[–]▶ No.72288>>72289 >>75888 [Watch Thread][Show All Posts]
Here we go again. It's been two (or three) years since I ran a thread with NofNA's first tale, 10%+, and now it's time to enjoy the second story in the series: Secretary. For a short recap, NofNA is a series of graphic novels/webcomics that revolve around stories showing the struggles of sentient animals in a timeline identical to our own. Generally separate and unknown to humans, they've developed a culture and society of their own, but they endure similar pitfalls as we did, and sometimes still do. Other works in the NofNA series can be viewed, as well as supplementary material, at nofna.com. Also, these stories are self-contained and can be read in any order, but there are certain nuances that may be missed if read in this way. I will help clarify any ambiguity relating to certain terms or narrative elements when we come across them.
With all that out of the way, I hope you all enjoy the story!
▶ No.72289
>>72288 (OP)
>I get double dubs
Yes.
▶ No.72290
I've always wondered where SV got his knowledge on fighting theory. No one he interacts with has a clue.
▶ No.72291
And then he gets roasted by his teacher for being incompetent. The expression on the first panel of that page is one of my favorites.
▶ No.72293
A quick note on weight buffers (they're covered a little in the last story and later on in this one, but I should explain it now), sapient animals in this setting have the ability to internalize the weight of objects. In XZ's case, she experienced SV's weight and then used it against him with a flying kick, which sent him flying. For SV, he seems to get some speed along with something else that will be very helpful to him later on.
▶ No.72294
Damn, SV's such an asshole. And to make things worse he's just loafing while NT's putting in the hours.
I'll be taking a break to make dinner, among a few other things. I'll post some more pages in a few hours.
▶ No.72303
Onward, to XZ writing and her super clean hands.
Supornova! Trillions Die! "Not so bad" Dead Scientist Exclaims
▶ No.72311
Bet you didn't expect a
TOURNAMENT ARC
▶ No.72316
I've always liked the transition from page 53 to 54.
▶ No.72317
Oh, wide images like page 54 don't display at full size when opened inline. Opening in a new window would be best.
▶ No.72321
That throw at the end of 74 is great. There's also some nice moves coming up too.
▶ No.72323
RIP SV: He should've trained harder.
▶ No.72326
That's it for now. I will continue posting pages tomorrow after work.
▶ No.72381
And I'm back
A small mention on telenoesis, most styles/factures animals can use only effect other animals, but there are special occasions when certain factures can effect the outside world. Maybe something like this happened near the end of midterms, or maybe her tutor taught her about the concept; we will never know.
▶ No.72387
HOKUTO SHINKEN
There really needs to be a NofNA FotNS parody or something.
▶ No.72391
Protip, any fancy move used on another animal can be denied, if the person is skilled enough. The teacher seems to be that good.
▶ No.72392
Time to learn about the weight of corn.
▶ No.72394
I'm still not sure what exactly SV's up to on page 135. I'd say he's grounding himself, or maybe just meditating on his thesis. I think it certainly relates back to his "black rainbow" bit a few pages ago.
▶ No.72395
Woo, self-destructive malice spiral! SV really should start chewing his wood again though.
▶ No.72399
I think I'll stop here for tonight. We'll get to see the fruit of SV's labors tomorrow.
▶ No.72473
And now begins the second half of the story.
▶ No.72477
Good luck figuring out how TY's style works. It took me several reads. Also, SV's hawk-like form is pretty cool. The two windows above his head are very important to his malice style.
▶ No.72479
Bubbles, how do they work?
▶ No.72488
Good example of a telenoia here. Too bad it won't help the teacher at all.
▶ No.72489
Even teach's cool large-cat style is no good. I kind of wish he had more fighting scenes. Seemed like a pretty cool character.
▶ No.72490
What I would't give to see SV fight that spider.
▶ No.72492>>78831
>>72484
Fuck, I just realized I spoilered those. Any way I could get those unspoilered?
Also, the creature SV's fighting in panel 5 of page 212 fights with tapeworms. He should've got a few pages for himself, honestly.
▶ No.72494
I've got to hand it to the advanced class teacher for giving SV some helpful advice instead of continuing to fight him. Good restraint on his part.
▶ No.72495
I had to do a faithful recreation of page 225. I think it turned out quite well.
▶ No.72497
I love this part of the comic.
▶ No.72500
Don't mess around with a skilled jerboa.
▶ No.72501
This seems like a good place to stop. We're on the last leg of the story, and I will conclude it tomorrow.
▶ No.72589
Here we are, almost at the finale.
▶ No.72590
There's a cool (and important) transition from a black to white background starting on page 248. Sadly, the effect isn't preserved well in this format. It's much more striking online or in print.
▶ No.72611>>75377 >>78834
And that's that. I hope that you all enjoyed the ride. The theme of malice is certainly an interesting one, and to me, it's portrayed in such an interesting way in this story. It's origin, its metabolism, and, for better or worse, its end.
If anyone has a question or comment about the stories' themes, or art, or anything else, feel free to strike up a discussion. More specifically, if anyone's wondering what would've happened if SV's thesis turned out a little differently, I certainly have an answer for that. It might take me a little time to prepare though.
▶ No.75377>>75406
>>72611
Tell me then, what would have happened.
