Syconium
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October 10th, 2017






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69 . by: July 23, 2019, 10:43 pm

I’m sure she would have still had the taste and smell of the VD’s blood on her. Unless Green brushed her teeth and power-washed her fur while she was still KOed.
68 . by: Vulli July 23, 2019, 12:37 pm

Thanks for the response! I was curious what was going through her mind after that encounter
67 . by: Zack July 19, 2019, 9:55 am

I think she knows her own behaviors and penchant for getting carried away, and she's nervous that it's happened again. But she doesn't know how bad it might have been. The boyfriend knew that she was like this, especially around Wintertime, and used this as his weapon against the Vice Director.
66 . by: vulli July 18, 2019, 12:58 pm

im still confused on what she actually knows/remembers about the VD encounter

like she certainly didn't act like she was guilty of murder or possible murder in the pages that follow this, but it's weird she's claiming the fur staining was from food, like wouldn't she be like "hrmm VD visited.. blacked out.. woke up covered in blood and he was gone.. hmm" but idk
65 . by: Dani (Or 39, lol) October 12, 2017, 9:21 pm

No worries Blazic, I had to re-read it from the start after I noticed I had somehow skipped like ten whole pages in the comic :O! And if you don't check into the comments often, it can be a bit of a jump to get caught up with the fan's naming system.

I didn't notice Smoothie eyeing up the nodes how he is until you suggested it! He might be connecting the dots.
64 . by: Kaidona October 12, 2017, 8:42 pm

Zack, I understand at least to some degree how your injury affects your art. I have occipital neuralgia and was just diagnosed with spinal stenosis in C5-C6. Having my head tilted down in the position that's necessary to draw gives me migraines, and as a result I was forced to stop back in 2012.

I have to commend you for working around your injury where I could not do the same with my conditions. Your motivation is astounding.

URL : http://kaidona.deviantart.com
63 . by: Furrama October 12, 2017, 7:44 pm

Wow you've really suffered for your art. I didn't know about the injury.

You're not a starving artist too are you? *Mom voice* ARE YOU EATING OKAY?
62 . by: Zack October 12, 2017, 7:33 pm

LOL, don't worry about it.

My father bought me an iPad for my birthday back in 2011, and I still use it today.

The biggest problem with the iPad is the ergonomics of using one. When you are using a computer, you have the screen in front of you. Meanwhile your controls are perpendicular to the screen, connected to your hands. There is some distance between the screen and your hands.

With the iPad, and other hand-held touch devices, the controls are ON the screen. This leads to always needing the screen near your hands. This iPad from 2011 is not very light; it's not easy to use for an extended amount of time without a table. You would need to have it on your lap or a flat surface near your face, and then, you have to look DOWN onto it. Ever since I injured my neck on that page before the Uranus arrival during Solar System, I have had problems with positioning my head and arms any way except a typical computer workstation sitting position.
61 . by: Furrama October 12, 2017, 6:53 pm

DANG IT ZACK ZACK ZACK


CK CK CK CK CK CK
60 . by: Furrama October 12, 2017, 6:53 pm

Hey Zach, have you considered playing around with a portable iPad sort of thing where you can draw on the screen? I think Best Buy has some cheaper versions of that for Windows on their floor you could poke at. And you can draw outside! Er, digitally anyway. Like, if you ever have a subway to take.

I've wanted one forever but I couldn't really afford it. Maybe next year (if nothing explodes), but we're saving up to move out of our apartment. I have an Ugee tablet monitor but it's a big heavy thing that has to be hooked up and I can't lay it flat. it doesn't do the color shift thing though.
59 . by: Zack October 12, 2017, 5:39 pm

Hey Corv,

I don't have a mechanical keyboard. The monitor is a CRT, though. I never liked the way LCDs would shift color if you looked at them from an off-angle. That's the old ones, though... I'm on my late father's computer now, and this Sony... whatever-it-is isn't exhibiting very dramatic color shift as I move my head.

