#paranatural ghost train

[kidlit-queen-competition]

Poll: the ghost train from Paranatural vs the Little Engine that Could

[monthgirl]

[polarfarina]

ghost train

[incorrectpnatquotes]

Starch Radness 7, Round 3: Poll 1/4

[diiaf]

Paranatural Theory: It's All Connected

Paranatural fans, how are we feeling?

I’m a bit late to the Peekaboo party, but in light of the latest reveal, I’m taking the opportunity to put my harebrained theory of everything out into the world. The evidence is tenuous, but if I was right about Peekaboo, then maybe there’s something to it–and the confirmation that Peekaboo is (somehow) connected to the wight is just more evidence.

Here’s my theory:

Peekaboo, Sandman, and the Shadow Spirit are all parts of Mayview’s Great Wight that broke apart after Spender [edit: and Davy, see the bottom of the post] shattered it. That Wight... is Boss Leader.

Let me explain.

Part 1: The Connections

this is 7 parts long so I put in a read more, click at your own risk

(I made this image before the latest chapter reveal but I don’t feel like editing it)

Tendrils: As seen in the merch store sticker, Peekaboo seems to have the same tentacle-y powers that Boss Leader does. Spender’s shadow also uses tendrils, albeit the shadows of tendrils. Is this just a hallmark of Wight powers, as suggested by King Catnine, or is there something more? I’ll elaborate on this later.

Black Tears: Peekaboo seems to have the same darkness inside that that shadow spirit does. It’s been pointed out that Peekaboo could fit neatly inside the hole in Spender’s Shadow’s face—maybe Spender’s blast separated the part from the whole. Spender drips this same black ooze from his eyes, as seen after he wakes from the dream where he met Dr. Burger and Sandman. That’s important for later.

Same Pose: Peekaboo and the Shadow are peeking out from behind their medium in the exact same pose. Coincidence? …yeah, maybe. But why does the Shadow have its left eye here? Why is it in the shape of a mask? A crescent moon? A human mask? What moon-shaped creature would want to appear human? I’ll get to that later.

Wrrrrr: Again, I made this image before it was confirmed that Davy somehow had Peekaboo’s powers, but that was obvious, what with their space warping using the same sound effect. However, Dimitri uses Peekaboo to warp himself, whereas Davy warps the space around him (unless maybe he warped his chin? He looks pretty different from his first appearance). So maybe Peekaboo isn’t all that’s in the locker.

Why do Davy and Dimitri have access to different applications of the same power? Peekaboo's spirit trance Halloween decorations resemble the PTA members, which it could see if it were somehow Davy's spirit too. What’s odd to me is that the Burgers' key didn’t seem like it would fit into the locker—did it open up the dream door? Is that door “real?” Real in the spirit world? Maybe that’s why the locker’s padlock has an eye on it: because the real keyhole is kept in Boss Leader’s dream, behind the door that the Witch eventually summons. Lots of unanswered questions here.

Sand: The locker is either buried in sand, or rising up from it. Sandman seems to rise up from the sandpit in the dream in much the same way. Knowing that Peekaboo is the locker spirit is more evidence that there’s a connection between Peekaboo and Sandman.

Moon Motif (there’s no yellow text highlight): Spender’s shadow is shaped like a crescent moon. Sandman’s whole design is crescent moons. This ties into some other things that I’ll explain later.

🏳️‍⚧️: Sandman is Boss Leader. Sandman didn't choose its name. Boss Leader is the name and form she prefers. Do I really have to spell this one out? I'll address this more in part 2.

To recap: Peekaboo, Sandman, and the Shadow all share some important aspects, namely reality-warping powers and design motifs. Peekaboo seems to be the spirit in Davy's locker, a.k.a. the Great Wight, that was also sealed behind the door in the Consortium's dream.

Part 2: Large Subterranean Insect

How many people remember this thing?

It swoops in for ONE PAGE, saves Max from falling off the ghost train, and departs. Paranatural’e biggest unsolved mystery… until now.

Suitsie Zipper: The Large Subterranean Insect appears on chapter, 4 page 105 to save Max. Boss leader shows up for the first time 8 pages later in Max’s dream. The zipper on the insect’s body resembles the zippers on the consortium’s suitsies. Could the insect merely be a consortium agent? Maybe, but it’s a spirit, not a medium, and all the agents are mediums.

Crescents: Look at Sandman’s head. It’s the same shape as the LSI’s spiky legs. Now look at Spender’s spirit’s tendrils! Have we been confusing insect legs for squid tentacles this whole time?

Granted, when the spirit breaks loose and attacks Max and Isabel on page 138 the tendrils are more octopus-like, but Boss Leader’s dream-tendrils are squiddy as well. The spirit is spiky, the powers are squishy? I know this is a stretch.

Injury: Why does the LSI have that red mark? The Paranatural wiki claims that it's an eye. Maybe. If you ask me, it looks like a scar. A scar shaped like the sparkles that Spender makes when he uses Lucifer’s light powers. When Spender blasted the Lake Spirit (stripping away a shadowy disguise?) maybe it left a scar…

Reddit user DeadMountainDaughter made the connection between BL and the LSI (and compiled a lot of other information that inspired this theory) in a post on the Paranatural subreddit 5 months ago, so credit to her for that.