Love Secretary btw.
▶ No.75406>>75424
>>75377
I'm still working on it. The procedure for getting/organizing the images was somewhat tedious so I took a break from getting the prime/addendum stories out, but I think now I'll put some time into it over this weekend.
It's nice to see some love for Secretary too. I think this may be one of my favorite stories, honestly. There's so much going for it in terms of its characters, its themes, that THICC symbolism, and its timeless dialogue SHOW ME THE SECRET OF THE CORN!, and I'm grateful that more stories of this caliber are still being made.
▶ No.75424>>75478
>>75406
A thorough analysis of this would be really interesting, there are a lot of complicated parts of this story, personally what did he mean SV with all the corn stuff or why did the Jerboa appeared realistic at the end.
▶ No.75478>>75671
>>75424
Sure, I can tell you about that. I'm going to have to dig a bit for the answer though. First off, SV's first malice style, Metralgia I can't remember if this name is used in this story, or just in the prime version, it's an important detail nonetheless, is what we see for several fights leading up to his confrontation with XZ. It's main gimmick is not a physical fighting style, but a psychological one: it makes the recipient of the style aware of their past defeats, the black kernels (the "scales of the fur"), and forces them to act on it. Interestingly enough though, those hit with the style's many factures, sans the final one attempt to reintergrate the defeats into themselves instead of letting them go. To which SV isn't very happy with, as he eventually intends to "rewrite" people that's the reason for the quill-arms without their past defeats, potentially creating a better person. In Metralgia's current state, it can literally and figurativly kill people with their own defeats, TY being an example of the former and the teachers/authorities for the latter. SV searches for an answer to complete this style, but he doesn't find a very positive solution...
I could go on about the kernel-shaped windows above SV's head for quite a bit too. For the first style, the dark kernel, or world represents the world as it is, created out of malice. The white kernel represents a world of potential success.
Looking at SV's teeth, the missing tooth is where the dark window is, while the white window is above his extant tooth. For an example, when the gap between these two worlds is briged for a moment on pages 191-193, TY, for a moment realizes this success and also his defeats which keep him from the attaining the former. The weight of this realization is undeniable, and kills him.
In another scenario, these two windows flip places later on on page 253, which makes a whole world of difference. Instead of the dark world becoming aware of potential success, and its own malice, the white window becomes a world of pure malice that is connecting with the world as it will exist. This completes the circle of malice, SV's own maliciousness is used against XZ as he passes it down to her. In breif, the corncob on page 273, represents the whole package, how things are now, the malice that's recieved, and the small glimmer of hope, the blue kernels. Being hit with Diastema, her defeats are erased, and as her defeats that make up who she is are gone, she dies instantly.
In the end, we also get a scene of a father handing his son a white kernel, which I think is just to show how people should be giving others the keys to this potential success instead of defeating them through malicious acts.
Lastly, XZ appeaence "changed" according to the same function of the black and white windows, except on a bigger scale. The panel boarders/background have been black for most of the story, as SV is one of our protagonists living in the dark world: what exists currently because of malice. As XZ told SV of here plans (effectively abandoning SV in his quest for understanding malice), his perception of her changed. He found himself aware of his malice own against XZ for her decleration, and was now in a "purely malicious world". The XZ he knew no longer exists, and this is how the new one appears to him. Also, look back at page 248 again and you can see the XZ he knew vanish right in his vision, a neat effect.
Whew, that was a bit to go over. I hope that helps.
▶ No.75671>>75846
>>75478
Yeah it helped a lot. I totally missed the erasing the past part of his power.
So did SV develop his power because of his brother and XZ? Or did Malice find him.
▶ No.75846>>75849 >>75855
>>75671
>So did SV develop his power because of his brother and XZ? Or did Malice find him.
Yeah, you're right on. They're definitely big factors for SV's thesis. NT's actions throughout the story, like him biting SV in their childhood, and his subtle plotting against SV. Oh, if you were wondering, this original story never goes full circle with that plot. Things take quite a different turn in the prime version though and we get some resolution between the two brothers.
Anyway, XZ wasn't as direct with her malintent, but her refusal to stay with SV on his beaten path, the jerboa base style and hawk style (lots of good symbolism with it, as well as in the addendum) over the dust bath style, and her using SV to write for her for her own gain throughout the story. As for your second remark, I'm sure malice found most of the characters of this story, as no one is free from it.
As for the other stories I keep mentioning, the work is nearing completion for the Prime version. I just need to combine all the pages that I want to display as a spread, instead of individually. Also, I'll be going on a vacation for a week starting Saturday and I might not have an internet connection for that time. Luckily, that just gives me a week's time to keep working on this instead of browsing 8ch during most of my free time. I'm planning on posting the Prime version of the story when I get back home.
With that, here's a small set of promotional pages for the story that came after Secretary: Lycosa. I'd certainly recommend reading it if anyone else wants more NofNA content.
▶ No.75849
>>75846
I have to admit that after I read Lycosa, I had a much nicer opinion of spiders than I used to.
▶ No.75855>>75884
>>75846
The prime version is the published version? An Anon shared it with here in the webcomics thread.
