#The Awlers

[bicycleboyblog]

Webcomic Recc Week 3

☆.:*[ Click here to read THE AWLERS on Comicfury! ]*:.☆

"I love the long history of myths we've told through animals since time immemorial. I wanted to weave them together with some of my own."

- Syn-Cypher

Hiatus: Week 3! This week’s webcomic is The Awlers by Syn-Cypher, a mythological furry tale about a group of rabbits on a mysterious, magical quest into the woodlands.

The story throws you right in to the rabbits’ pilgrimage through the cursed forest. It is like a fever dream. Poor Bawler is bit by a spider and, surprisingly, this causes a lot of trouble for the group right off. One would expect such a tale to shrug off seemingly minor wounds and get on with the adventure, but what follows is a desperate struggle to make sure Bawler doesn’t succumb to poisoning. From there, it gets weird. Delightfully weird.

Syn is a dear friend of mine and his work is so special. He weaves a sense of love, mystery, fascination, and rainbowy magic into every panel of his work, which often strays off the beaten path with animations and glowing effects. Sometimes the comic feels like walking into a night club, it just carries you with the beat and you get lost in it. His colors are bold, shimmering and wild–utterly unlike anything I have ever seen, like a kaleidoscope on the page. The layouts are delightedly avante-garde. Swirling lines and overlapping panels sweep you along with a rhythm that routinely smooths, then churns itself jagged.

Syn also has a knack for designing old-school manuscripts. Hares canted like one would see in a medieval painting, hugged by musical verses that tell legends and riddles. Borders adorned with symbols and celtic knots. Somehow, the gold-foiling on some of the manuscripts looks like it’s reflecting at you even through the screen!

And the foliage--humming in and out of view--oh, it is so alive. Syn makes sure to add in every single goddamn leaf! As someone who used to do the same thing, it’s a lot of work. :V Fantastical though his world may be, the exquisite detail transports you there and swallows you whole. If anything, you gotta check out Syn's illustration work. The guy really is something else.

Fans of animal fantasy tales Redwall, Mouse Guard, and Silverwing, and lovers of mythical fables in general will adore the colorful, dreamlike world and epic legends of The Awlers.

Relevant Links:

The Awlers Webcomic Site (The link goes to the first page of The Awlers, but both The Awlers and Munchkin & the Goon share the same site.)

The Awlers Tapas Mirror Site

The Munchkin and the Goon Webcomic Site

Syn-Cypher @ Patreon

Syn-Cypher @ Twitter

Syn-Cypher @ Youtube

Syn-Cypher @ DeviantART

[cathkaesque]

My god - what a shitshow of Ukraine Solidarity Campaign meeting. It’s a long running Alliance for Workers’ Liberty front group, set up in 2014, which got a good turnout at demos against the war here. There was about 35 people in the meeting, a 50/50 split between leftist activists and Ukrainians. There was also Chris Kitchen, National Union of Mineworkers’ general secretary, who had visited Ukraine just before the war broke out to meet with miners’ unions there. So a meeting full of people who would have never otherwise met with a lot of potential points of trusted contact in Ukraine.

The chair, the main AWLer in town, said that the aim of the meeting was to elect a committee to steer the campaign in Sheffield, and proposed that the group’s first activities be to go and collect money to send to the main trade union federations in Ukraine, FPU (corrupt federation made up of bits of the old USSR federation) and KVPU (an “independent” union federation with links to US funding). I think this is a terrible idea -  even if I thought these federations were good, I don’t think we should be sending money to a national organisation when we are a local group. We should twin with a community to support, so we can know where the money is going, rather than the black hole of a corrupt union bureaucracy, and build up direct relationships with people in Ukraine. However, all the AWLers in the room (about 5 of them), plus the Sheffield council and TUC people who were there as well, all said they agreed with the proposal and my question about whether it would be better to use Chris Kitchen’s contacts was ignored by the chair. All throughout this, the Ukrainians said very little outside that they didn’t know members of these unions.

