Thread 150036254

Hello Anons young and old, the webcomic Unsounded has just finished (with a sequel on the way) and so those of us who enjoy it thought a group reread via storytime would be a fun thing to do. I'll be storytiming in blocks that match the planned volumes we know and my own best guess at how the future volumes will be laid out.

The Schedule:
Today: Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4
8/31: Chapters 5, 6, 7, 8
9/7: Chapters 9, 10, 11, 12
9/14: Chapters 13, 14, 15
9/21: Chapters 16, 17
9/28: Chapters 18, Epilogue

I don't have a well written pitch prepared aside from saying it has been, for the 15 years I've been reading it, the best webcomic out there in my opinion. It's fantasy, it's dark, it's funny, the characters are at turns loveable and hateable. It really is just fantastic. If a fellow reader would care to convince our fellows Anons I'd be more than happy to include it in future threads. But for now I will steal the blurb for Volume 1 from the currently active Kickstarter for the first two volumes.

>Book One: The Corpse with No Eyes explores the tense and . . . let’s say, less-than-friendly relationship between Sette and her undead, unnamed caretaker as they make their way through the wilderness. With beautiful artwork that feels as familiar as Saturday morning cartoons, and writing that is both hilarious and horrifying, this volume gives us an introduction to the world of Unsounded, inviting its readers to delve into an adventure that’s as fun as it is frightening.

If you just can't wait to continue you can read all 18 chapters over on the official website but storytimes are great fun so even if you do come back and join us the future Sundays. With that said, let's get started.

Okay let's see if all this bullshit worked. Haven't story timed in a while so I didn't know if OPs bumped their own threads.

Looks like we're in business. Might do earlier in the day in the future, I'm in EST so it's 6:30PM over here. Probably only a couple hours earlier though, nothing crazy. Want the thread to stick around until 12 AM in case my fellow readers would like to relive their midnight update discussions.

Alas that we didn't start getting the high resolution pages on the Patreon until many chapters down the line, this page deserves it. I might post the high res versions in the future when pages like this come up, I think a random page every so often would be acceptable to show off.

>>150036254 (OP)
Well might as well give it a read

That's a lot of kino to repost
I salute you
Ssael Fhikemun Rish

>>150036649
That's the spirit!

>>150036649
The autoposter got the better of me was going to continue and say if the first chapter doesn't immediately hook you, do give it a bit more. Certainly by the end of today if you aren't into it you've given it a fair shot.

And that's chapter 1, will take a short break between chapters, they start off reasonable now but get out of hand in the future.

Did another quick scan, nothing I need to worry about just yet, but we do get close.

>>150036661
It will be a lot but over six Sundays it shouldn't be too bad. Give us something to occupy our time as we wait for the end of the break.

ENTER

This is 4chan after all so I doubt it is needed but it is a fair warning, this comic does not shy away from fucked up shit. This character specifically is one of the worst but the world of Unsounded can be just as terrible and cruel as the real world. However unlike the real world there is usually a sense of narrative catharsis that comes through.

Is Sette supposed to have an NY accent?

DWAAAAAAAYNE

For those who care about such things the "proper" pronunciation for the two characters is Seh - tee and Doo - ahn or close enough.

Some commentary I add may contain spoilers for those of us who have already read through the story, I will try and be diligent about actually spoilering them.

I was tempted to edit the Utena pointing hands onto this page but though better of it. I think it would be a great bit to find all these pages and do that though.

Another great page for high res. Soon my dear readers, soon.

If you will indulge me, I went to an Unsounded meetup at MetroCon in 2015 there were only 10 of us there. The author, Ashley Cope, had us go through and write in a copy of the original Volume 1 on our favorite pages. This was the most popular page by far, everyone was going for it.

>>150037118
Kinda! From an Ask on the author's Tumblr, this is for where Sette comes from:

>Depending on the city and even the neighbourhood, a wild melange of Twainish 19th century Mississippi patter, NYC Five Points gangs, and trashy Irish street tough. For Sette, think Francie Brady - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FZKKy150ag - rather than London cockney, though I understand why the latter would leap first to mind.

>>150036649
It's really great. One of the best comics I've ever read, in no small part because the author had fully planned out the major plot points before ever beginning to write/draw them out.
>>150037339
>If you will indulge me, I went to an Unsounded meetup at MetroCon in 2015 there were only 10 of us there.
Very jealous.

>>150036254 (OP)
thank you for doing this. I know from experience that story-timing is a huge time sink, particularly when you have to rip all the pages.

I agree Unsounded is fantastic. I hope at least a couple new folks get to experience the peak that is the Brothers Adelier / Litriya Shrine and walk away as moved as I was by Duane's character arc.

>>150036438
Swallowing Duane, why did he do it?

Thank you OP.
>>150036517
For the longest time I assumed that the man in this page was an enemy combatant Duane was having a war flashback to and that he might become a major antagonist. I suppose I wasn't that wrong, but I certainly wasn't right.
>>150036540
>>150036551
Always loved this dialog from Sette.

A little shorter chapter compared to the last.

We start with an interesting art style change for a few pages. I do appreciate how the author plays around with different styles for different parts of the story. We'll see that much later for an entire chapter!

>>150038231
The Wandering Roots react to emotions,

>>150036603
>You'd cure a child lover in minutes
It's true, she does.
>>150038341
I wonder if that will be the same for the wandering root we meet in book two.

>>150037552
>>150037661
I love that Sette will call out and cling to Duane when she gets scared. Very rare moments, but when her confidence wanes he's the one she'll look for.

>>150037068
I never did feel like I got the subtext here. I assumed Cara's uncle was dead or dying, is that it?
>>150038495
Duane did the same when he got eaten by the wandering root, his first thought was of worry for her.

>>150036665
Ah, first signs of Sette being a good girl under the surface...

I'll start Chapter 4 in a bit, gonna take a little break, make sure there aren't any massive dongs chilling on the upcoming pages that'll get me banned. Keep the thread going boys and girls!

>>150038890
It was always there.

>>150038687
I believe Cope has said it could have been anything. Maybe something was fucked up and it smelt like death or maybe it was just different and traumatic for a little girl so she ran away.

>>150037152
And the last name is Add-uh-lee-ay.

>>150036311
That's a unique way to start a comic.

>>150038890
Considering conventional wisdom would be that Duane is a complicated automaton, naively kind, even. Probably the easiest way to get him moving again without too much trouble. Sette would never find herself falling for such a simple con.

>>150039022
The comic originally began 15 years ago, when that wasn't unreasonably tiny, and the upload size has stayed the same for the first book for the sake of consistency. Larger resolution images exist on the artist's Patreon though, and the sequel will be uploaded at a larger scale from the beginning.

>>150037639
The first of many.

>>150037176
>>150037187
Settevision displaying herself as Nary's heir and right hand man in the midst of his dealing is always sad to see

>>150037516
I wonder if Ulestry has different burial practices to Cresce, or if this tomb predates the current ones.

Oh yeah nice quality plot.

>>150037263
>Wright Makes Right
kek

>>150037570
>>150037481
I've never thought about it but I suppose gossamer traps like Boo's must be made of first silk threads.
>>150037577
Ah, Elka.

>>150037570
ENTER

>>150037639
Poor Cara.

Let's get this final chapter started! It's the longest one so far, just by 6 pages, but it is a warning of things to come. What's the image limit? I don't want to hit it with only like 5 pages left.

Thought about pulling a "whoops, can't show that in a Christian manga" here but there legit is nothing. Mods/janitors I swear to god there are literally zero nipples.

This is not artistic license or an attempt at censorship, Sette is just that way. There will be plenty of tits and dicks I'll have to shield our children's eyes from.

>>150040011
Alright c'mon, that's hilarious.

>>150038704
Sette's very good at lying with the truth.

>>150039996
Used to be 300 on most boards, I think. No idea if it still is.

I like how in retrospect its obvious the entire story was building up to a singular event, the Silver Weapon being brought to Cresce and its fate, but you wouldn't even have a clue going in fresh.

>>150038531
>Slavers? Noo, even worse. They are Ssaelit.
I chuckled.

>>150040538
Draw it.

>>150038799
Some of my favorite art from the early chapters here. I always forget this scene isn't right after Cara's death.
>>150040475
There's so much foreshadowing. Even what Elka says about Sette's da here >>150037653. Things that you'd never consider actually having any real importance besides characterization. It's crazy how much slips by unnoticed as this all builds up to such a frentic climax.

