[680] It's not THAT bad...

Have I mentioned I love it when Tom does panel-less comics?
He does them so well.

Bottom right corner. Antimony's expression speaks for itself. Is it things like Diego and George and Andrew?

In addition, I wouldn't be surprised if Antimony told Reynardine about his preserved body that is waiting for him in the Forest. This would no doubt make Reynardine feel quite conflicted, especially if the Court feels dead and dull to him.

Sounds like this "Coyote" character has his facts straight after all.

Would there be an offer to Annie to pass to the Forest side? Would she have to take the test, and what kind of body would she get?

I don't think it would happen, it doesn't seem the direction this story is going in. But it's an interesting thing to think about.

Interesting. I always forget to look at what Coyote says as opposed to what he implies. "How cold and lifeless it must seem there for someone like him. Specifically does not mean it in fact would seem lifeless at all, especially considering how much time some of the beings most connected to the etherium spend with eachother. I imagine they add color to eachothers worlds.

You can see the shape of Coyote's head in the previous comic too. The eye and teeth tentacle things form into a sort of face with his nose being defined by the star-field. What makes it confusing is that Coyote's left eye-tentacle stretches out in front of him, goes down behind Ysengrin, and then comes up again behind Antimony and off the page. It may be my monitor settings but it looks like there's also a darkening of the star field more or less where Coyote's body would be if it were visible.




What Coyote's doing makes sense on several levels. I've wildly speculated in the past that Coyote's overall role in things and the reason he has his vast powers is to make sure humans have the proper attitude of awe and respect to the old people (the etheric creatures). I figure that's why he divided the Court and the Forest. Instilling the proper attitude in the Court's next medium would be an end in itself. Making Reynardine's "owner" less likely to tame him would be a great thing as well.**

Beyond that, I agree that an Antimony who's shaken up is more likely to be trusting than one who's got her feet firmly planted on the ground. Coyote's both shown Antimony Ysengrin's weakness and protected her from his wrath; without that protection Ysengrin would probably have killed her and no doubt he will remember this incident in the future. So, Coyote is positioning himself as the one who reveals secrets and protects Antimony, therefore in the future she may be more likely to respect Coyote's wishes in regard to Reynard through both gratitude and fear.

Beyond THAT, Coyote may be helping Antimony grow/toughen up a bit. For canines, play is rough and it prepares pups to face danger when they're older.

Beyond even that, Coyote's actions may be an extension of his friendship with Surma. From the way he tells it it looks like he genuinely enjoyed her visits. Maybe he is testing to see if the fun times will now continue with Antimony.


**I wonder what would happen if Coyote knew that Antimony was teaching Reynard to pick locks? I doubt he'd be pleased.

I wonder how much time has passed since the last chapter. In "Sky Watcher and the Angel" it seams to be colder during daytime than it is in this chapter at night, so I guess at least a couple of months has passed.

Those must have been some very uncomfortable months for Annie, if this is her first chance to get away from the Court :/

...maybe even to a degree where it has affected her training with her blinker stone (or ability to concentrate in general)?

Holy gods Coyote is… wow. I think I've had a trip like this.

(Aside: part of what Coyote might be up to with Ysengrin is demonstrating the limited view afforded by looking at material plane alone. Sure, Ysengrin shakes like an old man, but he's also a god, and so perhaps Coyote's gift really is perfect, and immeasurable in its wonder. Or, at least, it's quite a bit nicer than it first seems.)

I like how the trees look in the ether.

I love how Rey's body and Annie's outfit are drawn in the same style, and how Coyote's teeth curl in with the roots of the tree, and Annie's hair is all connected... Too much praise to enumerate. And I'd like to note that that tree is hella-magic'd up.

Surma may have been good friends with Coyote, but she stayed on the court side, I believe. If Annie would be persuaded to cross over, would Coyote still love her so? Or would she become just another played-out game, like Ys?

But it's totally worth it!

His godlike grin descends into eternity.

Awesome page - again. Feels like Coyote is persuading Annie to bring Rey next time she pays a visit - even if it's against his own will.

Interesting, her hair flows like coyote... I have no idea what this would mean but Looking back it has always had a similar element of infinity in the past when looking through the stone