Someone from Stop the War had come and wasn’t behaving well - they wanted to propose a motion calling for a debate about the role of NATO in causing this war. All well and good, but that is a debate that no consensus could have resulted in when everyone was there to get on with practical activity helping people who have been affected by the war. The response of the AWLer chair to this was not to put this to the vote as, I quote, “This is my property.” What an utterly appalling thing to say! Shows how these people view this.

When it came to electing a committee, all the AWL people put themselves forward - some as a feigned request at neutral “student” representation. One Ukrainian was reluctantly press ganged on in order to do translation. What a missed opportunity. That committee should have been Ukrainian led, with the trade unionists coopted on that to help facilitate what they wanted to do.

Anyway I’m trying to organise efforts to send support to agricultural cooperatives and small farmers in Ukraine (as a friend has some contacts with these and I might be able to work to do something to support this), and I got some contact details from people in Sheffield who wanted to help. So not a wasted time but my god, the AWL are awful. The leadership of social movements is monopolised by sectarians and they run it into the ground for their own interests. They would rather control a meeting with no one in than share.

[devenrue]

Meet the Core-Spawn family: Emmi, Seemore, & little Awler. They hail from eastern Wynandir & are ready to ruin everyone’s vacation plans. Thank you @wizkidsgames & @critical_role for this nightmare inducing family. Shown: Core Spawn Emissary, Seer & Crawler from Monsters of Wildemount set 1. #dnd #ttrpg #critters

[dreamlikemusings]

brock: *takes out dio leaving more airtime to be filled by l/awler*

me:

[believeinthebeards]

But in all seriousness, I am so fucking emotional to see all those women wrestlers being acknowledged the way they were. I joke about the Bella Twins once in a while, but I grew up with them/Michelle McCool/Kelly Kelly/Torrie Wilson/that whole “Entertainment Era” for women’s wrestling and it’s just so incredible that they’re finally being recognized as WOMEN and for their efforts to the women’s revolution.

Because yeah, the Bella Twins weren’t great when they first started. No one’s denying that. But you know what? They didn’t exactly have the resources to be great, either. They weren’t given time in the ring or on the mic. They didn’t get the same amount of support WWE has for all their superstars now. Remember the days when Michelle McCool and Melina got heat for their incredible match? Remember the days of five second roll up matches?

They endured it, they endured it all and they pushed and they fought so that one day, future women wrestlers might actually break down that door for good. They deserve this acknowledgement, for enduring the bra and panty matches, for enduring the literal destruction of the women’s wrestling belt for a pink butterfly belt, for enduring the jerry l*awler commentary about puppies, for enduring it fucking all so that ONE DAY, women wrestlers may not have to anymore.

SO YEAH, BLESS THEM ALL

[squidshposts]

this stupid picture of n/ightcr/awler eating pussy with his dick and balls out sucks because it made me want to peg him :/ i hate m/arvel so much

[hellacluttered]

Jamming (Peter Quill)

Prompt from @yetmoreprompts: You danced me through the grocery store. :)

To listen to while reading: ‘It Ain’t No Fun to Me’ by Graham Central Station and ‘Thank You’ by Sly and the Family Stone.

    Yellow peppers. Orange peppers. Red peppers. Green were out of the question for being a little too bitter, but the red ones were mostly bruised, the orange ones didn’t seem too fresh, and the yellow ones were a slightly strange color. You sighed. The one day you managed to work up the resolve to cook something for yourself instead of stopping at one of your usual restaurants for a late-night snack, the grocery store wasn’t cooperating.

    Well, at least the music was good. For a deserted and slightly dingy market, the music coming through the tinny overhead speakers had a surprisingly good groove, slap bass paired with organ and tight vocals bringing a small smile to your lips, your foot automatically beginning to tap as you sorted through vegetables in search of a high-enough-quality pepper.

    “Leaving you-hoo-hoo, it really ain’t no fun to me…” A chorus joined the solo singer and you found yourself humming along even though you hardly knew the melody, your tapping foot gaining momentum as you started to lose focus on the task at hand. Your shoulders joined your feet in grooving from side to side to the song and that was when you heard footsteps and froze, cheeks heating.

    “What?” a voice asked and you turned to see a tall man in a dark red leather jacket standing there, a surprisingly un-mocking smile on his lips. “It’s a good song.”