The drawing tablet is the original Intuos and the pen is just a shade above FUBAR. I have a nearly new pen that my father gave me a few years before he died, but there's some weird electrical interaction between it and the tablet where the cursor will become very jittery in places. I researched this and part of the problem might be—funnily enough—the magnetic field coming from the CRT monitor...
58 . by: Corvidophile October 12, 2017, 5:23 pm

It’s a big market, there are people who convert IBM clicker keyboard output to USB, and then there’s the Freewrite typewriter/word processor, see link

URL : http://getfreewrite.com
57 . by: October 12, 2017, 3:36 pm

i somewhat receny replaced my graphire 3(i think 3) with a modle of wacom they released 3 years ago. sometimes i would draw in mspaint, and it would quit on me. or just do things
56 . by: Furrama October 12, 2017, 2:39 pm

@55 Go reread pages 13-70. It's kind of an important plot point and it might be good to refresh yourself.
55 . by: October 12, 2017, 2:01 pm

@54, when was that mentioned/implied? I can't remember.

@Corvid, no need to be jealous, I recently noticed that some people were creating a modern Model M keyboard. I guess some people really enjoy that constant, clattering "perchunka".
54 . by: October 12, 2017, 9:57 am

@Blazic- Fig bit off part or all of Greenie's genitals at some point between the end of the prologue and the beginning of the main arc.
53 . by: Blazic October 12, 2017, 9:23 am

Also, has anyone else noticed how Smoothie has been eyeing the lights? I wonder why he would be suspicious of them.
52 . by: Blazic October 12, 2017, 9:22 am

@ Furrama, #39
Sorry, my memory is a bit shoddy, what is the 'oral incident' ?
51 . by: Corvidophile October 12, 2017, 9:10 am

DON’T GET ME WRONG, I’M STRAIGHT UP JEALOUS FGPSPHD

Your keyboard so old it goes “perchunka,” the perchunka heard ‘round the world
50 . by: Corvidophile October 12, 2017, 9:02 am

*CHOKES ON DRINK* WOW, how’d you manage to stay off the grid with the OS and still access the net, what browsers are still working on 98? I hung onto 2000 for a long time myself, I can’t remember what forced my hand. HEY is your tablet still the Wacom Graphire? And the have you still got the CRT? I still use my Graphire I originally tried out on SROA with. Every new OS sends me holding my breath that the tablet driver still communicates.
49 . by: kuu October 12, 2017, 7:31 am

why are you running 98?
48 . by: October 12, 2017, 7:17 am

Oh wow, Windows 98... that makes sense...
47 . by: Furrama October 11, 2017, 8:52 pm

Man, I wish I could get you a new art computer. And a tablet. And Clip Studio.
46 . by: Zack October 11, 2017, 7:35 pm

Hi,

Thank you Wilderwuff, for your thoughtful portrait of Fig (I did not even notice XX at first), skillfully executed with the china markers.

And thank you to everyone for the alternate program suggestions, although my options are limited at the moment, as I am using Windows 98 on my main computer. I do remember an earlier version of Manga Studio running on that, though.
45 . by: October 11, 2017, 5:38 pm

whOOPS double posted sorry!
44 . by: October 11, 2017, 5:38 pm

Hey, I've been reading NofNA comics since 10%+ and I just wanted to show some appreciation with some fanart of Fig. Thanks for the fantastic art and storytelling, Zach!

URL : http://wilderwuff-art.tumblr.com/post/166301369900/sorry-for-the-lack-of-art-lately-here-is-a
43 . by: October 11, 2017, 5:38 pm

Hey, I've been reading NofNA comics since 10%+ and I just wanted to show some appreciation with some fanart of Fig. Thanks for the fantastic art and storytelling, Zach!

URL : http://wilderwuff-art.tumblr.com/post/166301369900/sorry-for-the-lack-of-art-lately-here-is-a
42 . by: kuu October 11, 2017, 5:21 pm

is it my imagination or did older versions of mspaint have the kind of tone tool. like the windows 3.1 version
41 . by: kuu October 11, 2017, 5:20 pm

be a show off and use mspaint
40 . by: Dani October 11, 2017, 11:46 am

Oops, forgot my name tag! #39 was me :)
39 . by: October 11, 2017, 11:46 am

Thanks for clarifying the color Zach!

@K: I think her fetish had innocent animalistic roots initially, but evolved into something darker with both 1) the emergence of/struggle with the Fig persona, as as well as 2) the "Oral Incident". The latter is why I think she is reluctant to talk about it to others, because it literally hurts people, and not in a good way, especially recently.

