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Read it from the beginning on Tapastic or WebToonsHunger rules the predator and fear drives the prey -- but change is coming.Oren's Forge updates once a week on Monday (though I skip a week now and then.)
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TwitterWhen animals considered to be "prey" by the apex predators of the world begin to band together for safety, where does it leave those caught in between?
Namely, a pair of pine martens, carnivores and flesh-eaters themselves, but small enough to be considered food for the bears, wolves and gluttons of the forest and field. They're on a journey to seek sanctuary with the rabbits, squirrels and other prey that have gathered to Oren--but they don't know if welcome or condemnation will meet them.
Category Artwork (Digital) / Comics
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My dude Rask is in shock and his father is league above him in speed/reflexes that was made evident by the shock on Rask's face and how fast Yarrow moved. Nobody could have stopped what just happened without foresight. Coming from someone who works with people who have had to deal with "chill people going nuts/aggressive all of a sudden" ya...even veterans get taken by surprise. Totally get feeling the heartache with Sprig but Rask is far from "worthless" trust me...
He's panicking lol and his dad is in a frenzy, you assume hes sane...he is not. Its real easy to say "do this" when youve never experienced anything like it before my guy. The poor dudes going through a mix of finding his father, his father killing his friend, and now trying to comprehend what all just happened. And it happened VERY fast.
I'm not advocating on behalf of Rask's character as a whole, BUT his lack of action here was understandable.
He was happy to see his father initially. There was a sense of relief that came from the fact that his father was alive, and the underlying belief that his father was in a safer place now where he could continue living. Rask held onto, and may probably still hold onto, the belief that his father could continue living, at least, up until what probably comes next after this page, assuming he doesn't turn on his father after this event. His inaction here was a result of the shock it brought him seeing his father, a remnant of his old life that could have still been a part of it, actively destroying what chance he had to continue being a part of that life. Any sane individual wouldn't have known what to do with themselves. If you hold your father in high regard, if they're an individual who still makes you happy, and you still love, even something as simple as standing in their way can be a hard choice to make.
He was happy to see his father initially. There was a sense of relief that came from the fact that his father was alive, and the underlying belief that his father was in a safer place now where he could continue living. Rask held onto, and may probably still hold onto, the belief that his father could continue living, at least, up until what probably comes next after this page, assuming he doesn't turn on his father after this event. His inaction here was a result of the shock it brought him seeing his father, a remnant of his old life that could have still been a part of it, actively destroying what chance he had to continue being a part of that life. Any sane individual wouldn't have known what to do with themselves. If you hold your father in high regard, if they're an individual who still makes you happy, and you still love, even something as simple as standing in their way can be a hard choice to make.
What the heck is shocking? Haven't they been eating prey animals for years? Hasn't he seen his dad murdering prey for years? How long does he need to get over the shock of seeing his father before he saves someone from being murdered by him? An hour? Two? Maybe if Sprig showed up 20 minutes later Rask would feel up to doing more than standing there?
Make excuses for his weakness and inability all you want. At this moment, he was worthless when it came to saving anyone or anything. Whether it can be rationalized or not.
Sprig is dead.
His father is ABSOLUTELY dead now, even if Hemlock doesn't kill him straight off. Oren will have to execute him to keep the peace, anyways.
Rask may be dead now, too. But, I'm sure that they'll give him a break out of mercy or something. But, again, I could care less about what happens to Rask at this point.
Make excuses for his weakness and inability all you want. At this moment, he was worthless when it came to saving anyone or anything. Whether it can be rationalized or not.
Sprig is dead.
His father is ABSOLUTELY dead now, even if Hemlock doesn't kill him straight off. Oren will have to execute him to keep the peace, anyways.
Rask may be dead now, too. But, I'm sure that they'll give him a break out of mercy or something. But, again, I could care less about what happens to Rask at this point.
