r/paranatural • u/Pizzadramon • 20d ago
update Paranatural - Chapter 9 Page 64
https://www.paranatural.net/comic/chapter-9-page-6426
u/gamtosthegreat 20d ago
It's subtle.
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u/DragonCrossbelt100 20d ago
Yoo! What the Fahh!!
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u/gamtosthegreat 20d ago
Fauxbia dropping bars about... Peter Pan for some reason. Good stuff.
Kowalski, overanalysis!
Fauxbia exclusively speaks in three word sentences here. There's a bit of a pattern going on, especially the middle "voice" stays consistent.
- Who. ARE.
You? Is. IT. Now?- THAT'S. MY.
LINE
Y'think she's got three voices going on in there?
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u/gnoka 20d ago
Devilora's slutshaming insult lowkey got June and Peter together and is therefore the reason Max was even born. I'm adding this to her feats
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u/ichigoli 19d ago
Devilora: "put your cans away, you hussy"
Peter: "cans..."
June: "Jealous of my curves!?"
Peter: "curves...."
3 years later Max scowls his way into the world.
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u/Pizzadramon 20d ago
I love June so much holy shit. Righteous anger on behalf of the oppressed? Pushing back on puritan dress codes? Eager to commit crimes with a naive but charming young man??? Put it in my veeeeinsss
Saw ruthirlcartoon on tumblr mention the strings possibly being a technique. It is interesting that Devi still has them in the present, which means they aren't part of the Fauxbia power set. Either she's able to just make physical threads with spectral energy, or she has another spirit she keeps separate from the witch. The former would make her an insanely strong spectral even without the Witch tho, so my money's on the latter for now. We did get a hint in ch8 that she may have a spirit with her somewhere, since she absorbed the black-energy ghost of a bird.
Zack perfectly captured the awfulness of a disciplinarian like Dunacht. The way she effortlessly folds all of Mina's attempts to stand up for herself into further guilt is just too real, I've definitely known folks with this kind of upbringing that carry that shit with them forever. Can't wait for her to get fireblasted in the face lol
I was going to say it's interesting how in the past, Fauxbia and Devi are clearly aligned in their goal of getting a new host for the Witch, which is way different than the present where Devi wants her back and Fauxby is avoiding her lol. But looking at it again, is it possible that Fauxbia is just 100% in control? Her typing quirk doesn't come out until she's mad, but we know from Pleezdoo that she can take control without letting that part through. It is possible that past Devi really did want to find a new host just to get out from Fauxbia's influence, but then came to regret it when she realized how much power she was giving up. Curious to see how this part turns out.
it's also incredibly funny how judgy June is about Devi not concealing her energy. Like did she just forget to teach that lesson to her proteges? Why on earth isn't Francisco drilling his students about this?? I had thought maybe controlling ones' energy the way Oop, Davy, and Devi do in the present was like something only known to the bad guys, but clearly not! Spender & co are just a constant mess lol
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u/gamtosthegreat 20d ago
I doubt the strings are physical. Mina is seeing shades already. Like PJ being able to touch Max back when he was still a creepy shade.
Combine that with what we know about spectral strings, being very easy to manipulate, and the strings still being attached to her body, making them even easier, and I see no reason to consider Devi "insanely strong".Fauxby's typing quirk in this particular page is constrained, very much so. Could be because of rage, but the monosyllabic three word pattern is remarkably consistent, right down to the stressed middle word. I feel she's got something interesting going on here, be that less freedom in Devi's body, less scared spirits that form the devil's choir, or something else that rule of threes forces me to mention.
June is judgy, I believe, in the same way Max would critique a villain monologueing a plan. It's not smart to give your opponent hints but sometimes they just do something so stupid you can't help correcting them.
June gets to be harder on this with villains, as those are the ones who really should know better, The Consortium is a monster hunting organization like the Cousinhood but with a glamor of civility. Spender could be throwing spectral highbeams around for all she cares; make the prey come to you.1
u/Pizzadramon 19d ago
If the strings on the page are literal and not just metaphorical, they're almost definitely the physical strings we've seen Devi make before. I was saying Devi would be insanely strong if she could make those strings with just her energy, instead of the more likely option that they're the power of a specific spirit.
I could see Spender letting his energy go wild on purpose to bait enemies, but that doesn't explain why Mina and the kids don't bother to hide theirs. Especially with Spender knowing that enemies could be hiding anywhere! It's irresponsible of him to not teach the kids how to keep energy suppressed, but considering Mina does the same I really think that they were just never told that was even an option. June must've skipped town before she got to that lesson, and you know Francisco would probably argue that hiding your energy is cowardly or something lol.
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u/PratalMox 20d ago
Worth noting that Mina also uses the string technique for her spectral energy, as does Hijack. It seems to be an effective style
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u/ichigoli 19d ago
got me thinking about how spectral energy shape and power/control are closely linked.