Sette's got a fight on her hands, with no Duane to help out. A proper cliffhanger for next week. New readers, if any are still around, what are your thoughts so far? Favorite characters? Ideas of what the fuck is going on?

As I said in the OP I'm thinking I'll do a batch each Sunday, probably around similar times, maybe a bit earlier, maybe a bit later. Is that too slow?

>>150040679
Personally I like the pace. Easy to schedule around and makes the hiatus until book two a little easier to bear. Maybe it could be a little too slow for new readers if they're still around. Thank you for the storytime OP. Ashley's deserved this for a long time.

Quigley's not a GOOD guy, but rereading these early parts helped me remember just how hard he has to try to cast himself as an incredible piece of shit - which isn't to say he isn't, he tries for the role and gets fist casting. But it's just interesting as the story goes on, how among the shittiest people he finds his conscience, among better people he has to cling to being shitty like a cloak

>>150037089
This scares the publisher

>>150040779
I forgot he wanted to play hero to the kids. In truth, he probably let himself forget at some point too. But yeah, Quigley isn't nearly so bad as he tries to make himself out to be.
>>150040814
Apparently only Kickstarter. ICC didn't seem to mind.

Total newbie here. It's fun, the art is good, and so far it's not too "black boxed." Everyone is hinting about how it all leads up to some epic climax, so I'll enjoy getting there.

My one gripe is that Sette is *really* not getting the hint to slow her roll. My twelve year old kid is way quicker on the uptake and would have figured out "I should respect this person's input about my behavior" like two weeks into the trip.

Of course the most recent example of "unruly kid in a serious world" is Harvey Cheyne from Captains Courageous, which I read to my kids recently (good prep for Sette's accent), so I am coming from the other end of the spectrum.

>>150038514
Good old visual gag

>>150039996
Sette, girl, what are you looking at? You can't read!

>>150040020
Anon think of the first time readers

>>150040866
Well, being a normal twelve year old really *ain't* her role. . .

>>150040866
>My one gripe is that Sette is *really* not getting the hint to slow her roll.
I agree that she's difficult, though given both how serious her position is and how she's been brought up to interact with the world does a good job of explaining it away for me

>>150040905
Fair enough.

Also, the tech is very "generic magical fantasy world" level, but the culture is decidedly Late Baroque Age. The worldbuilding is solid, so I wonder if there's an explanation for the lopsided advancement of culture without the advancement of tech.

And yes, I'm a refugee from /tg/ and /k/, forgive me for sperging on the history and worldbuilding.

>>150040866
Welcome aboard anon. Sette mellows out with time. She's commonly considered a filter in the earlier chapters, though I've never found her to be grating myself.

If you find yourself liking it, Unsounded bears rereading on the actual website down the line. The pages break the borders of the comic to spill beyond, and the author plays around with CSS to interesting effect at several key points, particularly later in the story. I'll be curious to see how OP translates it to /co/. If you want, there's also a Kickstarter going on to get the first eight chapters of the comic in print, but there's no rush to decide as it'll be available in stores after the Kickstarter concludes.
https://unsoundedupdates.tumblr.com/about

>>150040983
>The pages break the borders of the comic to spill beyond
I would be disappointed by the effort of any creator this obviously talented if she *didn't* take advantage of the online format to play with what's possible.

>>150040975
>without the advancement of tech
Keep in mind we're somewhere very rural right now. Things will change somewhat as we hit the cities.
>forgive me for sperging on the history and worldbuilding
You'll fit in just fine here. Unsounded used to be posted on /tg/ as well, and the author is a long time freeform roleplayer. She has run settings in this world and with these characters for many years before settling down to write this comic, and frequently answers questions on her Tumblr (and before that, Formspring) about the minutiae of the world. There's a lot of fun stuff to analyze.

>>150040975
There actually is an explanation.- some of it will come up in the comic, some of it is that the comic is basically out in the boonies right now (Hence Elka's complaints about availability of certain prosthetics,) some of it is basically worldbuilding locked behind questions asked on the author's tumblr

>>150040975
The tech is very well done, the magic system isn't your normal magic just happens bullshit. It's very scientific and applied scientifically so the tech development is quite different from Earth or most other fantasy worlds.

>>150041020
I was thinking of just linking over to the actual page to get the effect, I could post the pieces for some of the expanded pages maybe, but the crazy stuff will definitely need to see on the website.

>>150041068
And they rely heavily on said magic to inform their tech. The setting of Unsounded has had a very different development than that of Earth.
>I was thinking of just linking over to the actual page to get the effect
I think that should be fine. Probably also worth pointing out to any readers when there's flavor text in the URL too.

>>150040975
You should read Cope's blog. Just search for various subjects on it and you'll find a ton of world building she hasn't had space to include. These people can instantly cure bacteria infections but think they're just exorcising literal ghosts from wounds. The only people who've heard of germ theory might be guys who cut off their balls and live in a dudes-only cult except for the object of their worship. They show up later in the comic.

>>150038760
I forgot that Elka is the first to note this detail about Duane. Really sets her apart from the fat Ald with the How to Cast for Dummies book.

>>150041157
The lizards also know germ theory. >>150040975
In general Unsounded is very high fantasy, very hard magic. There's too much fun lore to cover here and get you caught up. My favorite thing of it all might be the magic system. It functions essentially as a programming system, where you call "aspects" of objects, for example the opacity of the rain to hide you from police, or sharpness of a blade's edge to cut an arm off. It gets very in the weeds though, and there are a lot of interesting things you can do with it. The way infections are cured is by doing something called core leeching bacteria. Essentially, when you remove an integral aspect from an object and if you don't replace it quickly enough, that object is destroyed. This happened to Petr's sword. But they think the word for bacteria in their magic system refers to ghosts, not physical infections. Pymary deeply colors how they think about the world.

>>150040041
ENTER

>>150040150
>>150040162
As suspicious as Quigley is of propaganda, he seems to have a weak spot for noticing the obvious Crescian slant here. I guess because it's an Ulestrian paper, but there's no way they would go against the Crescian media on something like this.

>>150041291
It's actually interesting - in the context of this story, we're actually on the higher end of magic. Like the spellcasters in the semi-regular cast are almost all in the 90th percentile. Elka's probably the lowest end of that but she's still a better caster than most who know some magic in a world with actual 'delete someone from reality' as a magic response. But that doesn't take away from the stakes in the slightest? Like Duane is I think the best caster we see in the story straight up, tacit casting totally aside, and there's not a sense that either that's being downplayed by the more mundane threats that he faces or that it trivializes the conflicts he does have.

>>150041549
I believe Ashley said Ana is a totally average but not bad wright, so that's the standard by which to judge everyone else. Significantly better than Bett, but by no means exceptional and decidedly uncertain in combat. Training to be a battle wright in particular, like Elka, Quigley, or Duane must by something else. Having to make split second calculations as a spell slices towards you and be constantly aware of all the materials and aspects you can use is no small feat.

>>150040302
>>150040309
foreshadowing

>>150040444
We know why Alds and Rachshanians aren't welcome, but has Ashley ever talked about the Hanretian?

>>150036254 (OP)
reading bump

>>150040444
What's the deal between Cresce and Hanret and Rachshane?

>>150042096
>>150041877

Raschane is particularly extreme zealots with a lot of political issues between them and Cresce, and Hanret is not really a state - it got completely wiped by Raschane, effectively genocided, and while other countries recognize Hanret in defiance of Raschane, actual citizenry wouldn't be recognized as seperate

>>150038760
>this pymaric... with enough gossamer in it to blow up a neighbourhood.
Even on reread I didn't realize this was foreshadowing until I got to >>150040589.
>>150042096
Racshane is the North Korea of Kasslyne. Crazy totalitarian country that bans pymary except for the ruling class and I'm pretty sure doesn't allow people to leave. Gefendur, but weird beliefs. No idea what's going on with Hanret and would be interested to know.

>>150042180
Ah. So basically keeping out refugees.

Did something happen to the author? She's never missed an update before but I can't see anything today.

>>150042326
Nothing happened - story's done for now. She's taking a break until the sequel

>>150040661
This page looks so good.

>>150042326
We finished the book. Now she's on hiatus until book two starts on January 5th. Until then, OP will be storytiming the comic on Sundays so we still have a decent place to discuss Unsounded for the next month. It's also a good excuse to reread or pick it up for the first time for any new readers.

