|
Post by imaginaryfriend on Dec 7, 2010 6:01:14 GMT
Eh? What makes you think that? Of the authority figures we've seen a significant amount of we have Jones (is emotionless and has shown fairness over adventures in the past), Anja and Donald (are very involved with this, would by sympathetic over her discovering she killed her mother, wouldn't want to hurt Kat by punishing Annie severly), Doctor Disaster (wouldn't even be out there, might well consider it fun when it comes down to it), Bob (who kept the secret of Annie's breakdown and seemed level headed given his hoouse was taken over), Marcia (who is a dryad and thus somewhat in touch with the forest and ditto on Bob), and the headmaster (whom we know very little about). As far as I can tell if ANY of them were out there they'd probably be able to fend off any trouble and wouldn't be overly harsh once they knew what was going on. Really, the teachers we know are a generally laid back bunch. You're leaving out the possibility that it might not be a faculty member that Antimony knows. But to answer your question, my assessment of Eglamore's response is built on the premise that other people will hear the alarm (and probably be monitoring the situation from afar) along with the attitude he displays towards the school rules. However attractive and sympathetic Antimony is, and despite the whimsy that goes into the residential and the dorm design and the sims, letting a student who has willfully assaulted a teacher go with no punishment or a slap on the wrist is a precedent they simply cannot allow. That's doubly true considering she used her powers; there is a mix of etherically-talented and normal students which has inherent tensions in itself. If there is even a hint that some people can use their powers to attack others with impunity there would be Trouble. I think good ol' Eggers might just toss all that and lie to try to protect Antimony when it comes down to it, to the extent he's able. The person chasing Antimony doesn't appear to be built like any of the other faculty you mention but I'll cover each of them. Jones' impartiality and fairness would work against Antimony getting special treatment in this circumstance, methinks. The Donlans would want to help Antimony avoid severe punishment but I don't know if they would actually cover up/lie for her in this circumstance so they are a question mark. They do know about the photograph Antimony stole and haven't mentioned it, but does that mean they will go farther to cover up for her or will they see that as a pattern of bad behavior? Same goes for Bob when he caught them in the decon chamber. Marcia dislikes fire a lot. Neither of them are close to Antimony. Doctor Disaster (unless he has some trick up his sleeve) isn't likely to survive the depicted toasting, making the fact that he doesn't know Antimony well moot. Headmasters don't get to be headmasters by letting stuff like this go unpunished; they don't stay headmasters long if they do. Assumption here being that the fire is real, of course. I think it is but it is not impossible that it's an illusion since Antimony can recall her blinker stone nearly instantly.
|
|
|
Post by Stately Buff-Cookie on Dec 7, 2010 6:42:07 GMT
I wonder if Jones was trying to elicit this reaction (or determining how hard it would be to get it) when she was trying to make Annie angry. "It helps me assess your character." Yup. Sure are keeping your distance there, Jones! I always found that moment particularly odd for that reason. And I was right. This whole thing is ending in an absolutely epic fashion. Okay so I used the word HILARIOUS specifically, but I was in a kind of WHY SO COYOTE mood that day for some odd reason. Maybe I was high.
|
|
haunt
New Member
Posts: 14
|
Post by haunt on Dec 7, 2010 6:58:35 GMT
I wonder if Jones was trying to elicit this reaction (or determining how hard it would be to get it) when she was trying to make Annie angry. "It helps me assess your character." Yup. Sure are keeping your distance there, Jones! I always found that moment particularly odd for that reason. And I was right. This whole thing is ending in an absolutely epic fashion. Okay so I used the word HILARIOUS specifically, but I was in a kind of WHY SO COYOTE mood that day for some odd reason. Maybe I was high. It's also interesting to note this scene in light of the explosion that happened during Annie's argument with Renard. She's heard people mock her father before and managed to take it in stride; but today she snapped, probably because of a) Jeanne, b) the revelation about her mother, c) Jack, and d) stress over her coursework. It's a mark of Tom's excellent characterization that he can make people's meltdowns believable in this way.
|
|
|
Post by Stately Buff-Cookie on Dec 7, 2010 7:19:35 GMT
I wouldn't say she took Jones doing it all that well. Just look at that face, and the next panel has me easily imagine the kind of tone she used with Jones. Her father was always something of a weak point.