We know for sure that Boss Leader isn't human. The tragic backstory that she tells Spender and Mina about being forced into eternal slumber is (probably) complete bunk. As King Catnine discovers, "Boss Leader" is the conjured-up puppet of the Wight known as Sandman. Sandman, however, is not the name it chose. Its preferred form, and name, is that of Boss Leader. Can a spirit have gender dysphoria? The answer seems to be yes. Moreover, Sandman's Wight Wail is "PLEASE DON'T BE SCARED." She wants people to like her! She wants to be human! But she can't have that anymore. Not since...

Part 3: The Incident

Using the evidence we’ve been given so far, here’s my interpretation of the hidden background of Paranatural:

Boss Leader is a Wight with the power to mold reality. Out of a fascination/jealousy/love for humanity, she shapes, protects, and sustains Mayview. To protect humans from dangerous spirits, and to fight powerful spirits like Lucifer and King Catnine, she maintains the Activity Consortium.

Thirteen years before present-day Paranatural, something happens: the "unexplained paranatural event 13 years ago" that everyone keeps referring to. This is the event that earned Spender his reputation as the "strongest spectral," where he "defeated" the strongest spirit with a single burst of light. What else do we know about this event? That it was the day that Lucifer came to claim the Mayview Wight's power.

Lucifer was one of "the others" that coveted the Wight. We know Lucifer can cross through the barrier as pure light—Spender uses their spirit fusion to do just that when facing King Catnine. What if he entered Mayview to face the Wight, and was defeated, hopelessly outmatched. His wisp possesses the nearby Richard Spender. The Wight, donning her shadowy human disguise, reaches for Lucifer, who is now possessing Spender.

Spender and Lucifer, or maybe Lucifer possessing Spender, shoots a blast of light. With that blast, something breaks. The part of Boss Leader that can shape reality and the part of her that can shape dreams are split. The part left in reality, broken by Spender’s blast, possesses Spender as the shadow. The fragment that was blasted free (Peekaboo) possesses Dimitri, who is one year old at the time. Dimitri "first became a spectral as an infant" (ch7 pg144), and Peekaboo seems stuck in a childlike mental state. Peekaboo is a ghost, so it makes itself look like a child's idea of a ghost.

Without the Peekaboo part, the Shadow can’t mold the physical world, only shadows. Cut away from the Shadow, Peekaboo loses its identity, reinventing itself according to Dimitri's childhood imagination. Without the ability to shape the physical world, Boss Leader can only manifest her human “self” in dreams. Her insectoid spirit hides below ground, hiding her true form, unable to show herself to humans without frightening them. She can no longer control the part of herself that shapes the real world, and can no longer wear her disguise: the shadowy mask that now possesses Spender.

The part of Boss Leader that can shapeshift in the real world is still there, but it's out of her control. If woken, it would rampage. She "locked it in nightmares," nursed it as a grudge, but she's missing some piece of the puzzle. Little does she know that part of that missing piece has been in Rick Spender all along...

Also: Peekaboo's floor is literally made of puzzle pieces! I know that's in reference to the foam floor tiles that you put down in a kid's room, but it has to mean something. Coincidence? ...yeah, maybe. But I think Peekaboo is the missing piece from the Shadow's mask.

Part 4: King Catnine

This friggin’ guy.

One person in Mayview knows where the Great Wight is—in fact, he’s known all along. Why did Isaac nearly electrocute Dimitri? Why did Catnine amplify Isaac’s shot towards the Hijack-controlled Spender? Because he recognized the power that they possessed, or rather, that was possessing them: the power of a wight. I'm sure he'll have his moment someday.

Part 5: The Locker

When the locker was first shown, the Paranatural fandom exploded trying to decipher the meaning behind its stickers. Was the ghost Peekaboo? Was the Vampire Davy? Was the "zzz" Sandman? Why was the werewolf there? What about the star- was Starchman involved?

The answer is yes, to everything.

I posit that some of the stickers represent the “paranatural” elements of Mayview. Vampires, werewolves, an “unusually high population of ghosts and spirits” (Valerie Day, ch5 pg144), while the burger and sticky note are more pertinent to the locker spirit’s current situation. The wight shapes reality, and these things are its reality—Mayview’s reality. As I’ve already stated, I think the eye on the padlock represents how the real padlock is hidden away in a dream, literally "locked in nightmares." Boss Leader sure has a lot of eye motifs.

(I don’t actually know about the star. Maybe that reflects how Starchman stars are a real, valued currency in the school? Zack’s master plan continues to elude me)

There's another version of this theory. Davy claims that he once "shared the same prison" as the spirit in the locker. Davy, as far as we know, is the oldest vampire in Mayview, and he wasn't yet a vampire when the Consortium defeated the Great Sphinx. What if Mayview's werewolves and vampires, and even their spirits, all come from the sleeping wight's dream-world? The same place that the Doctors Burger were sent, and where Dave Jones may have been sent on his final mission for the Consortium. The Doctors are still there. Davy, however, cut his way out. I'll get to that in a minute. First, look at this passage from the latest chapter:

Where have we seen a boat before?

Where Doctor Burger is, in the Wight’s dream! The lake is where everything went down thirteen years ago, and it's where the fragment of the sleeping Wight still slumbers. But what does this have to do with Boss Leader, if she's also that big insect?

This paragraph from Chapter 8, page 61 is my smoking gun:

Insects flushed from hiding? Dredged up from the depths to be dissected on sands? Wow, that sounds familiar.