It's interesting how I remember starting this with this chapter and thinking like, wow this is the best webcomic art I've ever seen, and yet the current Unsounded art absolutely blows this out of the water.

>>150042374
It's crazy how much Ashley improves considering how high she set the bar at the start. Not just with art either, the overall scope of the project.

>>150040779
I mean my read is always he hates himself and his lot so much that it overpowers his better nature.

>>150040866
I can find Sette a bit grating too but you have to consider she was raised in a literal criminal environment with no formal schooling and so is more like the worst ADHD kid you've ever seen than your 12 year old. And it'll come later, but there is an actual reason she's maybe not modifying her behaviour as much as you might expect.

>>150041549
You can see Elka's (relative) lack of skill in how she likes to put her hands on the thing she's taking. She does it here with the dog and later with some chainmail IIRC. But I would say even as we see her in the story she improves by the end, so it's possibly just a matter of inexperience. And Duane goes pretty even with Rahm, so I always wanted to see him face down a really skilled gruftgrammarer. I feel like his weakness is someone who doesn't play by the rules.

>>150042500
I would also say that given that we know Duane doesn't want to be as far west as Ulestry, and that Sette still needs him to cooperate, her behaviors are actually fairly well thought out attempts at manipulation, misdirection, and distraction. Whether that's making him so angry he doesn't ask questions or a well timed apology so he doesn't leave her on the spot. She has a lot riding on this mission, and she needs his cooperation, through any means necessary. While rereading it's really stood out to me how much isn't just informed by her thinking he's an artificial personality but by her desperation to not fail her da, not head back home empty-handed, to return to status quo or worse with him and Bodkin, and to lead Duane to Cresce no matter the cost. I would say she's very perceptive and plays her part well. And all this is further informed by growing up in a gang and seeing how they act. Duane is hers to command and use, and she's doing everything in her power to maintain that control.

>>150042602
>I feel like his weakness is someone who doesn't play by the rules.
Definitely. I believe this was a problem for him back in his Kissfist Baxter days.

New post is up about the fanworks contest.
>Thank you for all the warm remarks and reminiscences last update, readers and friends. Some people have been following Unsounded since the very beginning - nearly 15 years! Just to reiterate, the story continues with “Unsounded: The Red Cost” - launching Monday, January 5th. During the break, if you want to follow along with the sequel’s development and peek on forbidden art, consider subscribing on Patreon.

>As promised, we’re running another fanworks contest open to everyone! Click the link for all the details - bigger prizes this time, and second place is back for both categories. Let’s see your brilliance!
https://www.casualvillain.com/Unsounded/contest.html

>And if you haven’t yet, check out the Kickstarter if you want your hands on print books with print exclusive bonus comics in them. Thanks dudes!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ironspike/summer-2025-mystery-project

>>150038740
Remember when Pantoffel was a boy? Pepperidge Farm remembers...

>>150038740
Doesn't Will have a wooden arm lmao

>>150042881
Yes.

>>150042903
>the state of alderode

>>150042822
Patreon.
>I listened to this song on endless repeat while drawing the final scene in chapter 18, and got this image stuck in my head. Mathis marooned on the shadowed side of the moon and Matty secure in the crescent of light. I think this is one way Matty will think of his dad now; still here with him, but in the yesterdark, unable to engage with the light of the present even as they remain forever connected by Vienne and all she left him.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=7PmFRuKqqYg

>I updated the info for the Fanworks Contest over at the site if you want to check that out. All the deets are there. If that interests you, you do have a lot of time, but careful: it can get away from you. I'm always here if you have any questions.

>I've decided I'll keep to my normal update time every Monday here. Mondays are the worst of days, right? I'd like you to have a pleasant treat to wake up to on Monday mornings. Today it's the Quigleys, next week will be the Adeliers, and after that I'll look to you guys for requests!

>Thanks for all the kind words on Friday after the last update. It still feels really weird for that book to be done, but I think I handle these things best by diving right back into work! I'm doing a few more commissions this week, lots of script work, and I'm hoping to feel comfortable starting to thumbnail the prologue the week after. If you're a writer you know one of the trickiest tricks is introducing new characters. You don't want to overwhelm, but you also don't want to underwhelm :3
If you aren't already, you should consider supporting her on Patreon. Extra art on Mondays from now until January will help ease the pain of Book One ending.

>>150042915
They don't have many first materials. And certainly not enough to waste on a boy who will only live fifty years. Or maybe Will's dad just doesn't like him enough to buy him one.

>>150042963
What a work ethic. She's so fucking GOATed.

>>150036479
She makes herself so throwable.

>>150038687
>I never did feel like I got the subtext here.
The bad smell was Cara's Aldish emotion-sense warning her, probably someone there hated her or her uncle was a pedo/sadist or something.

>>150043301
Interesting thought. I could definitely see something like that.

>>150042374
It's really funny to compare character designs at the start and the end of, like, Jivi and Elka. They were so petite.

>>150043395
What stood out to me is that Elka's hair is a different blue. Which actually makes sense considering at the start it's a traditional dye job, and by the end she's having to pull aspect from somewhere since she's been on the road for so long that it's grown out. It's why it matches her uniform so much better in later chapters.

>>150040041
To this day "your piano is wrist-slashingly out of tune" is the iconic Bastion line for me.

>>150037089
Oh dear...

>>150038815
Wow Sette, for free? Just like that? You gotta start charging for this stuff, girl.

>>150040053
>Can't be too meaningful if he couldn't afford a shirt.
>Bastion always travels nude
No wonder Bastion got so snippy with her. I wonder how much of what he described he knew from Lady I instead of from her da.

>>150037035
>>150038329
Early Jivi looks so different.
>>150040256
>>150040264
This feels like a midway point between old Jivi and what we have now.

I can't believe no unsounded for the rest of the year bros.

>>150044041
Wonder if the new threads will still be called Unsounded or if they'll be called The Red Cost.

>>150018998
Narratively, it would make more sense for the 3rd volume to end with chapter 11, but I will grant you that it would make the page counts very lopsided.

>>150044130
Unsounded has more brand appeal

We hit the $115k stretch goal on Kickstarter, so cover effects are a go

>>150036254 (OP)
Not sure if a week between dumps is a good idea. perhaps a few couple days or even taking it down to a chapter a day once we get into the longs.

>>150036254 (OP)
>came look for iron and found gold
Where have you been all my life.

>>150043779
he knows enough to give her the amulet to hide her controlling ghosts powers from her....

>>150036254 (OP)
Webcomic is waaaaaay too long for me to stick to the dozen threads needed But I do love it. Great world, characters, and lore.

>>150036254 (OP)
>With beautiful artwork that feels as familiar as Saturday morning cartoons

Man I can feel Ashley cringe from here. Who wrote this blurb? The Iron Spike people don't seem to quite get this comic

>>150042481
No, you're right - I just find it interesting that when you stick him among the worst people, he doesn't get hung up on that self-hatred. It's when you stick him among good people and people he loves that he starts spiralling

>>150040779
>>150042481
I always felt here that he didn't want to disappoint Matty- he wanted his son to believe better, even briefly.
>>150045042
I think he's able to think himself 'above' people like Starfish and the Red Berry Boys, meanwhile the people he loves are better than him in ways he can't compete with. They're GOOD.

>>150042986

Pretty sure it's mainly the last one. Will of the Argentis was sent to the frontlines as a drummer boy for a reason.

>>150045038

That's okay as long as they keep publishing it so I can buy physical copies as a Europoor. My local bookstore carries the other series they apparently publish so...

>>150036517
this is the exact page I realized I was reading something very special

>>150040679
This as the new end to Volume 1 is really strong- a great cliffhanger and moment of tension with Duane down

i also like this first khert fire- relatively small, but an important set up for later

>>150038351
hot mama

>>150036254 (OP)
Whoa whoa whoa, UNSOUNDED IS OVER!!! but their was still so much left like wtf?

>>150045990
Unsounded is over, but it's sequel comes in January!

>>150043823
Jivi definitely gets more confident and I assume more 'himself' as the story goes on. It'd be interesting to know whether the more timid Jivi is the one his mom knew, cause he's kind of a baller kid honestly.

>>150045042
Yeah, I wish he could have faced up to it. There's a lot of potential for good in him. You'd think, with how happy he was for a time with Vienne and how much he wants to protect Matty, that their regard for him might have become a source of self-worth. But it's hard when you really despise yourself, too easy to think other people are just mistaken in seeing value in you.

