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Today's update made me mad enough to go find this thread and post in it because this loving took three years to pay off: Third panel.
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Jun 26, 2018 23:07
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I bet the witch is the spider that rescued Max from the train.
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Jun 27, 2018 15:53
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So today's update pays off the setup from that school store derail from like a freakin year ago. A good page to reread for the hints and setups that make sense now that we know Cody is student president: http://www.paranatural.net/comic/chapter-5-page-165 Also the last couple panels on 168 and all of 169 seem to be leading into today's page: http://www.paranatural.net/comic/chapter-5-page-169
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Jul 3, 2018 16:36
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PetraCore posted:So is Cody a dhampir (likely?), a vampire (unlikely), or a human (likely??) Davy makes reference to Cody's heart beating quickly during the hitball game, so whatever Cody is, he's alive
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Jul 4, 2018 15:37
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So Davy's power seems to be matter manipulation and reshaping -- "tugging" the hallway towards him to catch Hijack, transforming the hook into a cutlass. Pretty strong power though I'm not sure how it stacks up against Spender being able to blank out and rematerialize shadowed areas. And so far, none of the kids have shown anything close to that level, so if there's going to be a fight against Davy, it'll probably require a coordinated takedown. Cuazl posted:Vampires get to command their spawn. A power every parent has wished for at least once per day. Might also be why vampire kids always hate their vamparents. But yeah, it's common for vampires to be able to spawn obedient minions. Maybe this guy just chose the more traditional, less bitey method. If Cody counts as a vampire spawn then that explains why Davy was able to sense Cody's heart beating from presumably pretty far away.
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Jul 6, 2018 17:29
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Podima posted:If Hijack is "killed" wouldn't he just inhabit a tool? Or Cody.
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Jul 6, 2018 23:42
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Speaking of rereading the comic... here's the Chapter 5 cover: http://www.paranatural.net/comic/chapter-5 The brain is Hijack, the red ball is Hitball, the bar is the School Store, the three teachers weren't taken over by Hijack but is probably controlled by the Vice Principal who's implied to be the Witch and has also used strings several times in the chapter. Who's the black hand that has the orange aura? Dmitri?
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Jul 9, 2018 04:09
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One more thing about Cody: check out the middle of the page here. Look familiar? (Video is timestamped) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9DpZm66NWE&t=376s
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Jul 10, 2018 20:48
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One more thing while going through the archives again: http://www.paranatural.net/comic/chapter-5-page-245 Check out Panel 7. Now that we know Cody is at the least partially clued in on to what's going on in the school, his conspicuous absence from that panel is a clue from Zack that he's out investigating. But if Lisa is Cody's sister, and especially with her nature as secret-keeper, the focus she receives here picks up an extra layer. Also, likely discussed months ago when this page first went up, but Davy's in the equipment room. Interesting that his first place to check out when he senses that there may be trouble at the school is apparently the equipment room where Max got his baseball bat Tool. I'll bet you that other Tools are in there as well. Patware posted:i want to say there's no way the obvious witch is The Witch but this is zack and they're very good at hiding playing things straight in the middle of comedy The principal also makes stewing and broth references and invites Jeff into her office with an offer of cookies. I don't think we've seen Jeff since then? And when the gang ran into the principal she was in a hurry, claiming to be off to a very important meeting. It would be very Zack to play this page as a misdirection only for it to be later revealed to be read completely straight.
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Jul 10, 2018 22:27
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PetraCore posted:It's also explain why Lisa lets Cody into her bar when she has to know he's a member of the student council, if she doesn't already know he's the President. If they're siblings, then they have to at least deal with each other beyond the school power plays, and might actually be sort of working together for a wider goal. Along these lines: "Wow, you ARE a impostor." and then a couple panels later the blue glowing eyes and a threat. Showing up besides Cody in panel 3, before he looks at Jeff disgusted and turns away to leave. "I'd have you give your president a message, but your failure suffices for that." as Cody is sitting right there. Cody just so happens to query into Max's background, and Lisa is right there to back him up: "We'd all like to know."
