Comic for May 3, 2023: Windows to the Soul

[Bellhead]

On a separate note, Nat just realized that he is far more magically powerful with his soul intact than when he was linked to his brother Zen. I have said before and will say it again, Nat is now a force to be reckoned with. I'll even go as far as Nat might not even need mana crystals use magic. He might be akin to Evals except he doesn't have a human form to be able to use magic without mana crystals. If Nat is a rare keidrian that doesn't need mana to use magic, ho would have never had the chance to find out when he fractured his soul trying to see his parents.

I think you mean Raine's father Euchre, not Evals the slave. And if that's the case, he can only use magic without crystals when in his human form, which Nat doesn't have. And biologically speaking, keidran are incapable of using magic without crystals of some kind.

Natani appears to be using Clovis' amulet for the power source. It's made to allow Keidran to use dragon magic, and there's no reason to suspect it would be picky about Which Keidran.

I think you're forgetting this scene. Nat mentioned he didn't have to worry about running out of crystals, so I'd wager it's fair to say he's still got an indeterminate number of charged crystals remaining still. As for the amulet, it's also possible he sensed the magic from it, and decided to nuke it under instinct. And don't forget that the folf form Nat is reaching toward is, as far as we know, a projection, and not an actual physical body, so the amulet likely isn't even there.

[Rakaydos]

I think you're forgetting this scene. Nat mentioned he didn't have to worry about running out of crystals, so I'd wager it's fair to say he's still got an indeterminate number of charged crystals remaining still. As for the amulet, it's also possible he sensed the magic from it, and decided to nuke it under instinct. And don't forget that the folf form Nat is reaching toward is, as far as we know, a projection, and not an actual physical body, so the amulet likely isn't even there.

Is the portal-wraps canon, or just voting incentive fluff? If it's canon, there may well be a LOT of crystals in there.

[Bellhead]

I think you're forgetting this scene. Nat mentioned he didn't have to worry about running out of crystals, so I'd wager it's fair to say he's still got an indeterminate number of charged crystals remaining still. As for the amulet, it's also possible he sensed the magic from it, and decided to nuke it under instinct. And don't forget that the folf form Nat is reaching toward is, as far as we know, a projection, and not an actual physical body, so the amulet likely isn't even there.

Is the portal-wraps canon, or just voting incentive fluff? If it's canon, there may well be a LOT of crystals in there.

We know from canon that Nat has made bandages using crystals, so there's some sort of space magic involved. I'd bet the whole "I have a spare" part was just fluff, so the warping is likely not real either. But who knows... Maybe Tom will grace us with chest binding lore.

[AmigaDragon]

Natani: (thoughts) The missing part of my soul...



Might this shadow above Reni's wing be what she's referring to? Did Clovis steal a fragment when making the link years ago? It seems Clovis' levitation gives Nat a connection to him, or maybe he kept hold of her end of the snapped link.
And is that Youngtani lending a hand in the attack (the first inset)? Not quite fully integrated yet at that instant.

And this re-raises a question/speculation I had weeks ago, if he reverts to fox (or better yet, vixen), what does the dragon damage translate to?

[S'aaruuk]

2 points: (1) I'm liking how Nat's "laser beam" goes through Clovis' amulet and him on it's way to bullseye the dragon amulet. And (2) shouldn't the dragon form's right eye be black and more damaged as in the previous page? Here, it's looking almost normal and completely uninjured.

Also...LUVVIN' the shocked look of disbelief on Clovis' face as Nat blasts the amulet!!!

[Bellhead]

Natani: (thoughts) The missing part of my soul...

[img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/528 ... _w.jpg[img]

Might this shadow above Reni's wing be what she's referring to? Did Clovis steal a fragment when making the link years ago? It seems Clovis' levitation gives Nat a connection to him, or maybe he kept hold of her end of the snapped link.

Well, considering it was Nora that went into the link to get to Clovis, I would think she'd have prevented something like that happening when she cut him out.

[Tiennos]

Well, Clovis got to enjoy his dragon form for... about 5 minutes? Now let's hope he goes away for good.

[Tornir]

If it definitely looks like he's gonna get his [censored] handed to him, he may just teleport away. Dying in battle is something only minions do.

[Tyger42]

go, go, magick she-wolf, right in that ugly broach! will be free

*cough* He-wolf. There is no indication as of yet that Natani doesn't still identify as male.

Oh yeah. Clovis is screwed unless Reni saves his furry butt from Nat's wrath.

[DragnMastralex]

"how dare you potter, try and use my own spell against me!"