>>150042715
>Kissfist Baxter
I don't know the background to that but, given it's kind of a badass name, I have to assume it is not because Duane was a cool tough wright but because of a sappy story where Leysa kissed his gloves or something.

>>150046225
Wtf, but why not just keep unsounded going? Well i'm interested at least just confused gotta read the epilogue i guess

>>150046364
>It'd be interesting to know whether the more timid Jivi...
Probably. His mom saw the eager and courageous Jivi who ran away from the farm to join his crazy aunt at sea.
Then the Jivi at the start of the comic is the broken man who escaped him his aunt and got captured by slavers on the side of the road

>>150046433
Its not because Duane was some cool tough wright, but some other tacit caster wandering around Durlyne fighting bullies and avenging the poor and downtrodden. That kind of anonymous badass certainly couldn't be stuffy Rector Duane

>>150046469
>>150046364
>>150043823
Yeah we forget early jivi was less timid and was more horrifically abused. His life is probably the few comparable to sette's with how much traumatic shit he's seen and experienced

>Mom is a pirate iirc, so probably wasn't the nicest or most nuturing
>Probably doesn't know his dad
>Was sent off to relatives who didn't care for him or just used him to the point he ran away
>Gets immediately kidnapped and enslaved
>Slavers are genuine demons, laughing as they abuse him mess with corpses beat kids
>Most of the slaves around him are dying sickly broken crippled.
>Sees them using dark arts as they cut humans open like it's nothing at all
>Literally have the most well renowned mage as bodyguard and help
>Sees his friend slowly melt into basically a flesh amalgamation of flesh and soul silver stuff

Jivi was going through it

>>150046469
I think you have it a little mixed up. Regina Flask IS his mom. His mom is the crazy pirate. He ran away from HER to go work for his uncle, then he got into difficulty being framed (maybe?) for stealing and ran away from them.

>>150046933
That's what I mean. Jivi's mom would have no fucking time at all for the snivelling, cowardly slave boy Jivi but (I presume) she would love some of the stunts Jivi pulls as the comic goes on. So was he a future successor? He wears a bosun's cap, that's not a position of no rank on a ship. Or did she hate his whining timidity? Or was nothing he did ever good enough for mommy? I'm really excited to see more of this relationship in the sequel.

I'm personally putting a 90 sem bet down on Jivi's mom having literally killed his dad.

>>150046933
>Mom is a pirate iirc, so probably wasn't the nicest or most nuturing
Isn't she also insane?

>>150047072
based women are always called insane

>>150047001
Well my poitn was more that any kid would be timid in his situation the fact he had any sense of self and balls is telling of jivi's resilences

Hope they do bring it up, definitely could see it being a good parrallel for set and her dad. So odds are based off the small details we got she probably wasn't the nicest. So think would be a way for her to see a abusive parent child relationship from the outside looking in. Cementing her development out of being a "daddies" girl

Also can't wait jivi really became one of my faves, do hope they don't do some age up bs. I'd be fine with maybe 1 or 2 years later but don't want some massive age up. Plus this seems like immediate needs, like they can't just leave alderode alone for years or sette's dad stuff
>>150047072
Think so or she's at least brutal, remember something something she's a cutthroat and jivi is definitely scared of her as we had that starfish scene of him mentioning her to mess with jivi

>>150040555
The becky constabulary vs the stacy peaceguard

>>150047001
>So was he a future successor?
Since we won't know until next book, my guess is Jivi is Regina's attempt to reintroduce men with real big balls back into the world. If there are no real men left, come hell or high water she'll make some.
Someone posted Regina designs in the final update, and I love the copper Regina. Nothing like a big copper woman. STEP ON ME HARDER MOMMY

>>150047001
>I'm personally putting a 90 sem bet down on Jivi's mom having literally killed his dad.
Double that on killing him before Jivi was born

>>150047390
The copper isn't Regina. Regina's the silhouetted woman with her back to the reader. The copper is probably the leader of the March, Vampire's sister.

>>150047438
Thanks man. Can't wait to see her.

>>150047520
I too cannot wait to meet the Aldish terrorists.

>>150043573
To quote Ashely, Sette has cute feet, and she knows it.

Hope, we get more of khert sette her ending was so depressing and damn near sinister

>>150047734
I hope she and all of the other Settes and Jacs are released from their eternal torment when the khert gets flipped.

>>150047967
Well think all the other sette's are dead, remember she's just the og. So the first in the reincarnation cycle also think her brother and mom are dead now. Remember she used sette's power to kill them so think they are perma dust in the khert

I do hope they can be fixed but really feel it'd go against the somewhat cosmic horror of the khert. Basically all souls are ripped to shreds when they hit the khert they are all just masses of silver and memories melding together. It'd be almost impossible to fix that without tons of bs

For some reason I have this feeling Simon is going to be dead when we get to Alderode.

>>150046465
It's going to be a brand new setting (Alderode) with new supporting cast. All the plot threads are still left hanging, sure, but it's as good a thematic break as any.

>>150046933
Small knitpicks, mom isn't just a pirate, she's a pirate obsessed with castrating inadequate men. And the relative he ran off to live with actually seemed to really like him and was intending for him to take over. Until his version of Bodkin framed him for theft so that he could lose his uncle's favor. That's when Jivi ran away and got kidnapped. So he had something good for a very short while in between all of the rest.

>>150048183
They're dead, but after death their memories stay together within the khert. Also tittybird is not dead, just maimed and at best facing a long convalescence in the khert.
>>150048185
I'm not ready to see Leysa and Simon genocided.

>>150047001
>>150047397
Triple on her doing something ridiculously edgy like having castrated him and then made him the figurehead of her ship.

>>150046465
IIRC the series was originally plotted out as a trilogy (eventually edited down to a duology) with Unsounded being the first book. You should think of this like a bigass fantasy novel, but in comic form. Book 2 will focus on Duane's homeland and a few important lingering plot threads and antagonists, but I won't divulge too much detail here because spoilers.

>>150048458
I think the outline was intended to be something like this
>Book One Cresce
>Book Two Alderode
>Book Three Khert and The Man
Most of what is getting cut down is in book three, but we're still going to get a lot of it in book two.

>>150036254 (OP)
>>150040679
OP, in case you don't have Patreon, Ashley posted this.
>It's so flattering someone's taking the effort to storytime on modern /co/, the new posting restrictions are such a pain in the butt. Also the comic is a million pages long, lol

>>150037035
Early jivi looks kinda feminine in the face like that bald lady from later

>>150049011
He does.
>>150047177
>do hope they don't do some age up bs
Who do you take Ashley for? This isn't amateur hour here.
https://unsoundedcomic.tumblr.com/post/779858249593896960/what-are-you-going-to-do-after-unsouned-ends-are
We've already had our time skip, the kids have been stuck under house arrest for a few weeks. But anything important? We're going to get to see.

>>150049125
I thought Ashley said we would get a few months or something between books.

>>150049609
I remembered that as well, but this is what I found when I went searching. Either way, a few weeks to months is a far cry from a year or two of time gone by.

>>150048368
>castrate your husband while still pregnant with your son
>cripple him with a careful neck breaking to keep him alive
>get a wright to make a specialized plod collar to control his crippled body
>program it to air wank and scream insults at everyone nearby
>strap it to the front of your ship
>keep it there until it rots off

I don't have a paetron and I certainly haven't kept up to date on all of the unsounded Tumblr. Any favorite fun facts/ancedotes you guys have from there that I might've missed?

>>150037068
Wait, was that Bastion?

>>150051567
Yes, as seen with "death is the god's crime" in >>150037615

>>150051137
Patreon:
>The weeping plague is confirmed to prevent souls flying apart at death, and the forest of babies in the khert are confirmed to be those souls affected by the plague (presumably also causing the fertility crisis in Alderode?)
>Duane's old journal entries accompanied by letters signed off by a mysterious M.A. that used to be hidden on the site would follow the desperate attempts of said M.A. as they tried to get anyone to believe the incredible work they found was not a mere fiction, leading to their dismissal, threats against them, and eventual imprisonment
>One of these letters is a reply to M.A. mentioning that the journals would be controversial because, among other reasons, they are told from the Ssaelit perspective and suggests this viewpoint is almost wholly unacceptable to Alderode nowadays
Tumblr:
The extra stories Ashley writes about
>Duane and Leysa's courtship
>Bastion and Rahm meeting another, hostile agib in pursuit of knowledge
>Lemuel going after criminals to try to prove himself as competent as Duane and nearly dying
And so on. Quite often she answers questions there with a few paragraphs of prose set in Unsounded. Not all of these are easy to find, unfortunately, but they're all worth reading.