▶ No.75884>>75887
>>75855
Yeah, the original Secretary story ran in webcomic form from 2008 to 2009. It was never released in print. The first printed edition was released as Secretary' (or Secretary Prime), which had the different latter half of the story. I think the second edition print is the same, just with a few small aesthetic changes such as the covers and other stuff. Last November, the Secretary Addendum was released which contain two new stories: one about XZ, and another featuring other characters in the story.
I was actually the anon that shared this in the webcomic thread, but I don't think the thread's up anymore. I should see if I can find the links again and redistribute them.
▶ No.75887>>76941
>>75884
Oh now I remember, haven't read the addendum yet. Enjoy your vacation.
I restarted Solar System and I'm on Neptune, there was a point I couldn't even understand what I was looking at (mostly the action scenes, rather than the plot) some parts are just clusterfucks that only Zack understands.
▶ No.75888>>76941
>>72288 (OP)
Great to see Secretary get some recognition. It's more or less my favourite story out there, especially when combined with the two versions of the story and the addendum. And since you're still around here, thank you for storytiming 10%+ back then. It was what got me into NofNA in the first place.
▶ No.76941
I have returned, and finally have internet access again. I'll start posting the Secretary' story tomorrow, starting from the third volume instead of the beginning, as it is very similar to the original story with a few visual / dialogue changes. Also, here's the cover art for the electronic edetion of the Prime story. Maybe I should post the other covers too, but then again, I have no idea what the image limit for theads is, and I'm certain we'll hit it at some point.
>>75887
Thanks, it was a much needed break.
It's funny that you mention that part in Solar System. On my first read through I missed some pretty obvious things, like Able "standing" on the robo-fish I can't remember the alien name queen's face in order to change Discovery's course via the bridge, which in turn caused her to miss her shot at Neptune. I bet there's still a ton of things that completely flew over my head in that story. The character development and ending are absolutely fantastic though. I'd love to share it too, but there's really no way to do so on an imageboard, at least.
>>75888
You're welcome, I had a fun time sharing it. It also gave me another excuse to reread the entire set or stories, something I feel I'll probably never tire of doing. Maybe when Syconium finishes I'll run another thread for it.
▶ No.76992
One of the stranger changes in the Prime story would be SV's missing tooth and black eye are reversed. His transformation at the end of the second volume reflects this too. I'd post it, but again, I have no idea on how many images can be stuck into a thread. Plus there needs to be room for the addendum.
▶ No.76999>>78723
Now that I think about it, I wonder how much effort it took to redraw and rearrange so many panels?
▶ No.77000
One thing I kind of miss in the Prime version is that SV isn't as maniacal is he used to be. Well, he's still kind of edgy with a purpose, but he seems to be more serious with no interjections of evil chuckling; I kind of liked the latter.
▶ No.77002
Good news, I just remembered indexed colors are a thing. Now we can have much smaller image filesizes. Sadly, I'll have to make this change on every image, so my posting speed will be a bit slower.
▶ No.77004
Yeah, things don't work out for TY in this version either. Poor guy.
Also, there's some nice foreshadowing on page 86.
▶ No.77006
I think the dialogue is better in these panels. Plus, I always found the "COME"-panel that was originally on page 197 of the web version to be kind of bad. The new one's pretty cool and makes good use of the page.
▶ No.77012>>77013
That's it for tonight. We'll continue tomorrow.
▶ No.77013
>>77012
Dammit, I just realized I missed my chance to make another FotNS reference when I made that post, oh well.
▶ No.77074
It's that time again. Lets see how things go from here.
I think the rat teacher had it easy this time, his arm only deformed into a giant amalgam of kernels and self pity.
▶ No.77076
I really love this whhole scene with XZ and SV.
▶ No.77080
>when the Alula hits just right...
▶ No.77081
That's it for the third volume.
▶ No.77082>>77099
Going to take a brief break and make some dinner, then I will be back. In the meantime, here's some bonus material from the end of the third volume.
▶ No.77099
>>77082
I had a few things pop up tonight, so I'll be dumping the rest, or most, of the Prime story tomorrow.
▶ No.77192
Hark, now begins the final arcs of the story.
▶ No.77196>>79003
It'll be just like before, with SV rambling on and XZ getting agitated.
▶ No.77198
I wonder how SV will handle this sudden development this time.
▶ No.77206
Translator's note: Empyrean refers to the highest place in heaven, containing the element of fire, and thus, light. Venery meaning the art of hunting. Finally, analgia means the absence of pain.
And as a whole, it also sounds pretty cool.
▶ No.77208
Yes, NT chose the name "Umbra". It totally wasn't just to become more of a foil to his brother.
▶ No.77212
Here comes one of the best supreme factures in the entire series.
▶ No.77216
It seems I messed up the page numbering a bit, whoops. All the content is there though.
▶ No.77218
That's all for tonight. We'll wrap up the climactic finish of Secretary' tomorrow, and then the addendum.
▶ No.77220>>77274
you're absolutely based anon and the jew that wrote it is also.
▶ No.77274>>77601
The finale.
>>77220
Thanks anon. One thing that amazes me about the author is that he's been cranking out webcomics consistently since 2007. I remember back when Secretary was still going he'd release five pages a week even. I wonder where his motivation comes from.