Davy Jones once worked for the Consortium, under Boss Leader. For whatever reason (maybe he tried to usurp her? maybe she just sent him on a mission gone wrong), she "let him go" from the consortium, cut off his hand (now Lefty) and sealed him away in the sleeping Wight's dream. Davy, with Cryptide's help (the grudge he held), cut his way out—and maybe cut off some of the wight's space-warping abilities to keep for himself. That last bit is pure speculation; I still don't know exactly how Davy and Dimitri both have access to Peekaboo, and that's my best guess.

Part 6: LOOK AT ME

I know what you're thinking: "Sandman can't be the Wight! Their wails are different!" I hear you, and I propose an answer.

Firstly, who said that a Wight can only have one wail? On the chapter cover, the wail is preceded by a monologue that culminates in the spiral of pure emotion. Secondly, assuming that Sandman and the Sleeping Wight are two parts of the same spirit, if the Sleeping Wight was the mask that Boss Leader showed to the world, no wonder its basic desire would be to be perceived. Put them back together, and all the Great Wight wants is for people to see it without being scared.

(it's all very biblical angel "BE NOT AFRAID," isn't it?)

Peekaboo, in its childlike state, is left with the basic desire to be looked at, played with, and given attention. Spender's shadow, meanwhile, just flails, lashing out to grab people.

Moreover: IS THAT NOT SANDMAN'S EYE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CHAPTER COVER?? BOSS LEADER IS THE WIGHT I SWEAR

Part 7: Maybe I'm Wrong

Maybe Sandman isn't the Great Wight after all. Peekaboo and the Shadow are certainly related, and I'm convinced that Boss Leader is an insect, but maybe all wights can use those monstrous tendrils. In that case, I have two alternate theories:

One: Maybe Boss Leader was just using the Wight, puppeting it, controlling it through its dreams to shape Mayview while it slept. Davy says that he lent his hand to "your dream," i.e. Boss Leader's dream. That could mean the Consortium, it could mean Mayview as the literal dream of the Wight, but it could also mean Boss Leader's dream for Mayview, enacted through the sleeping Wight. Maybe Lucifer woke the Wight, and then Spender blasted it to pieces, putting it back to sleep but severing Boss Leader's control. Either way, it would still make sense for the Mayview Wight to desire the approving attention of others. Now that BL can't control it, it shapes itself, like Davy claims, according to the dreams of Mayview's people. Or maybe that desire to be looked at just jealousy, simmered for years of watching Davy dote on Cryptide.

Two: Maybe Boss Leader was never controlling it! Maybe "Clayview" was a pre-thirteen-years-ago concept, and the Incident that shattered the Wight was what changed the town into Mayview as the town's collective unconscious made it lush and green. Who knows what would happen if the Wight were to wake up, and what would happen to Mayview.

CONCLUSION

I did not intend to make this post so long. It's a testament to Zack's storytelling ability that there are so many possibilities to distill from this webcomic. I might be way off the mark, but I'm just happy to share my speculations. I'm sure I've missed a lot.

Whoever read this whole essay, I hope you're as excited for the next Paranatural update as I am!

this is how boss leader can still win

EDIT:

I got the timeline all mixed up! Davy was a vampire before the Incident—Davy cutting himself free of the dream had to occur before Spender "defeated" the Wight. That means I need to revise some things.

New Theory: Davy severed Boss Leader from the Lake Spirit, Spender then broke that spirit in two, creating Peekaboo and the Shadow.

Davy, with Cryptide's powers, "cut the age of great wights to a close." That must have included Boss Leader! When Davy cut himself out of Boss Leader's dream, he split the Wight's reality-warping powers in two—splitting Mayview's reality in two, between the dream and the real world. Boss Leader could control dreams from out in the waking world and the Lake Spirit could control the waking world from within a dream. That was why Spender could defeat the Lake Spirit: it was only half the Wight it had been before. It's still connected to Boss Leader, like how the Sphinxes are connected to each other. Davy kept a piece of the wight for himself, somehow, and draws power through the locker.

I maintain that the Shadow is somehow Boss Leader's human mask, or human form. That means her insect spirit is... I don't know. There's a bedbug joke to be made somewhere. The Lake Spirit has empty eyes, Peekaboo has empty eyes, Spender has empty eyes... Sandman and Boss Leader are all about eyes. Is Sandman the spirit's eyes? Sandman looks like a half moon, a completed Shadow would look like a full moon, I'm just spitballing here

Everything else about this theory holds, I think.

Thanks to this post by @blacktycoon that made me realize my anachronism. They also put a lot of these pieces together back in May, way before I did lol.

[gay-disabled-characters-showdown]

LGBTQ+ Disabled Characters Showdown Round 4, Wave 1, Poll 4

A character being totally canon LGBTQ+ and disabled was not required to be in this competition. Please check qualifications and propaganda before asking why a character is included.

Check out the other polls in this wave and round here.

Ambrosius Goldenloin-Nimona (Novel)

Qualifications:

He’s gay and has facial scarring

Addition by @yrrtyrrtwhenihrrthrrt First I'd like to clear up that he does NOT just have facial scarring!! He has a visible walking disability, requiring assistance to stand and using a crutch. He appears mostly unable to bear weight on the left leg, and additionally the facial scarring visibly obstructs his eye adding possible partial vision loss to the list so. Just gonna leave this here not to let my boy be sabotaged with misinfo lol

Propaganda:

He’s such an asshole it's great. Still very gay though, he gets injured at the end, and also has facial scarring. He’s very different from the movie, much more of an ass, but still interesting.

