Line #75 Webcomic/Gnoph


1	''A tale of life, love, and internal parasites.''
2
3	Abbey is a sixteen-year-old girl living on an alien world. Her sole companion is Scut, a genetically engineered symbiote called a Gnoph which lives in her left lung. Gnoph were designed to give superhuman powers to the host... but without access to her homeworld's medicine, they will both soon die. Attempting to transport back to her world, Abbey winds up on a medieval planet instead. There she makes the acquaintance of Duke William of Klag, a somewhat inept and cowardly young man. Will's fate becomes entwined with Abbey's when Scut lays an egg inside of him. With both their lives now at stake, they proceed to Abbey's world, which on the surface is not dissimilar to our own. But as SecretPolice hunt them down, they have to fight to survive.
4
5	Contains heavy MoodWhiplash, combining humor and romance with tragedy and [[BodyHorror the grotesque]].
6
7	Read it [[http:///www.theduckwebcomics.com/Gnoph/ here]]. Rated "M" for blood, language, and sometimes nudity.
8
9	----
10	!!This series provides examples of:
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12	* AbortedArc: The Ren Faire arc, due to RealLifeWritesThePlot.
13	* AntiHero: Abbey
14	* AristocratsAreEvil: Duke William is good, but his father is cold and distant while his brother is outright evil.
15	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: "Unknown number of mines. Five snipers. Our driver's dead, and two wounded. My arm's broken and I can't repair it. And it looks like someone vomited on your boots."
16	* AxCrazy: Lyss
17	* BadassNormal: [[spoiler:Abbey after Scut's death.]]
18	* {{Bifauxnen}}: Abbey is frequently mistaken for a boy. It doesn't help that [[spoiler: she once had to metabolise her (admittedly rather small) breasts so she didn't have to start in on more important organs]].
19	* BigEater: A necessity for Gnoph hosts. If they don't eat enough, the results aren't pretty.
20	* BlackBox: The creation of the RJFH strain of Gnoph was purely accidental. As one scientist mockingly puts it, "Gotta love that military mentality. "Ah don' know why ut works, but they sure do kill!" Idiots."
21	* BloodFromTheMouth: Constantly with Abbey. Even referred to by the medical term, hemoptysis.
22	** The author once remarked something to the effect of, "I'll never get tired of drawing Abbey coughing up blood."
23	* BodyHorror: If someone carrying a Gnoph doesn't take the appropriate growth-suppression hormones, as in Abbey's case, this is the inevitable result.
24	** More specifically, the Gnoph eventually grows too large to be carried in the host's lung. If it goes on long enough, [[spoiler: the Gnoph will metamorphose while still inside its host, creating a massive, necrotic cyst that takes up pretty much the entire host's side/back. The only reason Abbey survived that was because some doctors killed Scut and tied his remains back into her nervous system.]] Much of this is drawn and colored in loving detail.
25	* BondCreatures: The Gnoph.
26	* BurnTheWitch: Abbey fears using her powers openly in Will's world for this reason.
27	* CaptainObvious: Will -- lampshaded by Abbey.
28	--> '''Will:''' She's being chased!
29	--> '''Abbey:''' No ''shit'', Will. People don't run through dark woods just for the fun of it!
30	* CombatPragmatist: Abbey is not averse to fighting dirty; she [[EyeScream goes for the eyes]] whenever possible and will use [[ImprovisedWeapon anything that comes to hand]] while fighting.
31	* DePower: [[spoiler:Abbey and Will losing their Gnophs]]
32	* DeadlyUpgrade: Being infected with a Gnoph grants incredible powers... which use the host's body as a fuel source. If they're used too much, or if the host doesn't eat enough, they'll be slowly eaten alive from the inside. With rest and food, it's possible to recover with the Gnoph's added HealingFactor, but burning through a kidney is still an experience best avoided.
33	* DeathSeeker: Tighe
34	* DidntThinkThisThrough: Lyss. As pointed out by the author, "Generally speaking, it isn't a good idea to point out your existence to an entire group of people who want you dead. [[SanityHasAdvantages But Lyss couldn't care less about such logic]]."
35	* DrowningMySorrows: Abbey drinks heavily because it makes Scut go to sleep, letting her have her mind to herself for a short time.
36	* TheDulcineaEffect: Abbey is not at all surprised that Will sides with the fleeing girl over the pursuing soldier.
37	* EmpathicWeapon: Scut's strain of Gnoph was basically created to be a race of {{Empathic Weapon}}s.
38	* EyeScream: When she fights, Abbey usually goes for the eyes, with gory results.
39	* FaceFullOfAlienWingWong: How Gnoph lay their eggs.
40	* FakeCrossOver: Brief appearances of Hawke and Wolfe from ''Webcomic/FatedFeather'' in positions that bear no connection to their story of origin.
41	* FanDisservice: On those occasions when we see Abbey naked, it most definitely falls under this category. See the part about [[spoiler: the massive, necrotic cyst]] under BodyHorror, above.
42	* FishOutOfWater: Will and Tighe in Abbey's world; Tighe more so, since Will has Lyss's help.
