Page 188

Oh Holland, you stho sthparkly! Don't forget to go back a page to see the chapter's splash.

124 thoughts on “Page 188

  1. Whoa. He. is. awersome. He’s got the mysterious-bad-boy-but-I’m-really-a-good-guy thing going on! Love him. please continue! :D

  2. LMAO! Definately knowing this is Holland, makes the voting incentive even more hilarious XD. Whoo hoo! Holland in action :D Maybe Holland & Feral can both kick kitty in the head? O.o

  3. May I say that I absolutely love Holland??? XD hehe! The light effect here is lovely, and I specially like the bow and arrow idea. Wonderful touch! :D

  4. So now Holland is also a lyrian? how many more things does he have to hide!?!

    1. but at the start,he explained that they are going to a land where people are half birds,and his their prince…so he’d be a bird to…

      1. Well, technically all he said was that the place they were going to was near his home, and their target was a lyrian. That doesn’t prove anything on its own, and given that we didn’t know he was a prince at the time either, it just never occurred to some of us that Holland was also a lyrian.

        Not to mention that we’re more used to seeing lupians and…whatever the fox people are called, who are more obvious about not being human. There were some fairly obvious clues, admittedly, but they can be easy to miss when you’re used to assuming that if someone looks human, they are human.

        1. I think they’re called Vulpians?… I think >.< Looks CAN be deciving }:)

    2. i think it didnt occur to us because he looks human (i mean he doesnt have a beak or anything!) but then again….. how could we think he was human?!?!?!?

  5. My eyes!!! It’s sooo sparkly! *_*

    1. I’m blind!!! I want Dat FEATHER!!

  6. Holland is an archer?! He’s my new favorite character. *__*

  7. Oooh, shiny~ :D

    Holland knows how to be pretty AND intimidating! I love the bow, for some reason this page makes me think of ‘The Swan Princess’, though…only, y’know… He’s a Prince…and not cursed…but still!

    Haha, love the page!

  8. *dies from Holland’s epicness*
    I knew there was a reason I love Holland <3

    1. i totally feel you on this. i loved his charactor from the start… so mysterious and proper. that smug grin of his is too awsome! ^_^ he has the best entrances too. i so love the art work of this comic, it’s way awsome! :D

  9. Holland.

    You are so friggin awesome. ~<3

  10. that…is…not the right way to hold a bow O.o
    you don’t actually grip it (minute movements in your hand muscles could throw your aim off), and if you stuck your finger out it would backfire and you could possibly lose that finger. You just rest the base of your thumb on the handlepart of the bow and hold it lightly (don’t even grip it actually)

    <- archery club nerd :D

    1. Jus’ don’t want to get Holland killed lamely |3

    2. remember this is a “fantasy” webcomic, anything can happen and with my previous dealings with powers and magic characters the power is usually under the control of their mind. my point: that bow with pwn the guard but will return to Holland with out him even feeling it

    3. KaelinaLuvsLomaris

      Plus, unless he’s left handed, he’s holding the bow in the wrong hand….

      1. It’s good to train yourself both ways, left and right

      2. Actually, that is how I hold my bow, even though I am right handed; with archery (and riflery, for that matter) what is more important than handedness is eye dominance, and if his left eye is dominant it would make aiming easier with it.

        1. Likewise; holding a bow right-handed just feels WRONG.

      3. Holland is ambidextrous. :)

    4. Not sure what your archery club teaches, or if something changed recently, but the last time I did archery competition (about 5 years ago, but still), one most certainly gripped about the bow; if one had issues with aim stability, one could always use a stabiliser – even on recurve bows, which this seems to be.

      You have a point about sticking the finger out, but that is more of a function of this bow not seeming to have a dedicated arrow-rest, than anything else, and even with a misfire, the arrow is far enough out that the only thing you would really need to worry about is fletching. That said, given that the arrow is made of his “sthparky” even this may not be a problem :-)

      Final aside: more power to you for archery club nerdiness. :-p

    5. I bet Holland is just using this as a scare tactic. I don’t think he really wants to shoot the guy, but just to prove a point. I’m waiting for him to do some mind control thing so the incident will be forgotten! Haha!

