#478 – Arachnopareidolia
March 9th, 2014 |
Sooo, listen. Titanfall next weekend. I mean I’ll try, but… Titanfall.
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Sooo, listen. Titanfall next weekend. I mean I’ll try, but… Titanfall.
Calling it now: the spider thing was real and is now hiding itself through illusion.
That would be a compelling argument, except that illusion-magic has not been mentioned or used in all of EN (except that one time when they were about to siege the skunk villain’s castle, and even then it was only mentioned in passing).
1) I recall that this was originally going to be an early arc in the comic, and as you just said illusions are apparently possible in this universe.
2) We’re talking about what is most likely a secret society of cultists that has run around globally since the incursions with a black widow spider as its main motif. The idea that they use illusion magic to hide giant black widow monsters isn’t that far-fetched.
3) There was no argument, just a theory :P
because nothing can ever be introduced to a story after it has statrted. everything must be in the first storyline or not at all ;)
honestly, so far we’ve seen shapeshifting demons, holograms and morth being able to do pretty much anything he wants. A bit of illusion power is childs play compared to what we’ve seen
Untrue. Any concept can be introduced into a story as long as it is justified within the story. Given the fact that rituals and the like are often performed with varying degrees of success, up to an including summonings, illusion magic, or any form of magic, is entirely possible within the EN universe.
Any concept, so long as it does not contradict pre-existing concepts, anyway. Not that we’ve established any ground rules or parameters for magic to be contradicting here, but it is I think a very important distinction.
Also, worth pointing out: Beige was being sarcastic. Commenting wryly on Phlosioneer’s strange conclusion of “can’t be illusion magic because it’s not been mentioned except that one time.” Beige even made a winky face.
It’s been stated before that Soulthirster and Patternari cults use illusions to hide their cult activities.
Or is it?!
Seriously though, it probably is. It’s likely that Eastwood’s fear of spiders is overriding the magic that causes the illusions.
Or he really is going off the deep end.
I like a miasmic fear spell, designed solely to interfere with someone’s senses provoking them to see what they fear in things that look even remotely similar. It’s insidious, subtle, and best of all unless you’ve got a damned good will save, you’re going to fuck up one of those rolls.
So Virus is secretly afraid of trees and just has a high will score?
Virus has the mental stats of a half-dead turkey. So no, no he does not.
Virus is a Mindless Construct and thusly is immune to mind-affecting spells, I suspect that particular character flaw will save out otherwise doomed rag-tag band of misfits.
Or maybe Eastwood and Virus will get captured and Lothar/Rogue will have to rescue them.
Although, it would probably be funnier if they got caught because Eastwood decided to hide in a tree, and didn’t check a tree that turned out to actually be a hidden spider daemon.
We all knew it was only a matter of time before Eastwood went off the deep end.
Who had 478 comics before Eastwood snapped?
He wasn’t already insane?
Doesn’t matter, East. I don’t think you were ready for that jelly. *smiles evilly and calmly waits to see how many get THAT song stuck in their heads*
I got nothing
I think I got the wrong song, don’t know anything about jelly.
~I know a song that gets on everybody’s nerves, everybody’s nerves, everybody’s nerves~
~I know a song that gets on everybody’s nerves, and this is how it goes:~
~I know a song that gets on everybody’s nerves, everybody’s nerves, everybody’s nerves~
~I know a song that gets on everybody’s nerves, and this is how it goes:~
*throws a brick at you*
Nonono. Here, use THIS instead *Hands over bushel of grenades* They work better for the intended purpose.
who said I was trying to kill him? I just want him to shut up
Hahaha! Grenades would get a demilich to shut up alright… for a little while, at least. :P
Glad I got a laugh from the replies. Hope you get one too. ;)
Huh…no one remembers anything by Destiny’s Child? Gawd…I must be old. I mean, I’m just one year from the big four-oh…
In his defense, that is a REALLY creepy tree.
see virus,if you look at it logically, you’ll see east is the one who suffered the most :P
Even if no cake IS worse than torture, that line of logic only works if Virus was fed cake during his torture…
…Which, for this ridiculous Inquisition, actually doesn’t sound that far from what might be the truth.
And don’t forget the comfy chair and cuppa tea.
Yes, but it was coconut cake, which as we all know, is a fate far worse than death
Oi! Some of us LIKE coconut you heathen! Granted, black forest chocolate cake is far better.
