Chapter 6 - p40&41


July 27, 2012, at 12:10 AM

Two pages today. Sette finally connects a few dots. Or rather, her nose does.

I've had a lot of people writing me asking where to send donations. I normally do a donation drive in-between chapters but if you are just aching to throw money at Unsounded right now, here is a button for you to do so. Seeya Monday!

61 Comments

Comments

  1. I see Sette's edited her memories again. Does anyone else think Nary and F-sephin look alike?
    Lord TableShark on
  2. Pie is always a good plan.
    somebloke on
  3. The pie is short for pymary, so Boo's telling Sette to come back with Duane. Clever little spider, he is.
    Randy Butternubs on
  4. Oh, Boo. What a pie-in-the-sky attitude.
    Tachyon on
  5. That's quite smart actually, rand... so, those little spider things are smart enough to give advice?
    Zombie on
  6. @Zombie: If I recall correctly, that's an effect much like that one guard's coffee freezing itself and starting to talk - it's not standard. It's just an occasional issue with some pymarics, rather than a result of the khert being violently detonated by Sette. Perhaps someone else more up-to-speed can verify my hazy recollection? I am exhausted tonight.
    Tachyon on
  7. gee that last page came across pretty sinister
    ThreeEyedCrow on
  8. I love the way the father-daughter bond is portrayed. Roots run deep, and passions even deeper. "Predators", "no way out" - hard to escape your station in life in a Crapsack World! After seeing Sette's determination so far, her expressed willingness to die for her family rings very true.
    Mad'Monster'Maniac on
  9. I had a feeling Stockyard would be involved in this.
    Himself on
  10. Wait is Da pulling her hair in the first update page? Why is it scribbled out with some 'x's I don't get it.
    BPR on
  11. Oh no Sette's gonna do something reckless and troublesome... which we'll all love *grin*
    Enn-Jen on
  12. @BPR: Yeah, I can't figure that panel out, either, but I don't think it looks like hair. You can see through whatever it is being pulled, though.
    Bartok on
  13. Ye-ess, Something is going on in Sette's head. Page 28 in chapter 1, and page 40 just now, some memories that she's not letting come out to the forefront of her thoughts.. I'm starting to worry that her relationship with her "father" is even darker than I had already assumed. It's no wonder that girl is as twisted up as she is.
    Ermine on
  14. There are other flashbacks with crossed out violence and unsavory things in them. I can't remember just where but this isn't the first time it's been hinted that Sette has a selective memory. The Nary in her head is a god who loves her and wants the best for her. That godlike status is probably why she so very rarely shows us his full face. His face is too terrible and powerful. And scary.
    Stefan on
  15. With this latest page I actually see Sette's Da in a better light. He seems to be more of a tired its 'just business' type of rogue rather than the light heartless leader of thugs and brigands I initially took him for.
    SKRen on
  16. ... fire it is.
    Sabreur on
  17. Oh snap.
    on
  18. I like how Sette remembers things in sepia tone, and how the panels imply that she's covering up the "true" memories. The childish scribbles on the "real" panel are also a nice touch. Good use of the medium. And of course the "realization" panel at the bottom of the last page is pure awesome. It's like that panel you see in anime intros with all the bad guys lined up and lit in odd lighting.......of course Matty looks like the odd man out, LOL.
    Lord TableShark on
  19. I didn't notice the edited memories until you guys pointed it out. Now I'm wondering whether it's plain denial, or some kind of magical brainwashing. But surely Duane would have noticed if Sette had been tinkered with like that. Ah, and Sette has never seen Starfish before, but she smells the rest of the gang on him, and now knows he is with them. Very clever.
    Fawnet on
  20. Finally, all paths are converging. :3c
    gahitsu on
  21. Is it a belly window on Starfish's attire? Or just fabric of a different color? In either way, it emphasizes his majestic rotundity. I'm reminded of a line from an Iron Maiden song, even though he's not in an ivory tower.
    someone on
  22. Anyone else thing Eppi looks like he could be related to Sette's da?
    April on
  23. @Fawnet, I think it's just denial, she worships her father so when he hurts her she can't let her self see it. Much like an abused wife that keeeps going back.
    Hornet on
  24. What edited memories?
    James Rye on
  25. @James Rye: The third panel of the first page looks like a ripped piece of paper covering up something behind it. You can see a bit of the background on the left side of it - Nary's hand pulling something. Sette's hair, perhaps? The edited memories really are a great touch. And yeah, the end panel of page 2 is cool, too.
    Reed on