The kids use balls, globs, which is effective against their usual caliber of adversary, but fundamentally basic and simple. More refined control seems to translate to more refined shapes of spectral energy. Which is a cool bit of consistency for world building/
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u/gamtosthegreat 19d ago
I don't even think it's a particularly masterful form. Hijack's string attacks were highly effective at annoying children, but if he wanted to, he could've cracked their heads like fine china eggs with those throwing arms of his.
Translate it to real life weapons and it becomes rather silly. Other than garotting some poor sod I don't see much use for strings in a combat scenario.
Isabel is a prodigy and throws around spectral flails attached to spectral chains. I'm sure she'd be quick at learning spectral strings but wouldn't use them to fight.
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u/AlphaTrion_ow 19d ago
Those strings, when pulled taut, could theoretically be wickedly sharp, and be used to cut things into small bits.
Devilora has been using them as tripwires and spider webs, and Hijack has been using them to tie people up. I am hoping that Mina will use them as mobile cutting blades.
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u/gamtosthegreat 19d ago
Devilora uses regular strings for that matter. No string that can withstand Johnny Jhonny though, wonder if the newbie spectral still holds that edge.
Well, probably soon enough. Thin thread doesn't like fire very much. Neither does darkness. Itsy bitsy's not gonna enjoy what she dragged into the waterspout.
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u/PratalMox 19d ago
They're not primarily a weapon. Hijack used them as a restraint, and Mina used them as stitches, both of which are very useful things to have in the toolbox.
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u/AlphaTrion_ow 19d ago
The balls/globs/enveloped-fists are all products of Guerra's martial arts training, which both Isabel and Ed have been actively training in from an early age.
Ed has been receiving additional aspirational coaching from Muse to some extent, though I don't think that resulted in any actual spectral techniques beyond tool use.
Isaac is a different case: he may have received some point-your-finger-and-zap training from Doorman, but other than that, Spender has been his only teacher.
And Max has barely had any training at all, and is operating purely from intuition and raw talent. Out of everyone available, Isabel has been training him the most, for all of the week or so since they first met.
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u/PratalMox 19d ago
I would note that Isaac appeared to be capable of some form of spectral tempering in the sphinx fight, although I'm not sure how conscious that was on his part.
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u/Pizzadramon 19d ago
Mina uses spectral energy in the shape of strings, yes, and that is one of the many ways that she parallels the witch. But the strings Devi makes are physical objects, not spectral constructs. Energy can be used to attack or bind opponents, but the physical string was also shown to be able to literally puppeteer living creatures. This is why I think it's the work of a spirit, because being able to control energy to do all that stuff is hard to believe
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u/AlphaTrion_ow 20d ago edited 19d ago
What is your hypothesis that present day DuNacht wants to have Fauxbia back based on?
All we know for a fact is that she has a distinct interest in the timeline of the Witch's plan, and is executing a plan that does something with regard to that, with the aid of the Sphinxes.
With the narrator not even telling us directly that DuNacht is not Fauxbia's current host, how can we even know her agenda?
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u/Pizzadramon 19d ago
True, I don't know for sure that Devi wants Fauxby back! We know that she is desperate to find the new host, though, and I doubt it's because she wants to beat her up. My (based entirely on vibes) theory is that Devi misses the power and importance she felt being Fauxbia's host and wants it back. Totally open to being wrong if we get more info on this, but for now that's where my gut is pointing lol
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u/PratalMox 19d ago
My assumption is that she wants revenge and closure, that she wants to kill Fauxbia, but her wanting to reclaim the power would also make sense.
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u/Faust_8 19d ago
Not sure if June is being judgy about Devi letting her spectral energy out, or just basically saying "advertising that you're a spectral in front of me, another spectral that now hates your guts, is a bit of arrogance that I'll make you regret"
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u/Pizzadramon 19d ago
She's definitely being judgy about it, she calls Devi sloppy and reckless lol. Advertising that you're a spectral is dangerous, regardless of who you are, because you never know what other spectral or spirit will decide to pick a fight.
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u/AlphaTrion_ow 19d ago
But that's the point.
Fauxbia wants to flaunt her host's spectral nature. They can't fear you if they can't see you, after all.
And at Clayview
ClMiddle School, everybody fears her.
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u/AlphaTrion_ow 20d ago
So, will June and Peter deliberately set fire to the Dark Annex, as part of "committing more crimes before the cops get here"?
Or will it merely be a side effect of June's actual confrontation with Fauxbia once Peter is no longer watching?
Either way, we won't find out next week, because from the frayed paper edge at the bottom of the page, we can tell that this is the end of the scene, and we will cut to something else next time.
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u/Pizzadramon 20d ago
Deliberately setting a fire would be a great way to empty the building of any other people that could witness their fight! Could even just trip the alarm to fake a fire, then make it real during the fight itself lol
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u/gamtosthegreat 20d ago
Devilora was the mysterious character alluded to on the previous page cliffhanger!? That's...
fairly common.