Valerie Day-Paranatural

Qualifications:

She is Blind and a Lesbian.

she's blind and sapphic

Propaganda:

Agent Day is a Spectral (a humans who can interact with spectral entities like ghosts and spirits, and possess spectral energy, in her case Pink spectral energy) working for the Paranatural Activity Consortium. Her "Tool" (an object possesses by a weakened spirits that Spectrals can use to host spirits an directly use some form of the spirit's powers) is her cane. Due to the influence of the cane being possessed by her spirit partner, "Venus Guytrap" (a giant talking Venus flytrap that emotes through various marble statues wrapped in its vines), it appears as a green cane with a bouquet of roses at the top. As a manifestation of Venus Guytrap's powers, the cane can fire pink arrows that cause whatever they hit to fall in love with the first thing they see until the arrow is removed. As a Spectral, Agent Day can enter a "Heightened State of Perception" to converse & interact with her spirit in a mental state wherein time seems to move at a slower rate, to the extent that it almost seems to stand still for everything except her and her spirit partner (a phenomenon also known as a "Spirit Trance"). Spirit Trances also create an illusory alteration of the world surrounding the Spectral theme around the Spirit's aesthetics, and cause the Spectral's eyes to glow white, but neither of these aspects really affect Agent Day given that she a) can't see the illusory alteration to the world & b) often has her eyes closed anyways, making it so that no one else would be able to tell if she was in a trance in public so long as she stays still and does not talk while being sped-up relative to everyone else. Thanks to this, she utilizes Spirit Trance to occasionally have Venus Guytrap act as a "seeing-eye spirit" to performing certain actions, like reading off of a menu so that she can order lunch during her date with Dr. Mina Zarei.

i'm no good at propaganda so i don't have a lot to say but i think she's very good and also she made a train kiss someone once. what more could you want

[boanddonatetoblacktranspeople]

Rough Outline List of People(ish) inside the Paranatural ‘Masquerade’:

Richard Spender’s father, mayor of Mayview, snack for Davy Jones

Richard Spender, Mayview middle school teacher, Consortium member

Penny Spender, Spender’s sister, apprentice to Mr. Garcia, secret swiper of Dr. Zarei’s lantern

Maxwell Puckett, protag, spectral, son of June Puckett, has a spirit that may be the lost piece of an ancient powerful fractured spirit in Mr. Spender, also possessed

June Puckett, Max’s mother, former Consortium Agent

Dr. Zarei, old friend of Spender, previous member of Consortium

Mr. Garcia, partner to Spender, werewolf, apprentice of Cody’s mom

Mrs. Jones, former Cousinhood member, Cody’s mom, Davy Jones’ wife, werewolf

Davy Jones, vampire overlord, father to Cody, resident business mogul, owner of Mayview Academy, President of Razor Rex’s cult, PTA (Phantom Threat Authority), doctor of local hospital, and police chief

PJ (P__ Jones?)- Ghost, friend of Max, theorized old son of Davy

‘Lefty’, ghost hand, theorized left hand of Davy Jones, severed by his own sword???

Cody Jones, half-vampire, son of Davy Jones

Isabel Guerra, spectral, Paranatural Activity Club member, daughter of Angel Guerra, granddaughter to Master Guerra

Master Guerra, ghost, mentor spectral-teacher of own ‘faction’

Angel Guerra, father of Isabel, mentor to Penny Spender, has own spirit ‘faction’

Valeria Day, Consortium agent, former apprentice of June Puckett

Agent Walker, Consortium Agent

Boss Leader, actually a still-intelligent Wight

Ms. Rose Baxter, Phantom Threat Authority member

Ed Burger, spectral, child of the Burger parents who disappeared into a dream realm (??), Paranatural Activity Club member

The Doctors Burgers

Isaac, spectral, Paranatural Activity Club member

Coach Oop, Phantom Threat Authority member

Dimitri, former Paranatural Activity Club member, possessed

Fauxbia , the Fear Witch, Vice Principal of Mayview Middle School

Gage, local vampire thralled under Davy Jones

Paige, local vampire thralled under Davy Jones

Youth Culture, local vampire thralled under Davy Jones

Police department members under Davy Jones’ thrall (chief of police as well)

Ritz Price-Lee, local rich academy student, vampire-thralled by Gage and crew

Sophie Sibyl, local mystic shop owner, double agent in Phantom Threat Authority

Isabel’s grandfather’s dojo

Agent Savage, Consortium double-crosser for allyship with the Phantom Threat Authority (for money), member of band Max and R.J. saw

Agent Scabs

Agent Popova

Agent Pasha

Agent Stix

Agent Stucks

Other Consortium members

Lisa(???), friend of Isabel, secret school ‘bar’ owner and information barterer - Definitely has powers and inside knowledge but we dont know WHO she’s connected to here

Amy Chen, Isabel’s mother, daughter of Master Guerra

Captain Hattie Henchman, mother of Stephen, part of Davy's police force, and acts as security at the Phantom Threat Authority meetings

People on Edge of the Masquerade:

Alex, about to be possessed by an alien-looking spirit OR actual alien(???)