Dude thats rasks buddy, his dad CACHED, he had no reason to kill Sprig, and now his buddy who promised him the world is dead/dying (he was dead before the neck snap btw that was a jugular bite...) this is all shocking to Rask lol...you think predators dont experience trauma or loss? think again... like big time think again... trust me when I say wait and see. Lol hemlock stands 0 chance against Yarrow btw... This all happened in a state of easily 6 seconds. You'll understand in the coming pages once this is all explained further. Lol not making "excuses for his weakness" Rask is the strongest friendly we've seen so far thats including Hemlock... trust me lol. You'd do no better in that situation not even vets do.
Rask has been in a new norm. This new norm means that safety = not killing prey animals. Rask has also killed before, he said as much, that he had to do so to survive. It was the only way they knew. He changed, and perhaps expected the same capacity from his father without thinking about it consciously.
If Yarrow ended up in the place where prey animals are trying to live and advance themselves in order to be able to fight back, if he came to the place where animals are aiming to create peace between prey and predators who are willing to give up predatory lifestyles, then Rask can be forgiven for not realizing Yarrow knew nothing about this, and, as a result, had no intention of stopping his predatory habits. You can see how it would seem obvious that someone trying to escape the gluttons may hear about a place like this and run towards it.
Rask has inhabited two worlds. They just came colliding into one another, and the result is devastating, and near impossible to process on a moments notice. People who come into contact with things like this in real, ACTUAL life, tend to be in shock, or even denial, for anywhere from minutes, to hours, to days. The events were fast enough for Rask to not completely and intelligently process everything happening or that COULD happen, or that did happen. He's family with Yarrow, he's still an outcast among the prey animals. It just doesn't compute easily no matter which way you slice it.
It's idealistic to think people can make certain choices easily, and see things clearly so quickly in a situation like this. The reality is, this is how it is, more often than not.
If Yarrow ended up in the place where prey animals are trying to live and advance themselves in order to be able to fight back, if he came to the place where animals are aiming to create peace between prey and predators who are willing to give up predatory lifestyles, then Rask can be forgiven for not realizing Yarrow knew nothing about this, and, as a result, had no intention of stopping his predatory habits. You can see how it would seem obvious that someone trying to escape the gluttons may hear about a place like this and run towards it.
Rask has inhabited two worlds. They just came colliding into one another, and the result is devastating, and near impossible to process on a moments notice. People who come into contact with things like this in real, ACTUAL life, tend to be in shock, or even denial, for anywhere from minutes, to hours, to days. The events were fast enough for Rask to not completely and intelligently process everything happening or that COULD happen, or that did happen. He's family with Yarrow, he's still an outcast among the prey animals. It just doesn't compute easily no matter which way you slice it.
It's idealistic to think people can make certain choices easily, and see things clearly so quickly in a situation like this. The reality is, this is how it is, more often than not.
let me keep it concise, sprig is rasks friend. His father just killed his FRIEND infront of him. Rask is in SHOCK that Sprig is dead by his fathers hands. thats the key difference you're missing, yes Sprig was prey animal but guess what Rask hasnt seen his father murder his FRIENDS for years. You're looking it at an irrational stand point that one would see from sprigs other friends would see. it takes two nanoseconds to see it logically and realistically to completely say you're flat out wrong.
P.S. i've been in situations where i had to give life saving cpr to people i know while others stood around in shock not knowing what to do. None of them were worthless, they were in shock they were not prepared for what happened and why should ANYONE be prepared to watch their FRIENDS get murdered or die in front of them. Seeing that shit fucks people up, don't be that dick who makes victims feel worse because then in reality you're no better than the one who committed the crime.
P.S. i've been in situations where i had to give life saving cpr to people i know while others stood around in shock not knowing what to do. None of them were worthless, they were in shock they were not prepared for what happened and why should ANYONE be prepared to watch their FRIENDS get murdered or die in front of them. Seeing that shit fucks people up, don't be that dick who makes victims feel worse because then in reality you're no better than the one who committed the crime.