▶ No.77275
The wordplay in this segment is great. Although the best one is yet to come in my opinion.
▶ No.77277
NT's style is honestly really cool, and kind of edgy. It's shadow manipulation with a nofna twist.
▶ No.77282
Is this a good visual representation of what a lobotomy feels like?
▶ No.77289
And that's a wrap for Secretary'. Thank you for your readership and especially your patience. Looking back on it, I certainly could've posted this all before mid-June at least. Didn't intend for it to drag on for so long.
Anyway, any questions, comments, complaints, memes. feel free to share them here.
I will be starting up the final story for Secretary. The Secretary Addendum, sometime this weekend. I'm thinking it'll probably be on Sunday. It contains two stories in one book. The first one predominantly features XZ, GT, and a new species of character (you can probably guess what it is) that plays a major role in XZ's development. The second story is an epilogue of sorts which features several characters' lives after the Secretary' story. Lastly, is a style index, featuring all the styles used throughout the story, along with text describing their functions.
▶ No.77601>>77923
>>77274
passion and discipline. But I think the passion part plays a big role in his productivity. Truly an inspiration.
▶ No.77604
I've got a small announcement to make. I will be posting the addendum story starting tomorrow as I still need to finish splicing and converting some pages. I would've started Sunday, but I was busy with some other things and was later distracted by the ESA (a speedrunning event) in the evening, crippling my ability to be productive.
I do have these pages to share though. The bonus pages from volumes one and two, plus their back covers.
▶ No.77768
Rev up those peepers and grab a dictionary (you'll need it later), becuase it's time for the next story. Unsurprisingly, Tuesday didn't work out for me to start posting the story, so again, apologies for the delay.
▶ No.77770
Imagine getting stuck into an arranged relationship via your parents as you just start to attend college. Poor XZ.
▶ No.77844
Suprise, suprise, it's a hawk.
▶ No.77847
Heh, TY gets kicked all the way into the next post.
▶ No.77848
Now that's a jerboa kick.
▶ No.77870>>77923
gonna read this while in family road trip. I hope I won't get sick reading while in a car
▶ No.77923
I think we're nearing the end of the first part of the addendum.
Also, RIP nameless brown rodent.
>>77601
I wonder if it's really that simple. I hope one day I can sharpen up my skills enough and do something with this level of quality.
>>77870
I hope you have a good road trip anon. There's certainly enough material in the thread to keep you busy while you're on the road.
▶ No.77963
And that concludes part A of the addendum.
▶ No.78061>>78100
>>77962
what happened here? Did she die?
▶ No.78100
>>78061
Yeah, figuratively.
>We are always killing someone! Even if that someone is your very own self!
▶ No.78188
Part B's always a nice, refreshing, and reflective read. Next up, the inner workings of the animals' psychic/martial arts.
▶ No.78189
Caudate? Blazon? Xyloglyphy? I had to play linguistic connect the dots quite a bit on these pages. I also wish some of the more minor characters got to show their stuff a bit more. The tapeworn style is probably still my favorite.
▶ No.78194>>78473
The whole story is so sad. No one really gets a happy ending at all. Jerboa gave up her dreams, NT dies just as he finally gets to a stage where he can help rather than hurt, and his brother is just left with an empty resolution. Though in a way he kind of deserves that. The story is just unfulfilling, is the best way of describing it I suppose. I suppose it fits the theme of malice, being that it never provides a fufilling end.
▶ No.78196
That's all, folks.
We've finally reached the end of Secretary. A cautionary tale about malice, its cyclical nature, and the overwhelming power it exerts on us: the power to stop progress. On the other side, it's also a tale of hope and what it takes to persevere in a malicious world.
It's a bit odd to type out, and I don't mean to sound preachy or pretentious, but Secretary is an important story me because of this. I can say that if I hadn't read this, then I would be a much less happy and optimistic person than I am today. I also wouldn't have thought of malice this deeply and in the way it's portrayed in this story. We know our past shapes who we are today, but it's much harder to be cognizant of it and confront how our past malice affects us in the present. There's all of this, and the bigger challenge of letting it go. Even worse, we're very good at instinctually passing, or spreading it around, to others.
I often think of Secretary when I find myself somewhere in this malicious cycle. The longer I spend thinking about it, the more I understand what I need to do to break it, and what I can do to help others do the same. I hope all of you who read this get as much entertainment and insight as I did when I first read the story, well, not to mention all the other stuff I picked up on across several rereads as well.
Anyway, enough with the blogposting. Thanks again for your readership. It's fun to share stories like this, so I'm thinking I might do this again with Synconium, the current NofNA story, whenever that finishes. Or, I guess I could post it until I get to the current page. I'll think on it.
And speaking of stories, I know some people seem to be fretting over the lack of content here lately, so I'd be down to read through a story if anyone else has something to share. /fur/ already has Dreamkeepers, which I'm just starting (seems fun so far), and Age of Arcadia, which I'm not really into, plus the OP seems to have left. There's gotta be some good stuff still out there.
▶ No.78211>>78473
Never have I read a webcomic that affected me this seriously. Very inspiring, I have no words.
▶ No.78473
>>78194
>The whole story is so sad. No one really gets a happy ending at all.
