2.44

It’s a nice day for a WHITE WEDDING NATIONAL MOURNING EVENT OF THE YEAR

The courtyard with the statue is called “Souther Court,” that is not a typo.

I’m still messing with that second panel, in case you see it changing in the next few hours/ days. *PS: I know how to “fix” it XD I just need time to do it. No advice necessary!*

MMM yes I think that’s it.

141 Comments

  • Katie

    Aaaw Suda. :C
    You horrified me just one page ago and now I am feeling all choked up. How are you doing this, you wizard?!

  • rainey

    Such a huge contrast to the previous page. Poor kids, I want to give them a hug ;_;

    • I wouldn’t. Remember what happened the last time someone looked like they needed a hug? D:

      • You just made my day with that comment :D

  • Poor kids, life’s gonna get tough for them D:

  • I was wondering about that line. XD
    I like the colors and lighting of this one though, despite it being so sad.

    • THAT is what i meant! (um, unless you follow both me and Der-shing n Twitter, you will totally not understand my comment)

  • Bumbles

    Arrggg… I almost teared up there. You got the facial expressions just right… So sad…

  • Kali Arren

    You know, I hadn’t even thought of how the kids would react to this. My entire attention was focused on Luca and what he’s lost, and now THIS. Agh. *sniffles and hugs them*

  • Oh my goodness Sudaaaa ;n;

    I also LOVE how I can really see the resemblance between them and their parents! A lot of people can’t pull that off but you do that very well~

  • ZzLeigh

    MY HEART, IT IS BREAKING.

  • Like I said last page. :C

    Damn it, Luca. Priorities.

  • Cait

    I wondered when we were gonna find out about the kids. I’ve been wondering, in fact, since the page she died, so I’m glad we finally got to see them, even if it’s really sad. And with their dad being a total nutjob now, I bet their lives aren’t gonna get any better any time soon, poor things.

    • “And with their dad being a total nutjob now…”

      hahaha, I haven’t given any evidence that he wasn’t a nutjob before XD

      • GoSign

        Are you going to tell us that Phe’s death had absolutely no effect on Luca’s sanity? Somehow I imagine that Luca with Phe makes a more bearable father than Luca without Phe. ;)

      • Cait

        Well yeah, there is that. But see, I added “total”, in front of nutjob. He’s just completely crazy now, instead of mostly crazy. :P Makes a huge difference, I reckon.

  • This is a beautiful page. It’s incredibly sad, but beautiful nonetheless.

  • Christine

    Awww, this page gave me the sad. </3 Seriously, I'm feeling all choked up.

    The facial expressions on this page are beautifully done.

    Poor kids. I would hug them if I could. :(

  • Carlota

    I think my heart broke a little here… :C

    Anyway, I was not expecting to see Rana and Suda’s reaction to the death of their mother in this chapter. A good idea though, the atmosphere of this page counterbalancing perfectly the violence of the last few pages.

  • speearr

    Very sad.

  • Shea

    I got teary-eyed ):

  • Oh, goodness. I wanted to say something other than “my heart just broke in half” because everyone else seems to have summed that up…but man alive, was that heartbreaking.

  • Emperial

    … *weeps* With all the crazy action, it was easy to forget for a moment that there are children involved.

    • Emperial

      And Suda’s head in his hands like that is just entirely too heart-breaking.

  • :( Poor kids. And poor Suda, now he’ll get all the pressure from daddy to become a leader (without the mom filter, I mean.)

    Ffff, thanks for changing the page; last one was already making me nervous.

  • DoggySpew

    I realised that with Suda’s comment, it seems plausible that everyone would fight in the name of love for Phe.

    • Elaine

      Which is rather ironic really.

      OMGosh I cried.

  • Summercen

    The atmosphere here is so beautifully sad and their expressions and the emotion and everything is just heart breaking and then…
    I scroll down to read the artist’s comment and totally lose it. I just woke all my dogs up laughing.

    I really do love the expression on their faces, it’s so hard to get that woobly chin thing just right but you did it.

