Comic for September 1st, 2018: Assassin Siblings, Catching U- Keith!

[Rafe]

What I find curious is that, with both Natani and Zen well into adulthood, they don't seem to have dealt with the issue of experiencing the other's sexuality though the link before (at least on any serious level).

The only things you can deduce from this are:
-- Both Natani and Zen are virgins.
-- Not only that, they must not even be able to masturbate without the possibility of having the other know it.
-- It might be possible to block some things, but even a momentary lapse of concentration would reveal whatever they were trying to block.

Maybe something can be done about this - some mutual arrangement that would necessarily move them away from being as closely linked as they are. But I'd imagine that could be gotten around if one of them wanted to do so.
In any case, they must realize that this has to have warped their personalities in some way.

[AmigaDragon]

It occurred to me that though being "allowed" by the masks... the rules for fertility still apply. For that, I defer to Eric. Wolves differ by having only one (or two?) albeit more intense cycles a year. Which is a much less frequent target to hit, unlike Trace/Flora.

And Natani should now be relatively recently out of that window, since it's probably nearing two weeks since the end of his heat.

Indeed. Haha, meanwhile the masks are up there yanking levers and mashing buttons while screaming, "ALL THE BABIES!!!"

So far all we know for sure (from Ephemeral) is human/keidran hybrids. We don't know yet if human/basitin or keidran/basitin are possible.

[Megapode]

[Technic[Bot]]

Ok I have no sibling but i am sure that front row seat to your brother rolling in the hay with his significant other is not something any normal person wants.
Alas i will concede that not wanting your adult bro to get laid simply because you don't want to live in a world were you know your bro goes around [EXPLETIVE] his boyfriend is a bit selfish.
In any case i doubt he has any real complain against Nat doing the deed. For example, you might not care if you sibling finds a SO and goes around buttering the biscuit but you might have an objection if you find out they have been close and personal on you favorite coffee table.

As Youngtani, and folks here, said though too it could be the "I'm the big brother" psychology still in play. Which is in and of itself becoming a selfish and short-sighted disposition.

That might also lead to some jealousy. Zen is just one wolf. Keith now has (theoretical) access to the might of a very heavily militarised nation. Given that Zen has, for most of his life, been protecting Natani, the idea that someone else could take over and prove much more effective will almost certainly rub him the wrong way.

Zen is slowly realizing he has not been the brother he wishes to be, for Natani at least. He almost got him killed last week. The realization that he has found someone way more capable than him to rely own will probably make a dent on his ego.

As someone that's had the horrid misfortune of hearing my brother having intercourse with his SO, I can empathize quite well with Zen here. I can't even imagine the possible dread of having to experience the act from the other side. In fact he's actually raising a good point about giving Natani privacy when intimate with Keith, though riffling through his memories like he had been doing undercuts that. The dynamic between the Magi Siblings is changing rapidly and Natani has a lot more autonomy then before. It's only natural for new boundaries to be established.

Also this. Hopefully Zen won't even realize, not only for the poor man mental health. Or what is left of it, but also for Nat sake. It would be a huge breach of privacy for Natani if he could not block his brother from that. And would impact negatively his relationship whit our favorite cat/rabbit/cougar-thing. "No we can't do it now. my brother is not asleep". And i am pretty sure we do not want that. Right?
Anyhow i am pretty sure they are worrying over nothing. Zen influence over the link has weakened and Natani would likely have no trouble keeping him from "breaching" in and Zen now has an incentive no to go prying into his sibling mind. Honestly i know there is the trope (what a weird word that is) about the that goes through your stuff reads your dairy and whatnot, but that does not mean is any less wrong. Specially once they are both adults!

In any case, for whatever reason, it sounds to me like Zen is just shocked / freaking out. The whole "I don't want to experience your sex life!" thing is a pretty lame excuse, but I think it's a (subconscious) cover up of the deeper *real* issues, the *real* source of Zen's discomfort. For whatever reason, the idea of Natani expressing femininity and feminine sexuality is something that seriously scares Zen and so he tries to laugh it off as a joke ("as if that could ever happen?! "), and then when it turns out that Natani might be seriously, he's just making up the first excuse that comes to his mind of why that totally can't happen, because he's clearly not self-aware enough to explore the deeper sources of his discomfort.

I had this thought as well, seeing the page. I think it's also reinforced by Natani's "That's your first reaction to this?!". The interaction feels very real.

The most charitable interpretation would be that the underlying motivation is concern for Natani / concern at the change in Natani. But... well. I would probably buy it if it was so presented later, but I'm not going to champion the theory. I don't think Zen has that much credit at the moment. I'll probably peg it as 'fear of things changing', and in a sense becoming less special. His self-worth is probably tied up almost entirely in Natani, and it's currently taking hit after hit.