I think the oral incident had a profound effect on both Greenie's and XX's characters. It took away Greenie's sexual power while strengthening XX's (enter: Fig). Because of the incident, Greenie found a different way to gain control/power in his life, albeit still captured by the brothel lifestyle. XX on the other hand has found sexual power via Fig, but lacks control in her life.
38 . by: October 11, 2017, 11:36 am

SAI is a really good tool for linework! I love how they give you free reign on brush settings - I was able to easily create the "sketch" brush this way.
37 . by: Corvidophile October 11, 2017, 10:56 am

I also HATE hate HATE the way Photoshop handles thin lines, not just pixel, small soft lines too. I’ve found the freeware FireAlpaca is similar to PaintBBS and it’s been my program of choice since PaintBBS became hard to access due to unresponsive Java.
36 . by: October 11, 2017, 6:48 am

blood is just life sauce
wasn't her face markings having to do with wasps
35 . by: Riss October 11, 2017, 3:39 am

Zack, you may like clip studio paint pro/manga studio 5 (clip is just the digital download version; ms5 is the physical copy). It is very similar to photoshop but built more for art rather than editing, and has a lot of comic specific functions. It's 15-25$ when it's on sale.
34 . by: Furrama October 11, 2017, 2:05 am

Okay, I've thought about it all day and really thought about the story trajectory so far and the little tells in the art on this page and I now think that

1. Fig knows she killed the VD. The part of her that's XX cares, but she's so suppressed that she's almost unrepresented. Which is why I'm calling her Fig right now.
2. She didn't talk to (E)XY about it, and hasn't even seen him at all until the bottom panel, but has gathered that he knows.

I'm still rooting for XX, but she's losing. (S)XY is on the chomping block.

As for the biting fetish thing, I don't think I ever picked up on where it came from. I just assumed that she just had such a fetish and there wasn't any real root to it, (sometimes you just have an "oh, I like this apparently" moment so I didn't think much of it). I looked back at page 5 but there wasn't much there imo. I looked through the dreams again but didn't see much either. I thiiiink her first sex partner (Spectacles) bit her, but it's hard to tell.

Maybe the talk she had in that field with (S)XY might have shown the origins? When she's listing paraphilias off and stops before biting there's a flashback to what looks like (E)XY biting her. (He's the only stoat with a dark nose that we know of her knew her before the "Oral Incident".) I mean, that could have some extra significance, showing her moment of "capture" by him as well.

I mean, idk. I've run through this comic several times, so I don't know if I'm dense or if it's just really subtle.
33 . by: October 11, 2017, 12:48 am

there are also probably pixel brushes for photoshop!
32 . by: 4 October 11, 2017, 12:32 am

@Zack.12

Would something like the free software Graphics Gale help? The pencil tool is pixel sized only. There are flaws in the translation of the menus though, and very limited tools, but you have layers and saving. Or if someone bought you something like Clip Studio Paint and sent you downloads of pixel brushes only? I understand if you would rather stick with what you know, and I appreciate the message of telling youngins that they can make comics/art from anything. But I also would love to help you continue to create... you have no idea how much NOFNA helps me get out of bed every morning... and I do mean every... but I also understand I don't need to fix what isn't broken.
31 . by: October 10, 2017, 10:50 pm

*yourselves, sorry
30 . by: October 10, 2017, 10:49 pm

i honestly think you guys are kidding yourself if you think greenie told fig anything.

he deliberately didn't tell her anything about the "break" so he could set her up to murder the VD, after a story in which he's done his damnedest to avoid talking to her at all. why would he suddenly start communicating with her now?
29 . by: October 10, 2017, 10:29 pm

Yeah I wouldn’t say remorseless, either. More like shut down and despondent.
28 . by: October 10, 2017, 10:03 pm

@Watcher- I wouldn't say remorseless necessarily, she does look guilty at the very least, but not nearly as upset as you would expect her to if she'd realized she'd killed someone, which maybe she really doesn't if Greenie just dragged VD off and never came back. The part about blacking out on this page is clearly more about Fig than about RG, so she may have blacked out with no clue what happened other than that she hurt VD bad enough to make him bleed.

