User blog comment:SaynaSLuke/Stolen Tears/@comment-2142396-20160122192156

I finished chapter 8, and I loved the sequence of Grath finding the pearls, especially Lutran’s involvement and the twins’ fight with the pike. Even though this storyline was slow, it was still fun and gratifying to read. Too bad it couldn’t last, though story-wise I was glad to see the plot moving. The attack on holt Lutra itself was so short, even if it was brutal… Maybe my anticipation got the better of me, and I understand they were unprepared woodlanders faced with fully armed and skilled murderers, but I expected the whole thing to be more descriptive. Though it was a hard scene, and maybe it was a good thing that we saw so little of it. As it were, just the talk of letting the crew plunder the holt and take all they want gives me shivers…

I can’t say how much contempt I have for Conva and Barranca now, after their attack on holt Lutra. I know it’s your intention to show that they are not truly good and clearly in the wrong here, but the hypocrisy of Barranca is staggering. There he is, saying how evil woodlanders are for killing corsairs whether they have a chance… probably less than hour after he mused about how good it would’ve been to get some new slaves. Dude, want to be treated with respect? How about you choose a profession that doesn’t involve ‘kill all in the way, grab everything worth it, and take off’? And then, he is all like ‘I've yet to find one [woodlander] that'll act sensibly’, right after the attack on Lutra’s holt? Dude, you just attacked them without provocation, what reaction did you expect? Should they welcome you with open arms? Forget what I said about liking him; it’s very rare for me to say so, but I was glad when the monitors gave him a taste of his own medicine.

I love how them monitors were so cool and nonchalant about forcing Conva and Barranca to return to Sampetra. The doctor said morgue, so morgue it is! :D Seriously, though, I can easily see why they thought that Conva was hiding the pearls – who wouldn’t, with such a treasure? And to be a bit honest, the Captains needed to be reminded that monitors are not their pets. Sayna, you really made me cheer for the villains despite my black-and-white morality (though I’m kind of cheering for the wrong villains :D ). And I liked the twist with Flairnose and Greylunk escaping, too. Since they were whipped and locked up I thought that them insulting and baiting Romsca and Xzaris was just their bitterness and hatred for those they blamed for being caught… now it turned out they had a plan all along.

Conva’s interactions with Coral make me glad and sad at the same time… because even though he is kind to the prisoners, it strikes me that he wouldn’t have thought twice about Marine dying or about Coral’s grief if he wasn’t in such a dire situation himself. Truly, Conva didn’t even stop to think about what he had been doing all his life until it was suddenly his own fate on the stake, but isn’t that how it always happens? By the way, there are only three of the prisoners? No more others?

On the bright note, I love Plogg and Welko! After so many characters got another interpretation, it was really good to see that these two are just as brash, loyal and funny as in ‘Pearls of Lutra’. It was interesting to see more calm and motherly side of Sayna. Even though she already had children in ‘Accused’, I still thought of her as of that stubborn and feisty maiden, but when she interacts with Grath it becomes truly clear that she had really matured.

Also, why do I have the feeling that Ublaz’s crystal ball is connected to the monocles? Of course, the monocles’ power was different, and they couldn’t show what happens in the other places, but the glass could’ve been improved over the hundred seasons that had passed for all we know.

Your recent picture with Ublaz, Sagitar and Conva’s family is so good that I just cannot avoid commenting on it. :) Conva is sure the best part of it, especially his pose and face expression – you can even see tears in his eyes. Since Sagitar’s (who came out really handsome, too) trident is bloody, I have a bad feeling about it… Coral and other prisoners? :o And we finally see Barranca! When I saw the picture I actually thought he was Xzaris’s father or something… He doesn’t look anything like Conva, except for the black headfur he shares with Romsca – though once again, I thought that Romsca’s black headfur and her black points come from her mother, since Conva doesn’t have any black in his coloring. However, Barranca does look more weaselish, and considering his heritage, it’s fitting. I noticed that recently your weasels became more distinct, more lean and thin than your stoats, so congrats on improving! :D