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Post by arf on Nov 13, 2017 8:03:02 GMT
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Post by speedwell on Nov 13, 2017 8:19:28 GMT
ffs, "Katurday". How Internet is that.
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Post by philman on Nov 13, 2017 8:30:10 GMT
And in the chapter thumbnail:  Renard is back! Yay |
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Post by madjack on Nov 13, 2017 8:59:12 GMT
Everyone's favourite robot religion holy day!
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ST13R
Full Member
Quiet little mouse
Posts: 171
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Post by ST13R on Nov 13, 2017 10:00:24 GMT
Oh no! Imaginaryfriend was right!Looking forward to seeing Rey again! That arch in the thumbnail seems like the one to 'Jeanne's tomb'. |
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Post by Jelly Jellybean on Nov 13, 2017 11:46:36 GMT
For a Katurday, it sure feels like a Monday... Seriously though, this chapter page is quite the transition. Every part of it cries out that what follows will be different from what proceeded. Kat and Paz plushies? That would be like printing money. |
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Post by hochopepa on Nov 13, 2017 12:14:39 GMT
ffs, "Katurday". How Internet is that.I could be wrong, but I think it's actually a reference to a UK Children's programme from the late eighties, early nineties called Wacaday. It would be on on Saturdays and during the school holidays. Wacaday theme tune |
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Post by speedwell on Nov 13, 2017 12:25:34 GMT
ffs, "Katurday". How Internet is that.I could be wrong, but I think it's actually a reference to a UK Children's programme from the late eighties, early nineties called Wacaday. It would be on on Saturdays and during the school holidays. Wacaday theme tune |
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Post by phantaskippy on Nov 13, 2017 15:02:39 GMT
There is playing to your audience, and then there is straight up fan service. But beyond both of those, in a realm of squee inducing sugar pops and pandering, is the rumor of a chapter of a web comic so gleeful and perfect for appeasing a fanbase, that it is believed to be impossible.
And yet, in the darkest pit of fandom arguments, in the longest tunnels of psychological exploration of unpopular characters, you can still hear the word whispered, like a prophecy of eventual nirvana, "Katurday".
It is real kids, our angel is coming back to save us.
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Post by Per on Nov 13, 2017 15:29:31 GMT
Quick, enter Yandere on the GC tropes page.
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Post by todd on Nov 13, 2017 16:33:28 GMT
Earlier in the comic, I wondered whether Tom was gradually shifting the mantle of protagonist from Annie to Kat. At the time, I rebelled against it. Now I'm wondering if that might be the right direction to move in.
1. Annie's main external goal (freeing Jeanne) has been accomplished. We know there's likely to be consequences from Coyote's response, but the main characters don't know that yet; they weren't present when Coyote noticed that Jeanne was gone. (We don't even know what Coyote plans to do about that, beyond something that he'd find amusing.) So that's not going to be on their list of objectives. Neither we nor the leads yet know what the Court's purpose is, but that's a more abstract goal than freeing Jeanne. There's the resolution of the Antony business, but that's also probably too abstract for the characters to dedicate themselves to (and it doesn't help that most of the readers are getting tired of it).
The biggest concrete enterprise left is Kat's robot project, and that's been more Kat's work than Annie's. So it would make sense for Kat to increasingly take the lead, unless some new goal arises that's fitted to Annie's strengths more than Kat's.
2. Annie's now sworn herself to the Guides, and while they haven't collected yet, that's hanging over her. We don't know whether it means something like "Annie having to go away with them and leave the human world apart from guiding the just-died into the afterlife" (which would definitely write her out of the story) or not, but it does suggest that she may not have that much future left and shouldn't be making any big goals.
I don't know whether Tom would have that moment come well before the end of the comic or not - but it's possible that he might dare do that - have Annie depart with the Guides, leaving Kat and the others to continue the story without her.
3. Kat's much more angst-free than Annie and thus in more of a condition to take an active role. (While I thought at first that the Court and Antony's restrictions on Annie could endanger her continuing to have adventues, I think now that the real threat to that role is the door being locked on the inside, and developments since Antony's return have led towards that. Annie entered a numb, passive role after Antony grounded her, and while she's started to recover from it, Red's telling her off seems to have added to it. At this rate, nobody will need to forbid Annie to stop meddling and having adventures; she could end up locking the door to adventure from the inside, fearing that if she tries solving any more problems, she'll only make things worse, endanger everyone around her, etc. In that state, she'd probably stay uninvolved; even if etheric creatures approached her with a problem, she'd tell them to ask someone else for help, saying that she's done.)