Johnny Jhonny, possessed by Forge, see below

Ollie Oop, resident bully and friend of Johnny, son of cult member Coach Oop, saw the Paranatural Activity Club members flying in Ghost Train

Stephen Henchman, Johnny's bully friend, son of police officer Captain Henchman, part of Davy's police force, also saw the Activity Club float

People Outside the Masquerade (???):

Mr. & Mrs. Starchman (??)

Violet, friend of Lisa and Cody

Peter Puckett (??), Max’s dad

Zoey Puckett, Max’s sister

Isaac’s anime-looking parents????

R.J., resident bully and friend of Johnny

Suzy, Journalism Club lead, friend of Dimitri, has confused crush on Isabel

Collin, Suzy’s friend

Jeff, despite being piloted by artificial spirit Hijack, friend of Cody

Shred Eagle (???)

Damian & Sam, younger siblings of Agent Day

Principal Pleezedoo

Student Council (?)

DJ Mothman

Professor Bigfoot (?)

Lavish Price-Lee, ex-wife of DJ Mothman

Nicole Spender (??)

yes, rick. indeed. fucking. why?

[fandomtrumpshate]

Unlisted Fandom Challenge

Two days ago, at our last Unlisted Fandom Challenge update, we had a 3-way tie for first. Today? One of those fandoms has taken the lead AND a new fandom that hadn't had even a single signup before has jumped all the way into a 4-way tie for second. Your fandom could do the same, in the hours still left before signups close!

At present, our leaderboard looks like this:

7 Danny Phantom

5 Carmen Sandiego (2019) 5 For All Mankind 5 Tortall 5 Yu Yu Hakusho

4 Ace Attorney 4 Alan Wake/Remedyverse 4 Formula 1 RPF 4 Ted Lasso 4 The Goblin Emperor Series - Katherine Addison 4 The Stanley Parable

3 Greek Mythology/Religion 3 Buffyverse 3 Bungo Stray Dogs 3 Call of Duty 3 Detective Conan 3 Dragon Ball 3 HBO War 3 Kingdom Hearts 3 Persona Series: 3-5 3 Professional Wrestling 3 Realm of the Elderlings - Robin Hobb 3 Shades of Magic - V. E. Schwab 3 The Mummy films 1999-2008 3 Undertale

Given the way Carmen Sandiego came from *nowhere* to tie for 2nd place, a single signup really can shake things up! And for the next few hours, signups are STILL OPEN! Do the thing!

The rest of our unlisted write-in fandoms under the cut for length -

2 Ghosts (TV) 2 Black Sails 2 Cosmere 2 CSI 2 Cyberpunk 2077 2 Dead Friend Forever 2 Death Stranding 2 Dice Punks (podcast) 2 Dimension 20 2 Donten ni Warau / Laughing Under the Clouds 2 Dracula 2 Dune 2 Firefly 2 Glee 2 Guardian/Zhen Hun 2 Hermitcraft/The Life Series SMP 2 Imperial Radch Series 2 Inception 2 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 2 Mob Psycho 100 2 Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury 2 Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint 2 Ordem Paranormal Quarentena 2 QSMP / Quackity SMP 2 Riverdale 2 Saw 2 Slow Horses (TV Show) 2 South Park 2 Stormlight Archive 2 The Bear (TV) 2 The Empyrean - Rebecca Yarros 2 The Folk of the Air (Holly Black) 2 The Radiant Emperor Series 2 Venture Bros 2 Voltron 2 Wolf Pack 1 1670 1 A Court of Fey & Flowers 1 a league of their own (TV series) 1 A Plague Tale (Videogame Series) 1 American Gods 1 Among Us 1 Bandom RPF (Bad Omens) 1 Bandom RPF (Lorna Shore) 1 Bandom RPF (Motionless In White) 1 Beastars 1 Bendy (and The Ink Machine/Dark Revival) 1 Horror 1 Bioshock 1&2 1 Blue Beetle 1 Blue Eye Samurai 1 Books of the Raksura 1 Boondock Saints 1 Breakfast With Scot 1 Bunny - Mona Awad 1 Buzzfeed Unsolved/Watcher Entertainment RPF 1 Cabin Pressure 1 Cats the musical 1 Charlie's Angels (2019) 1 Cherry Magic 1 Chronicles of Narnia 1 Cobra Kai 1 Coffee Talk (Video Game) 1 Criminal Minds 1 Death Note 1 Devil May Cry 1 Dexter 1 Digimon 1 Discworld - Terry Pratchett 1 Disney Theatrical Animated Universe 1 Divergent 1 DMBJ (Grave Robber's Chronicles) - Xu Lei 1 Dream SMP 1 Dungeons and Daddies (podcast) 1 Endeavour/Morseverse/Inspector Morse (ITV/Dexter) 1 Ensemble Stars!! 1 Fallout Video Game (Bethesda) 1 Falsettos 1 Fargo FX 1 Farscape 1 Fire Emblem (4-10, 13, 14, 16) 1 Five Nights at Freddy's 1 Friends at the Table 1 Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid 1 Grantchester 1 Green Creek 1 Grey's Anatomy 1 Grimm 1 Gundam (see below for details) 1 Hatchetfield 1 Hawaii 5.0 1 Hello From The Hallowoods 1 High School Musical 1 Higurashi no Naku Koro ni 1 Hollow Knight 1 Honkai Star Rail 1 Horizon Zero Dawn 1 Infinity Train 1 IT (Movies - Muschietti) 1 Jeff Satur - music videos 1 Julie and the Phantoms 1 Kushiel's Legacy 1 Law and Order 1 Legend of the Galactic Heroes 1 Live Free or Die Hard (Die Hard 4) 1 London Spy 1 Lovecraft Mythos 1 Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic 1 Magnificent Seven 1 Mary Grant Bruce's Billabong series 1 Mrs. Davis 1 My Little Pony 1 Nancy Drew (CW Series) 1 Narcos (TV) 1 Nine Worlds Series - Victoria Goddard 1 NU: Carnival 1 Omori 1 One Direction 1 Orphan Black 1 Outlast 1 Paranatural 1 Phantomarine 1 Re-Animator 1 Resident Evil/Biohazard 1 Sex Education (TV) 1 She-Ra and the Princesses of Power 1 Simon Snow Series 1 Skins (UK) 1 Slam Dunk 1 Starry Musical 1 Succession 1 Sunless Sea 1 Super Sentai 1 Sweeney Todd 1 Team Starkid 1 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1 The Adventure Zone: Balance 1 The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension 1 The Adventures of Tintin 1 The Artful Dodger 1 The Good Place 1 The Greenhollow Series - Emily Tesh 1 The Hollows - Kim Harrison 1 The Last Kingdom 1 The Left-Handed Booksellers of London - Garth Nix 1 The Lunar Chronicles 1 The Mechanisms 1 The Pairing (Casey McQuiston) 1 The Saint of Steel 1 The Shadow Campaigns - Django Wexler 1 The Terror (TV 2018) 1 Three of Hearts 1 Tin Can Bros 1 Tower of God 1 True Detective 1 Twilight 1 Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold 1 Wayfarers (Becky Chambers) 1 Weak Hero Class 1 1 Westworld (TV) 1 Yellowjackets 1 Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters

[junk-thrillz]

One of the hardest-hitting moments in Paranatural, hands down with little to no competition, is when Isabel jumped out of the Ghost Train to rescue Max. She only had a split second to figure out what to do, to plan her next course of action, and her immediate reaction was to jump out of a moving train to save a friend. It was instinctual. She just hit the ground running, deciding to outrun death.

[let-them-say-fuck-tournament]

Official Participants List

Papyrus(Undertale)  

Sophie Foster(Keeper of the Lost Cities)  

Percy Jackson(Percy Jackson)  

Toph Beifong(Avatar the Last Airbender)  

Steven Universe(Steven Universe)  

Ryuji Sakamoto(Persona 5)  

Candace Flynn(Phineas and ferb)  

Mytho(Princess Tutu)  

Pearl(Steven Universe)  

Ruby Rose(RWBY)  

Glimmer(She ra)  

Raphael(teenage mutant ninja turtles 2012)  

Luz Noceda(Owl House)  

Eda Clawthorne(Owl House)  

Stanley Pines(Gravity Falls)  

Donatello Hamato(Rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles)  

Will byers(Stranger Things)  

K_K(Delaturne)  

Michelangelo Hamato(Rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles)   

Lake/M.T.(Infinity Train)  

Kel(Omori)  

Miles "Tails" Prower(Sonic the hedgehog)  

Sokka(Avatar the Last Airbeder)  

Edward Elric(Fullmetal Alchemist)  

lloyd Garmadon(Ninjago)  

Nintendo EShop Bag(Nintendo)  

Pearl(Splatoon)  

Fred Jones(Scooby Doo)  

Annabeth chase(Percy Jackson)  

Logan Sanders(Sanders Sides)  

Steve Rogers(Marvel Cinematic Universe)  

Dr Heinz Doofenshmirtz(Phineas and ferb)  

Peter Parker(Spiderman)  

Dean Winchester(Supernatural)  

Eleanor Shellstrop(The good place)  

Merlin(Merlin)  

MK(Monkie kid)  

Nico di Angelo(Percy Jackson)  

Nani Pelekai(Lilo and Stitch)  

Wylan Van Eck(Six of Crows)  

Stiles(Teen Wolf)  

that one dolphin(Nobody saves the world)  

Maxwell Puckett(Paranatural)  

Firestar(Warriors)  

Aubrey(Omori)  

Finn Mertens(Adventure Time)  

Ralsei(Deltarune)  

Lucas(Mother 3)  

George Karim(Lockwood and co)  

The Knight/"Little Ghost"(Hollow Knight)  

Din Djarin(The Mandolorian)  

Gregory(Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach)

Five(The Umbrella Academy)  

Isildur(Rings of Power)  

Midoriya Izuku(My Hero Academia) 

Marco(Animrphs) 

Dipper Pines(Gravity Falls) 

Charlie Spring(Heartstopper show) 

Nick Nelson(Heartstopper show) 

Kris Dreamurr(Deltarune) 

Mono(Little NIghtmares)

Six(Little NIghtmares) 

Obi Wan Kenobi(Star Wars)

Kermit the Frog(The Muppets)

Congradulations to all the characters that made the cut! Brackets should hopefully be released sometime this week.

[noddaduck]

With some action/supernatural/adventure stories set in the modern day real world- especially and mainly when the main characters are kids- there’s an interesting facet to it: this isn’t a job. Peter Parker doesn’t make money being Spider-man.