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Jul 10, 2018 22:37
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SKULL.GIF posted:Today's update made me mad enough to go find this thread and post in it because this loving took three years to pay off: Bringing this back... Hijack isn't a monster, it's a spirit. If that third panel is subtle foreshadowing instead of "just" a visual gag on a shonen trope, who's the second monster on the Shockodiles? Then it jumps out to me.
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Jul 11, 2018 04:17
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Patware posted:wait a minute back up remember the fat black girl from max's flashback? she has the same physical and vocal mannerisms as Agent Day, and Max is disturbed when he first (re-)meets her in Chapter 4, and the ending of the chapter is Max staring at Day trying to ensure whether or not she's actually the same person that he remembers As Petra says, it's really more canon than speculation, we're just waiting on specific confirmation
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Jul 12, 2018 05:32
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There's basically one remaining plotline to be resolved for this whole chapter, other than Cody executing Hijack, and that's the converging trains of Spender / Zarei / Day all coming together at the school at the same time. Zarei is already there (and ran into the Vice Principal, who was "defeated" before), Spender is recovering from a 1-hour amnesia episode, and Day, I assume, is zooming there on a pair of mopeds with the other two agents. None of them have the full information about what's going on there, only bits and pieces (Zarei has the text from Hijack, Spender wasn't conscious for the possession and it doesn't seem Lucifer is going to tell him anything, and Day obviously was away and is investigating what's going on). There are two ways this could play out, considering what's been set up earlier (Zarei sending Hijack to spy on the kids because she doesn't trust Spender, Lucifer scolding Spender and urging him to ally with Zarei, Day investigating the two of them): 1. A big misunderstanding happens and these three people split into conflicting factions 2. They discover a true threat and establish an uneasy alliance I think it's either/or here. We spent two full chapters establishing the shaky and murky relationships between these three, it doesn't really make plot sense to continue that for much longer. Now, that said, I think Davy showing up at the school is going to matter in a way that's beyond revealing Cody as supernatural and having a strained father/son relationship. He was just ordered to leave the school, right as Spender is back in control of his body, right as Zarei signed in at the entrance and is moving into the school, and (given that Day began following Zarei not too long after she left lunch) the imminent arrival of Agent Day. I'm predicting that this chapter will end with the three encountering Davy -- the real insidious infiltrator -- and realizing what the stakes are.
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Jul 12, 2018 18:24
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All these spirits are the same color, a sort of pale salmon pink? I wonder if that's a function of being created by Zarei, or a function of being very young spirits? The spirit inhabiting the mannequin on this page is possibly Toolbox, who we see in an earlier page possessing the medical bag to assist Zarei with the surgery before being ordered to rejoin the other spirits in wherever they're stored at: http://www.paranatural.net/comic/chapter-5-page-108 http://www.paranatural.net/comic/chapter-5-page-109 Both the hippo-box spirit on today's page and Toolbox's medical bag back then have rounded teeth, and the implication is that Toolbox is only temporarily controlling that medical bag. This seems to have thematical consistency with Hijack (control people's bodies) and Hotwire (presumably control machines/motors).
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Jul 13, 2018 16:37
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neogeo0823 posted:Hijack told Lucifer that he had a brother that was controlling the spirit train, and when the train went full grudge, his brother was vaporized. Indeed: http://www.paranatural.net/comic/chapter-5-page-238 At the end of Chapter 4, Zarei said "Only I can hope to control it", and if she was controlling the train through spirits that she created, then that'd make sense. Between Hijack, Hotwire, Toolbox, the unnamed spirit that can control emotions, and the unknown spirit that was reading a newspaper but presumably can control another facet, it seems like Dr. Zarei's specialty is creating spirits. Spirit creation also seems like the kind of stuff that's a very rare skill, which would fit with what Dr. Zarei has been researching that she refuses to share with the rest of the Consortium -- which is what Agent Day is curious about and digging into alongside trying to find out what Spender is up to. Considering Zarei has gone out of her way to not mention her creatures to anyone, I'd bet that that's the case. SKULL.GIF fucked around with this message at 22:32 on Jul 13, 2018 |
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Jul 13, 2018 22:29
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Hotwire probably handles actual machines and motors, while the spirit she lost ("my best spirit") was able to control spirits themselves directly. Hotwire is probably able to exert some control over the train, but not full and complete control like the vaporized spirit did.
