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Otherkinsey Scale
Jul 17, 2012

Just a little bit of sunshine!

quote:

NOTE (11/12/2015) – The next update is very long and will require a lot of time to complete. Please consider CQ to be on break for a few weeks. Thanks for your patience!

Aw. Something to look forward to, I guess.

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Waffleman_
Jan 20, 2011


I don't wanna I don't wanna I don't wanna I don't wanna!!!

http://cucumber.gigidigi.com/cq/page-692/

SIX PAGES

BUCKLE THE gently caress UP

Gamerofthegame
Oct 28, 2010

Could at least flip one or two, maybe.
NK unironically listens to Linken Park

Captain Oblivious
Oct 12, 2007

I'm not like other posters
Weeell gently caress. To do what he wants and what he knows is right, he'd have to sacrifice his only friends. Yeah, yeah that'll do it :(

WarpedNaba
Feb 8, 2012

Being social makes me swell!
Not quite the hostage situation I had in mind.

Tendales
Mar 9, 2012
Oh. OHHHHHHHH.

:(

Luminous Obscurity
Jan 10, 2007

"The instrument you know as a piano was once called a pianoforte, because it can play both loud and quiet notes."
This is really sad, ya'll. :(

Saigyouji
Aug 26, 2011

Friends 'ave fun together.
...Oh. Oh dear. :(

Regy Rusty
Apr 26, 2010

So the Disaster Masters probably know some varying amount of the truth about this. Glitchmaster at least seems to know the whole thing and so her motives come out of wanting to survive above all else.

I wonder if it would be possible for her to gain enough power herself to ursurp the Knightmare Night and not be dependent upon him to survive.

Captain Oblivious
Oct 12, 2007

I'm not like other posters

Tendales posted:

Oh. OHHHHHHHH.

:(

Yeah that's the worst part. This makes a painful amount of sense because it's not actually adding that much new information. Just a few tiny details atop what we already knew.

Nerdietalk
Dec 23, 2014

Jeeeeeeez louise. That's a rough deal NK

Thanks Internet
May 27, 2012

This poster just flew all the way from Caketown just to make this post!

Now THAT'S desperate!
I'm really glad we got this all at once, it wouldn't have had the same impact spread out across a 1-2 weeks.

Araxxor
Oct 20, 2012

My disdain for you all knows no bounds.
Wow, that's rough. Wonder how Cucumber and co. would react to a revelation like that.

Pyroi
Aug 17, 2013

gay elf noises
nooooo

gigi why do you hate my emotions so

J.A.B.C.
Jul 2, 2007

There's no need to rush to be an adult.


The other side of the coin: How much does the Oracle know about this, and how does it factor into her plans?

I want this to turn into Nightmare Knight and Princess Parfait adventures, on a quest to save his kids/minions/friends. But that will never happen as that is a bad idea, and this comic is on a good idea streak.

kw0134
Apr 19, 2003

I buy feet pics🍆

While the comics explain his motivation, it doesn't really explain his origin. Is he some primal force of nature? An outsider like Cordelia? Something else entirely? A Jungian construct based on the collective fears of all of Dreamside? The comics seem to imply he happened to show up one day and go on his evil spree, 'cuz. Is his behavior truly a choice he makes or is it a fundamental part of his being? To be completely trapped by your very nature despite your own wishes is a hard existential dilemma to have to cope with for 500k years.

NK might be the most sympathetic character in the entire cast.

Matlock Birthmark
Sep 24, 2005

I wanted this to happen!!
Soiled Meat
Well, looking on the bright side of things. The root of the problem is magical in nature. Seems like we are only a magical power source and a cynical wizard hero away from a solution.

Tupperwarez
Apr 4, 2004

"phphphphphphpht"? this is what you're going with?

you sure?
C'mon NK, haven't you seen Monsters, Inc.? You gotta switch from Scream to Laughter, way more efficient.

TwoPair
Mar 28, 2010

Pandamn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta
Grimey Drawer
The one thing I don't get is why doesn't NK just try to explain himself to the Disaster Masters? He says he's going along with the charade because they still see him as evil, but Rosemaster wants to quit as well, and Splashmaster would probably quit in a minute if he was told to.