  • Officer 1BDI

    Ffffffffff- I was all ready to burst into tears until I read your comment. XD

    And now I’m back to wanting to cry again. Poor dears. :c

  • THAT LAST PANEL OH MY GOD ; ^;

    TT___________________________TT

  • bansheeblue13

    the facial expressions and tears are beautiful…

  • Fusspot

    Yeah, I can kinda see what you mean with that second panel. But worry not; the final panel almost makes up for that.

    Almost.

    Impressive heartstring tuggery. Highly impressive. :)

  • Does the little know yet?

    • LeDayz

      I’ve been eagerly awaiting the appearance of the littlest princess but IDK now, not like this… This would be on the scale of heartbreak with Michael Jackson’s kids saying he was the best daddy ever (I tear up just thinking about it). Poor Hyla. Der-shing, might we please get a tissue alert?

  • GamerShifty

    I admit it, I cried a little… :'[
    You are amazing.

  • I think if the lines on panel 2 were thinner or less blackish, you could totally get away with a soft focus look.

  • mandy

    Aw this is really sad. You’ve done a wonderful job conveying their emotions.

    I wonder if they know daddy’s gone bat-shit insane.

    Is that a statue of Phe? Has it always been there or did they just build it?

  • mandy

    Also, your 3/4 assing is my ohmyfackinggodivespentagesonthisshit…ing.

  • pd

    Aaaw…well, the second panel isn’t exactly the focus! I’ll agree with artkitty though, thinner (more transparent?) lines will make it work.

  • LeDayz

    The dappled sunlight on Rana’s back looks suspiciously like a Dagre shadow. For a moment there I was all “AWE HELL NAH!!!” but then I realized there were trees and they are safe. Right? Right?!

    • Edhelith

      Jeez, don’t scare me like that! As soon as I read your comment I had to scroll back up to the page to make sure it wasn’t.

    • Peppa

      I AM NOW AFRAID OF EVERY SHADOW IN THIS COMIC FROM HERE ON OUT.

      -sob-

  • TLL

    :T Hrrm. This page is beautiful, and good lord I can only imagine the work that went into that first panel. And the last one is so simplistic and stunning, and, FFFF DERSHING! Your comic is actually the most MOVING webcomic i’ve ever read! And I say this without a SHADOW of a doubt. Freagin’ awesome.

    However, for some reason, I don’t like the first two panels. It might be due to my dislike of ‘pretty-day-blue-sky-green-grass’ color schemes–they just look kinda plain to me. BUT THAT’S JUST ME, I GUESS. :D

    Either way, lovely, moving page. I cried.

    • Yeah, I don’t like them either. But I’m using some photos for color ref and damned if I don’t hate them too XD I’m still trying to figure out what I’m supposed to do about that.

      • StephenM3

        Rework the entire page so that it’s evening?

        • lol… no.

          • TLL

            But that is clearly the -only- answer! And we all know you can spit out beautiful pages in a ridiculously short amount of time, so you can do it! …Aaand end sarcasm.

            However, I do have one question–for some reason, I have the hardest time doing light shining through leaves/tree shadows. Do you have any advice on that?

          • StephenM3

            Rewrite the story from several pages back so you don’t encounter this problem in the first place?

            C’mon, I’m just full of ideas here!

        • Shantal

          I dunno, I think that if the imagery where darker than it would be kind of cliche.

          I like the juxtaposition of a clear sky and the sad kids. It’s like…you’re sad but the world is moving on. And that’s often the hardest part to cope with.

  • Officiallamp

    This page is why you’re my favorite. Your use of pacing and the contrast between the tone and image are fantastic. This is great storytelling.

    You have succeeded in making me weep for fictional characters.

  • Blue

    You say only 3/4 assed, but woulnd’t that be…. MORE assed than half? Perhaps you mean 1/4 assed? XD Looks totally awesome anyway, especially those little tears and the dappled light.