Hey, that's not true. GT gets his waifu in the end.
Joking aside, that's one thing I really like about Secretary. There's no "good guys" and "bad guys", most character interactions had some kind of malicious intent behind them at one point or another, and malice just served as an antagonistic force that everyone used, There was some good intentions and genuine care sprinkled in at points as well, but it simply wasn't enough to benefit most of the characters in the end. NT, GT, and the few people that had their malice removed via Diastema are probably the only few to come out with a positive impact on their lives.
>>78211
I'm glad you had such an experience with it. I think that the stories, and art in general, are best when we can connect deeply with them. To quote SV, "People need to be touched."
▶ No.78532>>78547 >>78913
Can't wait to see this weird ass thread on Down the Rabbit Hole.
▶ No.78547>>78722 >>78913
>>78532
Well these comics are written very cryptic like.
But what.
▶ No.78722>>78821 >>78913
>>78547
It's like OP is the only guy in the thread. The comic is about mice fighting in a tournament for... some reason. It's abstractly drawn, the content is downright surreal and way too much effort is put into the surrealness; I don't see the point of that effort because it's impossible to get into for the mass and noone but the fandom sees it.
The art is strange, constantly changing, looking like a giant collection of fragments.
Many panels are super cryptic.
If that isn't a Down The Rabbit Hole video worthy, then I dunno what.
▶ No.78723>>78821
>>76999
It doesn't matter how long it takes and how greatly and dynamic it looks, as long as you have no clue what's going on. I had to read this 4 times to even get when and how mutant rat guy was hit, because the page before lacks any indication of a hit.
▶ No.78773>>78816 >>78913
wait, where did you get this, op? From the payed book? You are missing important final pages, will post if you dont have them
It explains the point of it all and malice
▶ No.78816
>>78773
Yeah that would be helpful.
▶ No.78821>>78913
>>78723
>>78722
Ok I'm reading it with more attention this time.
The comic is awesome (but it takes some time to explain, why).
That "making up your own style" attitude though, it never got me far in life.
Also, SV seems to be inspired by Bruce Lee.
There's one thing I still have to complain about, it's that the brothers look too similar. It's sometimes hard to see who's who.
▶ No.78822
>>72382
>friendzoned by people using you
>shit grades because you do it your way, which isn't bad, but just not what you're supposed to do
What is this, real life?
▶ No.78831>>78913
>>72492
From here on, this shit gets unpleasant and the main character is so much of an asshole that the comic is permanently ruined.
▶ No.78832>>78913
>>72599
I love reading about some fucking asshole who beats up a female who's not fighting back. That tells me much about the artist too, who sees this guy as the protagonist you're supposed to relate to. Especially because she was fucking happy about her life goals and he's got nothing to do but enforce thoughts onto her that it's wrong.
▶ No.78834>>78913
>>72611
Yeah it was a cheerful comic. Some asshole kills everyone you root for and in the end, isn't punished. I deeply regret reading it out of curiousity for the art, because I thought I was too harsh on the artist. But man, fuck the artist.
This shit made me just as angry as reading through Ichi the Killer or Battle Royale, where the villains are at least killed at the end.
This is just shit which makes you wonder if the artist is positive about what happens in the end, but he really is just an edgelord trying to be deep.
Now I'm pissed. Malicious you could say. Don't waste your time on this, guys. Grab a pen and draw some awesome shit instead.
▶ No.78849
>>77771
Considering the original ending, her parents are right...
▶ No.78885>>78923
Sorry for the shitload of samefagging, but editing isn't possible.
I didn't know there's an alternate storyline in this thread.
Let me now rate this thing. Liked:
- great art
- very inspiring; downright jealous that I never managed to remake
one of my comics digitally because it's too much work
- interesting but often super-confusing story, dunno what the
artist wants to tell me, but a fighting-thesis is a cool concept
- at times it's great how speed is drawn, e.g. when jerboa kicks TY
- the jerboa (who was too nice to stay alive, I guess...)
- the hawk
- the rat teacher (who was too nice to stay alive, I guess...)
Hated:
- while looking great, it's often impossible to see what the Factures
do, their concepts are unique but too abstract
- the brothers look too alike, so do the teacher and TY
- you don't learn anything about the teachers, so I don't know if
they are in the wrong or if SV is
- SV, in the original comic, is an abusive asshole and basically wins.
I hate everything he does after his "ascension". I probably would
care less, if SV weren't that op guy at that point just bullying
everyone literally to death. To me, that's a 2edgy4me
power fantasy. At least noone likes him at the end of the original.
- SV, in the redone comic, is a way nicer and more restrained guy
who loses against his douchebag brother of all people.
I'd have preferred a combination of both endings; he wins, but
then dies. Or both die of exhaustion.
- the jerboa is way too ignorant about the death of her former friend
- it's hard to believe that the jerboa doesn't break up with her
boyfriend after fighting his image combined how she remembers
him talking her down. And while I liked it in both main stories
because you don't know her private life, after the hawk story it
felt kinda out of character for her to have a family life.
She kinda had that protector vibe to her, basically SV but not
insane.
- jerboa's boyfriend barely cares about her death in the original
Another thing: A comic in the same universe would be amazing where more animals fight in their unique styles, not just rodents.