Kat hasn't been through that kind of thing, still has a lot of zest. (Now, if the robot religious movement caused trouble on a much larger scale than in "The Torn Sea" - this time getting people injured or killed - it might be different. That could lead to the adults investigating how it began, tracing the movement back to Kat, telling her how her experiments and careless talk - as in "It was worth it" - led to this, and making it clear that this has to stop. But that's still a big "if". Kat doesn't seem as prone to melancholy brooding as Annie is, anyway.)
4. Kat is more normal and approachable than Annie (who is becoming increasingly "other" in many ways), and thus makes a better bridge between the reader and Gunnerkrigg. We know that the robots look upon her as a goddess and that's starting to change her, but Kat doesn't know it. (Though that thought triggered a wild speculation about the chapter. The days of the week were named after ancient gods. What if "Katurday" is another step in the robot religion - that they're now naming a weekday after her. But that seems a little too crazy.)
And a lot of the readers seem to be getting tired of Annie's overall angst, almost as much as of Antony.
I think that Annie worked well as the protagonist in the early chapters, but the changes she's undergone since then may make her less suited to that role now - that the best approach could indeed be to let Kat take up that role and let Annie slowly fade out into a secondary character. At least, that's what I'm wondering now.
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yinglung
Full Member
It's only a tatter of mime.
Posts: 190
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Post by yinglung on Nov 13, 2017 16:55:33 GMT
...Now I sort of want a Kat and Tony happy montage, cracking terrible science puns and making silly faces.
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Post by Tenjen on Nov 13, 2017 17:12:00 GMT
Can anyone analyze the symbolical significance of the chapters imagery?
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Post by Zox Tomana on Nov 13, 2017 17:37:42 GMT
I prefer Pazday, myself.
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Post by ctso74 on Nov 13, 2017 18:07:02 GMT
The Chibi is strong with this one.
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Post by vankersabra17 on Nov 13, 2017 18:40:01 GMT
Well, even though I'm always up for some Paz/Kat action, I wanna see some Zimmy/Gamma. Where is my favorite duo of weirdos, Tom? What have you done to them???
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Post by erunion on Nov 13, 2017 21:38:23 GMT
You all realize what this is leading to, right?
Only the absolute most serious and depressing arc of the entire story. There is no other reason for a happy-cartoon Kat on the chapter cover of Katurday except for this - absolute soul-crushing drama and depression. Mark my words.
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Post by arf on Nov 14, 2017 2:54:00 GMT
You all realize what this is leading to, right? Only the absolute most serious and depressing arc of the entire story. There is no other reason for a happy-cartoon Kat on the chapter cover of Katurday except for this - absolute soul-crushing drama and depression. Mark my words. So Kat gets electrocuted, and Annie has to guide her. ... only to be waylaid by Muut or Ankou, who point out that there is a niche opening in electrical appliances. ... Annie is left with the cooling body, just as Antony walks in. Whodunnit? |
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Post by stevecharb on Nov 14, 2017 3:04:31 GMT
Don't give us none of your Paz-gravation, had it with your Smitty-pline.
Katurday night's alright for fighting, gonna get a little Annie in.
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Post by stevecharb on Nov 14, 2017 3:25:14 GMT
You all realize what this is leading to, right? Only the absolute most serious and depressing arc of the entire story. There is no other reason for a happy-cartoon Kat on the chapter cover of Katurday except for this - absolute soul-crushing drama and depression. Mark my words. That will not happen, because it would lead to bad storytelling and writing GC into a corner. Kat has her own mysteries to work out and too many plot threads depending on her than can be resolved after killing her off early. We've got the robots worshiping her, we haven't seen enough of her relationship with Paz, the cybernetics (including her interactions with the Court spies and Anthony, which call for development) --whatever the hell is going on with her ethereal self-- and more for which an early Kat death would be anticlimactic and squandering of too many good plot threads. Plus, her role as deuteragonist and her relationship with Antimony make her irreplaceable in these roles at this point. Unless Tom wants to have Kat ascend to immortality in the Ether and draw The Angel in every strip she appears, Kat isn't going to die any time soon. This isn't, for instance, The Walking Dead or any given grimdark anyone-can-die TV show, where the plot's going nowhere and all the deaths are random and pointless. |
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Post by philman on Nov 14, 2017 8:52:08 GMT
