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Illumination Page 8: Acting Up for Guests

Illumination Page 8: Acting Up for Guests published on 84 Comments on Illumination Page 8: Acting Up for Guests

Sorry this page is a little late! I was at Staple this last weekend! It was super great! Thank you to everyone who came out and said hi!!!!

My next con will be Emerald City Comic Con, which is at the end of March! WHEEEE.

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Wait…. but colin had light blue feathers…. what happened?!?!

They’ve always looked greenish to me. I assume he has “the curse.”

The curse has blue and white variants, as well as the red variant. At least, according to an old Finn character sheet. (Canon? Not canon?)

I like to use a term I learned in the Gargoyles fandom, “canon-in-training.” It means that someone from the creative team has stated it somewhere, but they reserve the right to change it until the issue is covered in canon. The Finn family picture showing four curse-bearers was very old and a lot of stuff from the same period clearly changed by the time the comic introduced the characters. If you’re speculating about possible future events of the comic, stuff like it is better than totally random guessing, but there is no guarantee that the ideas won’t change.

I still miss that picture though. I loved the character designs for the Finn cousins with the red and white curses.

I just noticed that common gryphons don’t have teeth. Huh.

In panel 3 the father has fangs or some such if the white thing on his beak is an indicator. In panels 5&6 you can see Colin’s teeth when his mouth is open. It seems that some gryphons do have teeth and some don’t; probably due to beak type.

I believe that what Arakisk meant was “Common Gryphons” (Mary [the mother] and Tobias), whereas the other Finns are “Maned Gryphons.”

Well I did say “Common Gryphon” for a reason.

Seeing as how the current setting is in a house full of gryphons I’m not catching what a ‘common’ gryphon is.

In the Skin Deep universe, there are several species of gryphon. Most the the Finn family are Maned Gryphons, which most anatomically mostly lion with an eagle’s beak and wings. The name comes from the fact that males of the species, like lions, have manes, which other gryphon species lack. Common Gryphons, like Mary and Tobias, are the more traditional eagle-front-half and lion-back-half combination, and are the most numerous species overall.

It also seems that ‘maned gryphons’ also have more lion like ears, while common gryphons eather have feather ‘ears’ (Tobias doesn’t have them yet because he’s not fully mature). Then you’ve got ‘uncommon gryphons’ like Leah Tanno, whose not lion-eagle, but bobcat-hawk- she still has a ‘mane’ (or hair at least).
There’s a bunch of types of gryphons listed in the wiki, if anyone’s interested: http://skindeep.wikia.com/wiki/Gryphon

James in a sweater vest is just about the best thing I’ve seen all day.

Actually, why would James need to be rugged up in winter wear in the UK summer?

Because it’s bloody awful here. Plus they’re northwards so it’ll be colder. PLUS they probably live in a big old house and that’ll be chilly. Plus he’s rockin’ the fashion

Look at what Mary, Greg, and Merial are wearing.
Lighter weight summer clothes.
So James needing to be rugged up in winter wear, is somewhat out of place. So why is he rugged up in winter wear?

I know this was a long time ago, but here’s something relevant for possible future readers, that’s really easy to miss if you’re not familiar with the topic. James is disabled.

Speaking from personal experience, old injuries – especially major ones like James has – can mean that what’s warm weather for everyone else is too cold for you. Allowing your body temperature to drop below your injury’s threshold HURTS, and it can make you stiffen up and lose mobility, and the pain and extra difficulty moving can last for days or weeks.

Maybe it’s not that way for James, but he did lose three limbs so I wouldn’t be surprised. I’d say that by wearing warm clothing in summer he’s being very sensible and taking care of his body’s unusual needs. The sweater vest is probably very much necessary even if anyone else would overheat in one.

This is another of the many little details that for me and my friends, bring Kory’s world and characters to life. Even if it’s unintentional, it works so well. In general though I really must say Kory’s proven time and again that she shows amazing attention to detail in these things and is just an excellent storyteller.

I hope no-one minds me adding to such an old discussion – Kory my apologies if you do mind. I’m just hoping to spread a little more understanding of different life experiences in the world, and offer a little more possible insight into your characters for those who follow after me, if they want it.

Good GRIEF can Collin get ANY cuter? Also, Greg and Marial’s expressions, they’re just all kinds of uncomfortable.. xD;

Youth, meet etiquette. Etiquette, meet youth. Is this your first meeting? Surely not! >:=)>

Mary: Colin… Colin – we do not jump up on guests, remember? And while you may of course go on the furniture – with your claws in – invading laps or invitations to pet are not proper behaviour. I’m sure you understand, Miss Jocasta, Miss McMinnus, Mr. Tragos…?

Merial: Of course, Mrs. Finn…

Greg: Yes, Ma’am!

Michelle: Okay… *looks around, distracted*

Colin:

Jim: But

It’s odd that Colin’s mental process is that “humans” are normal when Jim embraced the wider definition. I wonder if Jim considers Wonderlanders to be normal even when other residents of the avalon exclude them from the term.

I’m just wondering if they fed him anything weird. He seems too young for catnip, and I doubt that sugar is healthy for an assumed-carnivore.

Considering Jim would be well familiar with Wonderland, he’d likely just regard its residents as plain and ordinary.
Even Blanche doesn’t see Eleanor or Rupert as anything special or noteworthy.

As for Colin, it’s because he’s had to watch his older brothers be able to do plain, ordinary, human things, and there was also the day he snuck out of the LA in Jim’s backpack, so he’s seen a glimpse of the human world.
And he wants in. Desperately.
And getting a Medallion will LET him in and be part of that world.

Aww, poor little guy he’s just so excited to try new things.
Again a polar opposite to Anthony, who didnt ever want to give being a harpy a try at all.

Anthony got dropped into the mythical world without any choice or say in the matter. Despite Blanche regarding life in the LA as plain and ordinary, Anthony did not. We saw this with Anthony’s breakdown in Greensleeves in the first chapter of Exchanges.
Before the spellbreak removed the spell keeping him human, Anthony thought he was human, he had no idea he never actually was human.
In the second and third chapters of Exchanges, and in the first two scenes of Reunion, all Anthony wanted to do is to be returned to being human.
In the third scene in Reunion, he learns that going back to being human is not possible for him.
We have no idea, yet, what Anthony thinks or feels on the matter, some nine and a half months after Reunion.

Little difference: Colin will get to live in both worlds. and already knows what he’s getting into. (Also, he won’t lose the perks of being a Gryphon, namely flight and… cuteness I guess?). Anthony lost all he ever knew, maybe permanently, and got flung into a strange new world. We as the readers know it’s exciting and fun, but he doesn’t, and I find it hard to fault him for that.

BOOO! BOOO! BOOO, I tells ya! Manners are for the non-adorable!
Greg looks like he wants to escape. Merial agrees with me, though: He’s freakin’ ADORABLE.

Another thing I noticed: Apparently there are no full-forms allowed on the furniture. Just sayin’.

I think if I were a human friend that was entrusted to know. I’d be asking Colin what it is like to be a gryphon. Maybe give him something to think about.

Colin seems to have some self image issues.

I would say something like, “Colin, your mother is right. You are already as much a real person as I am. You are also a perfectly normal gryphon. It is not a matter or who is normal or real, there just happens to be a lot more humans than gryphons.

“As for what it’s like to be a human, I can only tell you what it’s like to be this human. We all have different stories to tell.”

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