  26. @Hornet Yeah. Likely Sette also sees no way out because Nary is all she has. So she takes whatever scraps of comfort she can, whenever her father shows some form of the affection she craves, and edits it further in her mind if it isn't affectionate enough. I would say Nary is probably only using her but he has kept her alive all this time, even if he did put her in the stables, so his actual feelings may be complicated even if they aren't fatherly. It's possible he never wanted a child or wasn't expecting a child like Sette and that affects his actions. It's quite interesting though, considering that he is raising her himself when there are or were other options available to him, so he either feels some form of obligation or actual attachment, or he simply thought she'd come in handy if she survived long enough. Either way, Sette is better off with Duane as a guardian of sorts. I'm hoping she's able to break her ties to the Frummagens by the end of this. She deserves better. :1
    Dove on
  27. I dunno, tactical-advisor-bug... the Pie Gambit is risky business.
    RivkaZ on
  28. I feel like...this is Nary saying goodbye to her forever. He knows she's never coming back so he spills all his garbage on her, knowing it won't matter anyway. Arrrrrgh. Lord Winalils expressed interest in Sette in chapter 4. Maybe Nary is giving Sette to him along with Duane :(
    Beat on
  29. Also, I had a sudden thought... it's possible Sette is adopted (hah hah, yeah it took me this long to even consider that when goodness knows she's the only one with a tail and such.) That makes everything even more complicated... or simpler, depending on circumstances. o_o
    Dove on
  30. @someone: Yeah, it looks like Starfish is wearing the "Situation shirt". http://fashionablygeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/the-situation-tank-top.jpg?cb5e28 Either that, or he put on a Tanooki Suit. Watch out, Sette!
    Lord TableShark on
  31. Sette also seems to have black eye above the crossed out hair pulling pic... her Da seems pretty seedy to me
    Shoeshine on
  32. i was half right at least, she did see starfish.
    AmetuerAspirant on
  33. Is it me, or does Starfish' oufit resemble the lower half of a certain, infamous bear that preys on young children, with the brown and cream belly? I can't tell if this is intentional on Ashley's part or a complete coincidence; but given Starfish'... tendencies towards children, I'm going to assume the former.
    VodkaFolie on
  34. Things just keeping interesting. Now is Sette going to get Duane, go collect, or go after Starfish?
    MK on
  35. I completely missed that the panel was crossed out, thought it was sparkles or something (THOUGHT that was weird, though). Oh, and while "pie" for "pie-maric" sounds neat, I think it's actually short for, "Someone find out her favourite pie!" (from ch.4_72).
    tehbeefer on
  36. Oh dear. Possibility: Sette's had her memory modified. That pair of panels in the middle with the scribble and the sudden change of Nary's demeanor totally looks like a wipe and overwrite has occurred. Is that even possible with pymary?
    Sigmir on
  37. Thanks folks for pointing out the memory editing. I've noticed the black eye and found the crossed-out panel strange, but now with the torn paper piece - it all fits. Also, thanks for pointing out the stables, Dove! On first glance I didn't find it strange that she had her "corner" with the animals - kids can have fancies like that. But now it also makes sense (tails!) and paints Sette's childhood even darker (as this story should teach me to expect, by now).
    Generic Nickname on
  38. Well, it's been fun, but I am too dumb to read your comic. I'll be back after I've mastered How To Read Comics.
    Thanks on
  39. Yeah, there's definitely something shady going on with Sette's father. Chapter 4, page 5, she's got a pretty bad shiner, and bits of the memory are scratched with little x's. On the next page, her father hits her in the back of the head hard enough that Winalils, who seems like a creeper in his own right, asks him "not to concuss the child." Combine that with these updates, and the flashback in Chapter 1, page 28...poor Sette ;_;
    Aja Aeris on
  40. Add Chapter 2, page 17 to the list of Sette's "edited" memories. That was also the most disturbing one to me. I don't know if they've been deliberately messed with. A traumatized mind can do many things for its survival.
    Deathmint on
  41. I love the reactions to the last few pages. Part of the audience says "Wow, Nary is a much better father than I previously thought. It seems like he really cares about Sette!", another part says, "This is even worse than I thought! I can't believe what a terrible creature Nary is. That panel has to be a fake memory, it's completely inconsistent with his prior actions." RE: The crossed out panel. Hair isn't transparent, and you can see the hand on the other side of what's being pulled. I suppose that could just be part of the editing, but that doesn't seem to make sense, either. And the cut out panel, it might be/is probably edited, in the common parlance, but I don't think it could be too much better than the reality. It's been outright said that Nary doesn't seriously abuse Sette, and I THINK it's been said that bruises and such are from street fights. Not to say he doesn't rough her up at all, but probably not as seriously as some people are thinking.
    Fluxx on
  42. @Aja Aeris: I'm pretty sure the, "Lets not concuss the child," is sarcasm. As you said, Winalils IS a creeper. He also didn't say a whole lot with sincerity in those pages. I always assumed that was just him poking at them. Heh, but I've already established which side of the "Nary-a-Care's quality as a person" argument I'm on, so of course my interpretation is on the lighter side.
    Fluxx on