It just takes a whole lot for that kind of person to reach a state of, "Oh no you DI'INT!" and create a huge cone of burning death that could slay entire armies. Keeping it in doesn't mean it doesn't bug you. It just means you're saving it all up for one huge blast.
|
|
|
Post by Mylian on Dec 7, 2010 14:25:10 GMT
In other news... I think the forest has been given an unmissable signal that something is coming! And given their familiarity with Surma, they can probably guess exactly who it is. I think we can safely lay any fears of her entering the forest "unannounced" to rest.
|
|
|
Post by jayne on Dec 7, 2010 16:20:46 GMT
In other news... I think the forest has been given an unmissable signal that something is coming! And given their familiarity with Surma, they can probably guess exactly who it is. I think we can safely lay any fears of her entering the forest "unannounced" to rest. I can imagine Coyote waiting at the far end of the bridge joking about how Annie didn't think the blinker stone signal was "good enough"!
|
|
|
Post by zylonbane on Dec 7, 2010 16:55:10 GMT
Umm, has anybody raised the possibility that the giant flaming wall of death is just illusory fire, like she used in the Court's forest? Obviously she already has experience making those.
|
|
|
Post by jayne on Dec 7, 2010 18:08:31 GMT
Umm, has anybody raised the possibility that the giant flaming wall of death is just illusory fire, like she used in the Court's forest? Obviously she already has experience making those. I thought that at first but then it looks like the fire is consuming the lights. They're no longer casting shadows so I'm assuming they're no longer there. Here's her fake forest fire... its hard to see if the illusion includes damage to the trees... which means the damage to the lamps might be illusions too... I hate to say it but Tom really didn't get the shadow correct. Based on the L shape of the lamps, the shadow shouldn't be going straight down from where the lamps meet the wall. They should also be L shaped.
|
|
|
Post by Max on Dec 7, 2010 19:14:21 GMT
I don't think there being consumed, just obscured. Tom uses the same effect in with the trees. I believe they are no longer casting any shadows because the fire has surrounded them. As for whether the fire is dangerous or not, if it is at all like her blinker stone fire, than it is as dangerous or not as she wants it to be, and given the mood she's in right now, I can see her casting the fire without thinking too hard about it. If it's not like her blinker stone fire, than I think it would be rather anti-climatic if the titular Fire Spike was entirely illusory.
|
|
|
Post by bnpederson on Dec 7, 2010 19:58:43 GMT
You're leaving out the possibility that it might not be a faculty member that Antimony knows. But to answer your question, my assessment of Eglamore's response is built on the premise that other people will hear the alarm (and probably be monitoring the situation from afar) along with the attitude he displays towards the school rules. However attractive and sympathetic Antimony is, and despite the whimsy that goes into the residential and the dorm design and the sims, letting a student who has willfully assaulted a teacher go with no punishment or a slap on the wrist is a precedent they simply cannot allow. That's doubly true considering she used her powers; there is a mix of etherically-talented and normal students which has inherent tensions in itself. If there is even a hint that some people can use their powers to attack others with impunity there would be Trouble. I think good ol' Eggers might just toss all that and lie to try to protect Antimony when it comes down to it, to the extent he's able. The person chasing Antimony doesn't appear to be built like any of the other faculty you mention but I'll cover each of them. Jones' impartiality and fairness would work against Antimony getting special treatment in this circumstance, methinks. The Donlans would want to help Antimony avoid severe punishment but I don't know if they would actually cover up/lie for her in this circumstance so they are a question mark. They do know about the photograph Antimony stole and haven't mentioned it, but does that mean they will go farther to cover up for her or will they see that as a pattern of bad behavior? Same goes for Bob when he caught them in the decon chamber. Marcia dislikes fire a lot. Neither of them are close to Antimony. Doctor Disaster (unless he has some trick up his sleeve) isn't likely to survive the depicted toasting, making the fact that he doesn't know Antimony well moot. Headmasters don't get to be headmasters by letting stuff like this go unpunished; they don't stay headmasters long if they do. Assumption here being that the fire is real, of course. I think it is but it is not impossible that it's an illusion since Antimony can recall her blinker stone nearly instantly. I intentionally didn't mention teachers we've not seen much of because I think it'd be absurd for Tom to introduce a new character during a dramatic moment like this at the end of the last chapter of the third book. Regarding the court not letting her get away with ethereal assault, I'm not convinced the Court wouldn't just cover it up rather than lose a potentially powerful medium, which is what I'm guessing will happen after the summer is over (with Annie coming back after spending the summer with Coyote). Think about it: we've seen all the authority figures in the Court lie at some point already, excepting the headmaster. We've also seen how they dealt with problems in the past with Jeanne and that they're currently willing to withhold information from Annie and Reynard when they think it best. They allow Zimmy to do as she pleases because she's an "interesting" science case, have an entire class made up of former forest creatures that are treated differently (no summer break at least), and Jones was quite willing to let Jack go through with his plans to see what would happen. To claim they can't let someone assaulting a teacher off with a slap on the wrist implies some kind of system that would hold them accountable for not acting "fairly" and we've yet to see any such system.