I do agree though that Fig seems so fargone, and I do wonder if we'll actually even see her redeemed and back in control of herself by the end of this. I'd like to think so, but thus far she's been offered a few ways to hoist herself back up but only continues to slide downward farther and farther, and the story continually drives home the near-hoplessness of her situation. But I still have some hope she can find a way out before every last hope is extinguished. For now the only one that stands is Smoothie's art lessons.
27 . by: Watcher October 10, 2017, 9:42 pm

I understand why she couldn't just say "Oh, I got a little too frisky with my last client and ended up with his blood all over me." But still, the lie -- and the remorseless expression on her face while she utters it -- leaves me disappointed in her. I so much want her to achieve redemption, but it's looking less likely all the time.

Fig's face is full of arrows -- the two arrowheads on her muzzle have been there for ages, but the arrows behind her eyes pointing to either side are a more recent development. The first time I really noticed them was on page 184 in the final panel where she closes her eyes. But looking further back, I can see that they started subtly appearing earlier than this.

There's been so many fascinating characters in this story. It makes me wonder what's been happening to some of them who are not currently in the spotlight (notably Acai and the other courtesans, including Chestnut and the long-lost Pomelo) while all this business with Fig is going on. I also wonder if we'll ever see Morning Glory again. I think he's become my favorite stoat.
26 . by: October 10, 2017, 7:51 pm

i feel like/hope she will talk about it with smoothie when they’re outside the brothel, so maybe we’ll get to know exactly what happened
25 . by: October 10, 2017, 7:00 pm

I definitely think she knows that was blood on her and not sauce.

Wonder what sort of talk she already maybe had with Greenie regarding it?? "while you were passed out the VD came back over, badly injured.. he's getting medical care now and its your fault" or like..something.. I feel like I doubt she thinks VD is dead, I feel like she'd be a bit more tense/acting off
24 . by: October 10, 2017, 4:09 pm

*assuming all of that based on this page and aware it could all be proved wrong btw.

I'd rather the VD not be dead, too. Mentally unstable character being used as a murder weapon is a pretty boring trope to me, as a mentally ill person (who shares enough things in common with XX). but well I'm still reading.
23 . by: October 10, 2017, 4:08 pm

I'm going to assume greenXY hid the VD, XX confusedly puttered around her room in fear of what she's done, unsure of what to do with herself, XY came back to tell her he did her a favor and stage himself as "good thing I'm here for when you get like this; I'll handle it all, just clean yourself up." reliable BF while she's trapped with the idea she's a volatile monster and without him, god knows where she'd be with this horrible thing inside her.

What confuses me is I'd think if nothing else the scent of blood would be around... the latrine smells on a good day so they obviously don't have great 'tech' for combatting odor. How do you manage to hide such a thing? Could you really leave no trace when it isn't poison, when its a ton of blood? Even if she used the latrine, how could anyone be sure nobody else was about to use it?

in 10%+ characters would use 'vowels' (non-animal scents, like Fig's Fig) to disguise their own, but this was understood to be suspicious behavior, scenting someone who is all vowels... where did all that blood smell go? What masked it?
22 . by: Furrama October 10, 2017, 3:09 pm

My guess is that RG doesn't know. What Fig knows she's keeping to herself.

I'm a little... confused as to what Fig does know. It's a little too vague for my liking (and I like vague fine). She might not know she killed him and thinks she just went a little overboard and he left/got carried out, or she does know exactly what she did. In that case her behavior now is... interesting.
21 . by: October 10, 2017, 2:38 pm

@Downhill - It was mentioned before when Pomelo disappeared that there's a passage in XX's room to the latrine, so it's very possible she could leave and get cleaned up before RG ever knew what happened. What I am surprised by is that RG didn't notice any suspicious noise from the two, as I doubt it went down silently. But I guess that could be explained by VD's predation fetish and he could have just mistaken it for roleplay.
20 . by: Downhill October 10, 2017, 2:30 pm

I wonder what happened between RG and XX off-screen? He must know that she was covered in blood at some point, at the very least, since he woke up first. Did she just skulk past him to clean up, and he's so used to her attacking clients now and then that he didn't bother to say anything? Or did they have a conversation about the whole mystery and decide together to hide what happened?

