The Pride of Life
| The Pride of Life | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Author(s) | R.F. Tigermode |
| Website | |
| Update schedule | Wednesdays |
| Launch date | 9 June 2004 |
| End Date | Ongoing |
| Genre | Comedy, Fantasy, Anthropomorphic |
| Rating(s) |  |
The Pride of Life is an ongoing furry comedy webcomic created by R.F. Tigermode. It is about a teenage vulfpacht named Kedamono who acquires superpowers upon eating the legendary cursed fruit of the World Tree, Yggdrasil, thereby becoming a superbeast. The fruit endows the consumer with superpowers and allows him or her to live for 500 years, but when those 500 years are up, he or she will die a violent death. The story follows Kedamono's adventures and misadventures throughout his lifetime.
The comic first appeared on the internet on June 9th, 2004, updating three times a week. After several hiatuses, the comic has resumed as of October 1st, 2008, with weekly Wednesday updates.
Characters
- Kedamono - A young male vulfpacht, age 16. After trying unsuccessfully for seven years to climb the World Tree, thwarted at every pass by its guardian, Gaur, he is able to finally acquire and eat the fruit after taking advantage of a conflict between Gaur and Adolfo. Although a bit of a coward and occasionally a maker of poorly though-out choices, he can be tenacious and is generally a kind-hearted boy and dislikes seeing people treated unfairly.
- Gaur - A minotaur superbeast of the bison variety and the guardian of the World Tree. Gaur is dedicated to protecting Yggdrasil from those who would try to steal its fruit (including Kedamono). Though sworn to guard the great tree, he himself partook of the fruit in order to become a superbeast. Gaur has a sort-of skewed, father-son/mentor-student relationship with Kedamono, which often ends up more in frustration that anything else. Gaur's attacks (hereby referred to as 'Talents') are earth-based and so far include the "Stampede Fist," in which forced rocky upcroppings appear when punches the ground. This attack was first shown in Episode 02.
- Chieftain Hyde - The unquestionably handsome leader of the Vulfpachts. Hyde became chieftain after the untimely death of his father one season ago (in the Vulfpacht system of government, the chieftain is determined by succession, regardless of gender). His zero-tolerance policy of threats to his village has made him a widely respected man across the Central region of the Forested Continent. He first appears in Episode 03.
Villains
- Adolfo - Despite his appearance, Adolfo is a rodentian superbeast of the bearded squirrel variety and the self-proclaimed strongest of the Forested Continent. Though somewhat forgetful and easily sidetracked, he seems to enjoy making pitiful specimens of his opponents/victims just before killing them. A servant of Othello, his claiming natural monuments, such as Yggdrasil (his current assignment), though his loyalty is tentative, at best. He only allows himself to be used in the hope that Othello will remove his Chaos Hump, an internal strength suppressant for all superbeasts created with Othello's power. Adolfo's Talents are grounded in body modification. His first, "The Deadly Claw", his fingers extend to essentially become knives, which he uses to pierce his opponents. The second, "The Deadly Jack-knife", is an extension of "The Deadly Claw", in which he extends both his toes and fingers to become knives, then executes a jack-knife dive straight into his victim.
- Othello - The self-proclaimed ruler of the Forested Continent. Although he resembles a giant bat, Othello is actually a vampire, but transforms to a bat-like form at night. Othello is the authority over Adolfo and has control over several other superbeasts across the continent. He is able to keep the destructive Adolfo in check with the promise of removing the Chaos Hump from his body, an internal limiter for all superbeasts created with Othello's power. His current aim is to acquire natural monuments such as the World Tree, but the purpose of this has yet to be revealed.
- The Zapatos Gang - The gryphon organized crime association, headed by "Daddy" Valdez, with lesser duties delegated to the night managers, Nickles (customer service), Rin Tin Dennis (loss prevention), Youngsilver (gryphon resources), and Iron Keith (shipping and receiving). The Zapatos' base of operations is behind Gargamel Falls, on which the city of avians, Sasamel, rests. Although primarily a protection racket, they also partake in trapping and poaching, explosives, the slave trade, and strangely, real estate.
