Oren's Forge PG 166
Added 2020-08-12 23:50:17 +0000 UTCRandom side-bar-- it's been really interesting to me reading people's opinions and discourse about Hemlock's bobcat skin over the years(!). It seems (mostly on other sites) to boil to to "Hemlock's a psychopath who wears the skin of those she's murdered." Honestly, I don't think I've seen a single person point out the practicality of it. Most of us use leather (from some arguably very intelligent animals) every day in all kinds of applications. [FYI, I eat meat and have no problems utilizing animals, but I'll argue all day for ethical small-scale farming and ranching practices.]
I wanted Hemlock's mantle to be a visual (and upsetting) cue about her character-- maybe she really is just off the deep-end and likes to wear the skin as a trophy (you can definitely interpret it that way!) but it also affords a measure of protection because she's a rabbit up against things with gnarly teeth and claws. Hemlock is wearing the first-draft of a leather breast-plate.
Maybe Oren brought the forge but she brought the fashion! ;]
Personally, I always equated it visually to how the hunters/men in Princess Mononoke wear the boar skins to trick the white boar Okkoto to lead them to the forest spirit. It's a really creepy, off-putting scene if you're familiar with it, because as the viewer, you know the boar were once sentient but you also understand the motivations of the humans. Or how real humans wear caribou skin to sneak up on herds since caribou have bad eye-sight and you can get in really close if you're upwind. There's real-world, understandable applications beyond she's just crazy-pants.
Also, fun fact-- squirrels chew up and rub snake skin into their fur to disguise their scent.
Comments
I sincerely doubt it... they stand 0 chance against competent predators this fights shown us this... She no doubt massively outnumbered that bob cat OR got VERRRRRY luck... majority of the time Prey will be killed by the Predator not worth it and her dreams of this delusion of hers has been shattered. yarrows not even the strongest predator out there...the Gluttons are.
Ceriu
2021-02-05 21:25:31 +0000 UTCyou forget the Gluttons...the big bads...they massively outnumber the Wolves and are like Locusts culling everything in their path...
Ceriu
2021-02-05 21:24:08 +0000 UTCThe cats worked together pretty well in the flashback, better than one would think. I think they're about equal playing grounds if we're talking about in terms of the prey who have different species working together who may not know how, and the predators working in same species group. But I definitely agree that if the wolves get even STONE weapons.... then they are a huge problem. Metal may beat stone, but wolves are going to have the social instinct and teamwork that'll beat that of the herbavores
Vintage Taxidermy
2020-08-16 05:25:15 +0000 UTCJust thinking about that scene from Princess Mononoke, my all time favorite Ghibli movie, creeps me out too. I though about Hemlock using the skin to show what she is capeable off, to remind possible trouble that she will fight back as well as to disguise her scent and to better blend into the thickets and maybe even scare off invading enemies in a similar fashion tribal warriors are using parts of enemy bodies to break their will and spirit due to scaring them. Really great new page. I am just very curious about Hemlocks reaction to the turn of the tides here again. Let’s hope for Rask that she sees a bigger threat in Rasks father than in the known Marten.
Aetherios
2020-08-14 08:59:29 +0000 UTCI think the best we can hope for there is battle buddies. Vitriolic battle buddies.
BritishRabbit
2020-08-14 02:14:35 +0000 UTCTo be fair if she didn't send Cotton off she may not have gotten into this situation. But if she didn't send cotton off then there'd be no backup coming. Really she should've waited...
BritishRabbit
2020-08-14 02:06:55 +0000 UTCTrue but I feel like one of the primary advantages herbivores have is that they're generally more social. (Exceptions exist naturally.) But co-operation and numbers will be an immense advantage that say, cats, might not necessarily have. Wolves'll be a different story.
BritishRabbit
2020-08-14 02:05:50 +0000 UTCIt's a very weird case of shipping. It's totally cracked and at the same time it makes sense (like "possible logical outcome")... Mind screw!
