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Post by smjjames on Nov 30, 2011 15:05:49 GMT
It certainly looks like the blade fell on its side though.
Since Shadowmen are seemingly made of a very thin (monomolecular? Or even monoatomic?) layer, they would be too flimsy to be off a surface without some kind of support. At least thats what Kat seemed to imply when she explained about Shadow2 in an earlier chapter.
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cass
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by cass on Nov 30, 2011 15:06:03 GMT
She should at least be able to keep holding the sword, and not drop it like a clumsy newbie. I thought she was pretty good with the sword, but she still acts pretty clueless, considering the events in the last two pages... She's just seen one of her friends cut in half. It's probably not something she's got enough experience with to develop a planned response. Or at least I'd hope she doesn't
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Post by aaroncampbell on Nov 30, 2011 15:28:14 GMT
I think it should go something like this: Everyone: "Robot, are you okay?" Robot: "Yes, I'm fine. Shadow2, are you okay?" Shadow2: "Um, I don't know? Help? This laughing blade doesn't feel right, and I miss the floor. But are you sure you're alright, Robot?"
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Post by smjjames on Nov 30, 2011 15:48:42 GMT
Shadow2 actually casts a shadow himself. But since Shadow 2 isn't really a shadow at all it's not that surprising, is it? Looks liek his mass is enough to cast a shadow... Mass has nothing to do with it, it's the density and/or opacity. You can have a 500 pound glass panel and have it not cast a shadow. While it's not that surprising, I guess nobody was sure. It does bring up an odd question, since they apparently have to attatch to anything that casts a shadow or is touching the ground (I wonder if even an ant will work), why can't they attatch to their own shadow? Sounds like a philosophical question doesn't it.
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Post by Georgie L on Nov 30, 2011 16:21:38 GMT
The tricky thing here is on the interpretation of "Keenest blade". If we look the word "keen" up in the dictionary... www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/keen4: wonderful, excellent — keen·ly adverb — keen·ness \ˈkçn-nəs\ noun — keen on : very enthusiastic or excited about <wasn't keen on going> I think we can agree that the giggleblade is very enthusiastic about cutting things. My... It's practically laughing with joy! So yeah... Coyote doesn't lie. But he also didn't promise anything about what it could cut besides the earth and by extension materials gained from the earth. It seems that dictionary missed a lot of definitions out, the definition Coyote means is probably: 2.finely sharpened, as an edge; so shaped as to cut or pierce substances readily: a keen razor. SYNONYMS : Sharp, Acute, Peircing, Penetrating.
Then again knowing Coyote he could be being tricksy and using a different definition so you could still be right in this case.Just noticed someone beat me to it. The can they attach themself to their own shadow does indeed sound like a thought experiment or something (heck it probably could be one with tweaking.) I suppose that technically they could attach to an ant shadow, there doesn't seem to be any logical reason for them not to be.
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Post by quirkykelly on Nov 30, 2011 16:28:23 GMT
To me, it appears that the blade is moving on it's own. In the first panel, Robot seems to be falling to the right, when Parley drops the blade it's pointed towards the left (I was actually afraid that it was going to cut her!), then it changes positions to go towards the right in mid-air. Even if Robot fell to the left, the blade goes from being somewhat horizontal to a vertical position. It's definitely not falling the way that a non-etheric blade would.
Giggleblade that can act on it's own volition? Definitely dangerous!
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Post by Serenissima on Nov 30, 2011 16:38:13 GMT
I don't think this is Parley being clumsy - I think as quirkykelly has suggested, the blade is sort of moving of its own accord. Not to the sense of 'flying around', but it seems feasible to me that a blade like that... provided by the trickster, and all, would be fully capable of deliberately slipping out of her hand without her being able to do anything about it.
Has anyone considered that the Giggleblade's laughter isn't just a sound effect, but it may actually be Coyote's laughter? In the sense that it is still a part of his 'body' and he has control over it. It would explain Parley seemingly being incredibly clumsy and forgetting all of the safety rules for handling bladed weapons if all of this was essentially under Coyote's control and influence, with it controlling her arm (or moving by itself and taking her hand along with it).
And being Coyote... we have no idea what his motive might be. But given the laughter, and what we know of Coyote... my bet would be that he was doing it just because he finds it hilarious.