|
|
|
Post by Refugee on Dec 7, 2010 20:08:24 GMT
I hate to say it but Tom really didn't get the shadow correct. Based on the L shape of the lamps, the shadow shouldn't be going straight down from where the lamps meet the wall. They should also be L shaped. The shadows are only being cast by the foot of the L-shaped standards, where a foot is attached to the vertical wall of the side of the bridge. The vertical part of the standard is too far away from the wall to cast a shadow.
|
|
|
Post by imaginaryfriend on Dec 7, 2010 20:32:00 GMT
I intentionally didn't mention teachers we've not seen much of because I think it'd be absurd for Tom to introduce a new character during a dramatic moment like this at the end of the last chapter of the third book. Like I said before I think there are excellent reasons to expect that it is indeed Eggers. The end of Ch. 27 did show that unfamiliar faces might show up to answer alarms, though. To claim they can't let someone assaulting a teacher off with a slap on the wrist implies some kind of system that would hold them accountable for not acting "fairly" and we've yet to see any such system. My argument is less about fairness and more about maintaining order. I think we have seen a Court organization portrayed over the course of the book that is interested in maintaining control and order; while they have arguably covered up worse I do not think it would be in their interest to do so here.
|
|
|
Post by joephlommin on Dec 7, 2010 20:32:15 GMT
Yah know what I dont want to swear but it would fucking suck if it wasn't real fire! Cmon now this page would be pointless if it wasnt!!! God quit being so dumb.
|
|
|
Post by zylonbane on Dec 7, 2010 22:20:11 GMT
I think it would be rather anti-climatic Well, let's see weather you're right! This from the person with the giant ugly image sig. Oh, irony.
|
|
Lico
New Member
Posts: 39
|
Post by Lico on Dec 7, 2010 22:47:15 GMT
I think the fire is causing some... heat in here.
That was awful. Couldn't have executed that worse.
But seriously; let's play nice. Let's just rejoice at the fact that the update is tomorrow! Hooray! :D
|
|
|
Post by fronzel on Dec 7, 2010 22:50:31 GMT
That was awful. Couldn't have executed that worse. Naturally; you didn't use sunglasses.
|
|
|
Post by Eversist on Dec 7, 2010 22:53:22 GMT
|
|
Lico
New Member
Posts: 39
|
Post by Lico on Dec 7, 2010 22:57:06 GMT
That was awful. Couldn't have executed that worse. Naturally; you didn't use sunglasses. Yeah. I didn't have them handy. :c
|
|
blastdragon
Junior Member
The Flying Dutchman
Posts: 65
|
Post by blastdragon on Dec 7, 2010 23:01:19 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Mezzaphor on Dec 8, 2010 4:06:11 GMT
Umm, has anybody raised the possibility that the giant flaming wall of death is just illusory fire, like she used in the Court's forest? Obviously she already has experience making those. I thought that at first but then it looks like the fire is consuming the lights. They're no longer casting shadows so I'm assuming they're no longer there. Here's her fake forest fire... its hard to see if the illusion includes damage to the trees... which means the damage to the lamps might be illusions too... A better comparison is Annie's own silhouette getting distorted in an illusory fire. I can't wait to read the next page to the tune of the Prodigy's Firestarter... Personally, I was thinking of NIN's Burn. Or "The Flame of Youth" by DragonForce.
