Unsounded, quite possibly the (2nd) best webcomic I have seen.

[Aquillion]

I thought that Boo's spinners had been blown out in the last blast and could no longer be used.

[Lizard Lord]

Unless I missed what Boo's spinners are actually supposed to do, it doesn't look like he used them. It looks more like he opened a small portal to the memory eating parts of the khert. I'm guessing it has to do with boo being at the center of that explosion that tore a whole in the khert.

Mind you its been a while since that happened, so my memory on the subject may be off.

[Killer Angel]

Wow... that's really a lot of pages!

[Morty]

That was a big update. And a shining example of jolly cooperation from people who hate each other. I hope they keep having to work together. I have an appreciation for this kind of dynamics.

[John Campbell]

"So, what, we should think happy thoughts?!"

"That is not a talent of mine."

[Brance_a_Lot]

Finally all the main characters are meeting and not just fighting each other, with some explanations and some more mysteries to be solved.

[eschmenk]

Spoiler

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Duane, as he bashes Quigley's and Toma's heads together: "Focus!"

Duane, two panels later: "'Legitimate?!' Plat, shall I legitimately drop you from another cliff?!..."

Added: I can't blame Sette for trying to wash the silver away, but unfortunately Cutter is getting ready to move out anyway, so if he gets washed in the right direction, it might actually help him.

It's kind of funny that the humans are so prejudiced against the humans that none of them can realize that Cutter should probably be their primary target. (Well, Duane does for a little bit, but he quickly gets distracted.)

Also, poor Anadyne. It's getting to the point where she's probably suffered enough.

[Sarcasticles]

Boo has always been an infected pyrmic. That's why Sette found him in the trash. According to Ashley's tumblr, it's the curious, happy ghosts as well as the malicious ones that escape the khert. So if I understand correctly, Boo's positive ghosts drove away Cutter's negative ones and stole a bit of the first silver for itself.

Edit to add: Knock seeing the Toby's pink fringe fall to the ground was some unexpectedly effective imagery for me.

[eschmenk]

Boo seemed to be just plain broken to me. Sette said specifically that it was broken. Duane seemed to agree it was malfunctioning. Elka didn't mention ghosts. I never saw any signs of ghosts, as with the constructs. Perhaps it just wore out when the Red Berry Boys used it? Or maybe it was just plain broken from the beginning, so they used another one and threw this one away, but Elka fixed it before Sette got it back? In that case, Duane may have meant that it hadn't been used properly.

I think what happened is that boundary between the khert and reality is very weak there, as it was in the hotel. I think Bugaboo was able to take advantage of that and get some help for Duane.

I thought that Boo's spinners had been blown out in the last blast and could no longer be used.

I don't think that Boo ever lost his spinnerets. Boo and Sette were a safe distance from the explosion when it went off. I now think it probably used up its supply of explosive gossamer, though. It might store the gossamer in a tank rather like the way the constructs that Toma used store pressure aspect. That would explain why Boo hasn't been glowing. I don't suppose it can make any gossamer; it would have to be reloaded with it or entirely replaced, I suspect.

[Sarcasticles]

To quote from Ashley's tumblr:

Anonymous asked: So Boo was infected by happy memories? And the squishes are happy memories?

Yep. They scared the pain-eaters away and Boo kept their silver. I’m almost certain that will come in handy later.

[Morty]

Added: I can't blame Sette for trying to wash the silver away, but unfortunately Cutter is getting ready to move out anyway, so if he gets washed in the right direction, it might actually help him.

He wants to feed the silver more pain and anguish first, though. So washing it away before he can do that (probably killing everyone nearby in the process) is still a valid goal.

[eschmenk]

I thought the rest of Alshley's reply to that question, clarifying that the memories weren't memories of happy satisfaction, was important, too. It's more memories of happy adventures. That explains Boo's personality, then.

She also clarified that Knock-Me-Down squashed Toby with the elevator. I suspected as much, but it didn't look like she could have managed to get out in time. I thought Toma had hit Toby with one of those pressure aspect charges.

I guess that was Knock's right hand in the fourth panel, but the position of the thumb made it look like a left hand. Now it looks like a right to me, though, which would be consistent with her jumping out with her hands in front of her.