[S'aaruuk]

*cough* He-wolf. There is no indication as of yet that Natani doesn't still identify as male.

Except that Nat's gender confusion was due to her brother's mind/soul within her own mind/soul. With the link now severed, her own femininity should/will resurface with force.

Also, IIRC at one time she and Keith were discussing her "appendages" and I believe she invited him with "You wanna touch 'em"? Don't remember the page, but I remember the line.

[MuonNeutrino]

Except that Nat's gender confusion was due to her brother's mind/soul within her own mind/soul. With the link now severed, her own femininity should/will resurface with force.

Not necessarily. Back during the whole mindscape thing when Zen got put into the shackle, we learned that a lot of what Nat thought was true about himself and his own attitudes had been influenced by Zen's beliefs, including the original source of his gender-ambiguous feelings. Youngtani may or may not have been outright trans before the link, but at least some level of gender ambiguity definitely predates the link's formation and any effects that Zen's soul had.

[Bellhead]

Except that Nat's gender confusion was due to her brother's mind/soul within her own mind/soul. With the link now severed, her own femininity should/will resurface with force.

Not necessarily. Back during the whole mindscape thing when Zen got put into the shackle, we learned that a lot of what Nat thought was true about himself and his own attitudes had been influenced by Zen's beliefs, including the original source of his gender-ambiguous feelings. Youngtani may or may not have been outright trans before the link, but at least some level of gender ambiguity definitely predates the link's formation and any effects that Zen's soul had.

I'm not so sure it's gender ambiguity, so much as Youngtani was a Tomboy, or at least admired male behavior. Natani, prior to the last couple pages at least, was entirely on board with the "women=weakness" mindset, so I would think it's fair to say that any thoughts that seem "weak" he'd see as feminine thoughts, and any that seem "strong" he'd see as masculine, regardless of what gender he sees himself as. We don't know if something like that was present with Youngtani before the link, but if it was, it would explain how she convinced Nat in that page you linked.

I mean, Youngtani lived in the guild with Zen, living the life of a male, for who-knows-how-long. Having been surrounded by that.. toxicity for so many years of adolescence, it would most certainly have had some kind of effect on her psyche. But the question then, is whether or not those masculine thoughts she picked up were truly what she wanted to be and/or believed she was, or if it was just an act that eventually became too real to abandon.

[Him]

Wow, unless Clovis cuts and runs now I was wrong about basically all of my guesses. Oh well, as always I am looking forward to more Keith and Natani scenes after this is resolved.

[Rakaydos]

Except that Nat's gender confusion was due to her brother's mind/soul within her own mind/soul. With the link now severed, her own femininity should/will resurface with force.

Not necessarily. Back during the whole mindscape thing when Zen got put into the shackle, we learned that a lot of what Nat thought was true about himself and his own attitudes had been influenced by Zen's beliefs, including the original source of his gender-ambiguous feelings. Youngtani may or may not have been outright trans before the link, but at least some level of gender ambiguity definitely predates the link's formation and any effects that Zen's soul had.

I'm not so sure it's gender ambiguity, so much as Youngtani was a Tomboy, or at least admired male behavior. Natani, prior to the last couple pages at least, was entirely on board with the "women=weakness" mindset, so I would think it's fair to say that any thoughts that seem "weak" he'd see as feminine thoughts, and any that seem "strong" he'd see as masculine, regardless of what gender he sees himself as. We don't know if something like that was present with Youngtani before the link, but if it was, it would explain how she convinced Nat in that page you linked.

I mean, Youngtani lived in the guild with Zen, living the life of a male, for who-knows-how-long. Having been surrounded by that.. toxicity for so many years of adolescence, it would most certainly have had some kind of effect on her psyche. But the question then, is whether or not those masculine thoughts she picked up were truly what she wanted to be and/or believed she was, or if it was just an act that eventually became too real to abandon.

Remember that youngtani's original trama wasn't the soul link, it was the death of their parents. "They're DEAD, and CRYING like a GIRL isn't going to keep us alive, Nat!" (I wash I was strong like you, brother...) Every hardship the two of them suffered was because her brother had to take care of the helpless girl. If Zen had had a brother, neither of them would have suffered. (So the trauma says)

With their soul healed, you clearly want "her" to start being more female. But linked-natani had several identity reinforcing episodes, giving them a framework to understand gender-nonconformance as something not unique to them- the bastinian "king", and Katrin's story of the kiedran general who was secretly female. I think there's enough there that Natani may choose to be a girly "he" rather than a mannish "she."