#rayek

[toffee32]

Unexpectedly Kahvi and Rayek became some of my fave characters of Elfquest and I can't stop thinking about them, in particular those first pages of Siege at Blue Mountain lol... And I had to draw Petalwing there because it's the little creature that caught my attention first!!

[aehallhyon]

EQ Reread: OQ #3

I won't lie to you all, this is mostly me memeing on how the entire Head, Hands, and Heart arc rips off Star Trek. It's actually something I've been wanting to compare and contrast for a long time. This time it'll be superficial, but next issue we'll get into pon farr vs Recognition.

Savah is so elegant. Permanently altered my brain chemistry when it comes to character design and how to draw fabric. Look at her.

That an insanely cool character design, seriously. Her robes.

... But they're not Vulcans, you guys, we swear. Ignore the psionic powers, desert setting, and entire plot of this story arc to come.

Shenshen she was kidnapped. She was kidnapped, Shenshen.

Leetah doing embroidery or beadwork (can't see which) is a really nice little character detail. Does that ever come up again? It's a neat skill.

Time for Part 1 of my Rayek feelings. We're not going to get into the full thing until way later in the story, but this scene has always stuck with me as vaguely uncomfortable for reasons I couldn't name. But I'm pretty sure I can now. The way this whole scene is framed is... odd and... accidentally symbolic. What you are supposed to take away from this, I think, is that Rayek takes shortcuts using magic, lacks honor, and has a poor concept of consent (bc the Pinis have very idealized ideas about hunting as a natural struggle). But what he is actually doing is butchery in as humane a way as possible, and I'm not sure we can overlook that he's a brown man in the desert doing this with a pig... you know? There's an accidental layer of symbolism here commenting on dietary taboos and cultural attitudes towards butchery that sits badly with me. The narrative wants you to look at Rayek here and think he's in the wrong. But I think he's in the right. If you're going to eat meat, kill the animal humanely, quickly, and do what you can to minimize fear.

And comparing Leetah to livestock is just so... so... I get why Cutter makes that jab, but he's talking about himself there. Cutter wants Leetah to simply give in to Recognition without a fight. But Rayek is shown putting in the effort, the issue makes a point of Leetah calling him her dependable long-time friend who she loves, he is the one embodying Cutter's ideal here of struggle and respect for freedom. Doe Cutter realize that the jab he is making applies more to him than Rayek? Do the Pinis realize that? It would be cool if intentional, but I doubt it.

Point in case. The text makes explicit a thematic motif entirely by accident. There's even emphasis placed on looking into each other's eyes, the exact process by which Rayek freezes his prey with magic.

Spot the Difference #1

A good example of the very weird implications of Recognition. The 'right' thing to do is always to just give in. The Pinis do not do remotely enough to push back against their own narrative. Recognition plots could be so much more and there's so much missed opportunity. :/

Not going to screencap more because yo get the idea, but this gets reinforced like a page later with the Sunfolk villagers gossiping about how everyone knows that Leetah Recognized Cutter and she's being silly for wanting Rayek instead. Y'know. Her devoted friend she's known for centuries. Instead of the invading white guy who kidnapped her.

There is so much I could say about this issue that I don't feel like I have room or time for. The test of Hand shows of how the Elves all have natural balancing skills, which is kind of neat. The test of Head should definitely have gone to Rayek, I don't understand why speed was the metric for victory when it's supposed to test your wits and cunning, the most clever solution should have won. And the test of Heart...

Spot the Difference #2. Which one is Vulcan? You decide.

I have always really loved the art in this sequences. Cutter's body language. The way the wind is artistically blowing Leetah's hair and scarf. The very natural flow and pacing of the panels. Excellent craft.

I'm really obsessed with this letter:

10/10, love this one person who wrote in purely to make sure the Elves are using all-natural dyes for their clothing. What an icon. Doesn't seem to know what colors come from what things, but still, an icon.

[vaiyamagic]

For the character meme... deciding on just one or a few is hard but...

Rayek, because I'm in my Rayek feels.

Aroree...? I don't often see Aroree analysis but I see from your reread you have some Glider feels so I'm curious!