Like a tarantula, a snake, a lizard, a harmless looking bird,
a really creepy sewer rat...
▶ No.78913>>78974
OP here, I've been away for a bit.
>>78532
>>78722
>>78821
>I don't see the point of that effort because it's impossible to get into for the mass and noone but the fandom sees it.
That's Art in general for you.
>Many panels are super cryptic.
And that's just NofNA in general.
>If that isn't a Down The Rabbit Hole video worthy, then I dunno what.
That would be neat, but I'd think it be in a feature of the furry fandom as a whole, and not just a presentation of the comic and this thread.
>Ok I'm reading it with more attention this time. The comic is awesome (but it takes some time to explain, why).
Glad to hear you gave it another look, and it'd be cool to hear your opinion on it.
>There's one thing I still have to complain about, it's that the brothers look too similar. It's sometimes hard to see who's who.
I thought that too when I first read it, although they do have distinct differences. SV has small dots around his nose and a tuft of fur on his back like a marigold, while NT has small lines around his nose and a vertical line running down his back. If I'm not mistaken SV and NT's mom and dad also have the same nose markings, respectively.
>>78547
Way to go posting best dog.
>>78773
I do have the physical release of the addendum, but the material I posted in this thread is all from the electronic editions, and while I would love to post those final few pages, I don't have any way to get them here in good quality.
The pages themselves are a nice summation of the inner workings of malice and SV's styles all laid out in a very understandable way, unlike all the heavy symbolism and abstractions present in the main comic. Although, I think some of you already understand the point of it all.
>>78831
How so? He's always been standoffish and haughty, but now he has a really good motivation to help people, which is obviously not working for a reason unknown to him.
>>78832
I think you should look back at page 281 of the main story, and then think about XZ's role in the story in relation to the other characters. It's not as cut and dry as you think.
>>78834
Well, I'd certainly say this story is mainly a tragedy more than some uplifting adventure. And like most tragedies, or any story really, there's something to learn from.
I'd like to hear your opinion on the story though, as I'm not sure I understand what you don't like about it in your post.
▶ No.78923>>78975
Continuing from my last post.
By the way, the latest Synconium page dropped, and it's incredible. It seems that Fig/XX is on her way to quite a breakthrough.
>>78885
>Sorry for the shitload of samefagging, but editing isn't possible.
Are you? I can't tell. Sometimes I think IDs would be nice to have here.
I've read your points, and I think you might have a better view of the story if you thought a little more on its crux. It's what SV's always cryptically going on about: malice. What is it? It stopped SV's tooth from growing. It lead NT exacting his revenge on SV at the end of Secretary'. It made XZ use SV for her own gain. It made XZ give up her ambitions at the pressure of her parents and boyfriend, and it also killed her in more ways than one.
It's very much like a virus or a meme, infecting one person and getting passed down to others, and dwelling in them as defeats, just to be passed down once again. Its main purpose: the ability to stop progress in people while also being able to propel others to the worst of ends. And, it's something that every one of us deals with personally. Have you considered that even a unintentional malicious act on your part could do this to another person? Maybe you told someone honestly that their art was trash something similar, and maybe this hurt them deeply, and maybe they never picked up another brush or pencil in earnest for the rest of their days. Their defeats make them who they are, and it's the same for us too.
With malice's other aspect, in these stories NT harbors some real hatred for SV just because his parents encouraged SV and his writing ability and discouraged NT's martial arts, leaving SV to unknowingly overshadow NT. Don't you think such a similar scenario happens in reality between siblings and their parents? It's a horrible thought. And so, NT, for the entire time since he bit SV, has been plotting to kill his brother. He's plotting to end his cycle of malice by removing what defeated him in the first place (seem familiar?), we get to see how that ends up playing out though. SV's new style was able to end their feud, with SV's acquisition of something XZ had: hope. Hope, that despite the crushing reality of ones' defeats and failures that has made them who they are, one can still take up the hunt, accipitrine-like, for a better future.
Of course, SV's understanding of this is the fork in the road of the Secretary story. In both of the moments where SV and XZ meet, we get to see the malice each of them carry, and what resolution it leads them to.
Now, with that all said, there's a few other misconceptions in your post. The only characters to die before the finale of the main story is TY. The rat teacher lives. Anyone hit with the Metralgia malice style is only put into a lethargic, inactive state.
As for the apparition of XZ at the end of Part A of the addendum, the whole scene is very ambiguous for an interesting reason. It does kind of look like GT, but look at the right ear on page 88, it's the tear from the injury XZ received during midterms. But if they're both XZ, then what's really going on? After Alula's death, we see XZ get engulfed in a (metaphorical) storm after realizing the point of a name, her fake name. She realizes at that moment that she can't deny, (or defy, hence the "fight"), her destiny and instead is forced put down her dreams and start a family. The youthful in-the-clouds XZ we're used to is killed, and we see her as she truly is, more real and visually similar to the other jerboas in the story. This effect is also present in the other two stories when she's with SV.
Lastly, there's more NofNa out there at nofna.com, with more fights and cryptic stories. Lycosa, for instance, features mostly spiders.
