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Post by imaginaryfriend on Apr 8, 2024 7:15:28 GMT
The barnacle scraping commences. I figured Antimony would be mostly a passive observer in all this but I thought she'd at least contribute a brief motivational speech or somesuch. |
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Post by itrogash on Apr 8, 2024 7:24:22 GMT
In which Shadow is getting continuously more tired of Robot's shit.
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Post by guntherkrieg on Apr 8, 2024 8:11:02 GMT
Oh woe, my friend is upset by my morose antics! This makes me double morose!
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Post by crater on Apr 8, 2024 8:49:00 GMT
Will it be apotheosis or damnation
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Post by Corvo on Apr 8, 2024 9:18:37 GMT
Ever since he went 3D, Shadow is not a pushover anymore. Before, everyone would walk all over him.
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Post by silicondream on Apr 8, 2024 9:31:42 GMT
Oh woe, my friend is upset by my morose antics! This makes me double morose! Depression in a nutshell. I'm really glad to see Shadow, well, doing something. And saying something. He and Robot met when they were basically children, but Robot's grown up (into a mix of wily politician, mature sage and angsty teenager, granted), and we never really got to see Shadow do the same. Shadow apparently has no friend group beyond the protagonists and Robot, no job, no goals, no belief system or philosophy, no relationship with the rest of his species. Nor has he developed much in terms of skills and powers, which is kind of crazy considering that he's a near-massless flight-capable shapeshifter who can perfectly memorize, replicate and remix mechanical vibrations. Heck, Robot's experiences with new bodies and sensory systems have had a ton of pagetime, while Shadow gained an entire spatial dimension to his existence and was just like, yay, I can hug people now! It makes their relationship feel really unbalanced. So maybe this is when Shadow defines himself strongly enough to act as a foil to Robot, not just a pet-who-can-say-nice-things. I'd be disappointed if "That's selfish!" is the most complex criticism he can make of Robot's behavior. It's gonna be hilarious if those wings and barnacles he's tearing through turn out to be Robot's entire Distorted body, though. |
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Post by imaginaryfriend on Apr 8, 2024 10:26:49 GMT
Jones did say she was going to find a class in Foley to put Shadow in so presumably he's had some benefit from interaction with the other students. Being more angry/active than normal than a typical Court resident might stem from that. Learning from Foley might be dodgy in normal situations but when your bff/bf is dealing with his body growing barnacles in a reality distortion while verbally flagellating himself the Foley methods might be just what the doctor ordered. |
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Post by arf on Apr 8, 2024 11:42:54 GMT
That statement has made me realise the significance Shadow may have placed in giving Robot new clothes. |
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Post by ctso74 on Apr 8, 2024 13:13:41 GMT
Group of kids: "Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"
Annie: "Where do these people come from?"
Perhaps, Shadow will find a small insecure personification of Robot, normally shielded by his messiah complex.
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Post by pyradonis on Apr 8, 2024 15:51:32 GMT
Oh boy, he's literally going to tear him a new one. Shadow apparently has no friend group beyond the protagonists and Robot, no job, no goals, no belief system or philosophy, no relationship with the rest of his species. Nor has he developed much in terms of skills and powers, which is kind of crazy considering that he's a near-massless flight-capable shapeshifter who can perfectly memorize, replicate and remix mechanical vibrations. Why would Shadow need a job though? He's a student in Foley and most likely hasn't finished school yet. I also don't see why he would not have all these things just because we haven't been shown them explicitly. Not to mention that flying is a skill he has only acquired during the course of the story and presumably took lots of time to master. |
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Post by Gemini Jim on Apr 8, 2024 15:59:00 GMT
So, Shadow isn't actually tearing Robot to shreds, right?
This is all still in the distortion, so anything is possible. But that fact that Robot looks like a barnacle doesn't necessarily mean that Robot is hidden inside the barnacles...
