Slackbot draws stuff

[Slackbot]

Wow, thanks! Heh, drawing Fraglings is fun.

Speaking of which, Pebble Pox Sucks. Janken's childhood memory from Trials and Tintinnabulations. Yeah, Janken used to suck his thumb. I won't tell if you won't.

Wembley would be a good parent, I think. He's no genius, but he's got a good moral compass and plenty of empathy, and he'd have the sense not to freak out when someone got sick and thus make things even worse. Maybe one day I'll figure out how to draw his hair...

 

[Gonzo's Hobbit]

That is too cute. I think you're getting better at his hair. One question though, is he supposed to be the parental type in this picture because I think he looks too young. But it is a cute little picture though. It's kinda got a passing the torch quality to it in likght of the "pebble pox blues" episode.

 

[Slackbot]

Thanks. And, yeah, Wembley does look a bit young. I tried aging him forward in sketches, and he stopped looking like himself. So I'm going to say he's got that Benny Hill quality; he'll always look boyish. Maybe he's there to counterbalance Mokey, who always looked middle-aged to me.

I have the idea that Fraggles age more like animals than Silly Creatures. A relatively short childhood, during which they approach their full size fairly quickly. Some years later, if they survive their youthful exuberance, they reach puberty. After that, a long plateau of adulthood during which they don't appear to age at all.

My rationale: I can only think of a few Fraggles who appear to be middle-aged or elderly (The World's Oldest Fraggle, Unca Matt, The Storyteller, and a few nameless backgrounders) so either Fraggles get themselves killed off at a high rate or they spend the vast majority of their lives in the "young adult" stage. And we've seen so very few Fraggle children, and IIRC only one baby; they'd need a much higher birthrate to support the population if attrition was that drastic.

 

[Gonzo's Hobbit]

I guess that makes sense(wow you appear to have thought about that for a while) And it could just be that Wembley looks that way because he acts that way.

 

[Slackbot]

*laughs* Actually, that explanation came to me pretty quickly. I'm one of these types who reads every issue National Geographic cover to cover twice. I can discuss genetics, physiology, environmental pressures and balance, and so on for hours. Retconning Fraggle peculiarities took very little skull sweat!

Actually, I spent more time on figuring Sidebottom out. I've been studying Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID, the current name for split personality) for years; it's a fascinating and disturbing topic. As it's terribly unlikely that Boober went through the vile trauma that is the usual cause for a person to shears off parts of their personality in order to survive, how to handle him? I ended up deciding that Sidebottom is a balancing force. Boober tries to suppress what he thinks are undesirable personality traits, but the fact is that for a Fraggle they are normal and healthy. When he represses them for too long, or comes to a crisis in which he needs those traits, Sidebottom emerges and does what Boober believes he can't. He can be a brat because he goes overboard, but his goal has always been to drag Boober back toward the norm, never to take over.

I live with two people. I like both of them.
He likes both of me and I like both of him.
He's my alter ego and to him I am wed
'Cause I'm happy I live in a split-level head.

-- I Live in a Split-Level Head by Jerry Samuels​

 

[Gonzo's Hobbit]

I always thought that too of Sidebottom. I had one brief thought that Boober had multiple personalities but quelled that thought almost instantly, partly because he makes a concious effort to switch personalities and it doesn't just randomly happen (also the fact that it's a kids show). I always saw Sidebottom as kinda like just a manifestation of other qualities of Boober because he is a character that, like you said, needs a balancing force. So it works to make two of him because the characteristics are so exreme, so it's more funny from a story standpoint (I don't think it would work for any of the other fraggles to have an alter-ego such as Sidebottom)
Yay, finally someone who doesn't think conversations like this are odd.
PS, have you ever considered doing portraits of Boober and Sidebottom with that in mind. Maybe their personalities would be projected in the background of something through colors or a particular background? Or even elemental? (i.e. Boober might have an earthy or icy background and Sidebottom a more fiery or ariy background?)

 

[Slackbot]

Actually, I do think of Boober/Sidebottom as a case of multiple personality. For one thing, they are co-conscious; both are aware at the same time, yet they think along separate tracks. Boober is not always aware of Sidebottom's presence; at the end of "Boober's Dream" he has to ask if Sidebottom is there, and the reply is a laugh. Sidebottom is pretty clearly separated from Boober at that point.

Multiple personalities are not anywhere near completely understood, but it's generally accepted that they are a way of splitting off painful memories and experiences and creating defensive mechanisms, both to protect the core personality. In this case, Boober is the core, and he did both of the above when he suppressed his fun side for too long. He couldn't stand the thought of possessing those annoying, frivolous traits, so he walled them off into a "not-me" persona. And yet on some level he knew that he needed them, so that persona was born with the mission of making himself known and doing whatever it took to force Boober to accept him once more. In effect, to merge personalities. I think it worked to some degree; tell me there wasn't a little Sidebottom presence in "Scared Silly."

Psychoanalizing puppets is fun.

As for the portraits, that's an interesting idea. To extend the personalitles into the background, I think I'd choose something still and quiet and desaturated for Boober, and something dynamic and whimsical for Sidebottom. Laundry has been done to death, so what else would work? Hmm, does Sidebottom cook?

 

[Gonzo's Hobbit]

It seems as if Boober likes to do things a long the lines of finer cuisine so maybe, I dunno, fast food? Or he'd be one of those fraggles that can't boil water?

 

[Slackbot]

Hmm... Boober has never shown disdain for food in any form; it just seems that he enjoys fine cookery. Perhaps he likes the challenge of making the perfect souffle. Sidebottom probably couldn't cook by himself because he doesn't carry any relevant mental baggage. (But when partially re-merged with Boober, he can do just fine!)

Sidebottom certainly couldn't boil water, because he wouldn't know how to start a fire. At least, I sure hope he wouldn't. Do you want to see that brat running around with a flint and tinder kit? Brr.

Perhaps it'd make more sense just to show cave backgounds. In Boober's case the rock would be gray, the plants blurry and desaturated, as if unimportant. In Sidebottom's case the background would look like a late Louis Wain painting.

 

[Gonzo's Hobbit]

Ooo, that might look interesting.