HERESY!!!11 >:C
Agreed, HERESY! Lemme get my boltgun.
Quick Stranger, come to the Tau empire, we shall shelter you if you accept “The Greater Good”
“THE GREATER GOOD!”
I CALL HERESEY!! Clearly this man is under the influence of some particularly disgusting and unappetizing demons.
Nope, I pick Garrus and coconut cake for my squad.
That’s fine with me. That means Garrus gets shot at with you, and you get the cake too.
Heck, you can have my piece of Coconut Cake while you’re at it.
Peanut butter coffee cake! Boiling mashed peanuts, butterscotch chips, sour cream, etc.
With coconut sprinkles and a chocolate shell.
With pistachio icecream on the side.
Mmmmm…
*prepares self to be on the receiving end of a firing squad*
Virus, planning a surprise party for Eastwood?
Extremely suspicious indeed.
The cake was a lie.
Yeah, I mean, who’d WILLINGLY show up there?
Not to eat the free grub and liquor, to celebrate his birthday?
Virus’ “going nuts” is the only thing that puzzles me. That would imply that he wasn’t already, which is a theory I just can’t support. :P
Eastwood wasn’t, rather. Sorry, too much blood in my caffeine stream.
Maybe it’s just too much Silent Hill on my part lately, and I know we already had that story, but I find myself expecting Eastwood to be bouncing back and forth between seeing normal and seeing Spider Demon Hell and no one believes him until it finally punches through and the whole monastery becomes filled with them.
Which begs the question of just what WOULD the EN version of Pyramid Head look like…
Looking at that cliff, I think that all of this will be settled by Eastwood rolling a giant rock off of it and crushing the monastary and all the spiders inside.
calling it now…Titanfall will kill this comic for a month.
Eh, let’s be honest. How many of us are going to be busy enough playing that it won’t matter? I bet that everyone here will meet each other at least once in the game. I sure do hope it doesn’t kill the comic though.
You’d lose that bet. :P I don’t have a lot of disposable cash at the moment, so I can’t get Titanfall yet.
MOST people here, though, probably.
I keep seeing those words. “Titanfall”. But I haven’t heard lick about it.
Short version, 10 words or less: Call of Duty, but with jetpacks and giant robots.
It’s so good, you guys. So good. Never touched a Call of Duty. Not enough jetpacks or giant robots for my liking.
I wanted to add ‘and it doesn’t suck’ but i was running out of words.
huh… it really is going to be a month…
One panel left. Will be up tomorrow.
darn. At this point, I was hoping it would be a month.
Whoops. Then I got really drunk and was too hungover.
somePunk, moment hasn’t ruined yet, then!
Dear GODS.
The art. In the middle three panels. So easy to imagine animated.
:)
I just realized that they’ve completely isolated themselves from their actual firepower. They sent it all to cause a disturbance, and now none of it is left for them. Other than Eastwood’s lucky misses, of course. I wonder when they’ll realize that…
Right around the time the demon spiders starts playing bagpipes with their intestines
Right about the time the first dozen or so Daemons pop up, naturally.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d12/GabrielsThoughts/4cad6eb2-ecb4-4baa-b47d-933ad2b07c66_zps6a5b899e.jpg
I for one look forward to Virus and Eastwood making contracts to become magical beings who exist only to nullify entropy…
Nah, that’d be more up Jamilla’s-or Tyrus forbid, Nadja’s- alley. While Eastwood does scream like a girl where spiders are involved, I don’t think he’d look good in one of those magical girl dresses. Or Virus, for that matter. As for Lothar….. Okay, that one would be hilarious. Even if the price of my laughter might be a slow, painful and gory demise.
However, based on the philosophy of “spirit science,” I don’t believe any of the sentient, potentially genetically engineered, critters of Mobius have evolved past the consciousness level of 15 year old girls. The Mobians, like the Lemurians that supposedly preceded humans and antedated the slaughtering dragon critters, were forced to do more than carry everything around with two sticks and a blanket because some time traveling aliens, no doubt the race of the echidna and what I assume would be a race of extra terrestrial technology obsessed bunny rabbits….all psychologically male and hormonal, but logical like a vulcan child… decided to interfere with the natural development of Mobius like gods drinking getting high off mountain dew, eating Cheetos, while playing role playing games, yet failed spectacularly because the beasts wandering around with two sticks and a blanket were ultimately superior in number and aged slower like elves.