Episode Synopses
- Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
The episode opens with Adolfo attacking an ox-drawn cart with his Deadly Jack-knife attack, killing both the beast of burden and his driver. As he settles in for a meal of ox, Othello drops in and berates Adolfo for destroying two of Othello's "belongings", but resolves to forgive him if he successfully captures the World Tree, Yggdrasil. Othello then leaves, promising to return upon nightfall to check on Adolfo's progress. After he departs, Adolfo simply grins, biding his time until the time comes for Othello to remove his Chaos Hump, and at that point, it is revealed that he will kill Othello.
Meanwhile, Kedamono, having eluded Yggdrasil's guardian, Gaur, attempts to climb the world tree and upon gaining access to a high-enough branch, makes an attempt to dive for the fruit hanging from an adjacent branch. The dive fails, and he plummets to the earth, only to land on Gaur's head. After some shouting from Gaur, it is revealed to the audience by Kedamono the special powers the World Tree's fruit can give to the person that eats it. Gaur follows up by reminding him that the eater will also die a violent death. Despite this, Kedamono tries again to climb the tree, only to be scolded once again by Gaur.
Night falls over the forest, and Kedamono, once again having slipped past Gaur, is shown climbing up the tree once again. Below, Gaur is shown injured on the ground, with Adolfo towering over him. Gaur demands the meaning behind the attack, to which Adolfo stakes his claim to the World Tree. Kedamono, upon his descent, overhears the two, and decides to aid Gaur, revealing that he has successfully acquired the fruit. He quickly eats it, then launches an attack against Adolfo, resulting in a few ineffective punches. Kedamono asks Gaur why he doesn't have any superpowers, and Gaur reveals that the fruit takes a full eight hours to digest and won't have any effect until then. A horrified Kedamono realizes his mistake too late, and is run through by Adolfo's Deadly Claw attack. Realizing the graveness of the situation, Gaur surrenders to Adolfo, then makes off into to the wood with the mortally wounded Kedamono. The episode closes with Adolfo alluding to come after the two.
Episode 02: "Protect Yggdrasil! Protect Kedamono! The Gaur VS Adolfo" -
The Episode opens with Gaur nursing Kedamono by a stream. Seeing no suitable plants to possibly patch his wounds, Gaur begins to despair until the idea to patch Kedamono's wound with his wool hits him. Ripping off a chunk, he swiftly patches the gaping hole in Kedamono's side. All seems good until Adolfo calls out to him from a hill overlooking the stream, from which he lunges for an assault. Realizing the danger to Kedamono, he slings the young vulfpacht over his shoulder and retreats, narrowly missing Adolfo's attack. Gaur delivers a powerful back kick upon Adolfo's second lunge, then pushes the aggressor's head into the dirt, quickly running deeper into the woods. By the time Adolfo is able to recover, Gaur and Kedamono have disappeared.
Gaur reappears at a small cave, placing Kedamono gently within before returning to take care of Adolfo, who is searching within the bushes for him. Adolfo's loud swearing catches Othello's attention, and the master descends in front of him. Adolfo is shocked, but is glad to report that the World Tree now belongs to him. Gaur, hiding behind a nearby tree, eavesdrops on the two. Othello, picking up the scent of Gaur's blood, calls for him to come out. Gaur appears, and an angry Adolfo reports that he interfered with the mission. Gaur laughs and without Kedamono to worry about, prepares to attack. It is revealed that Gaur's 500 years are up, and is prepared to die to defeat the pair. Gaur unleashes his Stampede Fist, and in a round of three punches, impales Adolfo on a rock spire.
Gaur then turns his attention to Othello, who politely asks him to yield and to also consider joining him to replace Adolfo. When Gaur refuses, Othello extends his hand, and a column of light emerges from beneath Gaur. Its rays pierce his body, and before long, Gaur is on the ground, barely able to move. An amused Othello decides that instead of killing him, he would steal Gaur's soul, and at that, a figure appears behind Othello bearing a jackal helmet. Gaur recognizes him as being the one called "Reaper", and can only look on, terrified. The episode closes with Kedamono unconscious in the cave.