There are a lot of other things as well for her Tumblr that bear mentioning, but almost too many to think of. Ask about a subject and it would be easier to tell you about it. I also really like the pymary guide she drew.
>>150051567
Yeah. The earliest appearances of characters all look very different than they do now. Even Sette and Duane look a little different stylistically, although they have changed by far the least.

>>150051137
.........Glut is a steroid that along with your muscles makes your hands, feet, and genitals Gigantic. Anadyne's boyfriend's dick too big for anything but handjobs.
Black Tongue's have black cum that makes women Infertile because Sessine doesn't like other women

>>150048340
Huh thought she was finally dead, also yeah I know that but they also imply even the memories are warped because of the whole "good and bad memories" and imperfect revivals we see via silver
>>150048219
Damn, I'm interested assuming duane daughter will be the lead or in main cast but also sad won't get more follow ups on Jivi sette and matty. But guess they've had their time and will return eventually, really shocked sette wasn't the overarching mc
>>150048458
Huh interesting indeed kind of sad to lose our cast we've grown to love for a while. But in the end always cool when writers do this, def something I always wanted to do but it's a well known danger as you have to get people attached to the new cast fairly fast or you lose readers but i trust the writer.

Also just realize, man the new cast will be all aryan because it's Alderode and all
>>150049011
I assumed this was before she decided on the race, always gave me the Egyptian vibe where they are drawn with sharp "cat eyes" and a bit feminine because of that classic mysticism thing. But then they lend more black which gave it a more unique vibe anyway
>>150049125
I'll trust her but hey I have been reading this since.......damn think my last year of HS. Man idk if this means I'm or this comic is old.

Nice hope we get to meet jivi mom, feels she'd fit with the whole sea to alderode and being a pirate.

So is unsounded part 1 just one massive book "print wise" or more like multiple books but just part 1?
>>150048283
Huh well that's good though damn guess jivi is just fucked, some asshole would say he has the classic "criminal-blood" in him meaning having a cursed life.

Poor boyo but hey now I want more jivi even more, he really became my fave kid character but for kid characters all of them were great. Also his mom sounds horrifying for a young boy to be aroud sadly, jivi not being more like sett is shocking

>>150051770
You up to date anon? Everything you mentioned confirmed to still be in the next book
>So is unsounded part 1 just one massive book "print wise" or more like multiple books but just part 1?
It is four-six books I think. The kickstarter confirmed the new print is 300 pages for the first one and 360 for the second. Someone that knows math and the plot can probably figure out how the rest of it would be split up.

>>150050634
>>150050634
Jesus, what a woman jivi probably didn't have a good time looking at that

>Be a young Crescene lad
>Join a ship for the money
>Turns out they are pirates
>You can't leave now every day is a fight and dangerous
>But your captian is a insanely powerful and confident sea babe
>She saves you and the crew a lot because she's insanely powerful
>Become first mate randomly
>Tells you you are only one she can trust
>Suddenly a meeting turns into her pouring some grog from the kegs
>Then you realize you're in her room drinking her special wine
>Get to bang your cool female captain
>She learns she's pregnant
>Happy to have a kid with her
>She says how it's not a good thing
>You start getting to bold, saying you'll protect her
>Even secretly talk about how you and her can move in with your family in the country with the kid
>You get in a fight over it
>She calls you a pussy then says she'll give you one too
>Castrates you
>It's all down hill from there
>Now you can only see your son at ports, your broken rotting body barely alive with magic
>You can't even cry or call his name properly as you see her dragging him along as the new ships figurehead
>As you see him you wonder as the last light in you fade
>"I hope you'll be happ...y......jivi"

>>150051770
>Damn, I'm interested assuming duane daughter will be the lead or in main cast but also sad won't get more follow ups on Jivi sette and matty. But guess they've had their time and will return eventually, really shocked sette wasn't the overarching mc
Miki is confirmed to be a main character. We aren't trading out the entirety of our current cast though, just a lot of them. Duane, Sette, Jivi, and I think Matty are confirmed for next book. There are some thoughts that Miki might be the primary viewpoint character for The Red Cost, but it's uncertain.
>Nice hope we get to meet jivi mom, feels she'd fit with the whole sea to alderode and being a pirate.
We're also confirmed to be getting Regina (Jivi's mom) and Elaronsy (Vampire's sister and leader of the march), Will Jr., the Tanners' gang, and some other things besides.
>So is unsounded part 1 just one massive book "print wise" or more like multiple books but just part 1?
The latter. The current Kickstarter is running for "books" one and two, which will each have four chapters. Subsequent Kickstarters will have a similar page count. But the "Books" are divided by major shifts in the setting, conflict, and characters.

>>150051923
Wait 4 chapters god damn so what it'll be like 5 books??? in book 1

Also hope we get matty, lowkey matty was only reason I'd hope for a time skip. Imagine a 2-4 years later, Matty looks more like his dad and is a right under Duane tutelage. The blind mage

Nice wait their were vampires? damn need to actually re-read also might draw some stuff since these will be frequent and my last shot for a while.

>>150051770
>thought she was finally dead
For the story? Effectively she is, yes. She would need to eat to regenerate, and there is no food in the khert. At best she can expect to influence the world from her first silver, but I don't think she's ever likely getting a way out from this.
>Also just realize, man the new cast will be all aryan because it's Alderode and all
Only one caste is soud. Duane was our primary viewpoint character in Alderode before, but we will see more of Alderode this time around.
>>150051763
She's also obsessed with being a mother so she tries to nurse babies she finds, but keeps killing them because her nipples have thorns and secrete first silver. Also Knock was addicted to glut, and Duane was forbidden from smoking it because Leysa was scared he would get too big for her.

>>150051770
>Also just realize, man the new cast will be all aryan because it's Alderode and all
Gonna sperg about lore for a bit here, but Alderode actually has a magical caste system that plays into their ethnicity. The Quigley's are albinos, and Duane in life was a blonde, green-eyed gigachad but there's a few other complexions you'll see as the story goes on. I think Cara was a Jet, who have fair skin and black hair. Coppers in particular have red hair and skin; you'll see one I think next week.
The caste also determines lifespan and baseline magical aptitude; Alds can live between 30 to 400 years depending on which one you are.
Crescians ethnically are definitely African. Sharteshane always struck me as being Victorian London in terms of aesthetic so I think they're also supposed to be White. Starfish could be an Irish, for example.
Also the next book's supporting cast isn't going to be 100% Ald; we'll definitely have some Crescians since a whole war's popping off between the two

>>150052016
>so what it'll be like 5 books???
Something like that yeah.
>Also hope we get matty, lowkey matty was only reason I'd hope for a time skip. Imagine a 2-4 years later, Matty looks more like his dad and is a right under Duane tutelage. The blind mage
Quigley and Vienne purposefully did not teach Matty pymary as a way to buck the expectations of their caste. While I find it hard to imagine Duane wouldn't teach someone pymary if they desired, I can't imagine Ashley will go against what Vienne and Quigley desired for the boy.
>Nice wait their were vampires?
Vampire. Only a nickname Roger's lover went by.
>damn need to actually re-read
Yep. That's what these threads are for.
>also might draw some stuff since these will be frequent and my last shot for a while.
More Unsounded art is always good. There's also the fanworks contest coming up here >>150042822.

>>150052116
If anon is a new reader, he can reference the propaganda poster in >>150040391. Although coppers and silvers in that are depicted as much lighter skinned than we know them to be. I believe bronze are a bit darker as well.

>>150052275
I don't know if there's a version with the racial descriptions floating around, but here's a readable version of the poster, very handy for shitposting purposes.

>>150052123
What did Vienne and Quigley desire for Matty because they themselves differed. Surely it must be uncomfortable being so sensitive to pymary and the flow of the khert at all times yet unable to use it.

>>150052531
Undoubtedly. And not just sensitive either, Matty does seem to be very curious about and interested in the world of pymary.

>>150052051
Huh damn, and yeah best because she was mostly main antagonist of the first part be weird for this not to be her end at least temporarily. I just want more khertte she was cute and deserved better. Why show us her true ending and why she's so fucked up mentally.

I was joking like how all of cresce is black, all of ald is white at least from what we've seen besides maybe the red guys.

