Aero Zero

[$10 Tier] KNIGHT OF ALANOC page 45

Added 2021-10-08 03:58:58 +0000 UTC

(Content / trigger warning: descriptions of non-romanticized abuse.) This was a really hard scene to draw. Knight of Alanoc is near and dear to me for many reasons, and part of it was inspired by some real life stuff if you didn't already know.

Mental health and trauma are topics I touch on sometimes in the comics, but the first time I wrote Knight of Alanoc, a criticism that was often said was that Osric was 'a crybaby', sad or angry for seemingly no reason, and that Xerxes seemed to swoop in to 'save him' with (seemingly) no problems of his own. I wrote it subtly in the first version (this scene was in there but much shorter), but since it was said to have been too subtle, I am compelled to spell it out explicitly to dispel confusion about 'Osric's moodiness' and 'Xerxes' perfection'.

Xerxes came from the Sect of Strato cult, the most widely known religion in their world, focused on sex and war. Ace of Beasts is partially about uncovering his past there, and how it affected both him and Ravi (pictured in the upper right of this page), and how both of them changed the world with motivation from their traumatic experiences.

Osric, as we'll see in the next page, hints to Xerxes of what happened to him with his ex Lakoneus, and that even a mental scar as an adult is still a core scar that one has to recover from. Throughout the story, Osric is unsure of how much he wants to attach himself to Xerxes, and at the end of the story, he learns to like himself first. It is a hard lesson to learn for someone who is traumatized with a social and mental wound, and it isn't a one-and-done deal - every day is a roll of the dice for how much we must fight our inner demons. Dramatic wording, but almost literal for me - either way, the sentiment is true.