In the Persona series, after a year of training and developing skills to fight evil and save the world it all becomes practically irrelevant because the environment needed to use their superpowers no longer exists. You and all your friends have to go and get a real job.

In Paranatural, an incredible webcomic, learning to fight supernatural threats is a must because if you can see them you are now suddenly prey. Not all Spectrals work for secret organizations but they all have to fight off whatever monster of the week decides to try to make them it’s lunch; even if they are at their 9-5 or on the bus or shopping at the grocery store. Not to mention Spender is a teacher (notoriously underpaid job) despite also being a secret agent.

Dan Da Dan shapes up to handle this in a very interesting way. Everything about this world seems to be in a mysterious equilibrium: aliens don’t invade enough to be noticed, and every time we have seen them do so, something or someone supernatural has handled it; ghosts are totally real and will kill you or worse- Turbo Granny could have cursed and killed everyone who saw Okarun as well as making him go berserk- but there are people out there who handle it as an actual career without attracting enough attention for the world to even believe it is real. This gang of feral neurodivergent teenagers is shaping up to be the greatest military power on the planet and all their skills would be absolutely useless in most stable occupations. But they know a woman who does this as a career. Seiko Ayase has a network of peers and people who can deal with the parts of her job that she can’t.

Momo and Jiji are already pretty much on track to being spirit mediums, Granny Ayase is teaching them all the basics. Momo’s intelligence and knowledge and Jiji’s innate talent make them both very fitting for the position. Aira is apparently stuck with Acro Silky powers for life and very happy to use them. Kinta is absolutely god-like at using the nanoskin, and Zuma also exists. All these children are coming up on a point in their lives where they need to think about their futures, and “beating up ghosts and stuff” seems to be genuinely on the table.

Not to say it seems very lucrative, Granny Seiko’s extreme charity might not so much be due to being a rich and successful psychic and more because that’s the kind of personality you have to have to protect the world from things they don’t believe in.

All the bold bits are my attempt to use a technique that helps people, especially neurodivergent ones, read long lines of text.

[kidlit-queen-competition]

would like to submit the ghost train from paranatural!

I have never read paranatural but what an absolute Creature. an Aminal. I am going to put him in a zoo for spooky trains.

[ID: a panel from the webcomic Paranatural. The ghost train rears up above the trees of a forest like a snake. The ghost train is black, with small yellow windows, and the shape of its front and cowcatcher are designed to resemble a skull. It has a yellow headlamp, and green smoke coming from its funnel. The cars making up the train are fused to make its body.]

[number9robotic]

Intro to RAPTURE ACADEMY

(so remember a few months ago I said I wanted to make a list of characters for a fighting game? It has a name now lol)

RAPTURE ACADEMY is a superhero/alternate history project centrally focused around the Rapture Academy and Institute for Superpowered Opportunists, a school thinly designed to raise supervillains. Primarily focusing on the stories and systems around a bunch of kids with intensely dangerous powers enrolled in a private academy headed by imprisoned supervillain No. 1 Angel as part of an internationally-backed plea deal. The kids are alright.

STUDENTS:

Anti (Canadian) - Analog horror-themed hoodie kid with dark powers (makes everything they hit distort like a broken VHS tape), surprisingly nice and wholesome and probably the least likely to actually become a career villain.

Hellbound ("Eastern European") - Princess sacrificed to a draconic ritual, became a half-dragon berserker who spends her time bound in magic chains. A demure sweetheart when lucid, murderous beast otherwise.

The Vigilante Smog Monster/"Smoggy" (Australian) - A swamp monster summoned by an indigenous tribe searching for a protector, can turn into sludge and murder smoke, wears enchanted wooden masks.

Twintails (Japanese) - two students in one! A male wizard apprentice and a female ninja apprentice from rivalling clans that were fused together by a trickster yokai; one person is in control at a time, they swap from sneezing.

IDKYS/I Don't Know You, Sorry (Filipino) - Aspiring idol/daughter to high-ranking entertainment execs with a literally hypnotic voice. Placed in school with a voice-to-computer TTS mask in order to be taught a lesson in humility, is the class queen anyway.

Magnus VI (American) - Indestructible cyborg cowboy built by a mad science firm who can explosively self-destruct any joint in his body before reassembling. Extremely arrogant. No one touches his hat.

Metal Alice (French) - Daughter of a supervillain who died and was brought back as a haunted animatronic unknowing that she died. Is a walking portal to the ghost dimension who can pull out all sorts of phantasmic metal weapons, from scissors to chainsaws.

Hot★Shot (Chinese) - Cocky martial arts prodigy, has fire abilities, up-and-coming superstar. Basically thinks he's the protagonist of a shounen fighting game, is a colossal asshole from it, yet is the popular jock regardless.

Vioelectrolysis (Motswana) - Upbeat mad scientist-in-training who fights using a giant modified fire-extinguisher that mixes chemicals for deadly use, as well as a bigass flail for deadly use. She may or may not be a mutant.

White Slate (Greek) - A living statue accidentally created by a mad artist, has the ability to turn people into stone with his touch. Is missing a face, sometimes paints one on for intimidation points. Mostly an emo boi who paints a lot.

zZomnia (Pakistani) - Phoneaholic teen haunted by nightmares that double as guardian spirits with insanely powerful weapons whenever she's asleep or is on the verge of it. Is constantly sleepy. Leave her alone.