Confirm duane naturally big anyway, also what a weird drug to have. Do love the writer having fun in this series, sad it doesn't have a bigger following you know they love everything about their creative process.
>>150052116
Really would they allow cresceian anywhere near them?But yeah assumed so though feel most crescians will be whoever we met before since be weird for cresceians to be anywhere near the alderode borders and area.
>>150052123
Uhhhhhhhh no offense but wasn't it mostly more play on how they were both secretly selfish. I mean it was never about him as the final arc of theirs shows, everything was about their ego and trying to "buck the systerm". Also he is blind and needs a new pymary bag and stuff without his dad. It'd be cruel to leave him blind and powerless without anything.

>Have you heard of the tragedy of Matty
>Made to fuel a woman's ego and desire
>Hated by a man who couldn't see anything but his expectations
>Mother crafted him a invalid brother, for her own passions
>Had the sight of his ma being brutalized, burnt into his eyes
>Father betrays his family for the caste
>Brother ripped asundered revealing the truth of his fake life
>Left all alone blind and weak as the day he was born.

Oh ok lol, now interested though poor roger though.

Indeed, just wondering if I finish then read or wait

Oh I'm not in the patreon sadly

>>150052666
It would be interesting to get more Khette. Not sure if it's in the cards, her arc seems complete. But I certainly wouldn't complain. You mentioned drawing some art for the thread, maybe something of Khette meeting Boo while wandering the khert? It's not like she has anyone else left after what happened.
>wasn't it mostly more play on how they were both secretly selfish.
Two things can be true at once. They were both of them irredeemably selfish in ways that tore their family apart, and both of them truly loved their son. They also truly desired to not contribute to a bad system, and when Vienne took the option of not having kids off the table, the next best option was not to let their boy become a child soldier, or ever learn pymary.
>Also he is blind and needs a new pymary bag and stuff without his dad. It'd be cruel to leave him blind and powerless without anything.
We'll have to see how Ashley addresses this going forward. Pymaric eyes are very expensive and hard to obtain, I'm not sure if there are other common visual aids, but Chitz was a very unusual piece of bespoke tech made by black tongues. It won't be easy to just get another one of those. You might want to read the side stories about Quigley if you haven't already.
https://unsoundedupdates.tumblr.com/miscellany

>>150052666
>Really would they allow cresceian anywhere near them?
Just because they're not allowed in, doesn't mean they won't show up anyways. Keep in mind, Sette and Duane both become fugitives after chapter 2, the Quigleys are also on the run and Aldish, etc. A lot of the cast consists of criminals, fugitives, and the like. It's more fun in my opinion as well since it gives them an extra challenge to overcome.
I think Book 2's cast will be more predominantly Aldish, but not entirely so.
>Also he is blind and needs a new pymary bag and stuff without his dad.
Ashley hinted that he'd need a replacement for Chitz, though she also stated he's outgrown Chitz. At the same time, proper Pymaric eyes are rare, expensive, and invasive. Duane's not well versed in Pymaric technology so they'd need to find a specialist to make any sort of device or source them an Ocular possibly Rahm and whatever's left of the Black Tongues. I theorized in the last thread, but I think it would be feasible to fashion it as either glasses or goggles. But even assuming that does work, it may end up being limited vision similar to what Chitz provided.
Duane would probably be eager to teach Matty Pymary, but the kid's heartbroken so who knows if he'd even be willing. They're also short on time, and IIRC it takes a specialized ritual to even activate someone's Pymaric ability unless they're a very rare Innate like Duane and Mikaila. On top of all this, you need to understand things like the materials and space around you, which obviously requires eyesight.

>>150053043
Nora is one such Crescian confirmed for book two. And of course Jivi and his mom. I think Rahm and Iori are confirmed out, now, so Matty will need to source his vision aid somewhere else.

>>150038687
My take was Cara's uncle was abusing her, and "smells bad" was little kid code for bad touching.

I'm not surprised Ash didn't elaborate, comic's got enough grimdark as it is

>>150037132
I'm getting my fantasy settings confused, do they use Talents as a currency in this one or am I thinking of something else?
clever pun if it is

>>150053463
Sem is the currency in the overwhelming majority of Kasslyne, each country has different designs but the denominations and material are standardized by the Ulestrian church. Even Alderode adheres to this. All designs have Gefendur motifs. The standardized currency is a relatively new development throughout the continent. In moneyless Cresce, they award you a spelled token called labour points that can be redeemed for services not deemed essential enough to be provided by the state (new reading material, more exotic food, a trip to the brothel). These labour points have a bit of first material inside them and are spelled to match the receiving individual's pymaric identity using the same breath system described here >>150040444. Only the citizen receiving these labour points may spend them, to help ensure the evils of money do not take hold. After it is spend, they can be returned to the state where they will be respelled for the next person to receive them.

>>150052847
Huh thought boo was still with sette? But could be cute poor girl needs someone she's all alone in the dark

Oh I know just more saying in a way they both fucked matty terribly, a mother with a child trying to spark a rebellion with no support is crazy. Then also making the kid willfully unprepared for the war/defending himself is naive too. Also feel matty would 100% want to know pymary his whole life was wrapped in it and he didn't want to be useless anymore

Wait thought Quigley made the bag for him, but damn maybe matty will get kicked out the plot seems like he's basically a completely broken kid.
>>150053043
Oh of course it'd be boring otherwise, without a lil diversity plus the old cast. Though I do wonder how hard it will be to interact with the world of the ald if they are cresceians and fugitives and well known ones.

Hmmm true I still and pro magic matty, kid needs a dub also fits duane's whole "duane never lost a boy redemption" he literally known for teaching plats.

I kind of prefer limited vision, or maybe learns some self pymary to make better himself or maybe he has a knack for tech himself since he is the kid of two goats.

Huh didn't know it was a ritual thought it was like a innate skill and you just need to train it.

>>150051137
In addition to Beadman, there's a secondary ruling force in Sharteshane. The Gefendur paladins. They strongly enforce Gefendur views. Making the twin sacrifice entirely non-optional, once upon a time binding their scripture in human skin. Generally, very charming folk. They get along well with the gangs and the common people like them: the gangs collect money from the commoners, as a protection racket, or with brothels, drink, and gambling. Then they redistribute much of that wealth to the paladins as tithes, for sacrifice, maybe even for favors. And they are a powerful.

Frustratingly for Beadman, they can't entirely be bought, and are not easily pacified. They're also at least somewhat sympathetic to Cresce as compared to the average Sharteshanian. One day this will come to a head and Beadman and the paladins will have a war. We will never get to see this in Unsounded nor in The Red Cost. But it will happen some day.

And this one would make a great hook for book two
https://unsoundedcomic.tumblr.com/post/787559427400187904/whats-the-scariest-thing-about-alderode

>>150053888
>Huh thought boo was still with sette?
Sadly not. Boo had to be killed/destroyed in order for it to hold the path open for Duane and Sette to leave and enter. After Boo's body was destroyed, he was able to follow Sette in the khert and interact with her, as he is just a collection of souls/memories, like other ghosts. The khert is his home. When Sette and Duane returned to Kasslyne, Boo had no body to come back with. We've left the little guy behind. This is what Sette means in the end of the book, when she's talking to Jivi and says "Boo went back home".

As for Vienne's naivete, keep in mind she made Uaid as a gift to the leader of a rebellion, and made him wholly to be peaceful and pacifistic in nature.

>>150054105
Damn didn't realize it was dead that whole time, but tis how it works same with knock down. Think that is one of the keys of the series is you never know when someone can help but they are basically pulling a literal willpower and piloting their own corpse or something. Honestly if they do that with duane or jivi or toma I'll be heartbroken at that reveal they are already dead or something. Truly no one is safe

Yeah but still you were gifting a "GIANT!!!" to a rebellion it very much will look like you are picking sides to either of them. Also puts a unwanted target on your back also she was really dumb about it to the point the whole town knew and told quigley to basically reign her in so really she was fucking it up for all of them literally

>>150054329
I meant that Vienne was extra naive because she was risking all this to give a gift that had low offensive value. Sure, tremendous defensive value. But she deliberately did not put her talents towards helping them with an offense, not even at the standard level of offensive weapons that already exist in this setting.
>Truly no one is safe
Ashley's said before that the safest option for her characters is to get written out. Rahm, Iori, Toma, Elka? Their story is finished, it's over now. They survive. Anyone else going forwards with us? They're fair game.

>>150054011
I can’t see Beadman winning that one.

