Syconium
221

November 20th, 2017






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37 . by: Dani November 23, 2017, 5:11 pm

Neat, thanks for the language info guys! I read 10% and Lycosa a long time ago.
36 . by: November 23, 2017, 12:47 pm

It's kinda strange to assume something doesn't exist just because it's not deliberately shown.
35 . by: November 23, 2017, 12:10 pm

When Acai was first introduced I assumed his clients were male, too. But when he's telling his backstory he says specifically that they are female clients. I don't know, I guess I can see women hiring prostitutes in private, but women visiting a brothel doesn't seem as likely? That's probably naive but the whole concept of a brothel seems so male-oriented, like it caters to a male power-hungry ego. I'm afraid what will happen to my computer if I try to research that though, lol.
34 . by: November 23, 2017, 8:47 am

I remember back at the beginning of the comic, when XX banged the model at the end of the prologue, we were rooting for lesbian stoats but Zach had to quickly correct us. As a gay, eh, it sucks, but I'm used to it by now, this story falls into a different scope, and NofNA concerns itself with different issues. I don't assume it's out of malice, but instead a deliberate theme of this story. I trust Zach!

Of course, they never do talk about the nature of Greenie's clients. I always assumed his were predominantly male.

Christ, readings those comments again. Our biggest concern was "oh no XX's mom will be mad" and now we're begging Zach not to kill the little birb. NofNA!

URL : http://www.nofna.com/?T=1-1-58-7
33 . by: November 23, 2017, 6:07 am

Nobody, is there anywhere we can get more details on the many sex worker clients being secretly gay thing? I'm genuinely curious as, as another gay person, I just assumed 99% of sex work was straight men paying for sex from straight women.
32 . by: Nobody November 23, 2017, 4:18 am

zack referred to RG as a he in the comments of page 94, so he is definitely a boy.
the biggest indicator for me personally was RG mentioning his disinterest in fig romantically/sexually twice(p. 73 & 119); although this wouldn't necessarily indicate gender in a story automatically, as a gay person, the lack of acknowledgement of gay people existing at all(especially in a story about sex work, where a lot of clients are, in fact, secretly gay out of fear or shame and using it as an outlet) made me pretty sure you're supposed to assume it doesn't exist at all.
31 . by: 30 November 23, 2017, 2:52 am

It's still totally possible for RG to be female, though, since the simplified coloring could go that way too!

I love these birds!!!
30 . by: November 23, 2017, 2:44 am

It's difficult to tell because of the art style, but going by this page(and others) I would guess RG is male; his wings have distinct green and chestnut patches(female European bee-eaters have more of a gradient with those colors, or apparently even no chestnut) and he doesn't have any green on his back. In some pages he has a green back or green wings, but I think it's just simplified coloring and lighting.
It's actually pretty easy to tell the difference between their genders in rl pictures, but tbf I've been bird-watching for a long time now so I can see those sorts of details :O
29 . by: November 23, 2017, 12:44 am

In Secretary, which is set before 10%+, they do a LOT of switching back and forth between Common and rodent/degu language. I always loved how the more "modern" words get put in the dialogue as handwritten words among type. Like on page 3, "placements" is handwritten because it's a word and concept that doesn't exist in primal dialect. It's so neat. I love NofNA.
28 . by: November 23, 2017, 12:40 am

Aha! I found it! A really early 10%+ page, haha.

Meander (about a vacuous coyote): "He doesn't speak common and my body language sucks.. Maybe he can understand my canid dialect? CAN YOU UNDERSTAND? UNDERSTAND ME?"

And then of course later, when Meander asks Rule to translate from "his language" to common for the bunny because his speech faculties are failing. "Primal" dialects involve, I vaguely remember being mentioned here and there, body language, scents, and more than just speaking.

URL : http://www.nofna.com/?T=1-1-50-10
27 . by: November 23, 2017, 12:31 am

Well, not "species" specific. Family-specific, probably? I think there's canid, mustelid, feline, etc. languages, I think I remember someone in one of the stories speaking one that wasn't their own? Maybe in the 10%+ court scene, someone speaking canine to Meander's body? I'm not sure what kind of bird this sentry is but they look passerine at least, maybe even of Coraciiformes which is the order that bee-eaters are in. Who knows how specific the language gets, this is definitely some kind of bird language though.
26 . by: November 23, 2017, 12:18 am

Any time the characters are speaking their species-specific language, it's in typed font. Written font is common!
25 . by: Dani November 23, 2017, 12:17 am

Hmm, do the birds have their own language? I have seen RG's speech be in both the written font (when talking to stoats and rodents) and now the typed font when talking to this sentry bird.

I actually hadn't thought about RG's gender being female until now! I too assumed male. Perhaps because of his speech color. I assumed the rodent scribe on page 184 was female actually, because of the salmon text color.
24 . by: Botany November 22, 2017, 8:26 pm

... I just want the best for everyone.
23 . by: Furrama November 22, 2017, 6:13 pm

You're probably right. I just suddenly wondered if I had been making the wrong assumption this whole time.

Zack pls don't fridge our baby bird child. Have mercy!

URL : http://townthestore.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/mm1.jpg
22 . by: November 22, 2017, 12:26 pm

Wikipedia labels this image as the female being on the left... so unfortunately I don't think we can tell based on plumage, lol. INTERESTINGLY, I just learned that European bee-eaters actually nest inside ground tunnels. "These bee-eaters are gregarious — nesting colonially in sandy banks, preferably near river shores, usually at the beginning of May. They make a relatively long tunnel, in which they lay five to eight spherical white eggs around the beginning of June. "

FWIW, RG being referred to as "bird guy" is enough proof for me that he's a dude. I feel like there must have been some other clues, but if it's just that I'm good.