However, you don’t have to take my word for it you can come up with some hare brained conclusion about the future/past yourself…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8NNHmV3QPw
Well lets see. Either it is a tree and he was halucinating, or it is another shapeshifter daemon and they are about to be captured. I vote the latter, it’ll be more funny.
Also, poor Virus. Poor, poor Virus. Eastwood is a dick.
Now, considering all the various forces that are coming into play in the monastery’s area, it could be that tree was a spider demon in disguise. Or it could just be a hallucination, I’m not particular towards either.
Something subtle i didn’t notice at first: the spider panel has a darker sky than the tree panel. It’s a nice (albeit subtle) touch.
alright, changing my username here, no longer spike
Whoa! Slow down. Hold your horses. Are you sure you want to make such a hasty decision?
Obviously, I’m not going to stop you. But, what about your thrall of adoring fans? How will they be able to distinguish you from all their other friends?
well, a few pages ago someone made a pretty good point to me, my old name + my current picture = very annoying jokes at my expense
oh, and dude, sarcasm is funny, but not in the amount you’re putting out
WOO! INTERNET FIGHT!
GO, TEAM!
who said it was a fight? dude wanted to be a sarcastic asshole just because I said I was changing my username
not really, I was using word play. Dakota means friend or ally. And, thanks to incredibly lame movies like “Night at the Museum,” we also know it can rally a stagecoach full of horses. I was playing with you. A thrall is just another term for loyal acolytes. I wasn’t being any more of an ass than than usual.
wow, sorry, I thought you were being a sarcastic asshole, I apologize
So much for changing your name to something that doesn’t result in comments about it.
“I could’ve sworn…”
I guess the ‘fucking’ in ‘GIANTFUCKINGSPIDERMONSTER’ wasn’t a swear? :P
Definitely a laugh out loud moment here. Glad I’m not in some public place right now.
Boy it took forever to link back in I lost your Link are you going to make it to the Comic expo in Calgary Missed you last one.
*nudge nudge*
I’m calling it now. The cult is related to the conspiracy nuts four artifacts.
Pretty sure that’s been called already. Not sure by who though.
it hasn’t been; I checked.
…wait, that wasn’t obvious? …i mean it’s the exact same symbolism
what symbolism? you mean over a king female spider’s … fuck text to speech. Overarching theme of spiders? Is what I meant
Symbolism centering around spiders, specifically the black widow?
Just got around to repling, but its a group effort on all the cults parts. The gods disscussion says that, and the illusions and spider yet brute force approach on the monestary means the hound. Plus you have the eastwood reaction to the spider… which could mean soulthirster except for that Eastwood will hump anything remotely mobian
sry for grammer using mobile devices is hard
I just noticed that the Patternari cultist that gouged Morth’s eye on this strip (http://exterminatusnow.co.uk/2007-03-02/comic/shades-of-black-and-white/more-flashbacks-than-an-episode-of-lost/) has the same hourglass symbol on his robes that the big spider thing and the artifacts from the conspiracy theory strip had.
Any connections? Seems anticlimactic that the cult turn out to be another Patterner ploy.
Seriously? The Patterner is a spider, his demons have a spider motif, and even Morth’s demon form was spidery. Not so much anticlimatic as expected.
Oh I am well aware of the Spider motif present with the patterner, but his demons (what we’ve seen so far) look a bit different than the GIANTFUCKINGSPIDERMONSTER so I suppose I was expecting a twist rather than yet-another-Patternari-plot.
I think they’ve gone up against all the cults except for one of The Hound’s. The first cult they busted was a Soulthirster one, then they went against Morth, then they dealt with Kairu who was a Fernexian cultist. Then they dealt with Morth again. Then there was that cult dedicated to shiggy-wiggy or whatever it’s name was. And now this seems to be a Patterner cult again, but with rather different iconography than Morth’s cult. And of course, they’ve dealt with various other miscellaneous issues unrelated or only tangentially related to cult activity. So yeah, only cult they haven’t faced is one of The Hound’s. They’ve faced his demons, but not his cults.
Exactly. Facing a Patternari grand plot a third time seems repetitive to me, especially since, as you pointed out, they faced no Hound plots and the Soulthirster cult was just a cult with no apparent grand activity of interest (just a regular day in the office).
I still have a feeling that the story here might connect to the “Everchosen of the Four” strip similar to how it seemed to connect to the previously-unrelated conspiracy theorist strip.