  43. There's a problem with your archive. When you click on one of the most recent pages it links to an extension including /comic+index/comic/... then goes in to the actual page. If you delete the " /comic+index " so that you're only left with " /comic/ " then it works as it should! Just an FYI! I love your comic.
    Konpeki on
  44. @Reed @Deathmint @Aja Aeris @Sigmir Holy crap, i can´t believe i missed that when i´ve reread the comic like 6 times by now. o.O But it makes alot of sense, the memory in the beginning was so different then the memory when Sette thought to herself about her Da's orders. The story she told Duane and the one which seemed to have happend this or another way are way different from each other. I mean, if she´s the heir as she said, why does she sleep with the dogs? If her da's respect and cares for her so much why does she look unharmed in her memory story she told Duane and with scratches, black eye, hit on head in her other one she kepts to herself? Also that memory bit on chapter 1 page 28, her Da has blood on his fingers/knuckles at his left hand. Given how the small hands seems to belong to Sette, it´s pretty safe to assume that this is her blood on his fist. I wonder how Duane will react if he finds out on his own or if Sette will one day feel comfortable enough to tell him. But no matter what he does, Sette will return to Nary cause Duane, well i think she thinks he has enough problems on his own than to bother with hers. He has only a few years himself before his body finally gives in and become bone dust and he´s a Galit, an even bigger outcast of society than Sette with her tail/sharp teeths. That and his hunger for blood and flesh, not to forget that he loses himself at night and such. Given how Sette was raised she´d go back to Nary and may it be for her edited memories of how she sees everything there. Oh well, gonna keep out an eye for future memory bits of Sette now.^^
    James Rye on
  45. Damn! I can't believe I haven't noticed any of this editing you guys mentioned in the comments. It really changes everything. I always thought that Nary is probably far from being a caring father, but now I'm really scared to think what kind of life Sette has back in Sharteshane. And I'm really amazed at the way she copes with it - she seems such a tough and determined girl, so very strong. I would have thought that a girl in such a situation would lose her spirit, yet she doesn't. :')
    Riki on
  46. And yet nobody seems to be commenting on the obvious - that it appears that Starfish actually IS Stockyard and the commenters were right all along.
    Miri on
  47. Is Duane going to show up again? If ever there was a "hook" in this series, it was Duane. A well characterized zombie wizard. To be honest he's the only character I really like. I mean, Sette is charming enough I suppose, but her character interacted with Duane the best. Also the white haired fellow is incredibly bland. TL;DR Is he going to show up soon? Or would I be better off finding something else to read?
    Isaac on
  48. Wow, I liked that last page the most and how she smelled all of those people and remembered all of those previous scenes just with one whiff of Starfish. You can even see the particles dance around her nose! Job greatly done. (For some reason, I love that it's slightly slanted as well) Gives it an epic taste. @ Miri, Ashley answered someone who was wondering if Starfish and Stockyard were the same person. She assured anon that they were not the same person. @ Isaac, I'm sure we'll see plenty of Duane, if not in this chapter, then definitely in the next. I'm also sure there is another comic you can entertain yourself with in more productive ways than to linger here and post a relatively unwanted comment.
    Elle on
  49. No one likes a passive-aggressive troll, Isaac. And Quigley is my favorite character. Go away, you won't be missed.
    Jennifer on
  50. Bravo.
    Zoe on
  51. I need to reread this from the start; I completely missed all of the dark memories brought up. I am deeply afraid that what we saw scribbled out was part of Sette's clothing... Spider recommends pymarics; Sette isn't good with advice. This'll be fun!
    FascinatedReader on
  52. I just noticed the pictures of lions in Sette's "room," amongst other lovely little details. You really know your world and it shows, in both the wonderful details in your panels to the savvy dialogue that really doesn't spell things out for you or wait for you to keep up. I love it! Also, lolz, pie.
    Ari on
  53. So today's update prompted me to just go archive digging, review the history Sette's had with the Red Berry Boys. I could spend hours going through this comic's history. It continues to astound me, how beautifully crafted the story is. I think, Ashley that you've mastered the ability to combine art and words to make a truly engaging piece of work like this. While Unsounded has so many open ends and bits of intrigue strung throughout it, they are all very well placed, and not too dense with either images or words. And while I can tell Sette is pushed as a main character, there's a clear amount of care and color put into many others, even the extras. Everything about this comic and the effort put into it is so inspiring. High profile professionals should be recognizing your talent.
    Daughter Of Yahweh on
  54. Thanks so much, Daughter of Yahweh, I try really hard ^_^;; Thanks to everyone who's so encouraging! I'll keep trying to entertain you guys to the best of my ability.