[Welf]

Boo seemed to be just plain broken to me. Sette said specifically that it was broken. Duane seemed to agree it was malfunctioning. Elka didn't mention ghosts. I never saw any signs of ghosts, as with the constructs. Perhaps it just wore out when the Red Berry Boys used it? Or maybe it was just plain broken from the beginning, so they used another one and threw this one away, but Elka fixed it before Sette got it back? In that case, Duane may have meant that it hadn't been used properly.

I think what happened is that boundary between the khert and reality is very weak there, as it was in the hotel. I think Bugaboo was able to take advantage of that and get some help for Duane.

Maybe there is more too Boo? I looked at your links, and now find it a bit suspicious that Sette found Boo at a shrine of fat Yerta.

[eschmenk]

There's probably some history behind Boo. At a minimum, how did it get so many ghosts?

He wants to feed the silver more pain and anguish first, though. So washing it away before he can do that (probably killing everyone nearby in the process) is still a valid goal.

Right, although Sette wouldn't know that. Also, it seemed to be doing a pretty good job of feeding off poor Ana, so it might be getting filled up. But yes, it doesn't have Duane to feed from anymore.

The thing I don't understand it how Cutter intends to move it. The original plan was for Stockyard to take both it and Duane to the coast where it was apparently supposed to be loaded on a sailing ship. (I had forgotten that.) On page 123, Cutter said, "...But provision us! Quickly! Flesh and pain. We've a long voyage ahead." That makes it sound like Cutter's intent to deliver the silver hasn't really changed. How is that going to work, now, though? Is the silver going to move itself like we saw it doing in the Kert?

BTW, if what we saw in the Kert was the future, does that mean that it's inevitable?

[Takver]

I just archived binged this comic after seeing the thread here. I have really mixed feelings about it. I won't go on too much about what I liked and disliked, but I will say I'm sort of surprised that anyone would rank *both* Order of the Stick and Unsounded as their top two webcomics. They're so different in their worldview. OotS has a guaranteed happy ending. Evil can be really scary and upsetting, but a *sense* of evil never takes over the comic. Heroes can sin and have flaws but they are still heroic.

By contrast, I was left feeling that the world of Unsounded is just an evil place, full of evil people doing evil things to the vulnerable. Child slavery, child rape, and senseless death after senseless death. And our hero Duane wrapped his hands around the throat of a girl who reminds him of his daughter.

It basically seems to me like the Game of Thrones of webcomics. Where Order of the Stick is like...Harry Potter maybe. I'm still torn on whether I would recommend Unsounded to others, but I know I would never recommend it to Rich Burlew.

[Chromascope3D]

I just archived binged this comic after seeing the thread here. I have really mixed feelings about it. I won't go on too much about what I liked and disliked, but I will say I'm sort of surprised that anyone would rank *both* Order of the Stick and Unsounded as their top two webcomics. They're so different in their worldview. OotS has a guaranteed happy ending. Evil can be really scary and upsetting, but a *sense* of evil never takes over the comic. Heroes can sin and have flaws but they are still heroic.

By contrast, I was left feeling that the world of Unsounded is just an evil place, full of evil people doing evil things to the vulnerable. Child slavery, child rape, and senseless death after senseless death. And our hero Duane wrapped his hands around the throat of a girl who reminds him of his daughter.

It basically seems to me like the Game of Thrones of webcomics. Where Order of the Stick is like...Harry Potter maybe. I'm still torn on whether I would recommend Unsounded to others, but I know I would never recommend it to Rich Burlew.

Well, I love both Harry Potter and Game of Thrones, so...

They're very much the same, really. In my eyes, they are both webcomics of epic fantasy, and while it may be true that Unsounded is darker than OotS, I think OotS is far darker in tone than you give it credit for, where a lich can wander the countryside murdering all he looks upon on a whim, to the dark armies of the below uniting against the forces of the above, to nearly the entire Western Continent being ruled by the same shadow organization, to literally the entire world existing solely to hold back a beast of pure chaos and terror from ending all existence. Sure, it doesn't seem like it's really as dark as it is, but that mainly due to the art being as bright and colorful as it is. The only true difference between the two is that one's artstyle is really disarming, while the other's enhances it.