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Jul 14, 2018 03:11
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Tenebrais posted:Do spirits in tools heal at all? I thought they needed a spectral source. They can mooch off a spectral, or they can absorb passing ghosts and weaker spirits.
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Jul 14, 2018 20:09
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Splicer posted:The closer the match the faster the recharge. It's good that the spirit is in spender because it's getting barely any charge out if him.  Who do we know near Spender who has no real idea how any of this works, is already vulnerable to being possessed, and has already been snatched at by the tentacle spirit inside Spender? No one that has black spectral energy that I can think of, nope, no one at all.
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Jul 15, 2018 17:30
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Who What Now posted:Assuming it does have black spectral energy. If it's not black, then it's likely the inverse of yellow (Spender mentions a couple times that he's in a "delicate state of balance") which is a deep purple: https://www.colourlovers.com/color/2D135C Have we seen anyone with purple spectral energy yet? I don't recall offhand. edit: Or blue.
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Jul 15, 2018 18:05
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Plus it looks like the chapter is winding up, so I'd be surprised to see any more plotlines being added at this point.
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Jul 17, 2018 16:29
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rannum posted:"We're not dealing with an amateur Isabelle, he's -He's not going to search "tips for convincingly puppeteering your human host!!"" Almost all the Hijack_Spender lines are fantastic.
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Jul 19, 2018 03:44
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flatluigi posted:Don't forget what peekaboo's powers actually did to dmitri during the spender-hijack fight The other time D used his powers: http://www.paranatural.net/comic/chapter-5-page-56 Between the spirit's name and what actually happens when he uses the powers, I'm guessing it's something along the lines of "When you close your eyes you can't be hurt" or something like that? But, no, his eyes were open when Spendjack punched him through the skull.
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Jul 24, 2018 13:54
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After reflecting on it and rereading today's page, Peekaboo is totally going to have a horrifying second form.
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Jul 24, 2018 19:30
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Zack really needs to figure out their wrist issues and probably learn how to draw using their arm instead of their wrist (among other solutions, like correcting posture et al) because their issues have gotten steadily worse over the past few years. They've missed five updates out of a potential 18? since June 1, and that's on top of a two-page-per-week not being exactly a high-production schedule in the first place and their drawing style gradually becoming more and more simplified and frequently forgoing backgrounds. Which is fine, I'm not complaining that I'm not getting enough content or that it isn't good enough or something, I check for an update and then move on with my life. But I'm concerned for their health. I'm not even counting the updates where Zack mentioned they pushed themselves to get the page out or had someone step in to help them finish the page. I'm Deaf; I've worked my entire life with sign language interpreters, people who articulate their hands for 8+ hours a day. I've seen it happen multiple times, once your wrists start going you either correct your technique immediately or you doom yourself to rely on wrist braces for the rest of your life. edit: Fixed pronouns SKULL.GIF fucked around with this message at 03:23 on Aug 7, 2018 |
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Aug 7, 2018 03:08
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Tenebrais posted:Very much so. The immediate action is all resolved and the characters are mostly just talking out their poo poo with each other. The only thing really left to wrap up is Zarei at the school. Also Day following Zarei to the school where she will
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Aug 11, 2018 01:43
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Isabel's comment about Isaac and her being more alike than not has me recalling a page from earlier in this chapter. "No one else gets angry like I do. [...] But I get mad and it buzzes in my head for hours and days and weeks." Isabel has been pretty peeved all day long about her book, her grandpa, Ed, and Mr. Spender. Helping Isaac is not only a character growth moment for her, it's also a way of lashing back at Spender -- and recall that this conversation is coming only one class period after Isabel stormed away from post-Hijack Spender. Isabel's been chewing on an injustice all day long, just like Isaac. Also, today Isaac finally gets an answer to an implied question. The Consortium is also very probably not acting in the interest of the Princess/Doorman/Forge faction. What do you want to bet Isaac lets something slip to Doorman about the Consortium and it ends up being an useful piece of information for these spirits, maybe even useful enough to thwart the Activity Club or the Consortium?