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Post by 0xkruzr on Apr 8, 2024 16:17:45 GMT
Ever since he went 3D, Shadow is not a pushover anymore. Before, everyone would walk all over him. What you did there: I see it. |
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Post by Runningflame on Apr 8, 2024 16:18:16 GMT
Ever since he went 3D, Shadow is not a pushover anymore. Before, everyone would walk all over him. In Gunnerkrigg distortion, Shadow step on you! |
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Post by Gemminie on Apr 8, 2024 16:26:56 GMT
On the previous page, Shadow began to take umbrage (hehe) at the spiral of self-pity that Robot seemed to have gotten himself into. On this page Robot tries to use that fact to fuel the very same spiral, but Shadow's having none of it. He starts to pull away feathers and shards of barnacle shell from Robot's façade, apparently able to see it as such, asking the "real" Robot where he is and claiming to know he's "in there."
Is there a "real" Robot inside this shell? It's probably symbolic in nature, as many things seem to be inside a distortion, but exactly what effects are Shadow's symbolic actions having on the mostly-unseen reality? The feathers-and-barnacles exterior probably symbolizes the barrier of grim certainty that Robot has been building around himself, sure that his actions will lead to a retribution that he is powerless to stop, but how much of Robot is invested in this? If it's all of him, well, what's going to be left if Shadow tears it all away? Of course the question is will that happen, or will something stop Shadow before he does? If he does manage to get to the core, well, there was an original Robot, the simple and innocent being who existed before Kat inserted his CPU into S1. Robot seemingly got "rebooted" when he was taken apart by the seraphs in the past and stuffed in a box and when Annie put him back together. Maybe he needs another "reboot."
The seraphs called this Robot's "true form," but are they right or wrong? It's not as if they haven't been wrong before. They've made mistakes. (Like trusting Robot, for example.) They may want to see this as his true form, because they're looking for a scapegoat so they don't have to blame themselves for their plight.
Happy solar eclipse to those who can see it, total or partial!
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Post by imaginaryfriend on Apr 8, 2024 19:01:42 GMT
So, Shadow isn't actually tearing Robot to shreds, right? This is all still in the distortion, so anything is possible. But that fact that Robot looks like a barnacle doesn't necessarily mean that Robot is hidden inside the barnacles... If Zoob hands Shadow some hot sauce next update then there may be a problem... multiple problems, actually, since red boat sauce would probably be more appropriate. |
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Post by alevice on Apr 8, 2024 21:20:03 GMT
Cue the reveal that boxbot is underneath
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morrahadesigns
Junior Member
Skinamarinky dinky-dink. Skinamarinky doo.
Posts: 76
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Post by morrahadesigns on Apr 8, 2024 23:23:24 GMT
Cue the reveal that boxbot is underneath I would laugh so very hard. |
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morrahadesigns
Junior Member
Skinamarinky dinky-dink. Skinamarinky doo.
Posts: 76
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Post by morrahadesigns on Apr 8, 2024 23:25:02 GMT
Oh lord... Robot has entered the phase of wallowing in which he is actually enjoying the misery he is heaping upon himself. Like Shadow, I have no patience for this kind of behavior. Hopefully Shadow will find the core of Robot's self and either talk or smack some sense into him.
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Post by blahzor on Apr 9, 2024 3:45:27 GMT
Has robot and Boxbot been in the same frame before?
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Post by lightshade on Apr 9, 2024 11:02:56 GMT
There is something very gross about those barnacle/egg-like apparatuses covering Robot and I really can't put my finger on why. But there's like this primal part of me that, every time there's a clear shot of them on a page, I get this disgusted and disturbing feeling looking at them.