Zen strikes me as the "protective brother" that is just worried that his little sibling is gonna do the horizontal tango and for the first time and just can't trust his new SO. And in general that is a pretty bad course of action, unless things are really going down the toilet he should trust his sibling and mind his own business.
As you point out once he fully realizes he can no longer "protect" his brother and that most likely the roles are gonna reverse. He is gonna have his hands full.

It occurred to me that though being "allowed" by the masks... the rules for fertility still apply. For that, I defer to Eric. Wolves differ by having only one (or two?) albeit more intense cycles a year. Which is a much less frequent target to hit, unlike Trace/Flora.

And Natani should now be relatively recently out of that window, since it's probably nearing two weeks since the end of his heat.

Indeed. Haha, meanwhile the masks are up there yanking levers and mashing buttons while screaming, "ALL THE BABIES!!!"

So far all we know for sure (from Ephemeral) is human/keidran hybrids. We don't know yet if human/basitin or keidran/basitin are possible.

It is my theory that since Basitins have a very weird disposition against sex the masks did not bother to "prevent" hybrids between them and other races. Besides are geographically challenged so "what are the chances of that ever happening?"
But this is something the most popular couple in the comic will have to think about if they plan to stay a couple for the long run.

Just finally let me add.
I am surprised Tom has managed for us to care this much for these characters. Even if only at an intellectual level: "wonder what these will do now" but it takes some skill with the pen to make you audience care for the wellbeing of the imaginary people you created. So much so you that we get angry when they are wronged and are happy to see them grow.
Wow just wow.

[Dadrobit]

Yeah, really not getting all the hate that Zen is getting. I'm with the crowd of "This is just a gut reaction's poor choice of words" at the realization that he's about to potentially be exposed to some VERY intimate relations involving his own little sister. Dunno about any of y'all, but it seems to me that the "abusive behavior" that Zen has exhibited is just regular old sibling interaction. Hell, my siblings and I tend to be way, way, WAY worse with each other comparatively, and we [censored] love each other to bits.

I mean, for myself, just finding out that my brother-in-law was doing the do with his boyfriend, (now husband ) was a bit of a mind flip. And on the occasion that I heard them going at it once while hanging out with them had me rapidly leaving the kitchen for a more distant room. Nobody likes hearing their brothers and/or sisters getting on the sexy times. I can only imagine Zen's fear of accidentally and unwillingly being far more involved with their bed wresting than just accidentally hearing it through thin walls.

[steelabjur]

Yeah, really not getting all the hate that Zen is getting. I'm with the crowd of "This is just a gut reaction's poor choice of words" at the realization that he's about to potentially be exposed to some VERY intimate relations involving his own little sister. Dunno about any of y'all, but it seems to me that the "abusive behavior" that Zen has exhibited is just regular old sibling interaction. Hell, my siblings and I tend to be way, way, WAY worse with each other comparatively, and we [censored] love each other to bits.

I mean, for myself, just finding out that my brother-in-law was doing the do with his boyfriend, (now husband ) was a bit of a mind flip. And on the occasion that I heard them going at it once while hanging out with them had me rapidly leaving the kitchen for a more distant room. Nobody likes hearing their brothers and/or sisters getting on the sexy times. I can only imagine Zen's fear of accidentally and unwillingly being far more involved with their bed wresting than just accidentally hearing it through thin walls.

Exactly my thought on it as well. Hearing it is bad enough. Now imagine if your sibling could lose concentration and suddenly you're not just hearing it, you're virtually firsthand experiencing it as your sibling; every smell, feeling, taste, sight, and sound of it, whether you want to or not, and with no advanced warning it is going to happen. And that's not even considering the effects of emotional bleedthrough on Zen's psyche.

[Drago_Whooves]

I think if Keith and Natani do 'sleep' together, I think a good chunk will be censored with just Zen reacting to the sensations over the link

[Rafe]

I think if Keith and Natani do 'sleep' together, I think a good chunk will be censored with just Zen reacting to the sensations over the link

...And after we witness his shocked and painfully embarrassed reaction to all these sensations as he is forced to feel them, we see him shortly afterwards walk in on Natani and Keith, and, still visibly shaken, tell them, "Please, please.. if you ever do that again, please.. just let me... join you. You have NO idea how painful it is to go though all that and be left out!"

[jacobc62]

Wouldn't a simpler solution be for Zen to find his own partner so that the feelings would more or less cancel each other out?

[CrRAR]

It occurred to me that though being "allowed" by the masks... the rules for fertility still apply. For that, I defer to Eric. Wolves differ by having only one (or two?) albeit more intense cycles a year. Which is a much less frequent target to hit, unlike Trace/Flora.

And Natani should now be relatively recently out of that window, since it's probably nearing two weeks since the end of his heat.