Reseen Dalls
2020-08-13 20:43:26 +0000 UTCBecause they tend to have an "easier time" thinking outside the box. ;)
Reseen Dalls
2020-08-13 20:34:35 +0000 UTCEspecially for someone like her who is haunted by the loss of her family! Seeing a predator ready to ruin his own relationship with the last of his relatives is for sure a sacrifice who will hit her hard (and probably the only way for Rask to gain any points from her).
Reseen Dalls
2020-08-13 20:33:28 +0000 UTCI'm always struck by how much more "humane" Hemlock looks when she isn't wearing her pelt. It's like an entirely different character: more vulnerable, but also open to communication, sharing... it's those moments that give some hope about her. [Also I love the whole thinking you put behind wearing the skin of a sapien creature. The whole moral mess is gripping.]
Reseen Dalls
2020-08-13 20:29:54 +0000 UTCHonestly, I think at some point it will be revealed that the herbivores aren't as alone in using metal as they thought. The mountain lions were using tools, and metal doesn't exist in one spot. Think of it this way: How many different human cultures invented the spear? It wasn't just one. So I don't think it'll be as black and white as herbivores have metal, herbivores instantly win every time. Such is the eternal race or predator/prey relationships
Vintage Taxidermy
2020-08-13 20:10:06 +0000 UTCOoh, that's interesting. We're seeing the scars on Hemlock's back for the first time since the flashback. The bobcat skin could be symbolizing that she is covering up her past by putting on a facade, but once the cover is removed, the same old scars are visible
Amber
2020-08-13 11:44:22 +0000 UTC^^ I don’t know why, but i’m completely captivated by the immense potential for raskxhemlock (rasklock?) here. Yupp, there’s no escaping the shippers! (but the story and art are also amazing! 😍😍😍)
Tegaki
2020-08-13 10:18:01 +0000 UTCI love the thought put into that simple hauberk. I think it shows the way they are slowly developing technology now that they are changing from hunter-gatherer to an agrigarian society. First bronze spears and crude leather armor. Next farming and food storage! Also love the reference to princess mononoke. There are certainly some similarities if you look at it from the hunter's prospective.
Aisha
2020-08-13 04:14:36 +0000 UTCAlso, I never really said this out loud but I also thought it was brilliant idea for Hemlock to have a skin because it could provide better camouflage. (A gray spotted cat vs a brown bunny) but it could also be used as a tool to make her look like a Bobcat herself to scare off predators that might themselves be prey to bobcats. (Which ya brought up with the hunters using elk skins and such) I always figured there was a secondary reason for Hemlock to have the Skin. She may be crazy but the crazy ones are usually the most brilliant.
Maximus Coyotox
2020-08-13 01:38:42 +0000 UTCLets hope, Hemlock does have an unfortunate case of confirmation bias but she does look pretty shocked by the development. If she finds out he's Rask's dad it'll probably go further too, there's not a lot of ways she can negatively view him attacking his own father to save her life.
BritishRabbit
2020-08-13 00:45:36 +0000 UTCHemlock invents leather armour confirmed. Also Rask Goes BOOF! If this doesn’t show Hemlock and Yarrow who’s side he’s on, I don’t know what will.
Maximus Coyotox
2020-08-13 00:42:41 +0000 UTCAlso the armour makes sense, that leads to some worrying implications on its own. Are 'civilized' herbivores one day going to be hunting predators for *leather*?
BritishRabbit
2020-08-13 00:38:10 +0000 UTCI like that even in this downright terrifying moment for her, she was STILL going for her spear.
BritishRabbit
2020-08-13 00:30:46 +0000 UTCThis should be interesting! The ball is back in Hemlock's court, and after I think she didn't expect it to be. She now has to fight alongside a predator, and admit that alongside him may be the only way she could win~
Vintage Taxidermy
2020-08-13 00:19:55 +0000 UTCLove the movie! Just thinking about how the hunters MOVE in the boar skins freaks me out. :P
Teagan Gavet
2020-08-13 00:06:25 +0000 UTCOh man, Princess mononoke is my fave movie and that scene still is rather disturbing after watching it a few times. Still love the movie though
Jaded
2020-08-13 00:02:27 +0000 UTCRASK BITE ‘IM that is a cool fact on squirrels They tough :)
JohnnyTikitavi
2020-08-12 23:54:18 +0000 UTC