Ooh, all right:

Rayek

- How I feel about him: That is complicated. He's one one of my fav characters in the entire series, and sometimes I want to punt him to the moon out of frustration. I love him, I hate him. I want to shake him until he gains some sense. I read someone comment on him once (I wish I could remember where) that he would be thriving if he could just get out of his own way, and it's SO TRUE.

- Who do I ship him romantically with: Back in my Scroll of Colors Forum days, I would have said Winnowill. The name I went by there, Allura, was actually an oc of mine that was their daughter. Nowadays though? Not sure. Maybe still Winnie, but only because I don't really have any better ideas. They both need to grow a bit. I hope Rogue's Curse stays canon, because I liked where it was going.

- Non-Romantic OTP: Ekuar. 'Nuff said.

- Unpopular opinion: He had every right to be mad at Cutter like he got. The wolfriders rode into his village, kidnapped his girlfriend, stole food and supplies, and then moved in like they had done nothing wrong. It was understandable in the end, especially since we saw it through the wolfriders' pov, but Rayek wasn't wrong to be mad about it. It least originally.

- What I wish would/had happened to him in canon: I wish all the character growth he got would stick for more than a few issues before he forgets it all and gets in his own way again. Like, bro. You learned this lesson already. Twice. Three times! I've lost count now.

Aroree

- How I feel about her: I liked her at her introduction, but once Siege rolled around, she just got annoyingly clingy to Skywise. Very one-note and boring. And sure, it could have been an interesting character growth to confront that become her own person, but Skywise just sort of let her be obsessed with him, and no one ever really addressed it. She started to break out of it a little around Shards and Dreamtime era, but then she faded into the background again and didn't really do anything with Venka's GoBacks. How did she change? Did she like the rough and rowdy tribe? Did she ever find another lovemate or lifemate? We see he4 just sort of hanging around the only other glider in Final Quest but... she doesn't really DO anything. In summary, some interesting potential that never got off the ground. (Like a lot of things in Elfquest, unfortunately.)

- Who I ship romantically with: I honestly don't know. Back in High School I started writing a "what if the wolfriders never went into wrapstuff" and made a whole family tree and characters who would be there when the palace reappeared, and I know I had her hook up with someone, and I genuinely do not remember who. I think she should have taken a GoBack lover, but the Pinis don't really like fleshing out GoBack characters unless they're villains or comic relief, so *shrug*

EDIT: I've decided her GoBack lover should be a girl. I don't know who, but she needs a girlfriend.

- Non-romantic OTP: I like the idea of Aroree and Aurek bonding over their shared past and being besties, but that's just the Final Quest I wrote in my head.

- Unpopular opinion: Not sure if it's unpopular or not, but I actually like that, even 10,000 years after the fall of Blue Mountain, Aroree still called Winnowill "Lord" more often than not. It shows how she's still a bit traumatized by the whole ordeal. IF ONLY THEY WOULD HAVE ANALYZED THAT AND DONE SOMETHING WITH IT.

-What I wish would/had happened in canon: I think I've answered that in my previous answers already, lol. I wish she hadn't stayed so one-note. I wish she had actually grown a bit and become her own person. Alas.

[lizdoestheart]

this is such fucking slop but whatever. thinking about if manyfaces and rayek became lovemates or even recognized while in the sorrows end era, conceptualizing also what it would look like if she showed rayek what the holt looked like through a (very kissy and lustful) send? idk may delete later

[vampyrismm]

messy doodle of rayek and Alistair :>

<she/he/they>

[northstarfan]

For the character bingo, Merrill, Rayek and Northstar

Oh ho, let's go!

Merrill: I haven't thought of DA2 in a while, outside of some standard "Fuck the Chantry!" discourse, and it isn't really a fave due to Bioware making all the elves look like a cross between starving cats and stick insects in that installment. So not much to say about Merrill, alas.

ALT

Rayek: My gf is actually reading through Elfquest for the first time right now, and I'm following along. And whew, the absolute fucking dive in Rayek's characterization between the OQ and SoBM really telegraphed the rest of Pini's contributions to the character, huh?

ALT

Northstar: Nothing here should surprise anyone. Happy 30th anniversary to Northstar's coming out issue, too bad Marvel couldn't even give him a short in this year's Pride anthology.

ALT

[amethystsadachbia]

Rayek from Elfquest

[archi-pelago]

today’s warmup of the day is: dad i know we just met, but i need to curbstomp your ex