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Aug 24, 2018 22:38
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One last thought: Isaac's apology today shows he's taken Max's words to heart: "this isn't a trade, it's a real apology." edit: Also, the actual content of Isaac's apology from Tuesday is a response to Isabel's accusations. Tenebrais posted:The idea that Isaac would be the one to break the secret rather than his passenger is one I hadn't thought of before. Not sure how much he knows that would be useful yet - possibly that they're organising within dreams - but since Boss Leader insists he know nothing about it there's probably good reason for it. With everyone focused on the potential damage Isaac's spirit could do if it knew stuff, it would be quite the blow (and also a dramatic twist) to find out after all that it was Isaac who everyone should have been careful around because of who he was hanging out with. It would also be a shock to Isaac to realize that he screwed things up (again). SKULL.GIF fucked around with this message at 23:59 on Aug 24, 2018 |
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Aug 24, 2018 23:42
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What happens when you're possessed by a spirit that takes over control of your body? You don't remember anything that happened. Where else have we seen this before?
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Aug 25, 2018 15:36
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Dolash posted:She could become a more serious Suzy if she decides to get to the bottom of things. Funny, because the way today's page ended, I was thinking "Violet is gonna run to Suzy with this".
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Sep 1, 2018 04:53
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Remember when Chapter 4 ended and that was most definitely going to be Paranatural's longest chapter?
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Sep 18, 2018 18:50
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Nov 20, 2018 21:35
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RareAcumen posted:I'm very suspicious of DJ Mothman's picture moving. Also, I didn't know there'd been two updates already. In Panel 3 from today's update there's a third arm doing the *ahem* motion for the DJ. Both the announcers are cardboard cutouts most likely.
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Jan 18, 2019 16:00
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Always nice to get a whole chapter in one day instead of over six months.
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Feb 12, 2019 23:32
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I think I've posted this before but Zack needs straight up physical therapy and rehab for the wrist, and also needs to reevaluate how to draw to minimize wrist motion as much as possible. Cutting the comic to 1/week updates, while it'll alleviate the wrist strain and give the wrist more time to heal in between bouts of strain, doesn't directly address the underlying problem. Of course, I am an anonymous Internet poster, so my opinion carries about as much weight as the electrons it took to produce this post for your eyes to read it. I guess we'll see how this works out.
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Mar 5, 2019 05:53
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I don't know how I made the connection but now I'm convinced Paige is gonna be Johnny's older sister. edit: Wait, no, that doesn't make sense, Stephen would've recognized her.
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Mar 23, 2019 01:43
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Betcha that's the heiress's house, the one Stephen fought months ago.
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Aug 9, 2019 17:00
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Cup Runneth Over posted:Everything about this page is incredible. What a payoff
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Sep 6, 2019 14:48
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Cody being the police chief's son also fits pretty well.
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Sep 21, 2019 15:40
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Roland Jones posted:His "local business" being the police was similarly just perfect and had to be the case. Earlier in the chapter it's mentioned that Davey bought out the local minimall. He either has multiple running or is doing something on the side for the police. edit: Or the minimall purchase was just a setup to sting the operation, now that I think about it. SKULL.GIF fucked around with this message at 01:08 on Oct 13, 2019 |
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Oct 13, 2019 01:03
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I was really unimpressed with this chapter up until about ten pages ago but the payoff has been wonderful.
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Oct 18, 2019 18:32
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