    6. I actually did research how to hold a bow and a lot of grips looked just like how Holland is holding his. I also know the finger pointing thing is not done in reality, but it’s required for Holland’s unique type of arrow ;)

      That being said, if he lets go of the bow, it will disappear. And if he doesn’t point his finger, the arrow will do the same. So he’s fulfilling the magical requirements of his particular equipment.

      Thanks for your input!

      1. I guess there are different ways to hold bows. But when I try really gripping it it never flies where I want it, no matter how many times I try and get used to the weirdness xD
        Also my teacher was an olympic athelete representing Japan and she teaches us to “swing” the bow after we release- because we don’t hold the bow itself we attach it to our fingers with a string & it swings freely after we shoot.
        It being the olympic style, I thought it was universal. Sorry.

    7. I think he made his bow, he can hold it however he wants XD

      1. TARDIS!

    8. The way I was taught did involve pointing your finger along to sight down it and move it before you released. Granted, that was a long time ago, so maybe methods have changed, and there are always different schools of thought in pretty much any skillset.

  11. AWWW HOLLAND <3
    Now Feral should do something sparkling too~~

    1. That’d be awesome^^

  12. Holland knows how to make pretty things look bad ass.

    1. Ha, I was gonna post the same thing. Swans, feathers and bows don’t usually get this kind of badass treatment.

      1. haha agreed!!

        {{go Archery!! WOOO!!! ‘nother archery nerd}}

  13. Oi o, glad you added this comment box, I am a big fan of your comic, have to say your story is superb and even all my friends enjoy to read it, I’ll be looking forward to the next page.

  14. Meela is just like: “WHAT?!” and Holland is all calm and mysterious. He should really stop scaring her like that. XD

  15. Is it wrong to say that I squealed like a little girl when I saw this? Because I kinda did… kinda.

  16. Holland just became sexy.

    And I didn’t really expect I’d ever say that, frankly (don’t hate me, fanboys&girls), because up till now he’d been rather more one-dimensional than that for me. And as an arrogant person who reads a lot, I didn’t expect to ever be surprised by his character. But panel 3, in particular, introduces a whole other – more appealing – side to him. And I was surprised. And I was pleased to be so.

    Let alone the whole, you know, magic feather thing. Which is pretty rifreakindiculous in and of itself.

    1. Well, I’m glad to hear he seems to be growing as a character!

    2. Holland has always been sexy.

  17. I didn’t think Holland was gonna transform it puts a pretty big risk on his reputation. But I guess they might have figured out Meela was his servant anyways or something I don’t know

    1. At this point it doesn’t really matter if he’s known to be involved or not. Mithrennon is pretty much going down if they can get away. And if not, he can’t do anything to Holland since he’s his prince. He’s safe.

  18. Oh, Holland, why you so pretty?

  19. F-feather-bow?

    All right. That’s…very, very cool.

  20. Coolest. Bow. EVER. I can SO see this animated! Beautiful visual effect and I love the way that you incorporated his ‘swan powers’ into the bow by way of the feather. Love this!

  21. SO BEAUTIFUL ;A;

  22. He is sparkly AND threatening. Now that is a marvelous combination! Congrats for pulling that off I would have failed miserably.

  23. Snuck on at school to see this, I love this page! Everytime I learn more about Holland I just love him even more <3

    1. SAME~! <333
      Holland is so epic here, but I have to say, Meela's face is priceless~!

  24. SQUEEEE! I just KNEW it! XD

  25. The things about Holland I love the most are his faces; his baby face to Farel, his “no, thank you!” face to Meela, the “oh crap” face, and the mysteriously smug face he has in this page with the “sorry I’m late” like they were expecting him. I have this weird bias to white-haired characters and I gotta say, Holland is one of my favorites!