URL : http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Pair_of_Merops_apiaster_feeding.jpg
21 . by: Furrama November 22, 2017, 3:12 am

Whoops, cut off the g in jpg somehow.

URL : http://i.pinimg.com/474x/60/18/d1/6018d1f1d85c13924479262ec338b15b--funny-funny-funny-at-the-top.jpg
20 . by: Furrama November 22, 2017, 3:10 am

I believe in him*.




*IS RG a man bird now that I'm thinking on it? I think the only clue that we have had is that (E)XY called him Fig's "bird guy" on page 88 but I'm not sure if I should take that as gospel.

URL : http://i.pinimg.com/474x/60/18/d1/6018d1f1d85c13924479262ec338b15b--funny-funny-funny-at-the-top.jp
19 . by: Trustthapo November 22, 2017, 2:03 am

Yeah, I definitely feel as though RG is going to take a blow at the least. The bee-eater motif, how he zapped Battery, Greenie knocking him out, and the imagery on this page are giving me the heebie jeebies.

URL : http://I0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/965/512/bf2.jpg
18 . by: Witticaster November 21, 2017, 10:49 pm

Also interesting... that neither of the sentries really seem to see Green as an obvious candidate for boss. "The stoat guy." We, the audience, have seen how thoroughly conniving and calculating he is, and a few people have seen his lightning powers, but to everyone else he must just look like some the weird talks-tough guy that's been shadowing the boss.

I hope they don't underestimate him, but I'm sure they will.
17 . by: Dani November 21, 2017, 5:19 pm

@4 SHHH bby is ok

...I love the relationships between RG and XX. But I feel a sacrifice from him on behalf of her is coming as well :S
16 . by: Mutt November 21, 2017, 4:40 pm

@9 I guess that makes sense. It was something I puzzled over for a long time, but then I remembered how little they cared about one of the sentries that got lost in the labyrinth during that race.
15 . by: natoon November 21, 2017, 11:26 am

Those passages look like they were built for much bigger species.
The ones I worry about missing the VD are the "government"- not sure what sort of policing this society has, if any - but it's likely the VD was the intermediary between brothel and govt. They might miss him and his copious payoffs. Then again, maybe Cherry2 is a govt. plant. Greenie never mentioned if he found her, or she offered her services. I suspect the latter. Without the rat bros., govt. can get into the sex business as a silent partner. I hope I'm wrong.
14 . by: Camila November 21, 2017, 8:13 am

@11 not long, if the usual relationships between Sith masters and their apprentices are anything to go by.
13 . by: Downhill November 21, 2017, 3:47 am

Oops, sorry for the double post! Something must have screwed up at my end.
11 . by: Downhill November 21, 2017, 3:46 am

My money's on Green and Sherry winning, though I wonder if their partnership will become contentious. Two sociopaths with a lust for power working together, how long does that ever last when they can bring each other down with no repercussion?
11 . by: Downhill November 21, 2017, 3:46 am

My money's on Green and Sherry winning, though I wonder if their partnership will become contentious. Two sociopaths with a lust for power working together, how long does that ever last when they can bring each other down with no repercussion?
10 . by: November 21, 2017, 3:44 am

I'm betting Greenie, Cherry II, and Acai are definitely gonna be all gunning for it. (Maybe not Acai, but he certainly hasn't been doing much yet...)

Maybe if Fig ever learns the secret of fake lightning, she could swoop in and destroy the labyrinth?
9 . by: Witticaster November 21, 2017, 12:53 am

Could be a ...HOOT ahahahaha bird humor

Mutt, I get the impression that they simply don't care what happened to them. This seems like the kind of shady environment where people 'disappear' frequently, what particular manner they happened to meet their demise doesn't really matter. I bet this sentry would find it extra hilarious if he knew Green was the one to do it.

Interesting how the other sentry points out that the brothel is a force unto itself. The bosses don't 'control' it so much as take credit for it.

Poor Fig. The first panel is so cavernously empty and desolate... just like her.
8 . by: November 20, 2017, 11:40 pm

JAILBREAK
7 . by: Mutt November 20, 2017, 11:01 pm

I'm probably being nitpicky, but I find it odd that no one has been too suspicious of the whereabouts of the rat brothers. Even on this page, the rumor of VD being 'fired' wouldn't make sense if there was no one else with the authority to do that. There wouldn't even be a need for a fight. One can't argue that sentries have limited interactions with the owners but wouldn't they know enough to think it strange the brothers suddenly disappearing? Of course Green is pulling the strings, but it's amazing no one has made that connection just yet. I dunno.

That aside, I still can't wait to see what happens. I also bought Secretary Prime to read through before I purchase the addendum. Thank you for these engaging stories, Zack!
6 . by: Juna November 20, 2017, 10:52 pm

Aw yeah, I can't turn down some old-fashioned no-noias barred discourse.

But I guess Fig's gonna sit this one out, eh? Hang in there.
5 . by: TenWren November 20, 2017, 9:55 pm

Yess, very excited to see how this plays out.

@Furrama ahaha
4 . by: Trustthapo November 20, 2017, 9:41 pm

If RG dies, a little part of my heart is gonna die with him </3
3 . by: November 20, 2017, 9:36 pm

I'll laugh if Green's plan backfires and someone else snatches control out from under him.

I'll laugh twice as hard if Sherry is the one to do it.
2 . by: Furrama November 20, 2017, 9:00 pm

WAIT IS CHERRY II GONNA THROW DOWN TOO?

TOOOOOOURNAMENT AAAAAAAAARRRC!????
1 . by: Furrama November 20, 2017, 8:56 pm

LLLLLET'S GET READY TO RUMBLLLLLE!

I've been itching for a fight scene. But my credit is on (E)XY.

So we never did get the XML title for the last page.