43	* FiveFingerFillet: Abbey injures her fingers doing this and laments that she used to be able to do it perfectly.
44	* GogglesDoNothing: Brad just wears them to cover the Gnoph markings around his eyes.
45	* GrotesqueCute: Scut. Cute when he's outside of Abbey, grotesque when he's ''coming out'' of Abbey.
46	* HandsomeLech: Brad, in a very villainous way
47	* HealingFactor: One of the powers granted by Gnoph.
48	* HellishPupils: When using Gnoph powers.
49	* ImAHumanitarian: [[spoiler:Lyss]], in a very [[{{Squick}} Squicky]] moment, made all the more so because [[spoiler:''she's controlling Will's body at the time''.]]
50	** Turns out humans are a handy source of energy if you're a starving Gnoph host. Especially if you're starving because you spent energy when you were forced to kill them to defend yourself.
51	* IncurableCoughOfDeath: Abbey, due to Scut living in her lungs.
52	* LuminescentBlush: Abbey at one point.
53	* MagicFromTechnology: Gnoph powers
54	* MamaBear: Adrani
55	* MarkedChange: Glowing marks appear on hosts when their Gnoph powers are active; the shape and color depend on the strain of Gnoph.
56	* MayDecemberRomance: Tighe (who is in his thirties) and Abbey (who is sixteen).
57	* MeaningfulName: Lyss's name means madness and rage in Greek. [[AxCrazy It fits]].
58	* MindRape: Lyss starts doing this to Will, but Scut stops her.
59	* MisterSeahorse: A feature of Gnoph biology; each male carries the fertilized egg of a twin sister inside of it, which it can then lay in an appropriate host.
60	* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: Dr. Green
61	* MyNaymeIs: Abigail abbreviates her name as "Abbey" rather than the more common "Abby".
62	* NoPeriodsPeriod: WordOfGod: Abbey has never had a period, due to the neccessary organs having being consumed by Scut when she was a child.
63	* OrganicTechnology: The Gnoph
64	* OrificeEvacuation: Gnophs can comfortably leave the body through the mouth - provided they remain small enough.
65	* OrificeInvasion: Gnophs can comfortably enter the body through the mouth - provided they remain small enough.
66	* ParentalAbandonment: Abbey "grew up in the goddamned gutter of a world that wasn't my own". We later learn it's due to [[spoiler:her father being a famous war criminal.]]
67	* PersonOfMassDestruction: The RJFH Gnoph are stated to be the most effective killing machines in the world.
68	* PhlebotinumRebel: Col. Lytton Smith, aka [[spoiler:Abbey's father.]]
69	* PowersAsPrograms: The various abilities granted by Gnophs.
70	* PunctuatedForEmphasis: "You. Aren't. Decent."
71	* RedEyesTakeWarning: Abbey
72	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Lyss is planning one of these.
73	* SecretPolice: The GRA
74	* ShapeshifterWeapon: Gnoph can turn their hosts' fingernails and teeth into claws and fangs when no other weapons are available.
75	* ShellShockedVeteran: Tighe
76	* {{Squick}}: It's a comic that involves parasites, violence, and heaping doses of BodyHorror. What do you expect?
77	** One particularly notable moment is [[spoiler: Scut's sudden metamorphosis, during which he creates a massive, necrotic cyst in Abbey's lung.]]
78	** Another time is when [[spoiler: they have to remove Scut's remains from Abbey to avoid being tracked down. Said remains had ''fused with part of her spine''. We get to see said chunk of spine after it is removed.]]
79	* SuperSoldier: The purpose of Scut's line of Gnoph.
80	* SuperpoweredEvilSide: Lyss acts very much like this when Will falls unconscious and she takes over completely. When Will wakes up, she is in the process of [[spoiler: ''eating'' a police officer she killed.]]
81	* TheSymbiote: The Gnoph
82	* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: [[spoiler:The [=04:67:RJFH=] strain of Gnoph.]]
83	* UnstoppableRage: After [[spoiler:Scut]]'s death, Abbey is drugged up, half-dead, and more cadaverous than most cadavers. But more importantly, she is ''pissed off''.
84	* UnusualEuphemism: "Keck", though regular curse words are used as well.
85	* TheVoiceless: Scut talks to Abbey, but the reader can't hear.
86	* WallsOfText: Common in early chapters.
87	* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Created as living computers, Gnoph symbiotes are generally regarded as non-sentient. They are killed just as casually as we would throw away an obsolete computer. [[spoiler:But the [=04:67:RJFH=] Gnoph ''are'' sentient, and started the Lytton Rebellion.]]
88	** [[spoiler:Eventually, Liss manages to manipulate events so that ''all'' Gnoph gain sentience.]]
89	* YaoiFangirl: Lampshaded in one [[BreakingTheFourthWall fourth-wall breaking]] FillerStrip where Will realizes he's "[[{{Uke}} a long-haired, strangely femmy guy who can't grow any facial hair]]" and fears the author will give him a "tragic yaoi love interest".

Context Webcomic / Gnoph