I'd have said it with a little less pointedness(I'm trying to avoid escalating negative feelings) but the point you make is also a very good one. Nobody is ever prepared to be in that situation at any given moment, and those who are often have some high level of anxiety, or ptsd, that gets in the way of them functioning at normal levels of cognitive, or behavioral stability.
if over multiple messages and many counter arguments made to prove his point as flawed and toxic beating around the bush doesnt work and you have to be blunt, i've dealt with a lot of people like that and the only time they listen is if you just lay it out as blunt as possible. It's not because they are not intelligent their logic and reasoning in that situation is just flawed.
Rask was also on guard when Yarrow came at him. He knew it was another marten and that it was very close by and he was in fight mode.
Now he's confused, taking in the fact that his Dad is alive and trying to explain things that took him days to understand. Then he sees him leap at a moments notice and attack his new friend, someone who has been trying to comfort him in this new frightening reality, and yes, he was in shock.
The "it wasn't me" was him trying desperately to tell his dying friend that he didn't betray him. That he wouldn't hurt him and that this wasn't supposed to happen.
Now he's confused, taking in the fact that his Dad is alive and trying to explain things that took him days to understand. Then he sees him leap at a moments notice and attack his new friend, someone who has been trying to comfort him in this new frightening reality, and yes, he was in shock.
The "it wasn't me" was him trying desperately to tell his dying friend that he didn't betray him. That he wouldn't hurt him and that this wasn't supposed to happen.
You're being way too harsh. It may take time for the pages to be released and for us to read but all this happened in a matter of moments, barely even seconds. That first attack was already a fatal blow. Sprig was drawing his last breaths and Rask was trying to tell Spring that he hadn't wanted this to happen while he still had a chance. His father just cut those last moments even shorter by snapping his neck. It's going to be a real struggle for Rask to go against someone he used to look up to but he's going to have to now. How he reacts after this page is going to be key.
Actually he had already cached...there was NO reason to kill Sprig...his dads a psycho lol albeit a 4 hp barred BOSS psycho... would not recommend 1 v 1 his speed and reflexes are 10x above rasks... terrifying... Rask's just in utter shock because this is happening way faster than we the viewers understand...
Just to let y’all know, us patrons had this mentality for MONTHS:
https://youtu.be/rgx_xBLz6fg
https://youtu.be/rgx_xBLz6fg
I have a feeling it's going to come down to Hemlock fighting Yarrow, somewhat evenly matched, and then Rask stepping in at a dramatic moment and striking the killing blow on his father, or a crippling/staggering one that allows Hemlock to finish him off.
Or Egg comes out of nowhere and breaks Yarrow in half over her knee~
Or Egg comes out of nowhere and breaks Yarrow in half over her knee~
I get the need for Sprig to die... well not really <.< >.> But I'm sure I will! There are exciting plot reasons!- But also... what an *excessive* death for a fan favourite (and yes, yes, the real animal world is probably just as harsh as this) He gets bit in the throat, thrown to the ground and his neck snapped before he can even finish his last words (which were probably (maybe, perhaps) gonna be 'Rask... you are slow')
A tragic demise- but it just goes to show that you can never be too confident. 'Slower and stupider animals than me', 'you were slowing me down anyways' GOSH DANGIT SPRIG WHERE IS THIS SPEED YOU SPEAK OF NOW!?!?!
~~Unless... plot-twist! Sprig is actually so fast he can go back in time and heal all injuries! I know this is technically impossible but who cares, right? We all want Sprig back~~
Ach Sprig deserved better (but to be fair so did Quanag- this comic really knows how to punch a reader, congratulations, you hit your fans right in the Forge).
Unpopular opinion (maybe- but if it is, it would be especially so now) but I still like Yarrow (maaaaybe moreso as a character than a person). Although I gotta say... if... he already has a prey stashed... and decides to kill another one...
He is the type of marten....
THAT HORDES TOILET PAPER!!!!!!!!!!
A tragic demise- but it just goes to show that you can never be too confident. 'Slower and stupider animals than me', 'you were slowing me down anyways' GOSH DANGIT SPRIG WHERE IS THIS SPEED YOU SPEAK OF NOW!?!?!
