Chapter XI 16
April 18, 2012
Seems like she isn’t remembering those quite right.
- 70-Seas Proper
Prologue, Chapter I, Chapter II, Chapter III, Chapter IV, Chapter V, Chapter VI, Chapter VII, Chapter VIII, Chapter IX, Chapter X, Chapter XI, Chapter XII, Chapter XIII, Chapter XIV, Chapter XV
70-Seas Extended
- Sword,Fish,
Tossa Roto,
The Kings,
God Dog,
Lost and Found,
The Dive,
Jinx
Forgettable
- A Forgettable Intro,
Unforgettable Date
Our Lady of the Impetus
- Mary Mendele,
Grubs
The Metal Lands
- The Mall of the Red Wizard,
The Clutches of the Serpent
Supplemental
- Natural History of Lagend, The World Almanac, Holiday Specials, One Page Comics, Fake Covers, Guest Comics
- Great Fantasy Comics
- North World, Digger, Kaspall, Gunnerkrigg Court, Rice Boy, Cucumber Quest, Dawn of Time, Darths & Droids, Beyond the Canopy, Astral Aves
- Lackadaisy, Octopus Pie, Dead Winter, Wonderella, Gun Show, Starslip, Nedroid, Space Trawler, The Adventures of Superhero Girl
Archive
Links
Copyright © Nick Daniel 2007-2013
What’s with the happy looking dolphin? I thought they were supposed to be fearsome scourges of the ocean.
None of those things were anywhere near that dangerous in the circumstances they occurred. The Kings were ultimately silly and on their side, the giant doom rat got exploded, and even Grin turned into a big ol’ wuss as soon as he got within a mile of our bombastic bunch. Also dolphins have not yet featured.
At DHGM: I am about to explain the joke, so all others avert your eyes.
Dolphins are cheery, playful, and generally childlike. In real life, when they encounter sharks they slowly, horribly murder them by crushing their gills and forcing them to drown in their own blood. For giggles. In 70-seas’ world, they behave much the same, but do that to EVERYTHING THAT ISN’T THEM.
That was very enlightening you silly little elf, but, as human brains are bigger and much more effective than teeny tiny elven ones, you seemed to miss my point entirely.
I stated in my comment (above) that I was referring to the dolphin described as “happy looking”. I am well aware of the ironic twist between the aesthetically pleasing dolphin and the predatory shark switching roles, and the parody slant of a cute aquatic creature being associated with the stigma of a vicious beast. What I don’t understand is why her mental representation of a bloodthirsty predator looks cartoony and adorable while she is trying to send a message of ominous intent.
Sorry I sound like a smart ass, I’ve been reading too much T.V. Tropes.
Your conversation has enlightened me. The world of 70-seas is largely covered by water. Dolphins live in water. Most of the 70-seas population would thus be somewhat familiar with what dolphins are and how they act. So being “cheery, playful and generally childlike” would be seen as dolphin-like behaviour, which would seem very threatening. This explains why no one fears the ever sulking Nikol, and when Lewk and Hassan smile and act cheery, they’re actually intimidating their fellow yumans into submission. What thugs!
You may have to ignore some evidence that contradicts my reasoning, but look behind you: A three-headed monkey!
DEAR SANTACHRIST! The horror trip is even worse than the first…
Suddenly, I find all these characters a good load more scary.
maybe she has a “fear of dolphins” in the the way some have a “fear of spiders”. or it could be the author trying to slip just a bit of comedy to keep interest.
The idea I was going for was ‘dolphins are so terrifying that they’re supposed to be scary even when they’re being cute and adorable.’
On the dolphin – I will note that said dolphin appears to be expelling blood from its blowhole…since it’s Ms. Serif speaking, I assume the blood is Serra’s. Where Ms. Serif got the idea that Serra had ever been within range of those monsters, I’m not sure, but obviously she thinks the cheeky bastards have made free with her daughter’s life plasma…
I actually find the Grin(s) depicted here less creepy than when they all have the same face.