>>150052116
There is a very black woman in a flashback who is Aldish but born outside their twisted magic zone.
Most Aldish are genetically the darker people of the rest of the continent, excluding the Soud/Gold caste who started as Tains.

>>150040417
I am still waiting for the callback where this gets proven to be 100% correct

>>150055196
Book 2 baby, he's gonna be right.

>>150055320
This. I'm certain that that's what the red cost is about or what the kussen are. One of those, maybe even both.

>>150055132
I think most Aldish are closer to Sharteshanians and Ulestrians natively, outside the Tains obviously. Only a few get as dark as Crescians. Not 100% sure about this though.

>>150053463
Talent was a unit of currency in the Roman Empire. It was worth multiple years' labor, let's just say $1 million.
The whole reason it's known in English as "an inborn skill someone has" is because of William Tyndale's late-1500s translation of the Bible into English. Jesus tells a story ("parable," kind of like a fable, intended to impart a lesson) about a landowner who goes away and leaves his money - his talents - in the care of his servants, "to every man according to his several ability." The translation didn't change the word "talent," just transliterated it from Greek. So people read that word when reading that story, and it thus became very common in the early 17th century Anglosphere to talk about God giving different "talents" to people - and that's where we are today.

>>150054885
I find it hard to imagine him finding a suitable successor for the dynasty he's building. Could be that's how things end for him instead, with the smaller crime lords scrambling to try to pick up the scraps and make their play after he's gone.
>>150055621
NTA, but that's very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

>>150055196
I don't know if it's a direct life transfer or not. We don't know the rates of birth of coppers, silvers, plats etc. that might help you work it out. We know the longer lifespan comes with something of a distancing from the khert, so coppers suck at pymary and jets are OK but severely lack range. We know there's a kind of social 'is this guy legit' hivemind that soud are exempt from. We know the lifespan is bundled up with other traits, like skin/hair pigmentation, pymary, eyesight, some kinds of madness.

I think it's either 'the coppers/jets directly get their lifespan from the restricted lifespan of the silvers/plats' or it's like, 'the dammakhert needs fuel': Alderode HAS to go to war. It HAS to make kussen. It HAS to expand the dammakhert. And if it doesn't the unnatural construction of the whole thing rebounds somehow. In the worst case scenario it's not going to be an automatic process I guess. The coppers are literally going to be murdering and sucking up the lifespan of plat babies or something.

I was thinking about the etalarche hack implied by the ending of this comic. Like, we know that curse can't target soud right? So I'm wondering what they're actually going to target or fuck with the Aldish perception of. Is it going to be anyone not registered with the dammakhert? Can they make it specific enough to target a belief, like Ssaelism?

>>150055760
>I find it hard to imagine him finding a suitable successor for the dynasty he's building
Yeah? I feel like Sharteshane is almost designed to produce that. Every minor lord and gang leader is running a Beadman operation in miniature, and the entire continent wants Beadman goods even if Jab Beadman isn't the man in charge of them. So like him having a kid who inherits? Yeah that might be tough. But someone taking over? I think that's almost inevitable.

That's kind of why I think he can't beat the Geffie paladins. They seem like the premier military force in Sharteshane, so to go against them he would need popular support. Which would be opposing most Sharteshanians religion, so I doubt he'd get it. And I think the risk to their livelihoods is limited by letting Beadman fall, because *someone* is gonna take over his operation.

Honestly the best way to kill all the Aldish would be to try and modify the weeping plague so the "recognition" trigger isn't eye contact but whatever dammakhert twinge connects the Aldish castes. Zero risk to anyone outside Alderode, every non-Gold in Alderode is fucked.

>>150056640
The reason I'm not sure is exactly because everyone and their mother wants to take over and, that we know of, there doesn't seem to be a standout guy in Beadman's mind to groom for that future. It's possible the next person is just as successful as he is, but it's possible that all the gangs clamoring for a piece of the pie cause too much internal fighting and things start to break apart.

There aren't just some men like Beadman in Sharteshane, there are too many. But none are quite as rich, powerful, or whatever qualities he has that have enabled him to get nearly everyone else under their thumb, his empire will be doomed to fail. The same story that's played out time and again when any gang has a power vacuum.
>>150056596
>So I'm wondering what they're actually going to target or fuck with the Aldish perception of
Such a good question. We know the curse spreads from the little bit of dammakhert instead every Ald, starting from the target of the curse. So I don't think it could be an idea, a soud, or anyone non-living. Not without redesigning the curse and the dammakhert from the ground up. But that could be exactly what they do. If it's not because it seems easier for the not to be, then targeting the members of Vits seems like a strong initial step. But this doesn't seem to go far enough towards what Sonorie wants. I do expect them to retool the curse in some capacity eventually.

>>150056849
Shit. That's genius. Is the plague widely known outside of Alderode though? I don't think we've seen any people who aren't either Aldish or black tongue bring it up.

>>150056849
>>150056991
I'm convinced it already works like this because of how much of an issue Alderode has had with the plague versus Cresce. Why else would they cut Fachlyne off of the Dammakhert if it didn't provide some vector? Does the Aldish detection sense work outside of the Dammakhert? I guess that would prove it doesn't hop like that sense there are Alds that serve in Fachlyne.

>>150056991
There have been outbreaks in Cresce but currently the old epidemic is in Fachlyne IIRC.

>>150057103
>only not old
My bad

>>150057100
It could be that the point of recognition/eye contact is heavily related. But we know that it's disproportionately affected the Ssaelit, so it seems likely it might be affecting the soud.
>>150057103
Mind finding the source if you can? I would be interested to read anything Ashley has said on the topic.

>>150057100
It definitely works via actual eye contact because the 'doctors' executing the infected in Fachlyne wear masks, and Duane has the plague but isn't infecting everyone because of his artificial eyes. IMO there's just a khert variable for recognition that cascades into the plague in infected individuals. I think the plague itself passes through the khert, ofc, which is why the infected don't reincarnate and might give a justification for separating Fachlyne from the dammakhert.

>>150057143
https://unsoundedcomic.tumblr.com/post/723742909935108096/hello-again-on-the-duane-train-troo-an/amp

>>150056849
There are some non-alds who arent souds in the port cities as well. Mainly foreign workers from Sharteshane I think. And I think there are some dammakhert-alds who moved to Sharteshane to get away from their oppressive government. But yeah, anything that could use the recognition trigger would seriously mess up the majority of the aldish population. All that would be left is Souds, some port foreigners, possibly some returning alds, and the Mmtamont or whatever the fuck Sould liberation army Cope has referenced in her blog.

I wonder if Worst!Adelier has been in contact with those liberation guys. Or if he'll join them when given an option. Perhaps Mikaila might be open to them, especially if they maintained some of their hippie gender equality from when they were Tains.

And why is there a Tain subset on an island far from alderode?

>>150057185
Thanks for the link, interesting read. I wonder what helped them to contain the plague. If onset isn't rapid, controlling a disease spread by eye contact must be an unimaginable nightmare. Forget who you were in a room with, who did you ever look at? But then, they had no problem dissolving an entire town that had become unprofitable, so maybe that's exactly what they would do, literally.

>>150057188
The ethnic Tains aren't Ssaelit, they're pagan senet worshippers. I doubt Lemuel would like them any better even if he felt Alderode should be for only the Tainish.

>>150036254 (OP)
I read this for a bit when it first started, mostly jerked off to the loli feet though. That was ages ago, wild that it went on for so long and actually finished. Maybe I'll read it sometime.

>>150036254 (OP)
You know speaking of reading unsounded, what's everyone favorite songs to listen as they read or anyone got a playlist for the series?

>>150058162
Is this common? I usually read Unsounded and most other things in silence. I know Ashley has a pretty robust playlist she pulls from when drawing or writing Unsounded, though. What do you like to listen to?

>>150058346
Didn't know that honestly used to have a bigger playlist so mostly lost to time but one I like that feel fits the vibe now is

"fish in a birdcage" specifically lion and memento mori have great vibes

>Also of course little lion man for sette, if I could make edits definitely would make one for her.

>>150058614
Yeah, there's an example of it up here >>150042963 and Ashley pretty frequently posts songs that remind her of characters on Tumblr.
>Also of course little lion man for sette, if I could make edits definitely would make one for her.
Every take a look at this fanart? You need captions on to fully appreciate why this song fits as well as it does, but it could have been written for Unsounded.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zeJkT1QaZHY

I also really like the musical fanart we got like Black Tongue Blues, it's become the defacto way I read that piano scene now. There's also another piece of fanart for Isabel Ne'er-Do-Well I believe.