Bitter Batter (N/A) - Just an ordinary girl with no superpowers, but a baseball bat, a silent death glare, and murderous intent. Originally a teen vagrant before being enlisted in the school. The most "normal" student and also the most fn terrifying

Moonlight Rosebloom Powderpuff of the Unside Neverlandian Court (Scottish?) - A bubbly (alleged) fairy noble from a (disputed) faraway realm hidden in a (presumably) magical garden. Wields (conversely very real) magic. It's very pink.

Ryvr Sticks (Ukrainian) - A scarecrow infected with a paranatural fungi giving him sapience, regeneration abilities, and hallucinogenic powers. Indisputably the class clown and source of gossip. Is a wicked breakdancer.

FACULTY:

No.1 Angel (███) - Headmaster, part-time supervillain, full-time asshole. thinks he's a superhero who deserves to protect humanity but then gave another superhero cancer using his light manipulation powers for trying to stop him.

Panopticon (███) - head of security, a silent dude in black armor and an old-timey diving helmet who sometimes appears unacknowledged to stare at everyone in class, in hallways, or off campus. Powers unknown.

Señor Heartpuncher (Mexican) - Teacher of self-defense. Retired lucha-themed super with a long history of being a hero, but once had a heel-turn and became teacher because he owed a favor to No.1 Angel. has the ability to absorb and reflect kinetic force, perfect for teaching kids how to hit punches then tank them

Drill Instructor Friday (Brazilian) - Teacher of phys ed. Acts like the scariest and most intense drill instructor you can think of. She's also a genuine werewolf. Comes up with some of the funniest PG-13-level insults imaginable and then punishes you for laughing at them.

OfOz (Haitian) - Teacher of paranatural arts (magic, anomalies, anything "supernatural"). Pretty chill and charismatic expert in the field, is able to split his soul/body separately. Only one half of him is teaching classes, other half is doing supervillainy elsewhere in the world.

DDDD (South Korean) - Teacher of technology arts. Is the head of a megacorp developing devices for supers, mostly villains. Teaches remotely from the other side of the world using a mini-mech suit that she pilots from her office. It has weapons. She forgets this. Frequently rants about her competitors and has to be reminded by her secretary to stay on topic.

Sir SPECTACULAR!!! (Swiss) and The Virtuoso (German) - Teacher and assistant teachers of theatrics (getting students to figure out their gimmicks/brand/performances as supers). They used to commit "theatre crimes" together with SPECTACULAR!!!'s super-conductor powers and Virtuoso's super-VR tech, turning cities into musicals. After turning the state of Oklahoma into a musical, they've settled down teaching kids and enjoy it.

Mr. Professor Von Ruin (Austrian) - "Teacher" of ethics (the legalities and philosophies of being a super). he is actually a cat. a super-intelligent, talking cat, pet of a supervillain, but a cat. he doesn't really teach, so his period's just a free block.

Miss Brutalist (Swedish) - Teacher of logistics (resourcing and management of being a super). No powers, actually runs a business designing HQs and lairs for various supers. Most of her assignments involve getting students to do paperwork for her projects.

Dr. Infinity-Plus (Hungarian) - Teacher of general sciences and maths. Has incredible foresight/caculation abilities, which drove him... not quite "insane" but very jaded, paranoid, and antsy. Will often derail classes to vent about existentially terrifying concepts. wears a Rubik's cube-like helmet to dampen his mind.

Sewn Chaos (Azerbaijani) - Teacher of home economics. Former career super before using her textile-manipulation powers to design costumes for others, helps the kids figure out their costumes. genuinely like everyone's favorite grandma up until she shares stories of all the f'd up villains she worked with. Good times!

DREADNAUT (Russian) - Head librarian. Ghostly cosmonaut afflicted by paranatural forces while on the moon, now has gravity powers but is stuck in a fugue state. manages the school's library containing vast resources... which is constructed upside-down in order to make it harder for kids to access.

Gutwrencher (Czech) - Head nurse. A zombie in all but name, has a flesh-mending/regeneration factor she can use to heal herself and others. Is constructed out of various necrotic body parts and stitching that often come apart at inconvenient times. Some students are attracted to her and don't know why.

Mr. BRB (Italian) - Head janitor (and also the only one). He's a necromancer who summons ghouls to help do the cleaning for him but often still leaves things dirty. Mostly chills out in his office to record his personal podcasts and offer advice to kids who ask nicely.

[garfgorl]

I was browsing this page on the Paranatural wiki, and the way this comment from ch 4 pg 91 is phrased made me wonder… did we ever find out why Max’s bat stopped working briefly on the Ghost Train?

I don’t have any real theories for why but I feel like it could be related to the bug creature that saved him on the next page, and/or related to him being pulled into spirit trance while Scrap Dragon was searching for something - maybe SD was also trying to figure out what was up with his powers?

(Panel screenshots are from ch 4 pages 91, 104, 105, and 107)

[incorrectpnatquotes]

Starch Radness 7, Round 1: Poll 4/16

[justtooobsessed]

on my nth reread of paranatural and realized something I haven't seen mentioned (altho I'm sure its probably been mentioned by SOMEONE). dimitri's family is moving out of town, right? but dimitri can't get past the barrier without the ghost train... and since he's no longer with the activity club, he doesn't know that the ghost train is currently out of commission. so my question is... how will he get out? will he be trapped inside while his family leaves? how will this be explained to his family? where will he stay instead? many questions