    You chuckled awkwardly, tossing a pepper from one hand to the other. “Yeah.”

    He stepped forward, extending a hand. “I saw you jamming,” he said, in a surprisingly serious tone considering his words. “Would you like to dance?”

    “Well, can I at least have your name first?” you asked, setting the vegetable in your hand back on the display.

    “Quill,” he said. “Peter Quill. Or Star-Lord. Either one’s fine. And you?”

    You introduced yourself, and then he asked,

    “So, I could stand here with my hand out until this song ends, or…?”

    You laughed. “Yep.” You laid your hand in his and he immediately pulled you in, resting a hand on your waist and dipping you dramatically low as the chorus of the new song began.

    “Thank you… For letting me… Be myself… Again!” he sung along in a slightly out-of-tune baritone, spinning the pair of you around quickly enough that you squeaked and he laughed out loud. “Should I go easy on you?” he asked, leading your slightly frenzied footsteps out of the produce aisle and into the canned goods one.

    “No, it’s all right. But in my defense, this-” you paused as he twirled you under his arm and then back again, “-is a highly unusual situation, and I’m not really a dancer.”

    “What, you mean you don’t dance with strangers in grocery stores regularly?” he asked, briefly letting go of your hand to wave cheerfully at an attendant who just stopped in the end of the aisle, gaping at the pair of you.

    “Do you?” you asked incredulously, trying to follow his movements as he twirled you behind his back, accidentally letting go of one of his hands, but he helped you recover and get back in position.

     “Well… No,” he admitted. “But then again, you were already dancing, sure you weren’t subconsciously looking for a partner? I’m pretty sure I picked up some vibes from the other side of the store.”

     You considered. “That’s possible. Other end of the store- dairy aisle?”

     He nodded, saying with relish as the pair of you took another turn, “Peanut butter toffee chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. This is the only place I can find that has it and I’ve looked all over.”

    “Couldn’t you like, make it?”

    He bobbed his head from one side to the other, contemplating your proposition as he spun you again. “That’s a pretty fantastic idea. I’ll have to give it a shot next time I can’t get over to this side of the galaxy.”

   “And what would stop you from getting here?” you asked.

    “Oh, you know, I’m wanted,” he said in a tone that was attempting so hard to sound nonchalant you couldn’t help the smile spreading across your lips as your eyebrows rose. “Name someone big and I can tell you why they’re after me,” he said confidently.

    “Hmm,” you said, starting to stumble before you managed to regain your balance again. “How about the Mendu Awler Crew?”

    He mulled it over, his brow furrowed in thought. “Oh!” he said finally. “Broke out a friend of mine they had. They tried to chase us but we got away. Give me another one.”

    Just then, a voice said, “You can’t do that in here.”

    Peter stopped, as did you, to acknowledge the short, blue-skinned humanoid who had stopped you. You couldn’t read her nametag, but her simultaneous air of boredom and authority seemed to indicate some sort of managerial status. “I see,” Peter said, nodding at the manager in further acknowledgement and she turned to walk away.

     “Well… That was fun,” you said, smiling up at him, still slightly out of breath.

    “It was,” he said, sounding a little distracted. “Hey, can I get you a drink?”

    Dinner forgotten, you nodded. “Yeah. That sounds nice.”

[syn-cypher]

Webcomic Update!

Happy Monday, everybody! You can go here to see the new update: https://tapas.io/episode/1506808

[syn-cypher]

Webcomic Update

Hope you’re all having a good week! Here’s this weeks update!

https://tapas.io/episode/1468076

[syn-cypher]

The Munchkin and The Goon Run Cycles!

[syn-cypher]

The Awlers Trailer

Huzzah, the Trailer is finally finished!

[syn-cypher]

Webcomic Update!

Happy July 31st everybody! This update is special, as it is a thank you to my Patron! Feel free to check it out here:

https://tapas.io/series/The-Awlers

[syn-cypher]

Webcomic Update!

Happy Monday, everybody! It’s The Awler’s 50th episode! I’m so excited about this because we’re just beginning and I can’t wait to do more! To see today’s update, go here! Cheers!