Because, aside from the dark tones, it really is a fantastic webcomic. The writing is stellar, that art is superlative, the world is deep in meaning and is entirely original. No Tolkienesque ideas here. No elves, no dwarves, no dark vs light, no proven divinity; hell, there aren't even any horses. You are right to dislike it because of this, if you dislike sex and gore in your fantasy stories. Just know that there are others, such as myself, who believe it is enhanced by it. Hell, I've been recommending it to more and more people since I started reading it two months ago.

[Morty]

Right, although Sette wouldn't know that. Also, it seemed to be doing a pretty good job of feeding off poor Ana, so it might be getting filled up. But yes, it doesn't have Duane to feed from anymore.

The thing I don't understand it how Cutter intends to move it. The original plan was for Stockyard to take both it and Duane to the coast where it was apparently supposed to be loaded on a sailing ship. (I had forgotten that.) On page 123, Cutter said, "...But provision us! Quickly! Flesh and pain. We've a long voyage ahead." That makes it sound like Cutter's intent to deliver the silver hasn't really changed. How is that going to work, now, though? Is the silver going to move itself like we saw it doing in the Kert?

BTW, if what we saw in the Kert was the future, does that mean that it's inevitable?

We did see it move in Duane's vision. So it's possible that at a certain stage of development, it can move. It just needs nourishment from pain and despair to do it.

As for whether Duane's vision is inevitable... I don't think we can say. Time is not a linear concept in the Khert. Lady Ilganyag did say it is inevitable, but she's not a very reliable source. But it's definitely possible, at the very least.

[Lethologica]

I just archived binged this comic after seeing the thread here. I have really mixed feelings about it. I won't go on too much about what I liked and disliked, but I will say I'm sort of surprised that anyone would rank *both* Order of the Stick and Unsounded as their top two webcomics. They're so different in their worldview.

I know, right? I was certainly shocked to discover people who like both cake and veal, despite that the two taste completely different.

[eschmenk]

I'm still torn on whether I would recommend Unsounded to others, but I know I would never recommend it to Rich Burlew.

Perhaps you are selling Rich Burlew short. I just read this very different comic's update. Note the recommendation for Unsounded at the bottom of the author's comments.

[-D-]

Unsounded is to Disney, what Dismaland is to Disneyland.

Spoiler: Example of Dismaland

Show

If you look at Disney, they took the old myths and sweeten it until it tastes like diabetes. Unsounded, on the other hand, takes old myths an puts a millimeter sugar surface layer over it. It's meant to sucker you in, and then deliver the nasty punch. Like chocolate encrusted caterpillar.

To me Disney's work, often feel like a perpetually grinning maid that does everything you ask. So, you start to wonder - what the **** is behind the grin? Is she a serial killer? Does she eat babies? Is she high as hell, get out?
Unsounded on the other hand is smooth criminal, who promises you a wild time, seduces you and then runs off with your money. You might have been swindled, but you're richer for the experience.

And for the record, I'm pretty sure it will end on a sweet or bitter sweet note. I definitely could see either both Sette and Duane dying and getting reincarnated, or two of them living out as step-daughter and foster dad.

[Morty]

Unsounded is back. With a scene transition. Dawn's worst memory is of a different sort than Stockyard's. I think we'll see Sette's bad memories before this mess is over.

[-D-]

Dawn's worst memory is of a different sort than Stockyard's.

Wait, how did Silver get there already?

*Looks at the surrounding page*. Oh. OH. CRAP!!! It's coming through the comic background.

[Killer Angel]

Update.

I love Sette in this last strip. Especially her badass look in the third-to-last panel.

[John Campbell]

Sette has had it with these m-fing eels in this m-fing place.

[-D-]

Sette has had it with these m-fing eels in this m-fing place.

You can verbally reiterate that one more time.

[Morty]

Someone should really get around to killing that guy.

[-D-]

Someone should really get around to killing that guy.

Or something. There are always eels. I'd love for all the memories of children he hurt and died came back to bite off his ass.

[Chromascope3D]

Someone should really get around to killing that guy.

Was about to say, I guess he's been possessed but it's not like there's that much of a difference anyway. :P

[-D-]

Was about to say, I guess he's been possessed but it's not like there's that much of a difference anyway. :P

Spirits, posses either first silver, flesh or pymary. I don't recall them possessing people. Toby was a) dead as doornail b) puppeteered by silver.

[Killer Angel]

Someone should really get around to killing that guy.

I'm sure it will happen, and that will be a "it was about time!" moment.