    I'm sorry you're missing Duane, Isaac. He'll show up again when the story requires him. If you don't enjoy the comic on the whole, stop reading it! Life is too short to subject yourself to things you do not enjoy.

    Ashley on
  55. @Bartok: I think it's her tail being pulled.
    Stark on
  56. The thing grabbed on the crossed-out panel doesn't look like a tail to me. Agree with those (BPR, Reed, Shoeshine) who interpreted it as hair. Real hair would be partially see-through when pulled roughly and extended, so although Bartok & Fluxx are right to notice this "transparency", it is nothing against that being hair. Hair has to be drawn somewhat schematically in a comic, and for the most part it is drawn ribbon-like here, but in this scene (if it is in fact hair-pulling) a slightly modified style would be understandable (hair not flowing naturally). Also, notice that on the upper left of that panel there is something sticking out of the clenched fist - something very much like "normal" ribbon-like Sette's hair (that part of hair is loose, so should look "normal"). At some point I also thought it may be clothing (as FascinatedReader was afraid), but there are details not consistent with that. It takes some effort to see it, but I think it is a very nice representation of hair being pulled.
    Generic Nickname on
  57. Holy crap. I didin't notice at all the edited memory bits.

    As for what it edits out, I think we can rule out rape. Like what happened with the other little girl, we can probably expect the truth to be... worst.

    That, and rape is a cheap and overrated plot device and characterisation. Ashley is seemingly much better than this. As someone who have strong ties with Youth Protection, I'm pretty impressed at the faithful depiction of "parental" abuse, criminality and how it affects a child devellopment.

    Side note, Ashley, you have a dark mind. I sincerly hope you never had to personally live or witness such things.

    Jeebus, I love this comic. Touches a lot of "taboo" subjects that I care about. Strong inspiration for my own work at the very least.

    @Generic Nickname: the hair pulling is also consistant with the edited memory jaw grasp in the other chapter. It seems to be fairly standard dismissal. A sort of "Look at me in the eyes when I talk" and "Don't you fucking forget"

    Sebby on
  58. ... and wow, my formatting failed bigtime. It turned out like a giant wall of text ;_;
    Sebby on
  59. Sorry for double-posting... But to go against the "mainstream", the posts "reproaching" Isaac appeared to me more passive-aggressive than his was. I read his own summary (TL;DR) as auto-ironic. He clearly enjoyed the comic and one character in particular. Perhaps I am generous with assuming good faith here because I am a big fan of Duane myself ;) Ashley presents us with many interesting characters, but to date only Duane seemed truly likable to me. I hope it doesn't mean he has to die - on the other hand, he already did...
    Generic Nickname on
  60. I don't think it's magic that has altered Sette's memories of her father; I think it's something she did subconsciously to herself. My dad was a horrible person who eventually lost custody, and I *longed* for a father figure. When I went over to a friend's house and their dad was awesome and loving, it hurt really deep and I had to try really hard not to let my friend see me being sad while I was hanging out. Children do desperate things for their parents to love them. Poor Sette.
    April on
  61. wow. Like a lot of the readers, I totally didn't notice the edited memories until you all mentioned them. I'm notoriously bad at picking out details, so I love to read the discussions to see what I've missed. Honestly initially looking at the pictures really freaked me out, but now I'm just intrigued. I'm of the opinion this is something she does in her own mind. I worry for Sette and I really want to see what these are all about. I never trusted her father or her view of him, especially after Duane showed suspicion as well. I hope her Da gets what's coming to him, and I hope Sette can find a better way to live when all of this is over. I agree she deserves better. I'll be keeping an eye out for these memories from now on too. Thank you everyone for pointing them out, and thanks again Ashely for once again completely blowing my mind with a new layer of the story!
    linktotwilight on
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