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Spike
Junior Member
Posts: 67
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Post by Spike on Nov 30, 2011 18:26:07 GMT
...noooooooooooooooooooooooooo
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Post by marcador on Nov 30, 2011 19:59:33 GMT
I find it interesting that Shadow 2 doesn't just morph out of the way of the Giggleblade. We can see from, say, his mouth that he still has at least some shapeshifting ability, though there has been no need to use it to a great extent like in panel 4. Therefore, does the blade move too fast for him to do this? Or does its apparant changing of direction in mid-air confuse Shadow 2 so that he doesn't move?
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BingsF
Junior Member
Posts: 92
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Post by BingsF on Nov 30, 2011 20:38:57 GMT
Why does Shadow2 have a shadow?Shadow3 To me, it appears that the blade is moving on it's own. In the first panel, Robot seems to be falling to the right, when Parley drops the blade it's pointed towards the left (I was actually afraid that it was going to cut her!), then it changes positions to go towards the right in mid-air. Even if Robot fell to the left, the blade goes from being somewhat horizontal to a vertical position. It's definitely not falling the way that a non-etheric blade would. Giggleblade that can act on it's own volition? Definitely dangerous! The Giggleblade's domain of action/self-awareness seems to me most reminiscent of Sauron's One Ring... it can't physically roll/fly/move itself around, but it does seem to influence actions around it in a way that it/its maker would want? Like slipping away from Gollum at the opportune moment to just "happen" to be found by Bilbo... actually now that I think on it its mode of action seems almost like Smitty's: it's just subtly altering circumstance/chance around it, though more to its creator's specific will than general "order."
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Post by smjjames on Nov 30, 2011 21:03:08 GMT
I find it interesting that Shadow 2 doesn't just morph out of the way of the Giggleblade. We can see from, say, his mouth that he still has at least some shapeshifting ability, though there has been no need to use it to a great extent like in panel 4. Therefore, does the blade move too fast for him to do this? Or does its apparant changing of direction in mid-air confuse Shadow 2 so that he doesn't move? Well, the panels seem to be in slow motion and Shadow2s attention seems to be on Robot, so it's possible that he didn't see it. The whole page probably took all of 3 seconds, maybe 5, so it was a combination of being caught completely by surprise, not seeing/anticipating the blade or for it to do that, and because the whole timeframe of the page is in seconds. The blade came within milimeters (a hairs breadth would be more appropriate)of nicking him, plus the speed of the fall gave him instants to react, but given that his attention wasn't on the sword, he didn't have time to react.
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Post by mrspectacular on Nov 30, 2011 22:18:41 GMT
Bricks. Bricks everywhere.
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Post by joephlommin on Nov 30, 2011 23:07:33 GMT
Blade cuts through anything. Drop it.
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Post by smjjames on Nov 30, 2011 23:12:27 GMT
I don't know if Shadowpeople are beings from the etherium, but they ARE Coyotes own creations as well as being forest denziens, so the fact that Coyote wouldn't want to hurt his own creations is definetly a factor. I might say that it doesn't cut anything organic (if whatever Shadowpeople are made of can be considered organic), but the jacket could be cotton and the floor could be made of wood for all we know. Blade cuts through anything. Drop it. Not cutting through shadowpeople doesn't count as anything, however, there is more to the eye about Coyotes tooth that we currently know. But for all intents and purposes, it does and will cut through anything. Now lets see it cut through diamond.....
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Post by atteSmythe on Nov 30, 2011 23:40:04 GMT
It certainly looks like the blade fell on its side though. The shadow of the blade is the key. If the blade were on the ground, it would be closer to its shadow, and not diverging from it. As it is, it's balancing on the back of the guard, which is angling the blade away from the ground. My read, anyway.
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Post by TBeholder on Dec 1, 2011 2:43:13 GMT
Also the shadowman casts a shadow, lolwut. since they apparently have to attatch to anything that casts a shadow or is touching the ground (I wonder if even an ant will work), why can't they attatch to their own shadow? Since normally these guys exist only on surface and are insta-killed when they can't cling to anything... Probably this counts as bleeding? I.e. eventually a dense enough shadow forms on the ground, but by this time there's no one to cast it. On my first read, I'd thought the blade fell to its side. Very interesting! Given where Parley stood and how the blade was oriented in panel 3, it's not feasible for it to just fall with edge on the side it is in panel 4. It looks like rotating counter-clockwise from her, and if not, it would turn spine forward, not edge. But maybe it switches the edge to the side which moves forward or something like this. Or she also jumped aside so in panel 4 she's on the same side as S13 and the blade fell toward them, not from them? it's balancing on the back of the guard, which is angling the blade away from the ground. No, see the slice it did on the floor? It just continues to spin...