I know we'll probably never know, but its interesting to think about since the different possibilities mean such different things for XX and RG's relationship.
19 . by: October 10, 2017, 12:45 pm

To keep herself from hurting Smoothie, I mean.
18 . by: October 10, 2017, 8:46 am

Hmm, foreshadowing. Is Fig going to intentionally strangle herself?
17 . by: Kaidona October 10, 2017, 6:24 am

Little
White
Lies

URL : http://kaidona.deviantart.com
16 . by: Nobody October 10, 2017, 4:42 am

adding onto K's commentary: we have seen fig's fascination with the biting fetish as early as page 5, actually. she drew many pictures specifically of teeth and biting.
15 . by: October 10, 2017, 3:12 am

Yeah, being out with Smoothie like this, I do wonder if we're going to see Fig be strangled by this collar for some reason or another. Not to death, obviously, but I do wonder if something will happen to activate it, or if it's just meant to serve as an ominously looming reminder that there's no escape, but remains inactive.
14 . by: K October 10, 2017, 2:46 am

Thanks for your input Zach !
13 . by: October 10, 2017, 2:33 am

oh shit what's that aura eminating off of Beanboy?
I'm wondering if Smoothie and Fig end up eloping or something.
12 . by: Zack October 10, 2017, 2:32 am

Hi Dani,

That is correct; it is another error. It has now been filled in with RG's correct color. Thank you for pointing it out.

Commentator #3,

The reason Oekaki Paint BBS is used is because it is VERY expeditious to producing comics. To tell you the truth, I think Photoshop would be more convenient, with its near-infinite undos and infinite layers, to say nothing of a save feature. But I cannot stand the Pencil tool in Photoshop. The algorithm that governs it draws too many pixels for any given stroke.

In the very beginning, Paint BBS was used to draw this comic, because I thought it would ease the burden on other young artists to know that these kinds of comics, and other works, could be made using free software. They were young, so they couldn't afford anything yet. Now, 10 years have passed, and everyone's much older...

K,

I have seen your comment, but I am not sure if I should interrupt the point of discussion yet. I will say that the explanation of the biting fetish has already been given, although, it isn't done directly. The reader is meant to infer its origin.
11 . by: Furrama October 10, 2017, 1:28 am

Mamaaaaaa
Just killed a man
Put my teeth behind his head
Crunched down hard and now he's dead
10 . by: Bluefan October 10, 2017, 1:12 am

I get the feeling Smoothie has an inkling about the alembics. I see him staring at them quite often. Have I missed something about them? Why could Smoothie be suspicious of the lights?
9 . by: Furrama October 10, 2017, 12:53 am

I wish there had been a page of her waking up.
8 . by: K October 10, 2017, 12:52 am

Sorry this is so off topic on the current page but, I lurk & never comment (but I read all the comments and usually steer clear) but something has been bugging me since I have gone & re-read a few times, I wonder if anyone came to a conclusion.

Fig on the biting thing.

She never really knows why it turns her on? It is because her first encounter was when the model stoat bit her? Was it then she realised? That stoats are historically sexually violent and this is just connected to ‘the animal’ and it’s desires? We know she can really hurt her partners

Page 22- "I love it when you bite me" to which Greenie's friend replies "Yeah it does feel good" - It is because being further to 'the animal' is what feels sexually good? Violence?

Page 73- "I prefer teeth really .." then saying to RG following with "Everyone has their own little things.. For me, I don't know why I.."

and on Page 163- "And then there's, there's even.. " Then showing and illustration of the neck biting as if she can't bring her self to say it, and she is also mentioning it last out of all the other whacked out stuff that happens.

What do you guys think?
7 . by: Botany October 10, 2017, 12:40 am

...Green, You damned fool...
6 . by: Dani October 10, 2017, 12:21 am

Hi Zach,

In panel 16, should the "oh" be RG's color, since he asked the question to Smoothie?
5 . by: October 9, 2017, 11:32 pm

does anyone know what the blue means?
4 . by: October 9, 2017, 11:30 pm

She definitely knows she badly hurt the VD, but does she know that she probably killed him?
3 . by: October 9, 2017, 10:45 pm

Saw this on that lonely Oekaki (sp?) website when I was browsing Patreon. Is there a reason why you use that instead of other software? Do you miss the community?
2 . by: October 9, 2017, 10:37 pm

Greenie puts the leash back on his attack dog. So brilliant to tie this back to strangulation.
1 . by: Mutt October 9, 2017, 10:19 pm

Wow, I'm here early! Too early. I'll come back later. That said it's astounding to see how this story is playing out so far.