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Post by arf on Apr 9, 2024 11:38:11 GMT
Has robot and Boxbot been in the same frame before? The closest I've found them are on two adjacent pages. Coincidentally, Shadow is wearing a 'not pleased' look. |
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Post by silicondream on Apr 9, 2024 12:08:12 GMT
Why would Shadow need a job though? He's a student in Foley and most likely hasn't finished school yet. Neither have most of the kids in the story, but they still have jobs. Paz worked at her clinic, Annie and Smitty were mediums, Kat researched prosthetics and whatnot. The Foley students in particular work in data science, and they do it every day without weekends or holidays. Is Shadow doing that too? If so, you'd think he'd be a significant asset to Kat's team, for both the New Person project and her attempts to spy on the Court. The Foley connection is also a missed opportunity, I think. We've been told that only baseline humans will be allowed to emigrate with the Court--so what about Chester and Foley, where pretty much nobody qualifies? What have they been told about the Court's future, and what more have they learned about it with their etheric abilities? Have they reunited with their loved ones from the Forest, who are now refugees living in the outskirts of the Court? Shadow could tell us about these things. I mean, he probably has all of them inside Tom's head. I just think he's a sufficiently prominent character that they should be shown, even if briefly. Even Jack and Jenny got their momentary spotlight in "Reconfiguration," and they're much less close to the protagonists than Shadow is. That was half the comic ago, though. If he's an even better flier now, let's see him perform! Or ooze his way between the barnacles to find Robot's true self, or whatever. Is getting mad the only thing he's learned to do in the past three-ish years? On another note, Cattya reminded us in the page comments that Shadow's original voice was half-copied from Kat. Is that one of the things Robot loves about him? |
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Post by guntherkrieg on Apr 9, 2024 12:56:01 GMT
Does Shadow cast a shadow?
Could they use the Laughscalibur to make multiple 3D Shadows?
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Post by guntherkrieg on Apr 9, 2024 12:56:54 GMT
There is something very gross about those barnacle/egg-like apparatuses covering Robot and I really can't put my finger on why. But there's like this primal part of me that, every time there's a clear shot of them on a page, I get this disgusted and disturbing feeling looking at them. Pre-trypophobia? I think on a very primal level it's easy to associate them with infection/parasitism, which upsets our brains, which are wired to like healthy signifiers and despise unhealthy ones. |
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Hatredman
Full Member
Scarper, Montgomery!
Posts: 153
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Post by Hatredman on Apr 9, 2024 15:15:14 GMT
[SPACE RESERVED FOR FUTURE RAMBLINGS]
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Hatredman
Full Member
Scarper, Montgomery!
Posts: 153
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Post by Hatredman on Apr 9, 2024 15:15:44 GMT
Oh lord... Robot has entered the phase of wallowing in which he is actually enjoying the misery he is heaping upon himself. Like Shadow, I have no patience for this kind of behavior. Hopefully Shadow will find the core of Robot's self and either talk or smack some sense into him.
Or smack his processor on the wall. |
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Post by blazingstar on Apr 9, 2024 16:41:22 GMT
There is something very gross about those barnacle/egg-like apparatuses covering Robot and I really can't put my finger on why. But there's like this primal part of me that, every time there's a clear shot of them on a page, I get this disgusted and disturbing feeling looking at them. Pre-trypophobia? I think on a very primal level it's easy to associate them with infection/parasitism, which upsets our brains, which are wired to like healthy signifiers and despise unhealthy ones. Agreed. Your disgust is definitely rooted in some level of trypophobia. I empathize. |
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Post by blazingstar on Apr 9, 2024 16:43:20 GMT
I love this page, because it communicates the ideas that "Just because you love someone doesn't mean you have to take their shit" and "Sometimes loving someone means literally digging through the walls they've built up so you can smack some sense into them". That's healthy relationship dynamics, folks! Our little couple is having their first real argument, and I think they'll grow stronger for it!
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Post by drmemory on Apr 10, 2024 2:53:31 GMT
Shadow was just a kid who couldn't talk very well when we first met him. Since then, he has rebelled against his family (race?) and moved into the court, become the first of his race to become a 3D being (as far as we know), been in a relationship with Robot (including setting up house), and of course attended school. I don't think we have any idea what's in his head these days but he's certainly older and has a lot more life experience!
For that matter, I bet that the version of Shadow in Robot's head also does not reflect current reality. Robot has a real problem with thinking he knows what is best for others and trying to make them follow his plans. If I were Shadow I'd be getting pretty sick of his shit about now.
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morrahadesigns
Junior Member
Skinamarinky dinky-dink. Skinamarinky doo.
Posts: 76
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Post by morrahadesigns on Apr 10, 2024 15:09:59 GMT
Oh lord... Robot has entered the phase of wallowing in which he is actually enjoying the misery he is heaping upon himself. Like Shadow, I have no patience for this kind of behavior. Hopefully Shadow will find the core of Robot's self and either talk or smack some sense into him.
Or smack his processor on the wall. Also a viable option, yes. Maybe it would knock some sense into him. |
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