Glitch & Noise are wildcards but they seem more pissed about being lied to than dead set on destruction. If NK just talked things out with them they might be able to come around to his point of view. Oh ...and I guess Mutemaster will just go with Noisemaster like usual.

Sure there's still the problem of figuring out how to sustain the DMs without NK's fear-powers, but they could at least help him alleviate his loneliness.

Renaissance Robot
Oct 10, 2010

Bite my furry metal ass

TwoPair posted:

The one thing I don't get is why doesn't NK just try to explain himself to the Disaster Masters? He says he's going along with the charade because they still see him as evil, but Rosemaster wants to quit as well, and Splashmaster would probably quit in a minute if he was told to.

He obviously doesn't actually talk to them that much; he's their aloof evil boss, getting chummy would ruin the illusion. He almost certainly has no idea that any of them have figured him out.

In addition to that, he thinks that they only hold him in any regard as their evil boss, and that if he revealed he wasn't into it any more they'd turn away from him (he loses his only "friends") or throw a fit and actually start killing people again (which he also doesn't want). Noisemaster shows that this anxiety is not completely unfounded.


Obviously Rosemaster would have been down with the new NK, but how was he to know? He can't risk opening up enough to find out.

Rand Brittain
Mar 25, 2013

"Go on until you're stopped."
He also kind of hates himself because his existence is predicated on evil, and if he shares his perspective with them, they'll end up hating their job as much as he does.

Kikas
Oct 30, 2012
Ooooh booooy.

Man this is some harsh stuff. I wonder if this means that Cucumber is slowly eating away at NK's power by pulling the Distaster Stones into his wand. It seems like something that NK missed.

Jazu
Jan 1, 2006

Looking for some URANIUM? CLICK HERE

Matlock Birthmark posted:

Well, looking on the bright side of things. The root of the problem is magical in nature. Seems like we are only a magical power source and a cynical wizard hero away from a solution.

cucumber and double knight in lab coats searching for the cure.

*wizard coats

dragon enthusiast
Jan 1, 2010
An interesting possibility is that Nightmare Knight's resurrection may not be exactly cyclical, it's always done by bunnymen/catmoms who wish to pay him tribute. Wonder who gave Cordelia the idea.

Renaissance Robot
Oct 10, 2010

Bite my furry metal ass
Oracle, no question.

Space Cadet Omoly
Jan 15, 2014

~Groovy~


Renaissance Robot posted:

Oracle, no question.

Huh, maybe she's not so bad. Maybe she's trying to give him a chance to redeem himself.

Or maybe she's just doing it for a selfish petty reason, like she wants to constantly relive her glory days or something.

El Burbo
Oct 10, 2012

dragon enthusiast posted:

An interesting possibility is that Nightmare Knight's resurrection may not be exactly cyclical, it's always done by bunnymen/catmoms who wish to pay him tribute. Wonder who gave Cordelia the idea.

Kassad
Nov 12, 2005

It's about time.

Space Cadet Omoly posted:

Huh, maybe she's not so bad. Maybe she's trying to give him a chance to redeem himself.

Or maybe she's just doing it for a selfish petty reason, like she wants to constantly relive her glory days or something.

If he's sustained by fear, maybe it's the same for her but with gratitude or something.

Waffleman_
Jan 20, 2011


I don't wanna I don't wanna I don't wanna I don't wanna!!!


Tribute? You steal bunnies' baking supplies, and make them your slaves!

Neo_Crimson
Aug 15, 2011

"Is that your final dandy?"

Space Cadet Omoly posted:

Huh, maybe she's not so bad. Maybe she's trying to give him a chance to redeem himself.

Or maybe she's just doing it for a selfish petty reason, like she wants to constantly relive her glory days or something.

I think it's just incompetence. She probably has no idea about NK's little change of heart, but he's out so get the Dreamsword and a hero together because that's worked for the past few millennia.

IMJack
Apr 16, 2003

Royalty is a continuous ripping and tearing motion.


Fun Shoe

Waffleman_ posted:

Tribute? You steal bunnies' baking supplies, and make them your slaves!

What is a bunny-man? A naïve pile of cliches! But enough.

Matlock Birthmark
Sep 24, 2005

I wanted this to happen!!
Soiled Meat

Neo_Crimson posted:

I think it's just incompetence. She probably has no idea about NK's little change of heart, but he's out so get the Dreamsword and a hero together because that's worked for the past few millennia.