▶ No.78974>>79003
>>78913
I didn't see it as helping people, but forcing his ideas onto others. The whole thing feels like an anti-society message that no matter how hard you try, nobody gives a shit about you.
Which is a lie, everyday I see people who half-ass everything they do and deliver utter shit, but society loves them The Weaver, or any Youtuber.
Still, while I find the story lacking and downright repulsive at times but well hidden behind great visuals and ideas, it haunts me a day later. It gave me lots of input to develop my ideas in different ways.
It's e.g. extremely effective how those special moves are drawn. It's not like characters attack and say an attack name (like Kamehameha or something), but it's charging an attack while saying the type, then using it and saying the attack name. That adds a cliffhanger-vibe to the fighting.
Overall, to me SV isn't the protagonist. XZ is. She's the most interesting character with the most interesting motivation and reasons.
SV is just... some guy who hates everyone and that leads to his failure. In each story.
▶ No.78975>>79003
>>78923
Ok now I at least get the malice part. Because in the special attack guide I understood nothing. It all sounded like socio-psychological bogus.
▶ No.78977>>79003
So the reason this wasn't posted is why...?
▶ No.78979>>79003
>spiders collecting data in their matrixes (nets) and the data says spiders are going to be obsolete
What have I gotten into?!
▶ No.79003>>79006
>>78974
>I didn't see it as helping people, but forcing his ideas onto others.
The only thing SV forces on other people is for them to acknowledge their defeats and to dispose of them. This of course doesn't work, as SV lacked the understanding of how to work that function into the Metralgia style. He was missing something crucial, later to be gained in Secretary' via XZ.
>The whole thing feels like an anti-society message that no matter how hard you try, nobody gives a shit about you.
SV himself does seem to be against society. He's confrontational, eccentric, and by the later half of the story, very dangerous. This is how society views him. They see that he's a threat. But why? Look at the pages in this post again >>77196 . A style that could remove malice entirely from society, does that sound dangerous or anti-society at all? No, of course not. He is a hero, or an anti-hero, of this story. He's doing what he can to improve society on a fundamental level, but no one else, sans XZ, understood that. In the addendum, XZ realized that despite her style, she couldn't make it as a martial artist, as she was stuck under the trappings of society and her defeats. Both SV and XZ protagonists had shown that their hard work had indeed been an important step towards something truly good for the society in which they lived in, regardless of what their peers had thought of them.
>It's e.g. extremely effective how those special moves are drawn.
I definitely agree. The most impressive moment for me is when SV first uses his then-unnamed Diastema against Quarry and his dark "defeats" turned into light and bright popcorn. It was one of the strangest and visually interesting thing in the comic for me.
>>78975
>Because in the special attack guide I understood nothing. It all sounded like socio-psychological bogus.
Well, it is written using Freudian concepts. The idea's pretty straightforward though. What Metralgia did is give the recipients' defeats a point of reference. This point of reference being society's own scrupulous ideals. We don't know what TY's defeats were, but they affected him heavily. We do get to find out the advanced class teacher's though, which were familial issues and their abandonment of society, which makes the teacher feel not so valuable to the society he's a part of.
>>78977
I considered posting Syconium when it started running, but I chose not to for some reason. I could run a thread on it now, I guess, but I don't want two NofNA threads up unless people really want it. It's a amazing story so far, and I think /fur/ would like it too. Are you current with it by chance, and what do you think of it so far?
>>78979
A fun ride. It was very much needed after Secretary finished. Lots of color, a fun protagonist, and good spider battles. These animated gifs in the story are a nice touch too.
▶ No.79006
>>79003
Yeah in this comic someone was truly pissed enough to punch the friggin popcorn out of someone.
▶ No.79183>>79229 >>79804
What's wrong with protagonist with skewed and ill intentions? It can still be good.
▶ No.79229>>79804
>>79183
It's just that I feel too sorry for his victims because they never did anything wrong. Seeing that cute jerboa being overkilled and not fighting back was just awful. He was basically showing off on a victim that has no chance.
Even RV doesn't deserve his neck to be broken just because he was some asshole. It would have been more effective if RV would be the one who bit the jerboas ear.
The new ending is way better imo because he's at least defeated... by a worse asshole tho.
▶ No.79804>>79824 >>79877
I just remembered that there was an interview with the author last year. I'll link it for those interested:
http://www.tcj.com/people-are-very-deep-an-interview-with-zachary-braun/
Also, dumping some NofNA memes as I ran out of new Secretary-related material.
>>79183
I agree. A character who's always morally correct wouldn't be much of a character, I'd think.
>>79229
>Seeing that cute jerboa being overkilled and not fighting back was just awful. He was basically showing off on a victim that has no chance.
Yeah, it's really brutal, but it wasn't a one-sided affair, and SV wasn't showing off with his attacks, (and arguably, one could say he wasn't even in his right mind, as he's got a tooth digging through a part of his brain). His attacks were meant to show XZ what she was giving up by being defeated and resigning her dreams (the blue color, what could've been). Page 281 shows this. She wanted to go to college to make something of herself, but she ends up hurting and using her friend SV, getting the disapproval of her parents and boyfriend, and getting abuse from classmates for using SV to write for her. Kind of a awful situation to be in for both XZ and SV. Of course by this point she'd want to quit the college, as it'd be easier to accept than to struggle for success. Seeing her give up completely crushed SV just as much as XZ.