    And I get what you mean with the green/blue color scheme, it makes the backgrounds look all cheerful and springlike, and that kinda contrasts with the sadness. It’s so pretty though, and I think it really works in the last two panels since they seem sort of separated from all the Bright Happy Fun Times of Mr. Sun. Very shadowy and depressed <3

  • Stella

    Daw.

    I want them to stop crying. Like now. Like right now.

    Cuz it’s so freaking sad.

    <:[

  • Beanjamish

    ………………….. :’c

  • kimmers

    //cry

    poor kids, not only is their mum dead but their dad is a crazy person who takes orders from a big scary tiger..

    they just can’t catch a break can they? :'(

  • ampquot

    Ah, here’s the offspring, finally.

    The blur in the second panel doesn’t really fit with the style you’ve used so far.

    • Nor does the bad lineart I had originally XD Like it says in the comments, I’m still working on it.

  • Evan

    I’m assuming that other ambassador was killed, because the last panel was from her point of view and he was approaching her.

    • Michaela

      Na. . . isn’t he saying “please tell your queen” . . .?
      *Sniffles at this page*

      • Evan

        Yeah, but killing her might be the message itself.

  • Emma D

    S…Suda….
    I want to dive into my monitor and give them both loads of teddies and flowers….

  • xjt

    This page makes me wanna draw people crying…D;

  • Sven

    I wonder how they’d react if they found out what their dad was doing.

  • Marbles

    Stop drawing emotions so well! *Cries*

  • Those last two pages are effing gorgeous. Would it be completely morbid for me to want to print this page out and put it on my wall?

    Sudaaaaaa :(

  • Nordlund63

    Oh no! What happened to the pimp of the day?

  • Peppa

    Is… Is Hyla going to come in soon? o3o There’s a third child, isn’t there?

    • I’m thinking she’s the 8-year old side kick in the next chapter.

      • TLL

        Nope! :D

  • grove

    The emotion here is…. just… so simply amazing. ;-; Contrasting so much with the page before it…

    Suda’s face. I could stare at it for so long… It’s so believable and tear-jerking. D;

  • brumagem

    Ooh, consistent wind patterns! Fancy! *raises pinky*

  • Artico

    So sad! You can tell how hard they are fighting it…but it’s the sort of thing you can’t keep up forever..
    It’s been said before and I’ll say it again, you are amazing!

  • Master Of Chaos

    Poor kids…this is going to affect them so much…:(

    Can’t wait for the last page and chapter three.

  • Ver

    I love/hate how you can make me go from scream-at-my-monitor terrified to sob-so-hard-my-brother-asks-what’s-wrong sad in the space of one damn page.

    In the second panel, maybe stay sharper towards Rana and blur more the farther out it goes?

    • you can make me go from scream-at-my-monitor terrified to sob-so-hard-my-brother-asks-what’s-wrong sad in the space of one damn page.

      While the comic is indeed quite good, you may want to get that looked at.

  • wright1

    Love the last two panels.

  • Mallow

    Sudaaaaaaaaa ;-;

    God this strip is really good because it makes me really, REALLY wish I could just give them both a really big hug right now. :<

  • Katie

    Not gonna lie, I baw’d a little. ; ~;

  • Ella

    ;A;

    Was hoping we’d see the kids, but this… aaaw.

    Also I just went to Phe’s wiki page to look up her death date, and assuming it’s currently 753, that makes Rana 18, Suda 16 and Hyla only 8. ): For some reason they looked older to me; knowing that they’re still just dorky kids after all makes this even more heartbreaking.

  • Rosie88

    That’s so sad…

  • Oh Suda D:
    That last panel of the sibs hugging just killed me.

  • AK

    Suda’s face makes me want to hug him so bad… I had been wondering how the kids were faring….

    • Guzba

      You know what happened the last time their family was hugged?

      • tutsi

        I just loved this comment

  • Maphysto

    :(

  • Mary-Meg

    ;__; gosh. you certianly know how to play emotions

  • Curse

    Oww, my heartstrings D: Quit tugging them!

  • shibby

    T_T All it takes is a simple change in verb tense…

  • jmaccabeus

    Awwww… the loss of Phe really, really hits home now. Now I want to give those two a hug as well.

