQ to exciting new levels!!) and frankly if we're going to talk about conservative or traditionalist values and her 'busting out of them', we can also say that Moonshade's figure has literally become more prepubescent and less of a woman. And if it's going to be argued that it's the influence of the palace or cone head influence of whatever, I call BS on that because Aroree has also looked like a lanky 15 year-old since the beginning of FQ. There's nothing remotely empowering about making a mature female look like a prepubescent girl, but Moonshade and Aroree have both oddly been given that treatment even though they're both supposed to be getting more empowered.