    Like I said before, Holland’s model and expressions (which I so greatly enjoy for the art ability of it) give him a mysterious air that just gives me a hunch he’s got too many secrets to count and our protagonists will keep discovering things until the end of the comic. He’s gonna be fun to keep an eye on in coming pages, although I would like to see more on Feral’s background which he obviously hides so daringly hides with the likely “excuse” of being mute.

    Keep doing the comic, it’s amazing and has a great plot!

    1. Thank you! I’m glad you’re picking up on all of that. He does have many more secrets, and a lot of them probably won’t even be revealed. But the important ones are sure to come out eventually ;)

      Oh, and Feral isn’t hiding his past. He just doesn’t remember it!

      1. Will you be going into Feral’s past eventually?

        AWESOME page by the way! :D Go Holland!

      2. awesome, now that one i didn’t pick up!

  26. This puts a whole other view on chapter 6 (“The Swan”). Swans are pretty intimidating creatures in real life and in mythology (ex. Zeus). Very beautifully illustrated.

  27. I don’t know exactly why this is, but Holland reminds me more and more of a character from one of my favorite animes. His name is Fai, and he’s a wizard. I seriously keep thinking this is Fai in the comic! XD Holland acts just like him!

    1. KaelinaLuvsLomaris

      Oh, first time I saw Holland, I though “Man, he looks like FAI!!!” (who is my fav Tsubasa character……love him so much) and that endeared me to Holland. Now Holland is awesome in his own right, but they’re still similar!

    2. Yes, Holland shares the same character type with Fai XD We were actually worried about using him because he might seem too similar, but he’s important to the story.

      We’re glad we put him in, people seem to be really enjoying him!

    3. This is exactly what I thought when I first saw Holland! Hes so cheery and mischevious but at the same time you can tell he’s got a few things to hide… I fell in love immediately haha.

    4. OMG! Fai! Yes! That’s what was so familiar about him! He is SO Fai! <3
      I can see it all now… Holland is Fai… Feral is Korogane!!! IT'S SO OBVIOUS NOW!!! :D <333
      I think all good comics/shows should have Fai/Koro-poo characters~ <3

      1. I didn’t really see the Kurogane characteristics as clearly, but I can see what you mean. x3

      2. Yep, like i said erlier, that leaves Meela as Mokona, Xb

  28. YES.
    AWESOME
    LOVE :)

    1. I’m curious, where is your icon from? It is very well drawn. I must know.

      (catch the reference)

  29. omg i love Prince Holland even more now. That is just so cool

  30. It is so splendid to be able to comment. This is actually my first comment ever so I will make it good. First off, the best part of this comic are the characters and their expressions. You two are such superb artists and whenever I want to look at examples of well drawn expression, I go here. Your characters never cease to surprise me. They have such complex backstories and personalities. I’m sorry, this is too long.

  31. I love how the feather turns into a bow. AWESOMENESS! <3

  32. Oh Holland dahlin’ your powers are simply fabulous!

    1. Oh my gosh! Miss cube can it be you?

      1. Wait, I just looked at kiwiblitz. Sorry I thought you were madame cube.

        1. XD Sorry for the confusion.

        2. that is absolutely fine! Hope to see you at Kiwiblitz!

  33. I officially love Holland even more now <3
    new favorite character gained

  34. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 Holland~~

  35. OMG Holland! That’s so amazing <3 smexy look in 3rd frame <3

  36. Can i ask, if bird people are called Lirians and wolf people Lupians, then what are the cat people called??

  37. I never knew Holland was left-handed. AWESOME!

    1. like algy said in an earlier comment holland is ambedexterious

  38. *squeal* Okay, I am liking Holland more and more all the time. XD SUPER FEATHER ARCHER MAGIC GO!

  39. I had a feeling it was him XD But I have a chibi pic of him with floating feathers and the bow I think I picked up at some point for voting. I love him now, because I love birds and archers *_*

  40. Also I was very sad I missed you at Otakon, I entirely forgot to look for the Strays table =(

  41. Wow, it’s kind of like the “Heart Arrow” that Mint/Corrina used in Mew Mew Power…

  42. He’s a freaking swan…

    He just lost 10% cool factor in my eyes, but he regains 15% for coming on time to help them out.

    1. If you had ever been chased down by a territorial swan, I think you’d change your mind about the cool factor ;P

      1. Nope. I still don’t like swans.

        1. And actually, I have been chased by swans. Maybe why I don’t like them? Who knows.

    2. Instead of deducting 10% cool factor from Holland, maybe you ought to add at least 10% to swans. :P

    3. but swans are freakin awesome!

  43. SpicyBleachedHead

    Oh my, the splash page is quite…hot.

    Anyway, I like the way Hollander is making this comic more awesome by the day. He is very badass in this page.

  44. i love holland. but i think i know what he is. he screammms xellos. if youve see Slayers, then you know xellos, i swear holand is like his umm white haired twin. he acts very similarly to him and i think he may have that good/ bad boy thing going on. but i honestly think hes probly gonna turn out to be either an anti hero. or villian. *nods*

  45. Lefties represent! \o/

    Ohoho, I’d wondered if Holland was Lyrian. (As discussed above it made sense, but one can never be certain, plot twists and all… You crafty webcomickers, you.) And what a fancy bird he makes!

    (Artist silliness: seriously, the x-shaped brushes. Quick to be spotted when you know what you’re looking at, but still so gorgeous in the right atmosphere anyway. They’re kind of the anti-lens flare in that way, huh? xD)

    1. Actually, I made those X sparkle effects myself ;) So they don’t count as Photoshop gimick abuse!

      1. I don’t think anything that adds to the overall atmosphere of a piece is abuse; whether or not it is by hand, by Photoshop, or by a custom tool designed for the purpose. To me art is bringing a mental picture from your mind’s eye to reality, no matter how it is done. Either way, the result is what counts, and here the results are wonderful.

      2. Ack, don’t I look and feel silly. x3 Either way, wasn’t trying to accuse of abuse–just meant it’s a really pretty effect!

  46. Holland is very cool, but Feral is still my most fave. Meela is cute too. like a little sister and not in a bad way.

  47. Holland kind of rocks my world.

  48. swan pendant. now i get it.

  49. I always knew there was a reason behind his paleness!

  50. All swooshy and fwshy page. Time to see some action from Holland, huh!

    1. excellent choice of words!

  51. Does anyone els think of bleach when they see this?

    1. Lol. Oh yes, Holland just went totally Quincy. XD

  52. I’ve been reading your comic for awhile now. I love the story so far and the art surely is wonderful. Love the bow. Not enough love for distance weapons in most S&S. Glad you’re using an archer, and a magical one too!

  53. Oh dear, he can do that? I think I’m going to blame the fancy trinket for this little surprise.

  54. Crazy bow… I think I must have watched too much Bleach because for some reason now he’s reminding me of a Quincy.

  55. okay, this is starting to get eerily similar to tokyo mew mew. mint, anyone?

  56. I cant figure out what the guy’s expression is at the last panel…worried..?sorry…?wth…?

  57. Meela is all “WTF HOLLAND! YOU’RE A FUCKING BIRD!”

  58. holland is so girly

  59. Holland just got awesomer.

  60. Holland is so awesome ^^

  61. So…he carries dresses on his bag, makes all those faces and he is a swan… I think it’s fair calling him gay.

  62. I LOVE YOU HOLLAND!

  63. Only Holland can look elegant and badass at the same time! XD

  64. I love Hollands face in panel three, soo cuute!!

  65. -wonders if there’ll be someone who can merge or form a weapon other than a bow by only usin magic- 0-0

  66. -wonders if there’ll be someone who can merge or form a weapon other than a bow by only using magic- 0-0

  67. Srry, but … Holland… you are adorable.

  68. Holland is so dam hot *faints*

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