  • Esile

    This is what makes The Meek so awesome. Everything has a cause and effect relationship. So many stories don’t show the effect.

    …-hugs Rana and Suda-

  • I actually think the second panel is gorgeous, personally. The blurred background forces you to focus on Rana instead of the town below her, which would likely be distracting if lined, considering the placement. You likely would miss the fact her tears are also already falling.

    You already dazzled with the establishing shot in Panel One. “i herd u liek panoramas, let me show u mine”. The focus after that SHOULD be the children, and you achieved it beautifully.

    You said in the last page’s comments you were not done with Phe? Ohoho~

    Does it have anything to do with Angora and Pinter and curiously similar features, I wonder.

  • Liv

    My heart! It’s breaking! ;-; I’d hug them but I’m scared to considering what happened last time when somebody got a hug.

    Also, on the lighter side, White Wedding FTW. (Love that song <3)

  • Emperial

    Revised second panel background looks nice!

  • James

    ;~; theres no words, man this is too dang sad.

  • Dee

    AUG. This page. Just this page alone actually got me crying . T-T Those poor kids.

  • DoggySpew

    I still say this web-graphic novel should be made into a film. If I was billionaire, I totally would invest in that.

    I am not a billionaire unfortunately. I’m a thousandnaire.

    • DoggySpew

      I keep forgetting adding words when I post stuff. I forgot an “a” in “If I was a billionaire”.
      Wish there was an edit button.

      • Maybe that is your superhero name… like “if only I was Billionaire I would make a movie and kick some asses”

  • sweet_gardenia

    Are all those white mounds the flowers? Awhhhhh. Poor kids. This broke my heart especially Suda’s sadfais. I like the little cultural touches like the mourning clothes and the statue of Phe in the courtyard

    you made me cry

  • Did I miss something… last time i checked, you guys were asked not to help. But hey, good shots in this one, I rarely see a panel with a shot of the back of someones head, truly revolutionary.

    • Haha, well I keep editing the comments cuz I don’t want people to give me advice XD Figuring art things out on my own is sort of my mantra.

      • I’m the same way. If I don’t ask for help or advice then don’t try to give it. I like figuring stuff out on my own.

  • Chaotic Neutral

    Agh.. This strip made me feel lonely. I want to give my daughter a hug, but I’m a few thousand miles away from her..

  • amadre

    if you ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever pull that lame comic cliche of bringing back popular characters because they’re popular regardless of your original intentions for the series I will hunt you down to your home residence ms. alexds1 and you know what will happen next because this is just one scene you can’t go back on.

    And now I have to go and sob recklessly.

    • hahahaha XD I didn’t spend nearly a year of my life to set up a relationship just so I could ruin it by pandering! The plot is set, all that needs to be done now is the transcription.

  • Maljax

    The first word shift/tense correction is the worst. It’s when it really sinks in. I want to hug them both right now and let them know that it’ll eventually get easier.

    Your work is beautiful. Thank you so much for all of it.

  • Decoy Jayman

    I just died a little.

    No, I just died a lot.

  • minnsu

    s-stop making me want to cry damnit, I’m at work ;~;

  • Enigma

    man, that is tough times. seriously… times of toughness!

  • Red Leaves

    A moving scene.

    This kind of reminds me of the death of Ivan the Terrible’s wife. She was the only person who could ever keep his madness and cruelty in check, and he loved her more than anything, as did the people of Russia. But after she died under mysterious circumstances, he went completely insane, thinking that the Boyars had poisoned her.

    • jmaccabeus

      And that led to him slaughtering entire cities with his armies. I get a nasty feeling that we might end up seeing the same sort of thing from Luca soon enough…

  • anonymity~

    Awwww this page is so unberably sad ;_; The last two panels really pulled on the heart strings..

  • sladinforever

    Geez, you’re almost making ME cry. When my mum sees a man cry, she cries. Damn, poor kids

  • Hot Sauce

    So I’m crying now. Damn you and your magnificent, magnificent grasp of emotions and art.

