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WIP Aire by Seoli - T - Original

Discussion in 'Other Fandoms Review Board' started by Sesc, May 21, 2021.

3.5714299678802/5, 7 votes
  1. Sesc

    Sesc Slytherin at Heart Moderator

    Joined:
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    Blocksberg, Germany
    May 21, 2021 #1
    Title: Aire
    Author: Seoli
    Rating: T-M
    Genre: Sword & Sorcery
    Status: WIP
    Pairings: Elda/?

    Link: https://reaperscans.com/comics/353239-aire

    Own summary:
    Princess Elda is cute, spoiled and halfway between a brat and a bitch. But what she's also is determined and proud -- and her father telling her she is going to marry some random prince she never heard of is not going to fly. Instead, she much rather wants to be questing, fighting baddies, slaying monsters and hunting treasure -- and it so happens there's a quest for a mythical treasure starting just outside the city walls.

    So she arranges for a few accidents, arrests, deaths and a slave to step onfollow her on her journey, to find the lost treasure of Aire, to unify the continent, and perhaps become its new Queen.


    Princess Elda might be another acquired taste ;) -- commonly, you'd simply call her unlikeable. So if that does nothing for you, the story might only trigger fits of rage, in particular because she (thankfully :p) doesn't improve and there's no come-upperance.

    What that does make her, however, is interesting -- you have here the curious case of a protagonist too proud to fail, so she's never above getting her hands dirty or enduring any kind of hardship. Her XXXL ego simply won't allow it. It's a hilarious motivation, and for me (besides just liking her Delightful Princessly Unlikeableness) what carries the story, so far. That aside, you can always sign me up for any "Princess decides to do whatever she wants"-plot, and this delivers 100%. Rooting for her all the way.

    I also love the art, it's not the standard manwha-render stuff, and if you're so inclined, Princess Elda also delivers hefty amounts of fan service.

    Definitely worth a read, if you're not turned off by her character. 4/5 realistically, 5/5 in personal enjoyment factor.
     
    Lungs, Selethe
  2. Agayek

    Agayek Dimensional Trunk DLP Supporter

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2009
    Messages:
    4,582
    May 21, 2021 #2
    I've read this and like it a lot. The world is really interesting, and while the plot hasn't gone too far, it looks like a pretty safe bet for a pretty good grand-fantasy adventure story. TLDR is Princess Elda is gonna get married off to some rando noble for a political alliance, and she doesn't like that, so she bamboozles her way into being selected as The Chosen One of her generation. She is then sent off on a typical fantasy quest to Find The Maguffin (in this case, a magical relic that belonged to her ancestor, the original queen).

    The twist, and the thing that makes this story really compelling, is that she's not sent off alone. In fact, she gets a personal bodyguard on the journey, who is magically compelled to ensure her safety and who will die if she dies. And for that role, she picked a gladiator that had been born and raised in the fighting pits. It's just that this gladiator wants nothing to do with her.

    And that's the whole story in a nutshell. Elda's thirsty as fuck for the hapless gladiator she has known and watched fight for basically her whole life, and she shanghai'd and magically bound him into becoming her personal slave/bodyguard for her search for the maguffin. While Vera, the gladiator, wants nothing more than to fuck off and catch back up with his friends, whose freedom he bought by agreeing to serve her. And the two of them collide like oncoming trains, bouncing off and around each other in new and interesting ways with every chapter.

    The dynamic between them is great. Elda is conniving, manipulative, and arrogant, while Vera is straightforward, honest, and direct. They clash with each other hard, and yet there's clear and obvious chemistry between them that is just a delight to watch unfold. That relationship is most definitely the heart of the story, and how they shape and change each other is gonna be the thing that draws people to this.

    It's still early in the story, being only 24 chapters into what's likely a 150+ tale, but there's already been some interesting developments in their dynamic, and I'm very much looking forward to where it goes from here.

    Overall, I give it a solid 5/5 for now. If Elda and that whole dynamic fails to evolve like it looks poised to, I'll have to drop my rating substantially, but as of right now, I adore this comic.
     
    Lungs