You all realize what this is leading to, right? Only the absolute most serious and depressing arc of the entire story. There is no other reason for a happy-cartoon Kat on the chapter cover of Katurday except for this - absolute soul-crushing drama and depression. Mark my words. That will not happen, because it would lead to bad storytelling and writing GC into a corner. Kat has her own mysteries to work out and too many plot threads depending on her than can be resolved after killing her off early. We've got the robots worshiping her, we haven't seen enough of her relationship with Paz, the cybernetics (including her interactions with the Court spies and Anthony, which call for development) --whatever the hell is going on with her ethereal self-- and more for which an early Kat death would be anticlimactic and squandering of too many good plot threads. Plus, her role as deuteragonist and her relationship with Antimony make her irreplaceable in these roles at this point. Unless Tom wants to have Kat ascend to immortality in the Ether and draw The Angel in every strip she appears, Kat isn't going to die any time soon. This isn't, for instance, The Walking Dead or any given grimdark anyone-can-die TV show, where the plot's going nowhere and all the deaths are random and pointless. I feel like Erunion may have had his/her tongue slightly in their cheek . |
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Post by keef on Nov 14, 2017 12:15:56 GMT
Oh no! Imaginaryfriend was right!Looking forward to seeing Rey again! That arch in the thumbnail seems like the one to 'Jeanne's tomb'. Rey, Annie and...? Doesn't really look like Kat, but it's small, could be flashback. |
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Post by todd on Nov 14, 2017 12:59:32 GMT
I feel like Erunion may have had his/her tongue slightly in their cheek . Tongue in cheek doesn't work well in print; it depends on tone of voice to succeed, unless exaggerated. Though that scenario does remind me of those recurring moments where it looked as if the comic was heading towards a point that would have to write out one or more of the major characters in a way that would make it difficult to continue in a recognizable form (the most recent case being when Andrew was stabbed by Jeanne, the Guides initially refused to help, and it seemed that Annie and Kat would be facing a Court inquiry into the Court medium's death and placed under such restrictions as punishment that they'd have no further adventures - with the likely grief and guilt they'd be feeling over his death helping to further immobilize them). Maybe we'd better not give Tom ideas. |
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Post by youwiththeface on Nov 14, 2017 15:42:47 GMT
You all realize what this is leading to, right? Only the absolute most serious and depressing arc of the entire story. There is no other reason for a happy-cartoon Kat on the chapter cover of Katurday except for this - absolute soul-crushing drama and depression. Mark my words. That will not happen, because it would lead to bad storytelling and writing GC into a corner. Kat has her own mysteries to work out and too many plot threads depending on her than can be resolved after killing her off early. We've got the robots worshiping her, we haven't seen enough of her relationship with Paz, the cybernetics (including her interactions with the Court spies and Anthony, which call for development) --whatever the hell is going on with her ethereal self-- and more for which an early Kat death would be anticlimactic and squandering of too many good plot threads. Plus, her role as deuteragonist and her relationship with Antimony make her irreplaceable in these roles at this point. Unless Tom wants to have Kat ascend to immortality in the Ether and draw The Angel in every strip she appears, Kat isn't going to die any time soon. This isn't, for instance, The Walking Dead or any given grimdark anyone-can-die TV show, where the plot's going nowhere and all the deaths are random and pointless. Even if he was completely serious and not tongue in cheek, erunion didn't say anything about Kat dying, just soul crushing depression. And Tom can manage that perfectly well without having to kill a character off. |
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Post by fia on Nov 14, 2017 16:23:28 GMT
The days of the week were named after ancient gods. What if "Katurday" is another step in the robot religion - that they're now naming a weekday after her. But that seems a little too crazy. Crazy enough to be true! I think it is a great candidate for a Tom plot joke. Also, I suspect the thumbnail is from a Robot Retelling™ of some of the events earlier in the comic (from S1) due to Jeanne finally being put to rest and Robot witnessing that... but that's just a guess. |
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Post by todd on Nov 15, 2017 3:06:48 GMT
Even if he was completely serious and not tongue in cheek, erunion didn't say anything about Kat dying, just soul crushing depression. And Tom can manage that perfectly well without having to kill a character off. The impression I had was that it was a response to arf's speculation that Kat would get electrocuted, and simply failed to include that quote. |
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yinglung
Full Member
It's only a tatter of mime.
Posts: 190
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Post by yinglung on Nov 15, 2017 5:07:35 GMT
Even if he was completely serious and not tongue in cheek, erunion didn't say anything about Kat dying, just soul crushing depression. And Tom can manage that perfectly well without having to kill a character off. The impression I had was that it was a response to arf's speculation that Kat would get electrocuted, and simply failed to include that quote. Except that Erunion's post came before arf's... |
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Post by pyradonis on Nov 15, 2017 16:38:45 GMT
And in the chapter thumbnail: Renard is back! Yay FINALLY! |
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Post by todd on Nov 16, 2017 0:12:25 GMT
The impression I had was that it was a response to arf's speculation that Kat would get electrocuted, and simply failed to include that quote. Except that Erunion's post came before arf's... I mean that I think the post was most likely meant as a reply to Arf's. |
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