|
|
|
Post by dismalscientist on Dec 8, 2010 4:59:10 GMT
Although that fire wasn't of her making, so the same rules (probably?) don't apply. In the strip from Residential, the illusion of a raging forest fire was sufficiently convincing that Bob, his wife (a tree nymph!), and Eglamore all believed that the trees were burning -- and the fire does seem to be, e.g., obscuring the leaves. But I'm not sure it fits within the "rules" already established for Annie to be able to bend reality, or at least perceptions thereof, when summoning fire. If the lights are shown destroyed, my money's on them being actually destroyed.
|
|
|
Post by joephlommin on Dec 8, 2010 5:01:41 GMT
I think it would be rather anti-climatic Well, let's see weather you're right! This from the person with the giant ugly image sig. Oh, irony. Im sorry they didn't have a smaller one. So I got rid of it as it was rather ridiculous . Oh and what you mean is "Well, lets see weather im wrong!"
|
|
|
Post by Eversist on Dec 8, 2010 7:10:10 GMT
I'm really surprised that the argument over this has dissolved into kidish-like comebacks. Also *whether. I really think the answer to whether the fire was real or not is in this comic: www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=412Really makes me think that Annie can control real fire with the blinker stone. But I'll just wait to find out like everyone else.
|
|
|
Post by TBeholder on Dec 8, 2010 15:11:44 GMT
I'm really surprised that the argument over this has dissolved into kidish-like comebacks So, we're witnessing the power of true Art again? Given that the page is about Annie lashing at Eglamore in such a fashion there's more of a show than hurt.
|
|
|
Post by warrl on Dec 10, 2010 18:36:42 GMT
I think we have seen a Court organization portrayed over the course of the book that is interested in maintaining control and order; while they have arguably covered up worse I do not think it would be in their interest to do so here. Annie is a Power in her own right, and if the Court didn't already know that then they do now. Annie is a friend of Coyote, who apparently knows what she is capable of at least as well as the Court does and is at least as willing and able to train her. The Court fears Coyote, and knows he is fond of Annie. Annie has Coyote's Fang, although we don't know if the Court is aware of this. Annie has Reynardine, and we absolutely know the Court is aware of that and wants to keep a firm grip on him. A control-freak Court is SO NOT going to expel Annie and lose all control over her. Imprisoning her would be difficult to impossible, and not particularly effective, and would be sure to make her an enemy. Of course, this doesn't mean they will just cover up the whole thing.
|
|
|
Post by joephlommin on Dec 14, 2010 3:14:51 GMT
|
|
|
Post by imaginaryfriend on Dec 14, 2010 4:26:59 GMT
A control-freak Court is SO NOT going to expel Annie and lose all control over her. Imprisoning her would be difficult to impossible, and not particularly effective, and would be sure to make her an enemy. Of course, this doesn't mean they will just cover up the whole thing. Your points about Antimony being powerful and connected are well-taken. However, there are several talented children we know of and the school has apparently been teaching the etherically-gifted for several centuries. They've been doing research for that time as well. I guarantee they have ways to keep the students in line, even powerful students. If they needed to they could find a way to imprison Antimony and take Renard from her (breaking her ownership of his actions without setting him loose). Also: Expelling Antimony from the school and kicking her out of the Court are two different things. I agree that they wouldn't do anything to reduce their control over her but in this case I think letting her go unpunished would accomplish exactly that. Since it was Eggers who answered the alarm and she was apparently just creating a barrier instead of trying to kill him and because the Court appears okay with her visiting the Forest (though they'll be displeased she went suddenly and with no advance notice) they won't jail her or expel her. Suspension this late would probably equal flunking her. That pretty much leaves detention as the only option therefore I wager she can kiss her holiday plans goodbye.
|
|