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Post by smjjames on Dec 1, 2011 2:56:32 GMT
I guess we can agree that it's a bit hard to get the perspective in the last panel. Also, I think it has landed on the floor and stopped spinning in the last panel and ending with a surprised and probably shocked Shadow2, his eyes even seem a bit bigger than they normally are in the last panel.
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Post by crater on Dec 1, 2011 2:59:45 GMT
It looks like it's about to chop shadow 2 in half, with Shadow bending as much as he could. The only person who can save him is Parley!
Or it's floating mid-air and shadow is some how immune to the blade.
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Post by smjjames on Dec 1, 2011 3:10:25 GMT
Shadow2 is still attatched to Robots butt (insofar as a robot has a butt anyway) and unlike the bad guy shadow in www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=119 who actually seems to be cut by the light portion of the sword, he is uninjured. I have no idea if Tom is going to go into the specifics of how those guys work, but we might find out something on friday. Also, I think the last panel needs a startled yell from Shadow2.
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Post by King Mir on Dec 1, 2011 6:08:49 GMT
To me it's not apparent if the blade just fell naturally in an improbable way, or if it moved on its own.
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Post by sporkboy on Dec 1, 2011 6:35:11 GMT
My interpretation of the last panel: The blade was spinning in the air, edge moving up, pommel moving down.
The blade whipped through the floor meeting no resistance and kept spinning upwards until the pommel hit the floor (or it's still in the air and moving; hard to tell). You can see the dark slice under the blade on the floor.
Shadow either dodged up off the floor, or (more likely given Tom's text) got peeled upwards by the moving blade.
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zolen
Junior Member
Smile, it creeps people out
Posts: 63
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Post by zolen on Dec 1, 2011 7:12:40 GMT
Something I noticed, Shadow 2 is the first "biological" (if you can call him that) thing the sword comes in contact with that is show in the panels. It is possible he just mean anything from the earth. Meaning it will cut metal, dirt, stone, and so on, but its dull when it actually hits a body that is not from the earth?
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blastdragon
Junior Member
The Flying Dutchman
Posts: 65
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Post by blastdragon on Dec 1, 2011 8:30:30 GMT
When did the background of the mainpage change in the snowy-version there is now? I believe last year the background didn't change...
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Post by nikita on Dec 1, 2011 15:05:36 GMT
When did the background of the mainpage change in the snowy-version there is now? I believe last year the background didn't change... Who cares – it's winter! Yay!
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Post by smjjames on Dec 1, 2011 15:19:10 GMT
Something I noticed, Shadow 2 is the first "biological" (if you can call him that) thing the sword comes in contact with that is show in the panels. It is possible he just mean anything from the earth. Meaning it will cut metal, dirt, stone, and so on, but its dull when it actually hits a body that is not from the earth? Does wood count? It's hard to tell if the floor is wood, tile, or linoleum, and theres Robots clothes, which could be of natural fibres. Given that plants draw minerals from the soil, it's hard to draw a defining line because everything ultimately comes from the earth.
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Boxbot
New Member
Le robot terrible.
Posts: 14
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Post by Boxbot on Dec 1, 2011 18:33:30 GMT
I can't stop staring at the fact robot has two right hands.
Mostlky, however, I feel like Parley probably feels. "Robot, nooooo!" "Shadow2, noooo!" I'd be surprised if she wanted to wield that thing again in the future. Then again, seeing how determined she was earlier, she might go for it if everyone's okay.
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Post by atteSmythe on Dec 1, 2011 19:05:53 GMT
Sometimes things fall...and break.
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Post by Max on Dec 2, 2011 7:48:00 GMT
I'm guessing they aren't going to resume their sparring match after this.
But really, it's good thing they found out early how incredibly dangerous a weapon like that can be.
It reminds me of the scene if The Amber Spyglass where Will demonstrates the power of the Subtle Knife to Iorek, who backs down immediately. That is, a gigantic armored bear decided he could not fight against a 13-year-old boy wielding such a blade.
This isn't a butter knife we are talking about here.
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