The gryphon claims to have a message to deliver, then punches one of the guards in the face. The uninjured guard recognizes him as one of the members of the Zapatos Gang, and prepares to attack. Just then, a second red gryphon claws him in the face, then delivers a knee to his gut. The guard doubles over and vomits. The first guard prepares to attack with his bow and arrow, but is cut short when a third tan gryphon lands on his head with great force. The tan gryphon presumes the guard dead, and he and the green gryphon laugh about it. Kedamono is frozen with indecision, but then realizes that as a superbeast, he may be able to scare the trio off, and puts on a nice bit of bravado, also managing to reveal himself as Kedamono to the guards. The gryphons laugh hysterically, revealing that gryphons descend from superbeasts and retain their strength, so he is of little to no threat to them. Horrified, Kedamono shrinks as the gryphon trio approach him.
Suddenly, an arrow from off-screen pierces the green gryphon's eye, and he falls to the ground, dead. Kedamono tries to sneak away in the confusion, but is quickly stopped by the tan gryphon. Another arrow makes its way to him and pierces the back of his neck. He too, falls dead. The remaining gryphon looks for the source of the threat, and is pierced in the shoulder by a third arrow. He finds his comrades' killer in the form of Chieftain Hyde, having just returned from a two-day excursion at a neighboring village. He allows the gryphon his life, and the gryphon flies away, swearing revenge. Hyde then turns his attention to his one conscious guard, berating him for not only failing against the gryphons' assault, but allowing a superbeast within the village territory. The guard informs Hyde that the superbeast is Kedamono, upon which Hyde berates him for allowing Kedamono within the village territory.
Later, the scene changes to Gargamel Falls, where the Zapatos Gang headquarters are located. The loss of two more of his associates reported, totalling four this month, the leader, a chain-smoking bearded blue gryphon called "Daddy" Valdez, conveys his deep anger. Another gryphon, a muscle-bound black one called Nickles, suggest that he and the other managers take care of things. Valdez agrees, and the episode closes with a shot of the villages happily greeting Hyde.
Meanwhile, inside the village, Hyde and the other armed villagers confront Nickles and his fatigue-wearing fellow manager, Rin Tin Dennis. After he threatens Hyde's life, a sword-wielding village charges Nickles in anger, but Nickles swiftly kills him, running him through with his own sword. Enraged, the other villagers launch an assault against him.
At the other end of the village, a blond and black-haired gryphon, both in shabby suits, inspect Kedamono, judging his monetary value on the poaching market. After some deliberation, the blond one approaches Kedamono, but Kedamono, in his fright, accidentally urinates on him. Livid, the blond gryphon comically chokes Kedamono, while his partner attends to his paperwork, uninterested. The scene cuts to outside the village gate once again, where the guard is burning alive. Youngsilver consults his partner, Iron Keith, another night manager, as to whether to begin the main part of the operation. Keith agrees, pulling out a whistle from under his shirt and sounding the signal. With that, countless gryphons emerge from the trees and fly over Hunds. The two suited gryphons also make haste, with the blond one uprooting the post Kedamono is tied to and hoisting it into the air, but he mistakenly overdoes it and ejects Kedamono into the sky.
Excited, Nickles plows through the group of vulfpachts and sets his sights on Hyde. Dennis takes out a glowing red chemical capsule and slings it into a nearby hut. The hut bursts into flames, and a male vulfpacht, burning alive, carrying his young daughter. It is not clear whether she is dead or unconscious. A second explosion is unleashed, and Hyde looks up to find a slew of gryphons fire-bombing the village. Acknowledging his defeat, he shifts his priority to saving the remaining villagers. Before he can have the chance, Nickles attacks him, but is quickly overpowered by three vulfpacht warriors. A female, Minerva, tells Hyde that they had already evacuated the village and to take the shot while Nickles was pinned. Hyde dives for his bow, but is cut off by an axe-wielding Dennis. Dennis then cuts off Hyde's right arm. As Dennis approaches for the final blow, Hyde's life flashes before his eyes, revealing moments spent with his father. Nickles proceeds to pummel the three vulfpachts and stops Dennis before he harms Hyde any further, and beats on the defeated Hyde himself before giving Dennis the ok to kill him. Just as Dennis raises the axe, the post to which Kedamono is still tied crashes down on top of Dennis.
Episode 05: "A Beast Among Pidgeons"
External links
- The Pride of Life website
- Don't feed the animals - The Pride of Life on LiveJournal
- R.F. Tigermode at FurAffinity.