>Even RV doesn't deserve his neck to be broken just because he was some asshole.
You meant TY, right? But yeah, I agree, I don't think TY really deserved to die, but for the narrative's sake I think his death served as an example for others. By refusing to let go of one's defeats and refusing the opportunity for change, one might as well be dead already by SV's ideals. Lookig back at the last lines of page 103 and page 12 in volume 4 (I should've kept the page numbering more consistant) reinforces this point.
>It would have been more effective if RV would be the one who bit the jerboas ear.
That would've been a pretty cool change. I wonder how that would effect XZ's dialogue towards him in the later volumes.
▶ No.79824>>79915
>>79804
>http://www.tcj.com/people-are-very-deep-an-interview-with-zachary-braun/
>ywn be that good of an individual
>you will never ever, be that good of an artist
fuck me fuck me
▶ No.79871>>79915
Bet none of you can make an entire thread devoid of negativity and whining.
▶ No.79877>>79895 >>79915 >>79981
>>79804
I know what it represents, but still, that's like me saying "It's okay officer. I punched that kid in the face with my glowy pink death strike because pink represents her repressed anger towards her parents." He friggin stabs her with his teeth.
▶ No.79895
>>79877
yea, but there is no officer and it isn't real life. I'm not that anon btw
▶ No.79915
>>79824
Don't give up yet anon, you can still make it. I believe in you .
>>79871
Surprisingly, it isn't too hard to do.
>>79877
Ah, good, I wanted to make sure we were on the same page. I get your point though. XZ didn't deserve that at all, and SV's certainly in the wrong for what he did to her. There's no justification for it. In my earlier post, I was more trying to point out that I couldn't feel sympathetic just for XZ and not SV. They both wanted the same thing, although they were at completely different extremes. SV would go against anything to further his goals to improve society, while XZ regretfully caved and chose to conform in order to uphold society as it was.
▶ No.79981>>80055 >>80058
>>79877
They use anime powers Anon.
You might like Watership Down or Plague of Dogs for a more grounded story.
▶ No.80055>>80058
>>79981
What the hell has that to do with what we are currently talking about?!
Regarding that Weasel comic, is it just about some weasel slut cucking that poor male weasel with the whole earth population of weasels? In that case I won't even start it.
▶ No.80058>>80059
>>80055
It's not. The story is centered around the character XX (or Fig, later on) and her struggles with identity. There's also a reoccurring theme of the power and position that sex has in modern society, and of course, how it affects individuals. I can't really give a good summary of it as it's still climbing towards its climax at the moment, but I'd definitely recommend it. If you don't mind me asking though, why wouldn't you at least give it a try?
Also, while sex does happen to be a main facet of the story, the presentation of it is clean. So there's no actual genitalia, but there is a lot of visible symbolism towards it.
Lastly, here's some fanart and screencaps I had lying around my harddrive.
>>79981
Are those good? I've always wanted to read them but I've never got around to it.
▶ No.80059>>80063
>>80058
I know it's clean but the enforcement of polygamy or open relationships (which are basically a nice word for "I'm cheating on you, loser" pisses me off and always did.
Regarding Watership Down: It's an edgy depressing movie which looks like a kids movie but the first scene starts with panicking rabbits choking in their cave, squashing each other while trying to get out, and if that scene doesn't fuck you up just wait until that ridiculous GI Goe villain bunny starts to bite other rabbits to death.
Go for Felidae instead, it at least has a story and is creepy as hell.
▶ No.80063>>80115
>>80059
Yeah, I guess that's exactly what working at a brothel, Fig's (un?)willing employment, entails. I personally don't like polygamy or open relationships either, but I really like NofNA's stories and I feel that they're handled well, even with the ever-touchy subject of sex and relationships.
>Regarding Watership Down...
Huh, I didn't know there was an animated film, and from what little I've heard of the story it didn't seem to be that dark. I think I'll start with the book first and then watch the movie, and probably do the same with Felidae.
▶ No.80115
>>80063
The first two or three Felidae books are awesome. Then they get nuts. And the author also got nuts. He basically became an alt-right while being an immigrant himself, who think other immigrants steal his cake.
I mean, the books start with bad influences of men on animals in semi-realistic scenarios and end with a friggin cat holocaust and worm holes. WORM HOLES! And the main character stops a nuclear warhead from exploding by pissing on it... after gaining the ability of turning time backwards, of course. Oh, and cat gods. ACTUAL cat gods.
▶ No.80195>>80196 >>80201 >>80291
I made an HD version of my favorite character from syconium. I was expecting it would turn out better, oh well.
▶ No.80196
>>80195
I'll work out more things, like the light reflections from the cape
▶ No.80201>>80291
>>80195
alright I'm done for now I think.
Don't worry I'm saging
*his name is XY, right?*
▶ No.80291
>>80195
>>80201
Nice, I like it, especially the shading. As for his name, it's XY, but I'm pretty partial to calling him Smoothie, which seems to be what others in the comments section have taken to as well. It's also helpful because Greenie/Streaks scent code is also XY, so it helps differentiating the two when there's no context.