~~Unless... plot-twist! Sprig is actually so fast he can go back in time and heal all injuries! I know this is technically impossible but who cares, right? We all want Sprig back~~
Ach Sprig deserved better (but to be fair so did Quanag- this comic really knows how to punch a reader, congratulations, you hit your fans right in the Forge).
Unpopular opinion (maybe- but if it is, it would be especially so now) but I still like Yarrow (maaaaybe moreso as a character than a person). Although I gotta say... if... he already has a prey stashed... and decides to kill another one...
He is the type of marten....
THAT HORDES TOILET PAPER!!!!!!!!!!
I think that the mythos of the glutton hasn't been as extensively illustrated through an actual glutton until now, through Yarrow. Mostly I feel like I've understood what a glutton is in the story through Quannaq, Oren, Rask, Hemlock and others, from their recollections of when the majority of carnivores became... well, a lot of things. Ravenous, irrational, almost gleeful in something they felt they no longer had to do, but enjoyed doing.
But remember the wolves that treed Rask, and look at Yarrow. They aren't incoherent. Some part of them is still cognizant of their actions, or at least it seems that way to me because we've heard them speak, have seen them exhibit familial behavior and restraint. The badgers and the mountain lions, on the other hand, seemed to be on the more severe side of this gluttonous spectrum.
Caching and killing despite having already cached I think are certainly signs of being a glutton, at least in this universe. What is defined as morally reprehensible is still ambiguous, though. What if this gluttony is a mental disorder? Could the characters even conceive of such a thing... could it have something to do with the ecosystem, or some anomaly in the microbial life... could the coming winter be something that is felt from half a year away...
I think what's so good about this story is that if you take a hard look at it, it's closer to reality than most other stories without anthropomorphic characters, in that what is right or wrong is never so easily defined. Hemlock and Yarrow are terrifying, most certainly, but they are not two dimensional archetypes, or at least I don't see them that way. My heart skipped a beat when Sprig gasped Rask's name, and I felt this hot flash of hatred towards Yarrow, but maybe that was all intended, to remind us of just how brutal and complicated life is. Rask is not a glutton, and he loves his gluttonous father. Therein lies the most brutal detail, perhaps.
But remember the wolves that treed Rask, and look at Yarrow. They aren't incoherent. Some part of them is still cognizant of their actions, or at least it seems that way to me because we've heard them speak, have seen them exhibit familial behavior and restraint. The badgers and the mountain lions, on the other hand, seemed to be on the more severe side of this gluttonous spectrum.
Caching and killing despite having already cached I think are certainly signs of being a glutton, at least in this universe. What is defined as morally reprehensible is still ambiguous, though. What if this gluttony is a mental disorder? Could the characters even conceive of such a thing... could it have something to do with the ecosystem, or some anomaly in the microbial life... could the coming winter be something that is felt from half a year away...
I think what's so good about this story is that if you take a hard look at it, it's closer to reality than most other stories without anthropomorphic characters, in that what is right or wrong is never so easily defined. Hemlock and Yarrow are terrifying, most certainly, but they are not two dimensional archetypes, or at least I don't see them that way. My heart skipped a beat when Sprig gasped Rask's name, and I felt this hot flash of hatred towards Yarrow, but maybe that was all intended, to remind us of just how brutal and complicated life is. Rask is not a glutton, and he loves his gluttonous father. Therein lies the most brutal detail, perhaps.
To those of you blaming Rask. This happened in microseconds and not even Sprig had time to realize there was a second marten. There was no time to react. He was dead from the first bite. Rask literally couldn’t have saved him from then on and likely wasn’t fast enough to before that. Yarrow just snapped Sprig’s neck before any last words could be said.
I’m seriously enjoying this comic and actually became a patron to read more. Seriously good writing!
I’m seriously enjoying this comic and actually became a patron to read more. Seriously good writing!
Rask made a mistake after the other, first he omitted to the others that he knew of another Marten nearby and the second was to have allowed his Father to speak when he could have told him to shut up and force him to hear about everything that he saw ... lost one of the only prey friends he had! he will have to fight hard to fix this mistake and help to forge the peaceful place that Sprig dreamed of.
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