That's the way I'm leaning as well. Not conscious malice, but incompetence and laziness. She might have had a good idea the first time, and the next few times are understandable as a sorta "okay, this worked in the past". But after the first dozen times, she should have realized it wasn't a permanent fix and tried to solve it for good, instead of just ignoring the problem and breaking out the old magic sword/hero whenever this crap happens.

Precambrian
Apr 30, 2008

A secret manipulator as the ultimate villain would make a much weaker story than having the cycle be a product of the Nightmare Knight's own moral failures. He's between a rock and a hard place, since, from the very beginning, he's been motivated by fear, whether becoming weak, disappointing his followers, or any of the other preoccupations he has with how he's perceived. He doesn't want to be a villain, but not being a villain has too many consequences, so he's wringing out a mediocre existence of getting stomped by teenagers every five thousand years rather than confronting a hard choice. That's good drama!

I know comparing Gigi's work to Undertale's already old, but it's like how Asgore deeply regretted declaring war on humanity, and decidedly does not want to hurt people, but he can't bring himself to disappoint everyone's hope to be freed. So he's stuck in a cowardly rut, like the NK, where he can't see any other way than going down with the path he hates.

Fangz
Jul 5, 2007

Oh I see! This must be the Bad Opinion Zone!
I like a secret manipulator end boss if it means we get a cool team-up montage between NK and our heroes.

kw0134
Apr 19, 2003

I buy feet pics🍆

Precambrian posted:

A secret manipulator as the ultimate villain would make a much weaker story than having the cycle be a product of the Nightmare Knight's own moral failures. He's between a rock and a hard place, since, from the very beginning, he's been motivated by fear, whether becoming weak, disappointing his followers, or any of the other preoccupations he has with how he's perceived. He doesn't want to be a villain, but not being a villain has too many consequences, so he's wringing out a mediocre existence of getting stomped by teenagers every five thousand years rather than confronting a hard choice. That's good drama!

I know comparing Gigi's work to Undertale's already old, but it's like how Asgore deeply regretted declaring war on humanity, and decidedly does not want to hurt people, but he can't bring himself to disappoint everyone's hope to be freed. So he's stuck in a cowardly rut, like the NK, where he can't see any other way than going down with the path he hates.
I think a major problem with this comparison is that the fear based portion is literally who he is. If it gives him strength, then it's as much part of who he is as you might consider your right arm to be a part of yours. He wants to give up the schtick, obviously, but there are incredible consequences that go beyond disappointing people to possible total nonexistence of the only entities that he apparently -- until now -- ever felt remotely comfortable with.

This doesn't even mention the fact he tried to extend his hand in peace and it got slapped away.

Neo_Crimson posted:

I think it's just incompetence. She probably has no idea about NK's little change of heart, but he's out so get the Dreamsword and a hero together because that's worked for the past few millennia.
One of the orbs was hidden under a welcome mat. So, yeah. Incompetence.

Misandu
Feb 28, 2008

STOP.
Hammer Time.
The Dream Oracle doesn't seem to be a bunny person, maybe she's just some random guardian that got assigned to deal with the Nightmare Knight way back in the day. Now she just sort of hangs out, not really looking for any permanent solution because it's turned out to be a pretty sweet gig. Maybe she was freaked out about Noisemaster because an event like that would cause her higher ups to look into what she'd been up to the past few thousand years?

life_source
May 11, 2008

i got tired of looking at your edgy baby avatar that a 14-year old would be proud of
... Glitchmaster would freak out and try to destroy me while turning everyone against me, Noisemaster would give up, Rosemaster would be sympathetic to my sentimentality...

Otherkinsey Scale
Jul 17, 2012

Just a little bit of sunshine!
The whole thing would probably go over Splashmaster's head.

Jazu
Jan 1, 2006

Looking for some URANIUM? CLICK HERE

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Matlock Birthmark
Sep 24, 2005

I wanted this to happen!!
Soiled Meat
Three New Pages.

Well, Parfait always seems to phrase things in terms of children's stories....that said she's not wrong.

Especially considering we as the audience know that a majority of the Masters already know.

Matlock Birthmark fucked around with this message at 06:07 on Dec 8, 2015

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