Indeed. Haha, meanwhile the masks are up there yanking levers and mashing buttons while screaming, "ALL THE BABIES!!!"

So far all we know for sure (from Ephemeral) is human/keidran hybrids. We don't know yet if human/basitin or keidran/basitin are possible.

It is my theory that since Basitins have a very weird disposition against sex the masks did not bother to "prevent" hybrids between them and other races. Besides are geographically challenged so "what are the chances of that ever happening?"
But this is something the most popular couple in the comic will have to think about if they plan to stay a couple for the long run.

Mmm, could be. On that topic what we've heard is that the masks want to ensure "Some Keidran blood survives". I would think they would want more genetic diversity than one certain couple can provide. Then we do have the recent Keith x Laura and Co. pic that supports your theory. One way or the other, I think that the vaguery of Ephemeral's statement would allow for all sorts of Keidran hybrids.

In any case, for whatever reason, it sounds to me like Zen is just shocked / freaking out. The whole "I don't want to experience your sex life!" thing is a pretty lame excuse, but I think it's a (subconscious) cover up of the deeper *real* issues, the *real* source of Zen's discomfort. For whatever reason, the idea of Natani expressing femininity and feminine sexuality is something that seriously scares Zen and so he tries to laugh it off as a joke ("as if that could ever happen?! "), and then when it turns out that Natani might be seriously, he's just making up the first excuse that comes to his mind of why that totally can't happen, because he's clearly not self-aware enough to explore the deeper sources of his discomfort.

I had this thought as well, seeing the page. I think it's also reinforced by Natani's "That's your first reaction to this?!". The interaction feels very real.

The most charitable interpretation would be that the underlying motivation is concern for Natani / concern at the change in Natani. But... well. I would probably buy it if it was so presented later, but I'm not going to champion the theory. I don't think Zen has that much credit at the moment. I'll probably peg it as 'fear of things changing', and in a sense becoming less special. His self-worth is probably tied up almost entirely in Natani, and it's currently taking hit after hit.

Zen strikes me as the "protective brother" that is just worried that his little sibling is gonna do the horizontal tango and for the first time and just can't trust his new SO. And in general that is a pretty bad course of action, unless things are really going down the toilet he should trust his sibling and mind his own business.
As you point out once he fully realizes he can no longer "protect" his brother and that most likely the roles are gonna reverse. He is gonna have his hands full.

Mmmhmm, one thing about this Natani x Zen confrontation that makes Zen seem a bit more jerk-y is that, based on Natani's current level of comfort, I don't see an intimate moment being ultra imminent, maybe in the foreseeable future, but it's not like it's guaranteed in short order. Totally not a, "Hey Zen, gonna go boink the boyfriend, thatcoolwitu? kthxbai". It's still a bit of time off. Everything Natani has extended to Zen is an in-confidence courtesy reflecting on personal growth, Natani certainly wasn't expecting this reaction, maybe more of assurance or parental-type peptalk. Natani is still trying to sort out his own feelings, now everything is more complicated.

The worst part is that had Natani said nothing to Zen, Natani's personal growth would have continued, and Natani still may or may not [ACTION VERB] the Basitin. So, as to Zen's quip about change and his off-handed comments on Youngtani, is that Zen is just quite uncomfortable personally with Natani's own development and its impact on him, which in itself is just a natural thing that shouldn't be hampered... but that's the wonders only a mindlink can provide. Haha

Maybe Kat will stroll back in and calm the situation with a voice of reason, or Maddie will knock it up a notch with some more "Rabble rabble!"

[Rafe]

Wouldn't a simpler solution be for Zen to find his own partner so that the feelings would more or less cancel each other out?

It could be interesting (and humorous.) It would have to be timed right in order for that to work, but a simultaneous, mind-linked four-way would be worth a try.

[Warrl]

we know basitins aren't really into the whole "sex" thing

Reread how Alaric interacted with Keith, and Keith's reaction's while guarding Natani's door during estrus, then come back and say that again...

I was under the assumption that the masks had made an exception for strictly human x keidran hybrids, no? I don’t think there’s any word on keidran x basitin hybrids at all.

There hasn't been. Historically it has been less of an issue, as for a long time nearly-all basitin have lived on the one island with very few humans or keidran. We don't know if human-basitin or keidran-basitin hybrids were allowed before the change, let alone now.

[DragnMastralex]

Zen can always just put the magical blocking cuffs back on while they are doing it.

[Doom114]

We need a shot of Keith in the hallway with katana-tail and Nat’s speech bubbles through the door.

[SirJahar]

Ok, I had something more thought out I wanted to say, bit is the discussion here REALLY assuming Zen has been celibate since the link formed, when it was HEAVILY implied when Natani discussed the link with Keith the first time that they found out that its ecen harder than normal to suppress sexual experiances from passing through the link, by experiancing it?