>>150058727
Ah damn anyone got a list, i never really knew much about this stuff til i was far to behind. Also i don't like patreon kind of dumb and finnicky.

Yeah don't think I saw this one really good though love me some good unsounded maybe with 1 being over the fandom shall grow but think ashley should spend a bit on marketing it. She hasn't done a youtube vid since like 2018 i think. Or maybe someone should do a fandub, that always gets more eyes on a series. An unsounded is one of those rare comics where it had no real loss in quality in art or writing. Sad it hasn't caught on more.

Oh I need to check out black tongue blues sounds good

>>150058951
If you search her Tumblr for youtube, playlist/playlists, or song/songs, you should be able to find a lot of the ones she's mentioned.

https://www.casualvillain.com/Unsounded/Contests/2021/2021_entries.html
Black Tongue Blues is at the bottom here. There's other fanart with other songs as well, but this is the time that stands out to me alongside what I linked before.

>>150058346
I have a bunch of random music I cycle through while I'm reading or playing games but it's mostly instrumental stuff that basically turns into background noise.

>>150059166
Yee I do this a lot but only with manga or something with a show connected to it. As it's hard to know with a indie that has no real ost or anything. But sometimes I do go for a good ole youtube playlist though most suck and rarely fit the theme usually the same ole songs over and over lol.

Speaking of that reminds me this is a rough time for indie, marionetta also won't be back till 2026 either damn. Maybe 2025 is the end of eras for many series.

>>150056596
>>150056966
The simplest explanation for the Etalarche would be that it fucks with the extra sense Alds have of each other, probably pushing some levers to ill advised levels. In that case it'd be pretty unlikely that it would affect Soud or any non-Aldish.
Having that kind of perception filter control on the populace is pretty scary, but also explains nobles being a bit more distrustful and racist towards Souds. How can they be real Aldish if they're not affected by this stuff? But there has to be some fear too, because it seems like the real Soud superpower is being immune to the Dhammakhert

>>150040595
I always thought this page would be improved by removing the flying sette, she's too far up for the action to make sense

>>150040866
>"I should respect this person's input about my behavior" like two weeks into the trip.

Well, thing is, at this point she doesn't have any reason to believe Duane is anything but a fancy automaton, like being rude to Siri or nowadays to an LLM. The way they stitch memories of the dead into automatons they can get really lively performances out of what are basically robots

>>150041296
To be fair ghosts are literally real in the setting, and will possess bits of dust and smoke to make up eels. I remember when I was reading at first I didn't know for sure if the eels were some sort of visual metaphor or wtf

>>150059617
Anon, let the new readers find out stuff by reading. We didn't learn that until way later in the story.

>>150045107
>so I can buy physical copies as a Europoor. My local bookstore carries the other series they apparently publish so...

they distribute in Yrp? That'd be good. I'm not paying through the nose for postage

>>150052354
>Bronze
Who were the Bronze? Did we ever see one?

Is anyone gonna do the commission

>>150059693
Yeah, they mentioned it'll be available in stores worldwide.
>>150059705
I think we met a few, but no one important. Background characters.
>>150059707
At this point I'm not adding any more money into the Kickstarter out of principle. I want better stretch goals and fun add ons. I really hope they do better for the next one. I also don't really have anything I want Ashley to draw that isn't likely to be drawn by her own volition.

>>150059751
True, really no offense but the other comics aren't even unsounded themed it seems.a bit much for them. But not a bad kickstarter

>>150059762
It sucks because if you look through their past Kickstarters, they were better than this. I don't know how much of it is them not getting the audience, how much is Ashley's lack of desire to market meaning she didn't push as hard for things other creators did, and how much is the fact Unsounded has a rabid fanbase that all sought to back immediately, confusing the publishers. But it's just disappointing.

>>150056991
>I don't think we've seen any people who aren't either Aldish or black tongue bring it up.

The old lady in Ulestry mentions it here >>150038616

>>150059707
No

>>150036254 (OP)
Neat cloak

>>150036564
Sette's feet...

>>150036661
Aldish scum, we'll put an end to your corpse god

>>150037089
STARFISH LOVES YOU

>>150054434
considering the aldish state can basically paralyze any aldish person through the dammakhert if they know your name and know you're in alderode, a mobile base that completely cuts you off from the dammakhert is actually really really nifty

>>150062331
It also prevents the etalarche. But not giving it a decent smattering of weapons seems ill advised.

Anyone who bought the previous books for some feedback on how well it's adapted? Ashley likes to use some interface screw to make certain scenes pop out more and I'm not sure if physical can copy that.

Kinda like how K6BD's physical is arguably worse because you don't get the little lore tidbits/psalms that come with every page in the webcomic.

>>150063666
It's good, although the web version is obviously definitive and it's not even close. Ashley has talked about before how she actually has planned for a print adaptation from the beginning, and anywhere the paneling has to deviate, a print version was planned alongside.

You definitely miss the extras of the web version, and that's the one I will always go back to to read, but you get some really cool extras (side stories that aren't on the site, Tainish guide, etc.) as a trade off that are pretty nice. To me the books are more about serving as a collector's item, financially supporting Ashley, and making sure that Unsounded doesn't become lost media one day. I want to be able to read this long after Unsounded and The Red Cost have concluded.

>>150064250
>>150063666
There's also concept art of Sette and other characters that long predates Unsounded. Nothing except regular pages to replace the effects, but there weren't that many of them in the early chapters the old print version was up to. The first time Sette falls into the khert was the major one.

I read the Kissfist Baxter story and man Duane got fucking washed. Shit tier, busted-ass oldhead wright, can't tell his ports from his fucking balls of a morning. If the Shadwe is calling that the best wright in centuries we need to get the old man some pymaric ocular. It's a good job my man never went up against Fall Apart Farley cause he would have got faded in 2 seconds.

>>150037639
A child trafficking gang operating within the crypts of Fat Yerta. And twin sacrifices. No wonder why Duwayne hates the Crescian cult so much

This is an old series. I remember trying to get into it around the same time I first heard about Order of the Stick, long as fuck time ago.
Gave up on it pretty rapidly, because I kept thinking to myself "It's kind of weird how pervy this guy is about little girls."
There's literally always a little girl involved in every plotline, and they're always getting molested or perved on or taking their shirt off. It's always something; even their constant presence is a bit questionable. Like, damn, you can't go 5 pages without a little girl. Even when it switches over to a different character, everyone has their own little girl sidekick who gets molested.
It's just a very weird, fetishy tale.
Does it ever change?

>>150065807
The author is a fujo not a lolicon. The insertion of fetishes is limited to yaoi, monsters, and men being tortured. The main character of the story is a little girl who grew up in a gang this includes sex workers. She's as precocious as someone you would expect in that scenario to be. Other chargers, adults and children, have terrible things happen to them because the world is as dark as our own. They also have karma for the bad guys because there is a sense of justice. If this bothers you, don't read it.

>>150065807

Source your quote.

>>150065807
>>150066250
I would argue that Unsounded is one of the few worlds where women are empowered in a (in universe) believably way.

Almost all the women, be they the whores to the queen, have immense agency and power.

Alderode and to a lesser extent the other civs are still patriarchies for the most part but women still exert their influence on the many plot lines.

Sette is a little girl (sorta) and the protagonist so of course she's gonna be in almost every page. The series also doesn't shy away from showing the cruelty of reality.

Starfish is the type of guy who would not only revel but thrive in his work. A fat, disgusting pedophile would be portrayed as fodder for the "good" characters to punish in other media but in this he is treated as an actual threat, as he should be considering how long he's been in the game. Despite preying on the weak, he himself is not weak, he's cunning, sharp and amoral, all things that play into both sides of him.

It's what makes him one of the most memorable villains of the first half. You're afraid of him because you know he always finds a way to survive.

>>150065807
Imagine not reading one of the single best comics ever written because you think it's a front for pedophilia. The main character is a young girl. One of the main villains is a ring of slavers/ child traffickers. This is a dark story, but it's still a story where good triumphs over evil. And it's definitely a story with real literary merit.
>>150066632
>You're afraid of him because you know he always finds a way to survive.
This reminds me of when I pointed out on the pages after Starfish was killed by Sette that we would see him again, because the silver was reaching for him and had kept Stock and Toby around after their demise. Everyone was very insistent that he was definitely, actually dead.