    ;___;

  • IMONFIREGUY

    and then dagre pops over the edge with a big grin

  • freakypencils

    family moment… :c I miss Phe already.

  • Koi

    THERE they are. I’ve been saying for the longest time, “Where the hell are their kids?!”
    This is so sad… But I’m glad they’re included again.

  • The saddest part for me is how he has to correct himself.
    “Everyone loves mom. Loved.”

  • Isaia

    *sniff*

    ;____________;
    *brb crying everywhere*

  • Jrue

    There’s no one there to tell them that everything’s going to be fine, that they’ll get through this. That person is gone, and now they don’t know what to do next, and they look like the ground fell away from under them.

    T T
    ~~

    • Jrue

      It’s been almost 7 years, my mom was hit by a drunk driver yesterday, and I’m still trying to figure out where the ground is.

  • Alexander

    Damn. Considering how happy and carefree Suda was the last time we saw him, its pretty clear that Phe’s death hit him REALLY hard.

    My question though is where is the other daughter in all of this? We still have yet to see any of her.

    • Alexander

      Adding to this, how are the kids going to respond to Luca’s war? Will they side with him, or are they gonna see he’s gone bats@#$ crazy and try and stop him?

      Interesting conundrum…

  • Mage

    Why are you doing this to us?!?! ;____;

    Also, I think the art is great, always has been. Haters gonna hate!

    Can’t wait to see where this goes from here.

  • Mage

    Why are you doing this to us?!?! ;____;

    Also, I think the art is great, always has been. Haters gonna hate!

    Can’t wait to see where this goes from here. Am I right in thinking that this chapter marks the end of what was published as sketches back in day?

  • Cinsa

    such a beautiful setting… =[

    This chapter was a total emotional roller coaster, gawd

  • Bashtal

    Holy crap. This is probably the first time a webcomics’s brought tears to my eyes.

    The fact that that Cowboy Bebop is playing in the background doesn’t help.

  • Nrolad

    ooh, i love panel 2, where the background is all blurry and u can clearly see the Rana’s tears. This is so sad :(

  • Tiuni

    Those last two panels killed me.

  • Awww damn. NOW COME THE TEARS. ;A;

  • Aw you captured the sadness so well. That’s just what I look like when I cry D:

  • nes

    Oh, this page made me cry..
    Very well executed.

  • Laura

    What I love about this whole page is that it totally changed my opinion of the previous page and the emperor especially. His actions were just incredibly vengeful, and perhaps irrational. Although Its hard to feel sorry for Tesa, you can see the implications for the rest of the Carissi. He seems very much antagonistic in that page, but then there’s this… His children and his nation mourning the loss of his queen, his beacon of goodness, which clearly shows his justification. You captured the sadness amazingly, and looking back at the previous page, he seems much less evil and his rage much more understandable…

    But maybe all that’s just how I took it :P Awesome art, as always!

  • CRYYY
    man Phe was so awesome whyyy
    /sad
    I feel so bad for them. Man this page is so heartwrenching.
    Great job on this comic so far, I really love it. Your style is amazing and effective, your story is captivating. <3

  • /sads/

    So, the family doesn’t really live at that…venue…where it’s set?

    • They usually live further north :) They came down south to meet with the ambassadors/ take a vacation kind of thing, since it is closer to the border.

      • Long “oooooooooooooooooh…”

  • I have to say no matter how many times I read this page, it brings me to tears. They truly loves their mother, alone with the whole nation.
    It’s so moving

  • Twigs

    Beautiful last panel.

  • Rose

    Still makes me wanna cry ;_;

  • Lar

    I finally decided to start reading this today after I’ve been following Mare Internum, and oh gosh this page. My emotions.

  • imcitcat

    omg this storyline. my emotions can’t handle it ;~;

    I started reading Mare Internum first, didn’t know you had another webcomic! so far this is magnificent but jesus fuck I wanna throw things right now >.>

Leave a Reply to alexds1 Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *