Cursed, of Course: A Fantasy Comic

[andowero]

...
This is also the only piece of contemporary fiction I know of that showcases an explicit caste system, not just a hierarchy.
...

I would recommend the "Unsounded" comic. They have an explicit caste system on their world. Beware - although the comic is extremely skillfully (especially in later stages) drawn, it sometimes portrays extremely unsettling/brutal scenes with no trigger warnings.

Edit: new page, yay!

[TaiLiu]

There's also ... I could look up their name, but the genuinely white people. Who seem like an ancient people, now sharing the language and living space of their conquerors but socially distinct. Which isn't far off one explication how rl caste systems arise, what some regional lower castes in India pretty clearly are.

Oh, good point! Are they integrated into the caste system or do they count as their own caste?

I would recommend the "Unsounded" comic. They have an explicit caste system on their world. Beware - although the comic is extremely skillfully (especially in later stages) drawn, it sometimes portrays extremely unsettling/brutal scenes with no trigger warnings.

Thank you for the rec! I read it once but stopped a while ago, though not for any reasons related to discomfort. I remember that the main character's white but basically everyone she interacted with was Black. Dunno if that's part of the caste system or not.

[andowero]

I remember that the main character's white but basically everyone she interacted with was Black. Dunno if that's part of the caste system or not.

That's just regionality. The comic currently takes place where the majority of inhabitants are black. The main zombie character comes from a society where people are magically mutated and put to multiple castes based on their hair color with the rest (blondes, unmutated) as a separate caste.

[TaiLiu]

That's just regionality. The comic currently takes place where the majority of inhabitants are black. The main zombie character comes from a society where people are magically mutated and put to multiple castes based on their hair color with the rest (blondes, unmutated) as a separate caste.

Oh, got it! You can tell it's been a while.

[Shoreward]

Update!

Page 231 - Oaths of the Warrior.

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[danielxcutter]

I wonder if Pellan has any intention to keep this oath.

[HalfTangible]

I wonder if Pellan has any intention to keep this oath.

Could go either way, but I'd say so.

Pellan's a bit of a stick up someone else's ass, but he's very proud of being a warrior. We opened the story on him rescuing a fair maiden, he objected to "isn't that a girl's name" by yelling it's a *warrior's* name. He likes to fight, he's proud of his abilities and he's generally shown himself to be a decent person under all that caustic attitude he has.

That, and there's not much point in showing this scene at all if he's just going to continue keeping his mouth shut

That said, Pellan is also rather... *tch*... obstinate. It wouldn't surprise me if he avoids answering the question truthfully, or if he chooses to list out insults, or if he uses the other man's oath to get information out of him instead.

[Kantaki]

I wonder if Pellan has any intention to keep this oath.

That depends how much worth he puts into Brel Vago's oath I guess. "what freedom is in my power to give" might well mean "no freedom at all".

Would be a bit iffy on the "no deception" point, but arguably not knowing the scope of Brel's power is Pellan’s fault.

Mind you, I think Pellan will answer truthfully.
No one said anything about helpful or polite though.

[TaiLiu]

"Sworn by steel and blood"—we're seeing what it means to swear by steel, but not by blood. What does it mean to swear by blood? Self-injury via ritual? Or is he implying that he is in some way responsible for Ardelie's missing tongue?

I wonder if Pellan has any intention to keep this oath.

Could go either way, but I'd say so.

Mind you, I think Pellan will answer truthfully. No one said anything about helpful or polite though.

I think it'll be smooth sailing from here.

[Fyraltari]

Self-injury via ritual?

Likely. It might also be along the lines of "May I never wield steel again / have my blood shed should I ever break this oath."

[TaiLiu]

Likely. It might also be along the lines of "May I never wield steel again / have my blood shed should I ever break this oath."

Oh, maybe! Like a life is on the line kinda thing. I still like my Ardelie hypothesis. It'd give him more motivation to go behind Melcara's back.

[Shoreward]

Update!

Page 232 - Escape Artist.

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[danielxcutter]

I'm starting to see why this guy was famous before depression struck.

[TaiLiu]

I'm starting to see why this guy was famous before depression struck.

Good point. Maybe some confidence-building competence is coming right up.

[Metastachydium]

Hm. Ever since she's been wearing this outfit, the blue portion of Cat's body was consistently shown to go all the way up to her collarbone. Is it shifting? Shrinking? What are the implications of that possibility? Hm.

[Crimsonmantle]

Hm. Ever since she's been wearing this outfit, the blue portion of Cat's body was consistently shown to go all the way up to her collarbone. Is it shifting? Shrinking? What are the implications of that possibility? Hm.

Hmmm. Something for the "things you never noticed I: wait, this isn't OOTSworld?" thread - I've clearly not looked at Cat's body closely. And you're right. Unless it's just an art mistake, but I refuse to believe that.

[ti'esar]

If it wasn't an art mistake I would have thought the characters would notice it, like, immediately, because the portion of a Stormfallen's body that's blue appears to be the most obvious visual indicator of their rank/power. That changing doesn't seem like the kind of thing people in this world would overlook.

(Bit belated but I've fallen behind on this comic.)

[TaiLiu]

Maybe it's an artifact of the art change? There was one big art reset, but obviously the art is changing little by little.

[Shoreward]

Update!

Page 233 - One Step at a Time.

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[Crimsonmantle]

Color's back!

Also I love the bottom left panel.

[danielxcutter]

I mean he HAS improved a lot.

Also, we're nearing the page limit.

[Fyraltari]

Took me a second to understand what the blue orb in panel 1 was.

[Kantaki]

I mean, it's still kinda sad for a famous daring master thief to react like that, but understandable*.
Also, he didn't go all doom and gloom, end of the world, everything is sad forever like before, so definitely some improvement.

*That is quite the drop. I know I wouldn't try it if I had a choice.

[TaiLiu]

I didn't expect heartbreak to cause a fear of heights! Big loss of confidence.

[ti'esar]

Yeah, I think it's more that after having spent years as the guy who could steal any treasure and charm any woman, failing at the latter has caused him to lose confidence in his ability to do anything.

[Kantaki]

It's the dancing centipede thing I think, or at least something close enough.

Failing murt his confidence, made him depressed, but it probably also caused him to think about his steps, causing him to stumble more, with makes the whole confidence/depression thing worse, until it spiralled into his buddies locking him in that cage.

[TaiLiu]

Also, we're nearing the page limit.

We are! That's exciting. Been a while in this subsubforum.

Yeah, I think it's more that after having spent years as the guy who could steal any treasure and charm any woman, failing at the latter has caused him to lose confidence in his ability to do anything.

It's the dancing centipede thing I think, or at least something close enough.

Failing murt his confidence, made him depressed, but it probably also caused him to think about his steps, causing him to stumble more, with makes the whole confidence/depression thing worse, until it spiralled into his buddies locking him in that cage.

Makes sense. I guess it won't be a sudden burst of confidence, then.

[Fyraltari]

Hey now, just because he's a thief doesn't mean he's a climber. It's much more sensible to come in through the door and to take the stairs even if you're thieving about.

[Shoreward]

Update!

Page 234 - There's Always B.

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[danielxcutter]

Hmm, that must not have just been his crippling insecurity then.